The SLAGO Cup

The SLAGO Cup is competed for annually amongst the various groups in SLAGO. The competition has included various events over the years, including quizzes, table tennis, and treasure hunts.

Sculpture day a great success

The Sculpture and Social event organised for SLAGO by RAGS was extremely well attended, with about 80 people from London, Surrey, and even Sussex.

The torrential rain that had dampened the preparations miraculously cleared in time for the start of the event, and the gardens of Neil Godfrey's South Godstone studios were an ideal setting to display his sculptures, not all of which, perhaps to the surprise of some of our members, feature the male nude.

In the sculpture quiz, or "scullotery", John from The Arun Gay Society (TAGS) won a £100 sculpture voucher and the rest of Team D received interesting prizes. Thanks to Roger for organising the whole event so capably, and to Stanley for providing the food.

Some previous CAGS events

A celebration of same-sex relationships in English History

CAGS’s contribution to LGBT History Month 2008 was a public event to celebrate same-sex partnerships down the ages. It explored the traditions of Sworn Brotherhood in Chaucer and in traditional English ballads, continuing with a further presentation of our re-enactment of the church ceremonies used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in previous centuries to unite same-sex couples.

For more about this, see our press release.

Christmas festivities

The CAGS Christmas Party went ahead as planned on the 15th of December, 2008. David hosted the event and provided a splendid spread, Roger cooked up the mulled wine (with and without alcohol) and a good time was had by all.

At the height of the festivities, Father Christmas arrived (looking rather larger than a year ago) and gave gifts to all those present.

CAGS events continued over the Christmas holiday itself, with various members opening their houses to the group on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.

Mardi on the Grass

For several years now we have celebrated the end of summer with a garden party, with seasonal refreshments, games, and good fellowship.

We will be holding the event slightly earlier in 2008, on Sunday 10th August.

CAGS Play reading

CAGS’s contribution to LGBT History Month 2007, our play reading at the Warehouse Theatre on 5^th February, was a resounding success. Rex Batten, author of Rid England of this Plague, introduced the reading adapted from the incident which is the turning-point of the book, and the parts of “Tom” (the younger Rex) and the other characters were taken by CAGS members with a couple of other friends.

Rex answered questions from the floor, and Ian from Paradise Press (who publish the book) was on hand and sold a number of copies.

After the interval, a smaller cast read extracts from Beautiful Thing, bringing the story of gay life more nearly up to date.

For more about this, see our press release.

Re-enactment of same-sex union ceremonies

As part of the campaign to support the passing of the Civil Partnership Act, CAGS members and others took part in re-enactments of the ceremonies used by the church in previous centuries to bless the union of two people of the same sex as "sworn brothers" — very much the equivalent of the proposals then going through Parliament. See www.samesexunions.org.uk for more details.

Bonfire Party

It was good to see so many CAGS members (and visitors and members of other groups) at the Bonfire Parties held over several years in Ross's garden.

We were very lucky with the weather, and the bonfire blazed away brightly. Roger served home made soup under the Treehouse (as illustrated), we watched Janet and Reg set off the fireworks in the rose garden, then we moved on to the Gazebo where there were baked potatoes, bean sauce, and some of Stanley's famous coleslaw. Drinks were on the patio, and finally we all moved indoors for the dessert provided by Keith. Many thanks to all who contributed.

Croydon - Celebrating Diversity

CAGS took part, together with Croydon Lesbian and Gay Forum, Croydon Friend, and Palace Pinks, in Croydon Council's "Celebrating Diversity" day. The gay stall in the Braithwaite Hall featured a good display of leaflets and other information, and the CAGS banner was hung from the balcony for maximum impact.

The entertainments during the day were given by various ethnic groups and a disabled group, and the hall seemed to be filled almost entirely by the friends and relatives of the performers. We can't claim that many of the general public dropped by - but at least we were there, and managed to give out a few leaflets, and perhaps made the point that gay people are part of the cultural diversity of the borough. And it was good to meet old and new friends from the other gay organisations.

Fuller details of events like these appear in the CAGS Newsletter, circulated once a month to all members.