To celebrate National Storytelling Week we are sharing stories from our incredible friends, giving an insight into people’s different experiences of being #OutTogether and exploring the highs and lows of coming out, across different ages and generations.
Tim’s story
I’m Tim, I’m 72 and I live in North Leeds with Malcolm, my partner of 48 years. When I came out I was 22 and still living at home on Merseyside. I had very understanding and incredibly supportive parents, who encouraged me to introduce them to most of the guys I dated. When Malcolm and I met in 1974 he immediately was made one of the family, and accepted by my close friends. I was very lucky and privileged not to have had a really tough time.
But Loneliness can affect anyone at any stage of their lives. When in 1975 I left home to set up home with Malcolm in the quiet village where we still live, I had very few social connections here. So to begin with I had no-one to confide in. But gradually I got to know a group of older guys who would meet regularly at the White Hart in Poole in Wharfedale, an LGBT-friendly pub. They were so welcoming and I’ve never forgotten how much they helped me adjust in those early years. Of course, many of them grew older, lost their partners or needed help with day to living. So it was our turn to support them.
Now we are getting older and it’s likely one of us will be left behind on his own. Im so proud of the younger generations today who are Out together helping build a wonderfully self-supporting inter-generational community. They are doing it because one day it might be them, and we are very grateful.
So I really hope that all our friends and contacts, of whatever age and background, will be encouraged to share their stories and experiences and why being OutTogether matters to them. It’s probably easier for those of us who have been lucky and have the confidence to go public like this, but like the people who fought for equality decades ago, we are making a start hoping others might follow.