This shows two reviews, from The Stage and The Scotsman of Siren’s Play ‘Mama’s Gone A’Hunting”. The Stage review was completed at The Marlborough in Brighton and the Scotsman at University Chaplaincy Centre in Edinburgh. The Stage reviewer queried the choice of the name Siren, saying it seems odd for a company ‘promoting the feminist cause’. Given that the origin of Siren in Greek mythology was a creature (part woman, part bird) who lured sailors to destruction by the sweetness of her song, the company felt that this was a very appropriate name for the company, which combined feminism and music to make their radical points!

This black and white photo shows Jane Boston, Jude Winter, Tash Fairbanks and Deb Trethewey checking the map before heading off somewhere for a performance. This photo was taken in front of Siren’s ancient touring van. On one tour, Siren went from venue to venue on the back of an AA van, due to constant breakdown problems with the vehicle.

Social and peer support group, Sister Act, produced a monthly newsletter in the 1990s and early 2000s for and by lesbians in Cambridge and East Anglia, and this is a scan of one edition. It was a lifeline for a circulation list of 150-200 women of all ages, helping to create a genuine community for closeted gay women and out-and-proud dykes alike, at a time when their lives and concerns were much debated in parliament and the media. I was editor for a while, and lived from one women's disco to the next, meeting partners and friends who would remain in my life for decades. Nowadays I'm experiencing deja vu having to navigate the pros and cons of coming out all over again and finding a new community as a trans man, now living near Brighton.

Amy and Rosana are sisters, born 22 months apart in the mid-1980s. Amy works in the sex industry, while Rosana is a lesbian with a shaved head. Both are feminists. The show was presented on Wednesday 7 May and Thursday 8 May at 7.30pm.

SM Pride takes place on 14 September 1996 and is Europe’s largest SM event. It is a celebration of our rights to fantasy and fun! Take your filthy laws off our bodies! It includes Party in the Streets, which assembles at 12.00 p.m. at Whitehall Place, London SW1, followed by Dungeon in the Sky at ULU, Malet Street, WC1, from 2.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m. It also includes the Spanner Ball, from 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. at "Arches", Southwark Street, SE1, produced by Torture Garden. It is a benefit for Spanner Rights, fighting for SM rights.

Image set depicting the South East Gay Students Protest in London (1979).

Two reviews about the play ‘Curfew’ when it opened at the Oval House Theatre, London. The review at the top of the image is from 'Spare Rib', published in March 1982. It features a photo of Jane Boston as Calamity Jane. The review at the bottom of the photo is from 'The Stage', published in February 1982.

Digital reproduction of the cover of Spare Rib, and the review of Siren’s show ‘From the Divine’. The reviewer, Liz Horsfield, writes that Lily is far more interested in Ruby [or}“is it me being a lesbian that makes me think so?” No matter how ‘out’ Siren was as a company, it perhaps wasn’t always obvious to the audience or reviewers.

The play opened at the Drill Hall in London for 2 weeks in 1985 and was sold out every night. It returned to the Drill Hall in January 1986,. Manny describes Pulp as "a feminist play par excellence, brilliantly acted, refreshing, hilariously entertaining".

Flyer for Steamy!, a women-only all-night cruising event held in the basement of the Amsterdam on Marine Parade, formerly home to a sauna. Possibly the first event of its kind in the UK, Steamy! ran every four to six weeks from October 2005 to August 2007. This event featured six free massages, offered on a first come, first served basis, and a mystery Steamy! activity.

Flyer for Steamy!, a women-only all-night cruising event held in the basement of the Amsterdam on Marine Parade, formerly home to a sauna. Possibly the first event of its kind in the UK, Steamy! ran every four to six weeks from October 2005 to August 2007. This flyer is for the final Steamy!, a Pride event featuring a mystery Steamy! activity.

Flyer for Brighton's sexy sauna all-nighter - women only. The Amsterdam, 11-12 Marine Parade, Brighton. Friday 28th October 2005. £10 advance or £12 on the night.

Flyer advertising women's only hot and sexy sauna club all nighter Steamy! which ran from October 2005- August 2007. Held at The Amsterdam, 11-12 Marine Parade, Brighton from 10pm-6am on Friday 2nd February 2007. Facilities included sauna and steam rooms, with activities ranging from body painting to cruising.

Flyer for Steamy!, a women-only all-night cruising event held in the basement of the Amsterdam on Marine Parade, formerly home to a sauna. Possibly the first event of its kind in the UK, Steamy! ran every four to six weeks from October 2005 to August 2007. This event featured three free massages, offered on a first come, first served basis, and an icebreaker activity, such as body painting, followed by cruising.

I met Stephen in a Kemp Town gym, and we became better acquainted in the jacuzzi. His partner was Omar, known to his friends as O. They became good friends of mine, and their large flat on Preston Park was always open to me and other friends. They both had a good eye for interior design and enjoyed a comfortable life. Stephen and I used to go swimming regularly at the Eastbourne leisure centre, stopping off at my house near Lewes on the way back. Somehow, I lost track of Stephen and O for a couple of years, but we reforged our friendships, stronger than ever, after we all were living with HIV. They separated at the start of the 1990’s, and Stephen died from Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP) in Ward 6 of Hove General Hospital in 1994.