A pink Christmas for Marie Curie

Cilla
Cilla
Last year,
Pinkies carolling at Victoria Station in 2009
Photo credit: Hsien
on 10 December 2009, a group of festively-minded Pinkies serenaded the commuters at Victoria station and managed to raise just under £1,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. We’re doing it again this year from 6 pm in Victoria station on Tuesday 14 December and, in a first for us, from 5 pm in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday 22 December and urge everyone to come join in the fun.
Marie Curie works with terminally ill cancer patients, championing new ways of helping them to have compassionate and appropriate end-of-life care. The Pinkies have been doing Christmas carolling for Marie Curie for the last three years and this year we’re coming out again in support.
We had a great time showing our holiday spirit in the station last year. Although it was pretty cold in there, moving around, singing and wearing tinsel and Santa hats warmed us all up. Oh and we got these super duper “permission to ply your musical trade” ID badges for the day. We did a combination of Christmas carols (with some guitar accompaniment) and part of our a capella repertoire, including our awarding-winning rendition of Now is the Month of Maying. Okay, it was perhaps not a traditional Christmas offering, by hey, why not? We got a prize for it! We ended with the Pinkie traditional reward of a nice drink in the pub, a good time was had by audience and singers alike, and this year we can sing it again, all for a worthy cause. Do join us!

It gets better: behind the scenes

Hsien, multimedia director
Hsien

Last month we filmed our contribution to the It Gets Better Project. What struck me was the enthusiasm with which the Pinkies supported the making of this video. Within a week of the original YouTube upload by Dan Savage and his husband going viral on Facebook, we knew we had to take part, and a fortnight later, there we were in the break between rehearsals speaking into the camera. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, because we all have our own stories of coming out, but what I did find unexpected was the heartfelt honesty with which the Pink Singers spoke about their own lives. We are all good friends in the choir, yet there are some things which just don’t come up in conversation, because they are perhaps too personal. So it was a privilege indeed to hear what our members wanted to share with those kids who are being bullied for being different, who have no-one to turn to, and who think their own lives are uniquely dark: you are not alone and things do get better.
Have a look at some of the photos taken behind the scenes, and do check out our video, as well as the hundreds of other videos on the It Gets Better Project website. We are the Pink Singers and we’re here to say, “It gets better!”

We stand against hate crime

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXrWH_SGvDg
It was 23 October 2010. The sun shone earlier in the afternoon when the three larger London LGBT choirs – Diversity choir, London Gay Men’s Chorus and the Pink Singers, gathered to rehearse on the steps of Trafalgar Square. A sudden rain shower as the sun was setting, however, dropped the temperatures to near freezing, but it did not deter us. We were singing for a good cause: to say “no” to hate crime, and tell the victims of hate crime that they are not alone. Here are some of the sights and sounds of the evening.
Photos follow after the break. Continue reading “We stand against hate crime”

Various Voices 2014 – now in Dublin!

Jerome
Jerome

VV Dublin 2014 logo
The World Cup may well be in Rio that year but the real heat will be elsewhere… It is with great pleasure that we can now confirm that the next Various Voices festival will take place in Dublin in 2014, hosted by our friends Glória LGBT choir.

Various Voices is a very important event, allowing gay and lesbian choirs from all over Europe and the world to meet and sing together, promote both musical and queer culture, and have a good time! The Pink Singers have taken part in every single ‘VV’, and this one will be a wonderful occasion to reinforce the ties with our fellow islanders and all our friends from Legato, the association of European gay and lesbian choirs and the organization behind Various Voices.

We expect the mysteries and legends of the emerald isle to meet our fabulous pinkie magic for that clash of colours and blend of sound and smiles we love! Continue reading “Various Voices 2014 – now in Dublin!”

Why I will be at the London Vigil Against Hate Crime

Jo
Jo

I’ve lived a fairly sheltered life as a lesbian. No overt homophobia, I wasn’t bullied at school but then I didn’t know about gays and lesbians until I was in my 20’s and at drama school and it wasn’t until a little later that I realised that lesbianism explained my feelings towards women and not towards men. I never felt there was something wrong with me and have always lived my life as an “out” lesbian and been accepted as such by colleagues and family. Clearly this is not the case with many of my friends and last year I was brought face to face with a monstrous hate crime when various news reports told us of the death of Ian Baynham who was attacked in Trafalgar Square whilst out celebrating.
Even if I’d not been a member of the Pink Singers I’d have attended the vigil that night but being able to be an active participant gave me a huge sense of community and a feeling that I was helping to make a stand to say enough is enough. Singers came from many of the lesbian and gay communities around the country, not just London and we all joined together with one voice to sing for Ian and all our brothers and sisters who have experienced hatred and persecution around the world. Continue reading “Why I will be at the London Vigil Against Hate Crime”