Today I’m in conversation with one of our elders, Jeffrey Pickering. Born and raised in Barbados, he moved to the UK at 16 to pursue further education. He went on to become a nurse and cardiac physiologist and shared his life with his partner Michael for 36 years, until Michael’s passing in 2011. Jeffrey spoke to me about his reverence for his mother, his first love, his career, his assiduous pursuit of culture and education and the moment, in 1974, he first laid on eyes on Michael.

About Opening Doors London

A survey on the impact of Covid-19 on older LGBTQ people reveals some startling and heartbreaking insights: 37% of older LGBTQ people feel more lonely than usual and 27% say they hardly ever or never have someone to talk to. Opening Doors London is the leading charity offering support to our LGBTQ elders. They run a number of essential interventions to combat loneliness and isolation, and the charity needs our help to keep their vital services running. Please join me in letting our elders know that we care by setting up a regular donation to Opening Doors London. Please donate whatever you can. 

openingdoorslondon.org.uk

About Busy Being Black

Busy Being Black is the podcast exploring how we live in the fullness of our queer Black lives. Thank you to our partners: UK Black Pride, BlackOut UK, The Tenth, Schools Out and to you the listeners. Remember this, your support doesn’t cost any money: retweets, ratings, reviews and shares all help so please keep the support coming. 

Thank you to our newest funding partner, myGwork – the LGBT+ business community.

Thank you to Lazarus Lynch – a queer Black musician and culinary mastermind based in New York City – for the triumphant and ancestral Busy Being Black theme music. The Busy Being Black theme music was mixed and mastered by Joshua Pleeter.

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