The Log Books

In 1988 the British government passed explicitly anti-gay legislation. Through log book entries from Switchboard, Tash and Adam return to the scene: lawmakers spaffing about what constitutes a family, gay teachers zipping up and living in fear, and bewildered young people with seemingly nowhere to turn to for advice. This episode is filled with untold stories about Section 28 of the Local Governme...

Lipstick on the windscreen to tackle homophobia — just one of the stories in this latest episode from 1983 to 1991. Tash and Adam focus on the hostility in the air during this period, from people using HIV/AIDS as a reason for their prejudice to tensions within Catholic families. We conclude by speaking to Hafsa Qureshi about her experience as a bisexual Muslim woman today. Content warning: attack...

Every time anything to do with LGBTQ+ life was mentioned on TV or in the newspaper in the 80s, Switchboard volunteers took extra calls. In this episode, Tash and Adam speak to the people behind TV programmes and newspaper columns, and hear about the feverish atmosphere that led to anti-gay legislation in 1988. The section on today has two very special guests: our very own Shivani Dave, and Simon M...

Some light and laughter in our fourth episode of this season! Tash and Adam hear memories of joy and strength from 1983 to 1991, through the log books at Switchboard and stories from people who remember those years. We also feature the Lesbian Strength Marches, Switchboard’s one-millionth call and an interview with Thigh High, the band who centre their music on queer joy.  Transcript here. Th...

Bottling attacks and cruel newspaper editorials — this is the story of how the HIV/AIDS crisis hit the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s. Through Switchboard’s unique log book entries, Tash and Adam also uncover the story of a very special volunteer who handled the hardest calls you can imagine. This episode concludes the three-part set of episodes on HIV/AIDS in Season Two, before we move on to other s...

Tash and Adam continue exploring the HIV/AIDS crisis through the calls made to Switchboard from 1983 to 1991, in this second of three episodes on the subject. This episode contains memories of Switchboard volunteer Mark Ashton, more from George, and further log book entries from the anonymous volunteer looking for others with an HIV diagnosis. We also have untold stories about the UK government’s...

This is the story of the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic as it has never been told before: through the voices and notes of the people who took phone calls made to an LGBTQ+ helpline. From 1983 to 1991, Switchboard volunteers supported people living with HIV, their loved ones, and people scared of it. In the first of three special episodes that start Season Two of The Log Books, Tash and Adam...

The award-winning podcast The Log Books returns for Season Two!  Our brand-new set of episodes cover 1983 to 1991, continuing where Season One left off in 1982. As always, our re-telling of Britain’s history is led by the handwritten notes made by volunteers at Switchboard - the LGBT+ helpline. In this short episode, hosts Tash and Adam return to the Switchboard log books by visiting two loca...

Season 2 of The Log Books is coming soon... Our unique exploration of the UK’s queer history through the pages of Switchboard’s log books will be strong, reflective and antiviral! If you’d like to support our work in bringing season 2 to life, you can contribute financially at supporter.acast.com/thelogbooks . In this preview episode, Tash, Adam and Shivani welcome you into their production proces...

This strange moment in history is bringing feelings of isolation and loneliness to so many of us. The coronavirus lockdown has even slowed the production of season 2 of The Log Books, as Tash and Adam are stuck at home. So let’s talk about it. We’ve based this special lockdown episode on untold stories from calls to Switchboard from the 70s and 80s, as usual. But the episode is also built around A...

We’ve taken The Log Books out of the archive for LGBT History Month! We recorded this special episode in front of an audience at an event in London on February 5th 2020. You’ll hear fresh voices and familiar ones, including Tash and Adam. As ever, we are led by the handwritten notes made by volunteers in Switchboard’s log books from 1974 to 1982.  The event was held at the Finsbury Library an...

Hello listeners, thank you for joining us through the laughter and tears of queer life in Britain from 1974 to 1982. In this final episode of our first season, Adam and Tash reflect on the stories we’ve all heard. We love hearing your reactions to the stories we’re telling too. Please keep them coming! Transcript here. The handwritten notes in Switchboard’s log books continue through the difficult...

The early log books open up a world before HIV, showing what it was like for LGBTQ+ people needing healthcare between discos in the 70s. A doctor and a patient are among those who tell Tash and Adam what it was like. Some of the same infections are on the rise again today, as explained by Dr Tristan Barber, a consultant in HIV and sexual health. Content warning: stories about transitioning and bei...

People often make a phone call because they are lonely and isolated, as the log books at Switchboard show. Exploring this issue, Tash and Adam hear from Tony Whitehead and others who took such calls in the dead of night. Chryssy Hunter explains about the issue of loneliness among our LGBTQ+ elders today. Content warning: stories about racism, including slurs, and suicide. Transcript here. The Log...

In the 70s, there was no such thing as an “LGBTQ+ community”. The log books reveal how identities, labels and definitions have always been in flux among those with minority sexual and gender identities. Former Switchboard volunteer Diana James is among the contributors who explains all this to Tash and Adam. Transgender and non-binary activists Owl and Fox Fisher guide us through their thoughts on...

The 70s was a hotbed of activism, from lesbians fighting for child custody to gay men demanding equal laws for the age of sexual consent. Tracking the movement through the log books, Tash and Adam hear from activists on the frontline, including Lisa Power and Ted Brown. Meanwhile, young activists in a resurgent Gay Liberation Front discuss the actions they plan for 2020... Content warning: stories...

The log books are full of stories about raids on parties and arrests made in public toilets, as the police sought to stop men having sex with men in the 70s and 80s. Tash and Adam hear from the people who suffered through unfair laws and police persecution, a lawyer who defended them, and a retired police officer with regrets. Contributors include Terry Stewart, who is still seeking a pardon for h...

A quick glimpse into Switchboard’s log books from the late 70s might make you think that every caller wanted to know about sex. Tash and Adam hear from former volunteers such as Femi Otitoju on advising callers about how to do it, where to cruise, and importing sex toys. Contemporary poems from Michelle Mangal, Annie Hayter and Richard Scott put sex lives into modern words. Content warning: sexual...

Pubs and clubs have brought LGBTQ+ people together for many years—to chat, plot, dance, and hook-up. Tash and Adam listen to stories from nights out in the 70s/80s, from the log books and new interviews. They hear how Elaine and Lyn’s lives changed forever in a pub more than three decades ago, and from the queer babes behind Aphrodyki, one of London’s hottest nights today. The Log Books — stories...

Runaways and rough sleepers, communes and flatshares, crashpads and catastrophes... Stories about home feature heavily in Switchboard’s log books. Tash and Adam listen to LGBT+ people who searched for somewhere to live in the 1970s, and hear about the persistent problem of homelessness in 2019. Content warning: stories of suicide and racism, and historic terms. Transcript here. The Log Books...

What if we told you that we could glimpse into LGBT+ life from decades ago?  The Log Books are a unique set of documents tracking Britain’s queer history through the voices of people who have called for help. Since 1974 volunteers at Switchboard, the LGBT+ helpline, have written callers’ stories down in log books. Hosts Tash Walker and Adam Smith are re-opening these pages today, to hear worr...