COMING OUT:1988   

 

Lidbury had counselling with Jane Sloan, Cornwall Child Protection Team Child Abuse Consultant. He came to terms with his own childhood sexual abuse of when he Lidbury was a 6-10yr old child, his sexuality & came ‘OUT’ as a gay man.

 

As part of his way of coming to terms Lidbury drew pictures.  Therapy drawings Lidbury completed as part of his counselling in 1988 in reference to when he had been raped & sexually abused as a 6-10yr old child

 

Lidbury counselling drawing 1988

 

Lidbury counselling drawing 1988   

 

NB: These 1988 therapy counselling drawings by Lidbury of when he was abused as a child were later misrepresented & used by police against Lidbury as a gay man in 2006 in a civil proceeding by Acting Chief Constable Nigel Arnold Devon & Cornwall police.

 

In 1989 How to 'come out' as a gay man was a problem in Cornwall.  Lidbury rang the only listed help for gay people in Cornwall,..... the newly formed Cornwall Lesbian Line . 

 

NB:  Cornwall Lesbian Line ran for 20yrs staffed by volunteers (Kate) & funded almost entirely from within the Cornwall women's community.

 

Lidbury placed an advert in the local Packet Newspapers classifieds ads & received forty four responses. As a result Lidbury went to his first gay club.  The studio club, Bread Street Penzance, owned by Graham, & staffed by Monty, John & Greta.

 

NB: The studio club is still in Penzance, but no longer a gay venue.

 

Nov 1989: In a matter of weeks shortly after coming out as a gay man in 1989 Lidbury met ‘Andy Smith’ at the Op's Room Portreath gay night.  Andrew was to become Lidbury’s life partner for the next seven years up until death of Andy age 29yrs as a result of HIV/AIDS in 1996.

 

1990 ‘On the Cliffs’ Painting by Lidbury of himself & Andy as teddy bears enjoying the cliffs of the Cornish coastline. 

 

Photo: Lidbury & his partner Andy.

 

Watercolour painting of Andy nude by Lidbury:-

 

Andy was the 1st of a number of male model muses over the years for Lidbury’s male nude paintings & sculptures

 

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