pink weddings magazine » 11
Ten years on
Before moving to a rural village, the couple
had the ‘challenge’ of living in ‘an area where
youngsters were encouraged by their parents
and older adults to thrown stones at our house,
shout obscenities and commit other unsociable
acts,’ she says, adding, ‘We worked hard to help them
understand that we were human too.’
Be yourselves
They were anxious about moving to a new area, but found
their new neighbours to be far more welcoming and
intelligent in their approach. After years of building a
happy family life with their two ex-racer greyhounds, they
contribute to village life wherever they can and have made
many new friends, which ‘makes up for the awful past’.
While home life has improved beyond measure, the
couple still encounters discrimination, in employment and
on holidays in this country, but they are determined to
counter this by ‘pushing towards ensuring that it’s truly
OK to be ourselves’. The learning curve continues – when
Alison went to university as a mature student it enriched
both of their lives, she says: ‘I found acceptance of myself
as well as by those whom I admired.’
She would be the first to say that it hasn’t all been
plain sailing. ‘We’ve struggled in parts, but for every hard
part there have been 50 great parts,’ says Alison. ‘We’ve
both been through so much in life, fought hard and
overcome obstacles; so much so, that now the small
things are just that – small.
‘We are so grateful to be able to enjoy our lives in
relative freedom and want all those adults following in
our footsteps to experience the freedom to love the same
gender, opposite gender, or indeed to transition,’ she told
us. ‘There is no harm in this natural existence – after all,
love is common across the world. Let’s just continue to
make it safe to live in harmony.
‘We all stand on the shoulders of giants,’ she adds,
‘and in future we will be viewed as one of those giants too
just by being who we are.’
onwards and upwards!
Paul and Richard were thrilled to be able to marry in 2014,
shortly after the law change. They tied the knot in the
Council Chamber of Islington Town Hall, which has seats
in the round, ‘so all of our guests had a full view, no
matter where they were sitting – which was nerve
wracking for us as all eyes were on us!’
It was a close and intimate affair, with friends and
family doing the readings and nieces and nephew ‘in
adorable matching outfits’ as flower girls and pageboy.
The drinks reception took the form of a sightseeing tour of
London on an old Routemaster bus, followed by fun and
feasting in the Square Pig and Pen pub, complete with a
DJ and ‘rather fabulous’ drag queen, Miss Tiffaney Wells.
‘It felt truly humbling to marry in the first year it
became legal in England,’ they told us. ‘When we were
growing up, society was far less accepting and neither of
us ever imagined we would have this opportunity – civil
partnerships were a great step forward.
‘It’s great to think that children born todaywill never
knowa timewhen it wasn’t legal tomarry a same sex person.’
‘It’s great to think that
children born today will
never know a time when it
wasn’t legal to marry a
same sex person.’
Paul and rIchard
Photos by www.paoladepaolaweddings.com
