The friends of transgender pioneer April Ashley are to celebrate her “spectacular” legacy in her home city.

Liverpool-born Ashley, who died in 2021, was one of the first people to undergo surgery and went on to become a famous model, restaurateur and actress.

Her personal papers document everything from dinners with David Hockney to correspondence with Elizabeth Taylor.

Her friends Lou Muddle and Bev Ayre said a new archive would show who she really was and “not just the myth”.

The pair, who are both from Liverpool, were tasked by Ashley to sort through her belongings after discovering she “kept absolutely everything”.

Ms Ayre said Ashley had been “truly spectacular” and was “family to us”, though she admits that closeness came with more than a touch of stardust. More

Ayomide Oluyemi and Panagiotis Pentaris have finished the production of the pilot episode of the very new LGBT+ Podcast that has launched on transistor.fm and is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podcast Addict, Player FM, and Deezer, and soon on Apple podcasts as well.

This podcast show focuses on matters pertinent to LGBT+ Culture. The show hosts guests who share their lived experience and through conversations help us understand further issues that this population is facing or has faced, raising thus awareness and providing a creative educational platform.

The first episode hosts Peter McGraith, a long-standing activist of LGBT+ rights in the UK, and half of the very first same-sex couple to get married in England once it was legalised, in 2014. Peter is having a conversation with us about Pride and Pride month, its meaning, significance and future. This is to celebrate Pride Month and increase inclusivity.

We hope you all enjoy and share with colleagues in and outside of the University. It seems that before we even announced its release, the episode has been accessed generously and internationally!

Access the episode here Spill the Tea (transistor.fm)

(https://spill-the-tea.transistor.fm)