In an age of "lesbian chic", Britain's longest surviving lesbian organization continues to adapt itself to provide all kinds of gay women with the special welcome they are looking for. Now the BBC offer us Tipping the Velvet and If These Walls Could Talk not to mention Channel 4 and 5 screening Lesbian Love Stories and, believe it or not, The Truth About Lesbian Sex, it is hard to believe that there can possibly be any secrets left about women who prefer women, let alone any lesbians who still feel that they need to come out among like-minded friends.

London is certainly one of the gayest cities in the world with gay information readily available in publications such as Time Out and Hot Tickets. Other cities like Birmingham and Manchester are well qualified to give London a run for its money with their gay friendly attitudes. Yet still this chic, fun culture with numerous women only spaces, bars and clubs, that cater for every taste and age, can still seem threatening and bewildering for newly identified gay women.

And that is where Kenric - for over 40 years now - continues to do well at what it knows best - that is bringing women together in a safe and comfortable way. Kenric was established in 1965 and has always been the only lesbian organization dedicated to bringing women together socially on a nationwide basis. Let us not forget that in 1964 male homosexuality was still illegal but, thanks to Queen Victoria, that was not the case for lesbians.

Though Kenric originated in London, with its name being a corruption of "Kensington" and "Richmond", it soon spread throughout the country providing a much-needed broad-based social organization for lesbians of all ages, from all walks of life. To this day it still uses a network of local volunteers who organise a variety of events from discos to discussions. Members are kept informed and in touch via the magazine they receive by mail each month. This is a lifeline for numerous women many of whom have felt at one time or another that they were the only lesbians on the planet. The magazine also enables members to access information from gay help-lines.

Kenric's strength is in its diversity. No other lesbian organization offers so much so often and on so big a scale. Each year the organization hosts a Christmas Ball in London and its annual extravaganza in Eastbourne which last year saw almost a thousand women dancing the night away at the end of the Women's Tennis Tournament. Throughout the year and the country there are also numerous discos and sporting activities ranging from golf to rounders. Kenric can offer lesbian women the opportunity to make friends with other women who share common interests. The free contact ads are also a way to meet "that special person". With all this on tap no lesbian need ever be lonely or ignorant again.

In its long history Kenric has been responsible for countless introductions. Many of those women now volunteer their services and endless energy to ensure the Kenric continues to be a friendly and welcoming organization. Kenric need never explain or excuse its longevity - it will always be needed.

If you want to see what Kenric has to offer, you will have to read the magazine and for that - because confidentiality is guaranteed - you will have to become a member. 

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"A Potted History of Kenric - 1965 to 2004"

Talk to the 2004 Kenric AGM
"Only good girls keep diaries, bad girls don't have time." Tallulah Bankhead

 Kenric has been keeping our diaries busy now for almost 40 years, so I felt that it would be nice to talk about Kenric at the beginning of its 40th year's celebrations. Kenric is the longest established lesbian organisation in the UK. Despite climate changes in attitudes to lesbianism, its essential character and make-up have remained the same. Kenric is its members. It has remained both non-political and non-feminist.

When it began in November 1965 with its core five members from Kensington and Richmond (hence the name) the projected number of members was 300, but that had nearly doubled some five years later. The 60s saw medical research into the causes of lesbianism. Palm prints, pelvic sizes and body build were provided by some members only to be told that they were the products of broken homes, bad relationships and prone to neuroses. However, we were usually of above average ability and intelligence, which no doubt accounts for our advert in Interim, the magazine of Mensa.

By 1975, numbers had fallen back to 300 but with 100 letters in response to a Woman's Own advert in 1977, Kenric sought to avoid adverse publicity by insisting that 18 to 21 year-olds had the written consent of their doctor, parent or guardian before joining. The same went for members with husbands!

“Should lesbians have sex without love?” was the subject of one talk given. Perhaps the shilling-a-time clairvoyance talks in Kentish Town could have provided the answer. Members were a kind and racy lot in the 70s. Whilst rejecting the Euston Tavern for a Christmas Party because the tables were secured to the floor, another Christmas Party urged members to bring a tin of cat food each for the strays at the Wood Green Animal Centre!

With the demise of the Gateways in 1985, there was an 85% increase in Kenric social activities that year. In 1986 alone, 191 functions out of 230 were staged in London, many in members' houses. A new Constitution, with each Management Committee member carrying out a specific role, a concerted publicity drive, and members as far afield as the USA, Singapore, Holland and France, were all notable features of 1980s Kenric.

VAT, the protection of and addition to Kenric's funds dominated the 90s. A Kenric Club for its members was based in the popular Westmoreland Arms with its cosy cellar bar. Now, in 2004, the Kenric Club in Victoria, the monthly Supper Club and the Reading Group and many others have all become welcomed fixtures in the Kenric event calendar. 

"Crooked, twisted freaks of nature.... gibbering, writhing sex-sodden shadows of their former selves..." - such vitriolic words written in 1931 by G Sheila Donisthorpe contrasted sharply with those of Mary Stopes, that "...surely women can only play with each other".

Thankfully, Kenric over the years has provided much more of the latter than the former