Charlie remembers how AIDS engendered support, sometimes from the most surprising directions, despite the hostility of others.

In this extract, Charlie looks back on Pride's early years and at the havoc AIDS wrought in the 1980s.

The epidemic was really starting to bite when Charlie moved to the Labour Party from CHE - the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. Along with others determined to find a defensive response, he was surprised at the support received from lesbians, women in general and even the Thatcher government of the time.

Charlie recalls how testing for HIV became an issue, particularly when seeking mortgages and insurance; he and his partner, Donald, also submitted to testing in order to re-mortgage their home.

Looking back on happier times, Charlie remembers Pride events in London from 1975 onwards. Often held in November, early Prides were just marches - with a booze-up afterwards. Returning home from one event, the mini-bus he and his friends hired broke down, so, dressed in rather revealing shorts and a bit the worse for wear with drink, they joined another coach carrying a group of Roman Catholic ladies returning to St Teresa's Church in Filton.

Charlie reflects on how Pride events today have changed. The camaraderie of earlier decades has gone, and there is little sense that one's fellow marchers shared similar experiences to oneself; of discrimination, losing jobs and family rejections. The modern events, Charles says, are just like rock concerts and geared to the young, who now make up most participants and older gays feel squeezed out.

On reflection, Charlie feels that coming out in 2002, is much easier than it ever was in the past, because there are now so many ways for gay people to contact and meet one another. Charlie's small part in that change was to be honest, out and visible as a gay man, especially at work, so that everyone could approach him.

Charlie was born in the Scottish Borders in about 1950, to parents who were quite liberal in their thinking.

Charlie went to university in Edinburgh, where he shared a flat in his second year with Ian, who was an activist for gay rights in Scotland. At the time, homosexual activity between consenting adults was still illegal since the 1967 Act only applied in England and Wales.

Charlie has remained a lifelong politically active campaigner joining the Campaign for Homosexual Equality and was also involved in raising funds for the defence of Gay News during the blasphemy libel case brought about by Mary Whitehouse.

Charlie moved to Bristol in 1975 and worked in the city's social services for twenty-five years, concentrating on HIV and AIDS activism from the mid-80s. He met his partner, Donald, in Bristol and they maintain an open relationship. He has also fathered a son, with a lesbian friend.