“I feel like I’ve lived a hundred lives. With so much more to live!”

My guest for this episode of ‘Pause. And Rewind…’ has covered A LOT of ground in her career in a multitude of roles across various industries. Yet I know - and love - her as a champion of inclusion & community and the Co-Founder of Bērytī, a Lebanese restaurant in Barcelona that not only celebrates Lebanese culture but also Queer Arabs in the city, providing a safe space for community, great food & fun!

Cindy Nehme (she/her) was born in 1985 during the civil war in Lebanon. Yet despite, and because of this, she recalls a happy childhood & explains how her mother shielded her from the fear & pain going on around them. When Lebanon was under attack last year, she’d have video conversations with her parents who were in complete blackout with air strikes going on in the background. “We’ve been through this before,” they’d say to her. She has the utmost respect for their faith & their resilience.

Little Cindy, at 6 years old, would go out early in the morning & return in the evening after a full day of doing the rounds visiting her neighbours. Her love of community shone through back then & she’s brought that Lebanese spirit to Barcelona with her. During COVID-19, Cindy & her team at Bērytī rallied around to support their elderly neighbours with collecting shopping & medication, helping to keep them safe.

As a teenager, Cindy describes herself as a bit of a troublemaker & still, even this with the aim of protecting those around her in many cases. Realising her queerness came later for Cindy & she shares how the first bit of representation she saw of two women kissing on TV was the faux lesbian band t.a.T.u with the video to their 00’ tune ‘All The Things She Said’. Their album being something we both confess to still listening to occasionally!

We explore Cindy’s early career, including some of the failures that have shaped her the most, through to her journey to establishing the restaurant in Barcelona with her Co-Founder & friend, Pamela - who describes as ‘her parachute’ with Cindy being ‘the jumper’. With the support of an ‘army of women’, they wanted to create a home from home. They never originally set out to create such a cultural hub that celebrates their love of Arabic language, music & queerness but an organic shift led to where it is now. “We dream, love & feel in Arabic” she beautifully shares when talking about why it’s so important to provide the space that centres its roots.

What started with knocking on doors with invitations through to now, Bērytī has been embraced by its local community in Barcelona & it’s beautiful to hear. Seriously, if you’re in Barcelona, you gotta pop in to see Cindy & the team for some delicious food & a great atmosphere! We also dive into the importance of humour, gratitude & paying it forward - all on strong display throughout. Enjoy!

As always, some of the topics we cover are challenging so please take care of yourself whilst listening.

“I didn’t go home for a week. This is my tribe. This is where I’m supposed to be.”

This was my guest’s recount of the moment she met other LGBTQ+ people like her for the first time & the joy on her faces as she tells this story of pure affirmation. It’s a feeling I remember well, as would many queer people I’m sure.

Angel Maxine (she/her) is a prominent Ghanaian trans artist, musician, and activist currently based in Berlin where she recently relocated and she shares how she is taking her time to adjust & integrate into a whole new world trying to live as happily & peacefully as she can. Though she misses her home country & her community, she feels much safer without the fear & risk of attack. This is due to the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric & attempts to introduce a new bill into Ghana’s Parliament criminalising same sex relationships, identifying as LGBTQ+ & even supporting LGBTQ+ rights.

As Ghana’s first openly trans musician, Angel Maxine uses music and artistic expression as advocacy tools to amplify LGBTQ+ rights and create awareness about the challenges faced by marginalized communities, especially trans women. All of which is crucial right now as the queer community around the world rallies together to campaign, protest & essentially #KillTheBill.

I’ve been following Angel Maxine’s incredible work on social media for over 3 years so I was delighted when she said yes to appearing as a guest on ‘Pause. And Rewind… to find out more about her origin story.

‘Little Angel Maxine’ grew up in a religious home surrounded by love & acceptance for who she was by her family & her church. And though it was outside the home where she experienced challenges due to being different & effeminate, she always felt she had the protection of her parents along with their encouragement & support. When talking about how she felt about the world growing up, she would simply ask herself “why don’t these people see me as who I am?” From an early age, it is something she knew she would have to deal with for the rest of her life.

We explore her love of cooking & going on to become a chef - bringing her passion and love of singing & dancing to her work - as well as discovering her love of music, joining a band & the life-defining moment on stage that shaped the artist & activist we see today.

Angel Maxine radiates grace, gratitude & warmth, online & throughout our conversation. She explains how grateful she is for her journey & everyone who has helped her one way or the other & encourages all to be themselves & keep smiling: “Your smiles can change the hearts of the wicked”. But through her lyrics, her message around acceptance is bold & unwavering. In one of her new songs ‘Nicely Nice’ from her upcoming album, she warns ‘be nice to me, or I will fight you”.

She beams with excitement discussing her album, out in March, her freedom in Berlin & her community. We touch on the impact of colonialism on Ghana as well as its history of recognising different gender identities, her determination to provide hope & inspiration and how being your authentic self is crucial to thrive. It’s a wonderful conversation - enjoy!

Go check out Angel Maxine’s music, support her work & explore ways in which you can show up for & support the LGBTQ+ community in Ghana. Visit LGBTQ+ Rights Ghana for more info.

“I’m happy to fail. I’m terrified by the idea that I wouldn’t have given something an enthusiastic go.”

Joseph Galliano-Doig MBE (he/him) has carved his legacy & place in the LGBTQ+ history books as the man who founded Queer Britain, the nation’s first LGBTQ+ museum. And that statement above speaks to the person he is & his achievements.

That all sounds quite formal. I bloody love Joe! From jumping on board as a volunteer for Queer Britain in the early days of fundraising & working with him on virtual events during Covid, I’ve loved seeing his vision unfold as the museum opened. Witnessing him recognised for his commitment & seeing him shine - with an honorary degree & later an MBE. Of course, it’s also been an absolute pleasure getting to know him & forging a friendship.

And right now is an exciting time for Joe as he’s recently stepped down as Director of Queer Britain, a move that is packed with mixed feelings that was always part of the plan, to see what’s next as he looks forward to “inventing my future”.

Joe shares a glorious anecdote about ‘little Joe’ running towards the sea that paints the picture perfectly for his approach to life, and the projects he’s undertaken. He discusses his early family life, the influence of his big brother & the impact of trauma. Describing his younger self as an ‘anxious optimist’ - which he still identifies with today, Joe was incredibly well-behaved. He recalls his earliest crush & a pivotal moment in school in which he felt seen.

As an adult experiencing a challenging time & with the help of therapy, Joe reflects on a specific ‘line in the sand’ realisation of ‘this is where it stops’. It was here when it actually all began & Joe’s career flourished as a writer & journalist that led to him becoming editor of Gay Times, as well as a publishing books & later, setting up Queer Britain.

“Life is much more interesting lived as a verb than a noun”. We can see that Joe clearly embraces this. We chat about his love of music, playing the guitar & poetry, the importance of seeing & uplifting others and his life with his wonderful partner, Mark. This was such a fun, insightful conversation to have so enjoy!

We do cover some challenging topics so please take care of yourself whilst listening.