Tina Curtis

Tina was born in 1976, a year after her parents moved to Milton Keynes. She is known as ‘Hench’, a nickname from Roller Derby, which she played for 10 years. She identifies as a lesbian, coming out as gay aged 18; she recalls how she became certain of being gay, and the reactions of family and friends.. She lives happily with her wife in Spencer Street New Bradwell, and really enjoys the special community feel there. Tina works as a repair engineer in electronics and has recently moved into management She compares MK very positively against London, where she feels claustrophobic; in MK there is so much green space, where she and her wife enjoy walks. Tina has really noticed the increase in the number of tall buildings in MK over the years, remembering that MK was planned to have no building taller than the tallest tree.

Tina talks about entertainment in MK at various stages in her life, commenting that in the 1990’s events for gay people were rather secretive; it was difficult to find support too. Since Pink Punters opened, which welcomes straight and LGBTQ+ alike, things have greatly improved, and social media helps a great deal. In her opinion however, there is still a need for safe spaces for gay people, despite the much greater acceptance. Nowadays, Tina enjoys mainly time with friends or visits to pubs for meals. Tina discusses Prides and their importance to the community; she has attended MK Pride several times. In MK Museum, Tina believes that it’s really important to document the story of the growth of MK: ‘We’re here and we’re proud. And we’re from Milton Keynes. And there’s a lot of history here’. She believes that MK’s LGBTQ+ community should be represented with honesty. She says: ‘it needs to be documented… you can live your genuine life here’. Her special memories of MK are the release of the Red Balloons (her school took part) and MK getting city status.