Breaking shells

A moving and challenging coming-of-age story, ‘Breaking Shells’ deals with trials of both gay and lesbian romances in the 1950s and 60s. It addresses the complications and traumas of hidden sexualities, and also the very real dangers of love between a young man from a traditional white British family and one from a traditional Asian family. Based on Judson’s own experiences, the author says he is interested in how ‘people are constrained by social environments without realising it, and how they can escape them’. The author had no idea a gay community existed in his youth, and when he discovered it and embraced it, he became politically active, challenging discriminatory behaviour within Cambridge City Council. Judson has led a fascinating, unusual and radical life; the first elected chair of the Gay Outdoor Club, leading treks in Nepal, Malawi and southern Russia. He competed in sport climbing at the Gay Games in New York and Amsterdam, and continues to be a very active figure in the caving world.