David Strain was a daily diary writer who barely missed an entry between 1920 and 1943. When he died of a stroke in 1969, these secret diaries - some 38 volumes - were deposited in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland along with his photo albums, newspaper scrapbooks and letters. The diaries were catalogued briefly without a hint of the rich and exceptionally rare material they contain, and so have remained virtually unknown to the world. However, now some 600,000 words have been transcribed. A gay man, the arc of David's diaries depicts a journey of discovery - from isolation and ignorance to a vibrant queer world of sexual desire, love and community. By Hugh Costello and featuring Desmond Eastwood as David
