15/02/2013 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

‘Resound’ bring their L-O-V-E to B.Right.On Festival Tonight

Posted on 15/02/201316/02/2013 by Besi

Following the success of their most recent concert Jazz, Lovers and Others, Brighton and Hove’s newest male voice group Resound are now in the final weeks of preparation for their Valentine’s show ‘L-O-V-E’ which is to be performed at St Andrew’s Church in Waterloo Street, Hove, on Saturday, February 16 at 19:30pm. The concert is part of the B.Right.On LGBT Festival being staged to celebrate LGBT History month.

An evening of music and comedy is promised celebrating that old theme of LOVE, featuring a mix of retro classics and lesser known songs with newly written comedy monologues for a perfect night out in the Valentine’s week.

Joining Resound for this evening of pop, jazz and cabaret songs will be the soprano Yvonne Patrick (from Glyndebourne Opera and also a regular guest at BBC’s Friday Night Is Music Night) and actress Adele Bates who is performing a series of specially commissioned comedy monologues about the ups and downs of dating.

The evening will be centred around Nat King Cole’s L-O-V-E with pop classics like Bacharach’s Close To You, The Beatles For No One and Pat Ballard’s Mr Sandman.

Soprano Yvonne Patrick will perform Benjamin Britten’s Tell Me The Truth About Love and a wonderful jazz setting of Shakespeare’s Shall I Compare Thee To A Summers Day by Swedish composer Nils Lindberg.

Jazz musicians Paul and Anne Whiteside will add another dimension by performing songs arranged for flute and double bass including Divine Comedy’s Songs Of Love.

Resound’s Musical Director, the Swedish opera singer Stefan Holmström, said:

“This year we have worked hard to find our personality as a vocal group, and have really come to love these timeless “retro classics”. We’re performing without amplification in the intimate setting of St Andrews Church. I think it will be a very special evening because of the wonderful emotional impact these songs have”

Tickets are available from the Brighton Dome Box Office and the Iron Duke Hotel in Hove at £10.00 (£8.50 concessions).

For more information about this concert and Resound Male Voices, VIEW:

EVENT: L-O-V-E

WHERE: St Andrew’s Church, Waterloo Street, Hove

WHEN: Saturday, February 16

COST: £10.00 (£8.50 concessions).

International Women’s Day

Posted on 15/02/201315/02/2013 by Besi

Brighton Women’s Centre (BWC) has hired the Brighton Dome on International Women’s Day, Saturday March 9, to showcase the work of the charity in providing vulnerable women support to transform their lives.

BWC has been supporting vulnerable and disadvantage women in Brighton and Hove for over 35 years, giving women the resources and tools for independence and empowerment in a safe, women-only space.

A number of women focused charities will be joining them to support the celebration. There will also be stalls, speeches, workshops, entertainment and a crèche.

Workshops on the day will include: First Aid, Women’s self-defence, Voice work, Resilience, Mothers uncovered, 20 minute workout tease, and holistic therapies.

Organisation registered to have a stall include, Active for Life, Curves, Girlguiding, Kenric, Snap Junkie, Survivors’ Network, Threshold, Utility Warehouse, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Bill Randall will also be attending as will Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion.

For more information about the Women’s Centre, click here:

To find out more about International Women’s Day, click here:

Former Council Leader throws hat into ring

Posted on 15/02/201318/02/2013 by Besi

Simon Burgess, former leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and a former leader of the Labour group is standing for selection as the Labour candidate in Hove & Portlade at the coming parliamentary elections which should be in 2015.

Labour’s NEC has decided that Brighton Kemptown and Brighton Pavilion will be ‘all women’ shortlists and that Hove & Portslade will be ‘Open’.

The selections will take place over the coming few months.

Simon has lived in Hove for seven years, he works at a Deaf School in Brighton, is a trustee of a youth club and he chairs the board of trustees at The Sussex Beacon.

Simon said:

“It has been refreshing spending a couple of years out of local politics, focusing on my work with a number of local charities. Hove & Portslade is my local patch and if selected I would particularly want to stand as a champion for the NHS, small businesses and charities – having worked in all of them over many years. My passions remain tackling prejudice, discrimination and social injustice.”

Proud2Be organisers launch Totnes Pride

Posted on 15/02/201318/02/2013 by Besi

The Proud2Be Project is set to launch it’s first rural pride event in Totnes, Devon for all local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) people and their friends, family members and supporters.

The event will be held at The Civic Hall in Totnes on Saturday, September 14, 2013 from noon and will include a live panel debate, live music, food and drinks, workshops and stalls for local community organisations and the Devon & Cornwall Police.

Sgt. Ryan Doyle from the Devon Diverse Communities Team, said:

“Devon and Cornwall Police are proud to support Totnes Pride as part of our commitment to the LGB&T communities in the area. We would also like to congratulate Mat and Jon Price and the Totnes Pride team for organising the day and hope that this can be established as a successful annual event”

Founded and directed by identical twin brothers Mat and Jon Price, Proud2Be has already been put forward for a Princes Trust award and a National Diversity award.

Since then a number of high profile figures have come forward and recorded similar messages, including Peter Tatchell, Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans MP, Michael Cashman MEP and Stephen Fry.

Through the project, Mat and Jon will not only host the yearly pride event and run the video campaign but also facilitate social groups and workshops.
Mat and Jon said:

“As gay children growing up in a small rural village we both know how isolating it can feel to be LGB&T identified and have little access to those of the same community.

“We felt it was time to bring Pride into rural areas where LGB&T people are at most risk of feeling isolated and invisible. We are really looking forward to showcasing and celebrating our wonderfully diverse community at Totnes Pride later this year”.

To find out more about Totnes Pride or other Proud2Be services view: proud2beproject.org/

One in three Brighton households have no car

Posted on 15/02/2013 by Besi

According to the latest census figures, over a third of households in Brighton & Hove do not own a car.

Car ownership is the lowest (per household) in the South East and the seventh lowest in England and Wales. Fewer than 20% of households now own more than one car, compared to 40% in the South East and 32% in England and Wales.

The figures for the 2011 census also reveal the city’s residents, employers and employees are embracing sustainable modes of transport.

Brighton and Hove has the highest proportion of people walking to work in the South East, the second-highest for the percentage of people travelling to work by bus, minibus or coach; and the highest growth rate in cycling to work outside of London.

Councillor Ian Davey, chair of the city’s transport committee, said:

“These figures show that in Brighton and Hove people are choosing to travel by bus, bike or on foot and the council has an important part to play in supporting those making sustainable travel choices by providing improved facilities.

“Better pedestrian and cycling networks, for example, makes it more attractive to walk or bike to work. Leaving the car at home also saves money, helps keep you fit and reduces carbon emissions.

“We are committed to investing in improving walking and cycling routes, and working with public transport operators to make it easier and even more attractive to travel sustainably for business, pleasure, education and to essential services such as hospitals.”

Twice as many people travel to work by bus in Brighton and Hove than in England and Wales as a whole. The percentage of people travelling to work by bus (14%) is the second-highest in the South East, just behind Oxford (16%).

Cllr Gill Mitchell, leader of Labour and Co-operative, said: “It’s good to see people becoming steadily less reliant on the car and this is largely down to the city’s fantastic bus service and the council’s foresight years ago to put in the main bus-lane network, utilising road space freed up when the by-pass was opened. Looking forward, it will be essential to continue to support the city’s economy by enabling the growing numbers of visitors and workers from outside the city to travel here on more efficient public transport. This is one of the reasons why Labour is fully supporting the campaign for a second Brighton main rail line.”

For more information about BML2, click here:

The percentage of people walking to work has risen from 17% in 2001 to 21% in 2011.

Cycling to work has shown a growth rate of 6.3% a year, and the percentage of people using this means has risen from 3% to 5%

Cllr. Graham Cox, Conservative spokesperson for transport, said:

“Overall this news is welcome. Measures to reduce pollution and make the city centre in particular a more welcoming area for pedestrians seem to be bearing fruit. Most of us use all types of transport – car, bus, taxi, bike and foot – and seeking a sensible balance between them will always involve a degree of compromise.”

Brighton & Hove bucks the national trend with decreasing car ownership levels compared to increases in the South East and for England and Wales as a whole. The average number of cars or vans per household reduced from 0.87 (2001) to 0.86 (2011) in the city, whilst that average increased from 1.30 to 1.35 in the South East and 1.11 to 1.17 in England and Wales.

The proportion of workers using a car to travel to work (whether as a driver or passenger) fell from 56% to 41% between 2001 and 2011.