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Local Celebrity makes personal plea

Zoe Ball
Zoe Ball

Zoe Ball, TV presenter and Brighton local, has lent her voice to the Martlets Hospice, a charity providing end of life care to adults with terminal diseases, to promote their Midnight Walk at midnight on Friday, June 14.

Now in its seventh year, the Midnight Walk is the hospice’s biggest annual fundraising event, and for the first time ever walkers can choose either to do a 6 mile or a 13 mile walk.

Both walks start at midnight from Brighton Racecourse and snake through the streets of Brighton & Hove. Marshals will be on hand around the course to ensure no one gets lost and the walk ends with a tasty breakfast.

All walkers will be asked to raise a minimum of £25 in sponsorship and anyone who achieves over £120 in sponsorship will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a treat at the Thistle Hotel.

Zoe said:

“I had heard about the Martlets but it was only when my dear stepfather Rick was diagnosed with MND last year that I witnessed firsthand the importance of the wonderful work done by all the staff there.

“Sadly Rick passed away in December and we miss him dreadfully. I can’t express enough gratitude to all the marvellous doctors, nurses and support staff at the Martlets; their care for Rick was incredible and they provided our family with the thoughtful loving and supportive care we needed.

“The work they do is so important and I wouldn’t hesitate to lend my wholehearted support to their fundraising to help other families in their hour of need. Thank you Martlets and let’s raise as much as we can!”

The Martlets needs to raise £8,000 per day to run its services and the sponsorship money raised will go to fund the work of the hospice’s specialist nurses.

To enter, CLICK HERE:  

Alternatively, pick up a form at any Martlets shop or telephone 01273 747455

How Like An Angel: Circa, I Fagiolini: All Saints Church: Review

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Australian performing arts and acrobatic group Circa’s exhilarating brand of contemporary circus fused with the exquisite sound of I Fagiolini’s wonderfully evocative singing, How Like An Angel celebrates the beauty of Hove’s All Saints Church by exploring the spaces acoustically and also with stunning displays of group acrobatics and balancing taking place in, around, on and above the audience and church pillars.

IMG_0054The church was lit beautifully and the night started with promise and just got better from there. Although I wasn’t always aware of how the narrative fitted in with the music there were some moments of sublime beauty contrasted with some physically impressive group balancing, gymnastic and contorting routines, and the odd sly touch of humor too.

Here’s a video clip of the work:

Over all it worked and worked well, it had style and substance and the mix of a very modern form of circus mixed with elements of modern dance, polyphonic music with the choirs scattered around the church and some fun musical elements like African choral music and some electronica. It was an eclectic mix. Circa are six performers and very easy on the eye too, they writhe, leap and contort, climb over each other like sinuous waves and generally seem to have a lot of fun while pushing themselves and their bodies to the limit. Without giving too much away about some of the more surprising elements of the night there was more than one moment when all 420 people standing in the church gasped loudly and all together at what they saw unfold.  Check out Circa’s website here: 

IMG_0059_1The spellbinding programme of music included Thomas Tallis’ Gaude gloriosa, Hildegard of Bingen’s O Viridissima Virgo and Missa L’homme arme (Agnus dei) by Josquin des Prez. The choir was pitch perfect and mixed in occasionally with the acrobats to give an almost medieval fair feel to the event, it veered between big top and cathedral nave, from thrill to sublime and never hovered long in either space, blending both elements with style into a cohesive interesting whole.

The show got long and enthusiast applause at the end, the musicians and acrobats looking a little surprised that they should get such a warm welcome, but it was well deserved. This was the Brighton Festival at it’s very best, using a fantastic space in an innovative way and ensuring top quality performers and musicians were allowed to shine.

circa-how-like-an-angelA delightful evening with some moments of astonishing dexterity and poise combined with ethereal voices perfectly sung. Well done all involved.

For more info on the event see here: 

For more info or to book tickets for other events see the Festival website here:

Online survey investigates abuse against trans people

Trans surveyJulia Walker, a PhD student and Post Graduate Researcher at the University of Huddersfield, is conducting research through an online survey investigating transgender people’s experienced of intimate partner violence and abuse.

The survey, which has the full ethical approval of the university, takes 10-15 minutes to complete. You must be aged over 18.

To complete the online survey CLICK HERE:

For an overview of the research, CLICK HERE: 

Proud2Be me project relaunched

Matt & Jon Price
Matt & Jon Price

Twin brothers Matt and Jon Price have decided to relaunch their amazingly successful Proud2Be Project this week, two years after its inception.

They’ve enlisted some famous friends too, including Stephen Fry, Peter Tatchell and Sir Ian McKellen.

It was in 2011 that the twins sat down in front of their web cams and told the world they were “proud to be gay”.

Since then many members of the public and high profile figures have shown the pair their support by recording videos of their own, telling the world how proud they are to be themselves.
 
The twins said:

“We started the campaign two years ago when we felt that LGBT people needed more positive and affirmative messages about who they are.”

“Although laws are changing, LGBT people of all ages still face oppression, misrepresentation and discrimination. Until that is no longer the case, the Proud2Be campaign will keep on running.”

The video campaign is just one part of the Proud2Be Project which also runs social groups, residentials, and soon to host yearly rural pride events. An LGBT community hub in rural parts of the country is also being planned.

The Proud2Be Project invites everyone to contribute to the campaign, be they LGBT or their friends, family members, co-workers or educators, and as well as being able to record a video message, people can now have a Proud2Be photo taken.

For more details on how to get involved, CLICK HERE: 

Or EMAIL: 

Brunswick the Fair

Brunswick Town Art Fair

Two artists exhibiting at the third Brunswick Town Art Fair next month have used the architecture of the city as their inspiration.

The Fair will be held amongst the Regency splendour of Brunswick Square Gardens, Hove, on Sunday June 30 and will include the work of over 60 artists.

Alejandro Martinez
Alejandro Martinez

Spanish artist Alejandro Martinez studied architecture in Seville before moving to Brighton where he found the landscape and sea perfect subjects for his delicate pen and ink drawings.

Adam Regester
Adam Regester

Brighton artist Adam Regester will be exhibiting his series of classic landmark images at the fair. Intrigued by local and iconic architecture, Adam likes to break down complex images into simple and somewhat naive sketch work, with bold block colour accents.

All works, from paintings and prints, to photographs, ceramics and jewellery will be for sale, and refreshments will be provided by local businesses.

Brunswick Town Art Fair is a local community event set in the Regency splendour of Brunswick Square Gardens. The event features local artists exhibiting paintings, prints, photographs, cards, ceramics, sculpture and jewelery focusing on high quality but affordable work which is all for sale.

Best of all, admission is completely free.

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