12/11/2013 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Boy George: Concorde 2: Review

Posted on 12/11/201313/11/2013 by Graham Robson

Promoting the release of his first album of original material in 18 years, Boy George alongside a nine-piece band dazzled with a sprinkling of classic hits and tracks from This Is What I Do at Concorde 2 in Brighton last night, November 11.

Sporting a trademark red top hat and a dash of glitter sans lippy – “I’m not wearing lipstick, because I always think lipstick with a beard looks a bit too Kenny Everett.” – the now slim-line soul singer walked out to huge ardour; seemingly delighted to be back.

The show saw the new album played in its entirety which displayed George’s admirable confidence. Play Me, a kind of dub-step number with squalls of brass accompanying George’s now huskier, deeper vocals, was lilting, before it segued into the prophetic Feel The Vibrations.

This Caribbean twist continued when George dropped the sweet reggae of Everything I Own (his number 1 solo hit), an obligatory (and encouraged) sing-along number, before the Culture Club staple Church of the Poison Mind swooped fans up into a frenzy, with the blue eyed Motown-inspired call-and-response of the backing vocals thickening the already hefty chorus.

After re-verb issues – “I sound like a toilet” – George slipped into a bluesier Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?, his raspier vocal underpinning Reuben Fowler‘s blaring trumpet. While this re-imagining was inspired and played to George’s new Marianne Faithfull-esque timbre, too much rum punch was a bad thing for Karma Chameleon, which nearly buckled under swathes of reggae.

Nevertheless, the encores traversed George’s proud eclecticism and were a confident declaration that The Boy is back: we travelled from Jamaica to Nashville for It’s Easy – a country song evoking the most broken-hearted of Patsy Clines; were swept up in a cyclonic performance of T-Rex’s Get It On (featuring brass, electric guitar, biting vocals and the kitchen sink); shook our keys to the hare hare krishna of Bow Down Mister; and wiped away mascara tears over Victims, a chilling end to a blazing night!

HAVE A WORD : Clare Summerskill and Maureen Duffy at Latest Music Bar tonight, Wednesday November 12

Posted on 12/11/201313/11/2013 by Besi

The next HAVE A WORD is on November, Tuesday 12 at the Latest Music Bar in Brighton.

HAVE A WORD is an event for LGBTQI people and their friends’ with performing arts, poetry, photography, comedy, history, politics, spoken word, and music from five fantastic artists including:

Maureen Duffy, Clare Summerskill, Vince Laws, Godphotography BG, Alice Denny, pop up slot with Karen reading from Coming To and music by Josh The Barber.

Tickets £6 through wegottickets.com or £6 on the door. Supporting the Sussex Beacon.

WHAT: HAVE A WORD

WHERE: Latest Music Bar, Manchester Street, Brighton

WHEN: Tuesday November 12

TIME: 7pm-10.30pm

COST: £6 wegottickets.com

Christina Chatfield : Local dental hygienist draws attention to mouth cancer : Launch tonight at Emporium

Posted on 12/11/201312/11/2013 by Besi

In the UK, mouth cancer kills more people than testicular or cervical cancer put together. One person is dying every five hours from mouth cancer.

Award winning local dental hygienist, Christina Chatfield is aiming to draw attention to the issue and is walking from Kirriemore in Scotland to Brighton to raise awareness of mouth cancer and to widen access to dental care. She will be raising money for the British Dental Health Foundation, Your Smile and Mouth Cancer Action Month charities.

Actor Steve Speirs is a patient of Christina and is supporting her campaign.

Steve said:

“I’m backing this campaign as I was genuinely staggered to hear that more people die of mouth cancer than cervical and testicular cancer together. This sort of ignorance has to be addressed. We can’t rely upon “word of mouth”, so lets get the word of the mouth out there! Awareness of the fact may encourage someone to regularly visit their dentist and may indeed mean that lives can be saved.”

Her campaign will be launched with a reception at Emporium Art Venue at 88 London Road, on November 12 from 6pm.

Most people are diagnosed at stage 4 mouth cancer due to late detection as they have not seen a dental professional until too late, many through fear and anxiety. Why is that?

Until May this year, people who wanted to see a dental hygenist had to go to their dentist and many were afraid to do so.

After years of campaigning Direct Access was introduced in May this year allowing people to go direct to a dental hygienist without visiting a dentist first.

The law changed on May 1, but who knows about it? None of the local media except Juice FM and Gscene magazine covered this story. Hopefully by June 19 more people will have heard about this change in the law giving them more choice and more options from whom they access dental health care.

People living with HIV to speak out on World AIDS Day

Posted on 12/11/2013 by Besi

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), the UK’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, is planning two national projects around this year’s World AIDS Day on Sunday, December 1.

Key dates include:

• National HIV Testing Week (November 22 – 29)

This November sees the second annual National HIV Testing Week, coordinated by THT and its partners in HIV Prevention England. Funded by the Department of Health, the week aims to encourage communities at an increased risk of infection in the UK (gay men and people from Africa) to test more regularly for the virus.

A number of events are already planned across the country during the week, targeting people most at risk of HIV, and both communities are encouraged to pledge their support for HIV testing on pledge walls at www.startswithme.org.uk

• Ask Me About HIV (November 30 – December 1)

During the weekend of World AIDS Day, THT will be supporting people with HIV to raise awareness and combat stigma by speaking out publicly about their condition. Public understanding of the virus can seem stuck in the past, with too few people aware of the advances in testing and treatment that have transformed HIV from a terminal illness to a manageable condition.

Today, so long as someone is diagnosed in good time, they can have a full life, a near-normal life expectancy, even start a family. According to one of THT’s beneficiaries, “the most damaging thing about HIV today is what people without HIV think about it.

Homophobic attack on teenage boy in Chichester

Posted on 12/11/2013 by Besi

Sussex Police are seeking witnesses to a homophobic assault which took place in Southgate, Chichester, in the early hours of Saturday November 2.

The attack happened outside the Stavros Takeaway, opposite The Globe public house, at about 12.30am.

A 16-year-old boy was approached by an 18-year-old man who made homophobic remarks towards him, challenged him to fight and then punched him in the face.

The victim’s hat was removed and thrown onto a nearby roof, a hot chocolate drink was knocked from his grasp and his spectacles were thrown into the road, where they were stamped on and crushed by the assailant.

If you saw the incident or who may have other information, phone Sussex Police on 101, quoting 0069 of 02/11.

Or EMAIL: contact.centre@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Alternatively make a free, anonymous call to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Brighton Labour candidate calls on David Cameron to speak up for Commonwealth LGBT rights

Posted on 12/11/201312/11/2013 by Sarah Green

Ahead of this week’s Commonwealth heads of governments conference in Sri Lanka, Purna Sen, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion is calling on Prime Minister, David Cameron to raise the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people across the Commonwealth at the conference.

Dr Sen, Chair of the Kaleidoscope Trust and a former head of human rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat was commenting on a new report from the Trust on the experiences of LGBT people throughout the Commonwealth.

She said: “The vast majority of countries in the Commonwealth, 80 per cent, criminalise homosexuality. That is why the Commonwealth has been called a homophobic association.” Adding that over half of the countries in the world that criminalise homosexuality are in the Commonwealth.

Dr Sen pointed out that Uganda’s recent steps to introduce the death sentence for homosexuals who are classed as so-called “serial offenders”, have “lifted the lid off the issue.”

However, the issue is how to deal with LGBT rights at the heads of government meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where homosexuality is criminalised, with sentences of up to 10 years in prison ?

Some Human Rights organisations are concerned that threats like that made by David Cameron before the last heads of government meeting in Perth, to cut aid to countries which criminalise homosexuality could make LGBT people targets for attack.

Purna added: “Britain is the largest financial contributor to the Commonwealth and with that comes some responsibility. What does it mean for Britain to give the Commonwealth money to enable it to function, if you then don’t try to influence what it does ?”

“It is essential for the Prime Minister to say that we recognise that many people in the Commonwealth suffer harm, suffer persecution, and worse because of their sexual orientation.

“We don’t feel this is in keeping with the values of the Commonwealth. We should call for a commitment to see this addressed in the next session. We want a moratorium in the next five years followed by decriminalisation.”