22/11/2013 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Petition to end the glamorisation of poaching on Twitter

Posted on 22/11/201322/11/2013 by Graham Robson

A change.org petition has been launched to encourage Twitter to remove photographs of an American hunter that glamorise the poaching of endangered species.

While the pictures are too shocking to publish, the profile sees the hunter Melissa Bachman of Minnesota, US, smiling, rifle in hand, over the carcasses of lions, Alaskan brown bears, antelope and crocodiles.

The petition asks Twitter, as a global platform, to discourage and remove images and declarations that condone these activities.

To sign the petition, CLICK HERE:

Brighton MP, Kirby attends Westminster debate on gay to straight conversation therapy

Posted on 22/11/2013 by Besi

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown, attended a Westminster Hall debate on gay to straight conversion therapy in the UK last week.

Gay to straight conversion therapy refers to the attempt to alter the sexuality of gay, lesbian or bisexual (LGB) people through supposed psychiatric treatment.

Simon joined fellow MPs in speaking out against the appalling practise.

A report in 2009 revealed that of 1,300 British psychiatrists surveyed, 200 had attempted to change at least one person’s sexuality.

Simon said: “Gay to straight conversion therapy carries the deeply offensive implication that homosexuality is an illness, and has the potential to do a great deal of psychological harm, particularly to young gay people.

“I am very proud to represent a tolerant and diverse constituency in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, which is home to a large LGBT community. I know the concept of gay conversion would be completely unacceptable to my constituents and I welcome the strong condemnation of it by the Minister today.

“This Government has a fantastic LGBT rights record, of which I am very proud. I assure constituents that I will support efforts to eradicate gay conversion therapy in the UK.”

Brighton’s Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival

Posted on 22/11/2013 by Besi

The 2013 Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival will be taking place in Brighton, Hove, the South Downs village of Ditchling and beyond, during the first three weekends of December, starting Saturday November 30.

Over 50 houses will be opening their doors, showcasing a diverse selection of artworks, all available to buy directly from local artists and makers in their homes or studios. In addition, expect 3D film installations from leading choreographer Billy Cowie, a festive collaboration of some of Brighton’s finest street artists, a living Ceramic House artwork and a Polish Christmas.

The Artist Open Houses are a great way to discover the wealth of creative talent that exists in the city. Expect a fantastic array of graphic prints for the home, as well as paintings, paper cut sculptures and felt toys. You’ll find homewares, knitted artwork, photography, jewellery, ceramics, crafts, toys and textiles. Seasonal attractions include handcrafted Christmas cards, wreaths, tree decorations and foodie gifts.

An afternoon spent browsing Brighton’s Christmas Open Houses is the perfect way to take the pain out of Christmas shopping and a chance to pick up a present or something unique for the home.

Christmas Artist Open Houses.

Weekends: November 30 December 1

December 7 December 8

December 14 December 15

Don’t let it stand empty – let it!

Posted on 22/11/201322/11/2013 by Besi

Interest free loans are being offered to landlords of empty properties to bring them back into use as part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s drive to tackle the city’s housing crisis.

The new ‘Golden Ticket’ scheme comes during National Empty Homes Week 2013 (November 24- November 30) to promote up to £20,000 worth of interest free loans to owners of properties that have been empty for six months or more. There is also grant funding available for larger schemes and through some local community groups that are also funded.

Under the terms of the offer, the council will then rent out and manage the property for five years, after which time the rental arrangement can be reviewed.

Cllr Bill Randall, Chair of the Housing Committee, said: “Demand massively outstrips supply for housing in Brighton & Hove. Housing that stands around empty for long periods of time is unacceptable, attracts anti social behaviour such as fly tipping and brings the local community down.

“Our empty property team bring around 150 properties a year back to use but we need to bring significantly more back. I am convinced that if more owners knew the benefits of working with us, the majority of them would be bringing their empty homes back to use with our financial help and support.

“We understand that there are often complex reasons why a home is empty and try to avoid penalising those who have genuine reasons so we try to work with owners to bring properties back to use rather than taking enforcement action.”

More than £3 million in funding has been given to Brighton & Hove City Council and Lewes District Council by the Homes & Communities Agency which will be used as an incentive for this new leasing scheme. Interested empty property owners are advised to come forward quickly because the funding is limited.

For more information, Email:

The Laramie Project comes to Brighton : Remember Matthew Shepard?

Posted on 22/11/201322/11/2013 by Besi

On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation.

Matthew Shepard’s death provoked extreme reactions – from the GOD HATES FAGS preaching of Rev Fred Phelps to national outpouring of revulsion against hate – but for the people of Laramie the event was deeply personal and it’s their voices we hear in this stunningly effective theatre piece.

Moises Kaufman and his New York Tectonic Theatre Project travelled to Laramie four weeks after the murder. Over the following eighteen months, they interviewed more than 200 people affected by the death, thus bearing witness to the massive impact on that all-American town and its search for truth and reconciliation, while all America and the whole world was watching.

The Academy of Creative Trainings (ACT) revival of this astonishing piece comes 15 years after the original events.

Matthew Shepard would have been 37 on December 1, 2013 – World AIDS day – so ACT are raising money for the Terrence Higgins Trust in his memory. Watch out for the ANGEL ACTION on the streets of Brighton and Hove on Sunday, December 1.

Moises Kaufman, said: “We tried to tell the story of the town of Laramie. As opposed to telling the story of Matthew Shepard.”

Directed for the Academy of Creative Training by Janette Eddisford, this challenging piece will be performed in the round at the Nightingale Theatre.

“Deeply moving….this play is Our Town with a question mark, as in could this be our town?” New York Times

“You should not miss a theatrical and human event that deserves standing up for with applause, or better, silently, taking an important lesson profoundly to heart.” New York Magazine

What: The Laramie Project

Where: Nightingale Theatre Brighton, 29-30 Surrey Street, Brighton

When: December 14, 19

Time: 8pm

Cost: £10.50/£8.50

To buy online, CLICK HERE:

Brighton Action Group invite residents to a general meeting

Posted on 22/11/2013 by Besi

The St James Street Action group are having a general meeting at St Mary’s Church on November 27.

The meeting is open to everyone living in the St James Street area at 6pm for a 6.30pm start. Refreshments will be available. There will be an opportunity to meeting, in an informal and friendly environment, Councillors, Police Officer and Council Officers.

The following points will be covered during the meeting:

Policing
Cleaning & Greening, including graffiti & lighting
Improvements to Upper Rock Gardens
Our vision for shared space, including measures to tackle pollution

There will also be an opportunity to meet, in an informal and friendly environment, Councillors, Police Officers, and Council Officers.

If you have an issue that you think needs tackling, EMAIL:

Raising awareness of HIV testing for early diagnosis in Brighton & Hove

Posted on 22/11/201322/11/2013 by Besi

National HIV Testing Week, November 22-29

National HIV Testing Week started today November 22 and continues until November 29 in the run up to World AIDS Day on December 1.

This year special effort is being made to encourage gay men and African people in particular, to take an HIV test. This is because these are the people most at risk of getting HIV in the UK. Across England, partner organisations will offer more opportunities to test, both in clinics and in the community.

The week aims to:

Increase the numbers of gay men and African people taking an HIV test.
Raise awareness in the gay and African communities of the importance of testing.
Increase the number of opportunities to take a test at clinics and in the community.

National HIV Testing Week is part of the HIV Prevention England (HPE) programme. Led by Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) with the support of five partner organisations, this programme is funded by the Department of Health for three years. The programme aims to reduce the number of late diagnoses by increasing HIV testing and supporting condom use and other behaviours to lower the risk of getting HIV.

Brighton & Hove City Council Director of Public Health Tom Scanlon said: “Swift diagnosis and treatment can give people the best possible chance of a near normal lifespan when living with HIV. Early diagnosis also helps prevent the transmission of HIV to other people from those unaware they have the infection.

“Nationally the populations with the highest reported incidences of HIV are MSM (men who have sex with men) followed by the Black African community. There is a high prevalence of diagnosed HIV in Brighton & Hove, with rates similar to those seen in London, due to the large local gay community.

“In England, late diagnosis levels are approximately 50 per cent whereas in Brighton & Hove the figure is much lower at around 30 per cent. This reflects the work carried out in the city to give people information about and access to HIV testing.

“As part of our ongoing drive to reduce late diagnosis, I have written to all GPs asking for HIV tests to be offered to all men and African women attending surgeries for a blood test of any kind during National HIV Testing Week.”

Where people can receive HIV testing:

All attendees at the genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic will be offered HIV testing
All women attending for antenatal screening will be offered HIV testing
All women having a termination of pregnancy will be offered HIV testing
Women attending the local contraception and sexual health (CASH) clinic will be offered HIV testing as appropriate
All general medical admissions to the Royal Sussex County Hospital will be offered HIV testing
All clients at the substance misuse service will be offered HIV testing
There is a range of HIV testing opportunities in community settings for men who have sex with men (MSM

The number of residents of Brighton & Hove who have accessed NHS funded treatment for HIV in 2012 totals 1,591. This is a rise of 4 per cent from 2011.

Is monogamy dead?

Posted on 22/11/2013 by Besi

Prompted by the breakdown of several close friends’ long term partnerships, disgruntled serial monogamist Rosie Wilby presents a loose sequel to her Fringe Report Award winning 2009/10 show The Science Of Sex (which she recently performed in New York) after making a pact with her best friend that they are going to become ‘sex sirens’ in their early 40s – whatever that means.

She sets off to investigate age-old conflicts between freedom and commitment and unexpectedly encounters blackbird vasectomies, unicorns, marmosets, giant Malagasy jumping rats, lollipop ladies, George Michael, Juliette Binoche and Jean Paul Sartre whilst also wondering if fairies have feet and if gay marriage means that she will have to take up dusting.

She also presents the results of her anonymous online survey on fidelity and her own Family Fortunes-esque quiz to ponder what actually counts as infidelity, whether any of us agree on this and what other secrets couples keep from one another.

Plus her disastrous attempt to find some sexual misadventure at a supposedly erotic ‘lesbian sauna’ (everyone ended up chatting and cleaning).

“A brilliant and natural comedy mind and future… Wickedly cutting jokes and wonderful takes on sexuality” – Broadway Baby

£5.00 + £0.50 Booking fee = £5.50

To book, CLICK HERE:

What: Is Monogamy Dead? by Rosie Wilby

Where: The Dukebox Theatre, Iron Duke Pub, Waterloo Street, Brighton

When: Saturday, November 23

Time: Doors 7.45, Start 8pm

Cost: £5.00 + £0.50 Booking fee = £5.50

Brighton Conservatives call for delay to 20mph decision

Posted on 22/11/201322/11/2013 by Besi

Local Conservatives are calling for the decision on whether to implement Phase 2 of the Green Administration’s 20mph proposals to be deferred to enable proper consideration of the consultation results.

The decision is due to be taken at the Council’s Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee next Tuesday November 26 but the report on the results of the public consultation has still not been published.

Legally, reports have to be published five working days prior to a Council meeting unless there is a very good reason for it to be late.

Conservative Group Leader, Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, said: “This is such an important issue for the city that it really isn’t good enough for the report on the consultation to still not be in the public domain just two working days before the meeting. The taxi trade are adamant that they have not been properly consulted and the Committee members themselves cannot be expected to carefully consider in two days, the results of a consultation that attracted over 15,000 responses. We are asking that the decision is deferred to a special meeting of the Committee in the next couple of weeks.”

Group Transport Spokesman, Cllr. Graham Cox, added: “We continue to support 20mph limits in residential streets and around schools, hospitals and parks where there is support. However, I think it is only fair that the decision on phase 2 of the scheme is deferred for a short period in order to get agreement across all sections of the community.”

Taking a test in London is even easier during HIV Testing Week

Posted on 22/11/2013 by Olivia Hall-Smith

To make testing quick and easy during HIV week, sexual health and HIV centres managed by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust will offer clinics open longer and later.

Between November 22-20, clinicians at the Mortimer Market Centre and the Archway Centre will be on hand for extra lunchtime, evening and weekend walk-in clinics for anyone wanting to take a test. A number of outreach events across London are also planned throughout the week.

The centres are particularly appealing to the two groups who are hardest hit by HIV, men who have sex with men (MSM) and black and minority ethnic communities (BME).

Klaus Johansen, MSM Outreach and GUM Specialist Nurse at the Mortimer Market Centre said: “People might put off having the test for a number of reasons, but this week it is even easier to get it done. We can help people to either put their mind at ease or, with early diagnosis and good care, we can help people continue to live long and healthy lives.”

Advancements in testing and treatment over the last 15 years have meant that the lives of people who are living with HIV have improved dramatically. Nonetheless, knowing your HIV status is important particularly as it can help prevent onward transmission to others.

Those requiring a test are invited to drop in to one of the clinics listed below for a rapid HIV test that can provide a result in under an hour, or on Monday and Thursday take home a saliva testing kit which can be returned in the post.

Events planned in the London borough of Camden next week include:

• Saturday November 23, 11.00-14.00, Archway Centre, 681 – 689 Holloway Road, London N19 5SE: Sexual health and contraceptive advice, HIV/STI tests, workshops and focus groups primarily aimed at black and minority ethnic communities.

• Monday November 25, 11.00-13.00, 86 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DN: In partnership with Antidote, the LGBT drug and alcohol charity, offering HIV home sampling saliva testing kits and sexual health advice.

• Wednesday November 27, 12.00-14.00, University of London Union (ULU) car park, Byng Place, WC1E 7LE: In partnership with 56 Dean Street, HIV tests will be offered from an outreach health bus primarily aimed at LGBT and BME university staff and students .

• Thursday November 28, 18.00-20.30, 32a Wardour Street, London W1D 6AQ: In partnership with Antidote, the LGBT drug and alcohol charity, offering HIV home sampling saliva testing kits and sexual health advice.

• Friday November 29, 17.00-19.00, Archway Centre, 681 – 689 Holloway Road, London N19 5SE and Mortimer Market Centre, off Tottenham Court Road, London WC1E 6JB: Open for men who have sex with men (MSM) for rapid HIV testing.

For more information about these events, CLICK HERE:

Or follow us them twitter @camdenprovider

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Day: November 22, 2013

Petition to end the glamorisation of poaching on Twitter

Brighton MP, Kirby attends Westminster debate on gay to straight conversation therapy

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown, attended a Westminster Hall debate on gay to straight conversion therapy in the UK last week.

Brighton’s Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival

The 2013 Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival will be taking place in Brighton, Hove, the South Downs village of Ditchling and beyond, during the first three weekends of December, starting Saturday November 30.

Don’t let it stand empty – let it!

Interest free loans are being offered to landlords of empty properties to bring them back into use as part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s drive to tackle the city’s housing crisis.

The Laramie Project comes to Brighton : Remember Matthew Shepard?

On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation.

Brighton Action Group invite residents to a general meeting

The St James Street Action group are having a general meeting at St Mary’s Church on November 27.

Raising awareness of HIV testing for early diagnosis in Brighton & Hove

National HIV Testing Week, November 22-29

Is monogamy dead?

Brighton Conservatives call for delay to 20mph decision

Local Conservatives are calling for the decision on whether to implement Phase 2 of the Green Administration’s 20mph proposals to be deferred to enable proper consideration of the consultation results.

Taking a test in London is even easier during HIV Testing Week

To make testing quick and easy during HIV week, sexual health and HIV centres managed by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust will offer clinics open longer and later.

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Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown, attended a Westminster Hall debate on gay to straight conversion therapy in the UK last week.

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The 2013 Artist Open Houses Christmas Festival will be taking place in Brighton, Hove, the South Downs village of Ditchling and beyond, during the first three weekends of December, starting Saturday November 30.

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Interest free loans are being offered to landlords of empty properties to bring them back into use as part of Brighton & Hove City Council’s drive to tackle the city’s housing crisis.

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On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence in the hills outside Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation.

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The St James Street Action group are having a general meeting at St Mary’s Church on November 27.

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National HIV Testing Week, November 22-29

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Local Conservatives are calling for the decision on whether to implement Phase 2 of the Green Administration’s 20mph proposals to be deferred to enable proper consideration of the consultation results.

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To make testing quick and easy during HIV week, sexual health and HIV centres managed by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust will offer clinics open longer and later.

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