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Strike A Brighton Pose!

A snapshot of LGBTQ clubbing in Brighton and Hove for the Brighton Pride Arts and Film Festival.

Brighton Pride Arts & Film Festival

A rite of passage for so many, LGBTQ clubbing has provided us with more than just a soundtrack to our lives in Brighton and Hove. The disco became our family, helped us forget our identities and connected us to community, friends and lovers. Disco is where the homo is. Disco is our home.

Strike A Brighton Pose will examine our city’s LGBTQ clubbing history, through flyers, artwork, photography and the memories of those who where there.

From clubbers to promoters, venue owners to DJs, hosts to designers, Strike A Brighton Pose will provide a personal snapshot of our city’s most fabulous dancefloor moments.

Strike a Pose

An exhibition from a clubbers point of view, Strike A Brighton Pose will reflect the thirty plus years creators Kate Wildblood and Queen Josephine have spent in the LGBTQ discos of Brighton. By repositioning the humble flyer as artwork and the clubber as social historian, Strike A Brighton Pose will transform the disco into a vital beat slice of queer history.

The Strike A Brighton Pose exhibition will include original collages by Kate Wildblood, framed original flyer artwork from some of Brighton and Hove’s finest LGBTQ club nights, a 12” box filled with tales, photographs and flyers from our dance floor favourites, a chance to relive your disco adventure through the 7” memory box and plenty of opportunities to Strike A Brighton Pose. Plus, of course, the obligatory disco ball.

Conceived and curated by Kate Wildblood and Queen JosephineStrike A Brighton Pose is part of the 2014 Brighton Pride Arts and Film Festival and is a fundraising event for Brighton Pride and The Rainbow Fund, a grant-giving fund for local LGBTQ and HIV organisations who provide effective front line services to the LGBT community in Brighton & Hove.

What: Strike a Pose

Where: Jubilee Library, Jubilee St, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1GE

When: Monday, July 21 – Sunday, August 3 2014

Time: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10am-7pm, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 11am-5pm.

For more information, CLICK HERE:

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For more information about the Rainbow Fund, CLICK HERE: 

 

Local broadcaster nominated for National Diversity Award

Kathy Caton, a Brighton-based radio presenter and producer has been nominated in the Positive Role Model category at the 2014 National Diversity Awards.

Kathy Caton
Kathy Caton

Kathy present’s Brighton’s only LGBTQ radio show, Out in Brighton on RadioReverb 97.2fm where she champions LGBTQ artists and musicians. She is a big supporter of Brighton’s burgeoning community and voluntary sector, helping get stories and contributors on air that tend not to be heard on other broadcast media.

Over the three years the show has been on air it has become the number one LGBTQ show on international podcast directory Podomatic with listeners from around the world tuning in to get a genuine snapshot of LGBT life in Brighton.

Kathy helps run the BBC’s LGBT staff network BBC Pride and also works behind the scenes with the BBC’s Diversity Centre in their work on improving on-screen portrayal and engaging with LGBT audiences. She is currently working with Brighton’s Trans community on the Brighton Trans*formed oral history project with QueenSpark Books.

She said: “I am absolutely honoured (and quite embarrassed!) to have been nominated for the National Diversity Awards and feel pretty humbled to be up there in such great company in the Positive Role Model category. I’m delighted too that these Awards recognise grass-roots work and activism – it’s an honour to be nominated!”

Paul Sesay, Chief Executive of The National Diversity Awards, said: “It is an honour to witness the extraordinary journeys of Britain’s unsung diversity heroes, and we will continue to recognise their extraordinary achievements during 2014”.

Nominations are open now and close on July 18th.

To vote for Kathy, CLICK HERE:      

 

 

 

Scottish charity gives voice to Commonwealth LGBT people during the Glasgow Games

Next month Glasgow will host the twentieth edition of the Commonwealth Games.

Pride House to be staged in Glasgow during Commonwealth Games
Pride House to be staged in Glasgow during Commonwealth Games

The Equality Network, the Scottish equality charity will be working with the Scottish Government and LGBT groups across the Commonwealth to highlight the challenges many LGBT people continue to face.

LGBT people of the Commonwealth Exhibition to be held in Pride House during the Commonwealth games alongside an International LGBT Human Rights Conference to be held at Glasgow University.

The Equality Network, the Scottish lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality charity, secured funding of £9,992 from the National Lottery Celebrate Fund to prepare and hold an Exhibition on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people of the Commonwealth, to be held during the Glasgow 2014 games.

LGBT people of the Commonwealth is a project which will celebrate and recognise the contribution of LGBT groups and organisations from the 53 countries that make up the Commonwealth, and ensure the visibility of LGBT people and their lives during the Commonwealth Games.

The charity has also announced a partnership with Pride Glasgow, Glasgow’s annual LGBT pride festival and the Glasgow Human Rights Network to hold an international LGBT Human Rights Conference at Glasgow University on the July 18, five days before the opening ceremony and a day before the Glasgow’s annual pride celebration.

Scott Cuthbertson, Community Development Coordinator for the Equality Network, said: “The Commonwealth Games offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on and support LGBT human rights around the Commonwealth and the world. As the eyes of the world fall on Scotland for the games we have the chance to give a voice to the successes and challenges faced by LGBT people in every part of our world. We are delighted to receive this grant which will help us to celebrate the contribution of LGBT people to culture and human rights, while also standing up against criminalisation and violence against LGBT people around the globe.”

The Equality Network points out that while Scotland has made significant progress towards achieving LGBT equality in the law and society, the situation for LGBT people is deteriorating in some Commonwealth countries, with anti-gay laws being passed recently in Uganda and Nigeria, and recriminalisation of homosexuality in India after a recent Supreme Court appeal.

41 of the 53 members of the Commonwealth criminalise homosexuality, and that more than half of the 78 countries worldwide that criminalise homosexuality belong to the Commonwealth.

For more information, CLICK HERE:

 

PREVIEW: One Man Play for Newcastle Pride

Tea with the Old Queen, a one-man play based on the fictitious secret diaries of the Queen Mother’s real-life page and steward, will be staged as part of Newcastle Pride 2014.

Tea with the old Queen
Tea with the old Queen

The play will be performed at the North East Mining Institute, Westgate Road, Newcastle on Saturday, July 5 from 7.30pm.

The show, features a host of stories, fabricated for comedic effect, and stars Ian Stark as William “Backstairs Billy” Tallon, who served at Clarence House until HRH Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s, death in 2002.

What: Tea with the Old Queen

Where: North East Mining Institute, Newcastle

When: Saturday, July 5 from 7.30pm

Tickets: £10.50 each

To book tickets, CLICK HERE: 

Newcastle Pride starts on the weekend of Friday, July 18. The Parade, commences at midday on Saturday, July 19 and forms part of a three-day programme of events.

Other highlights for 2014 include live performances by big name acts including Sinitta, Shayne Ward and the Vengaboys at Newcastle’s Town Moor, where there will also be a fun fair, themed entertainment zones and various stalls open throughout the weekend.

For the first time in Newcastle Pride’s seven year history, this year’s event will also include a second stage outside the Centre for Life, where there will be live music from stars such as Steps singer Faye Tozer on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The majority of the event is free, however a number of Gold, VIP and Platinum packages are also available incorporating hospitality and a reserved viewing area for the Town Moor performances.

For more information about Newcastle Pride, CLICK HERE:

 

Conservatives angry at ‘cat and mouse games’ by evicted travellers

Brighton & Hove Conservatives are incredulous that Preston Park has once again been allowed to be taken over by an unauthorised traveller encampment for the second time in as many weeks.

Travellers on Preston Park

Travellers evicted from Wild Park by police and council officials on Wednesday have dispersed to a variety of locations around the city including Preston Park where the gates allowing caravan access to the park remained unlocked after the Wild Park eviction.

Lee Wares
Lee Wares

Conservative council candidate for Preston Park Ward, Lee Wares, said: “When I spoke with residents of the City using Preston Park yesterday evening, not one person was in favour of the encampments. They find it incomprehensible that in planning the eviction from Wild Park nobody thought to close the gates preventing caravan access to Preston Park. It is incompetency to not consider that dispersing such a large group from Wild Park would lead to Preston Park being targeted. Without exception they feel that enough liberties have been taken and the Council should stop wasting money on tolerating the situation. They feel that the Police should equally start to consider the rights of local residents.”

“It is also ridiculous that the Council and Police are now conducting a Community Impact Assessment and welfare checks on the same group that were assessed when they first arrived at Preston Park several weeks ago, assessed again when they went to Wild Park and now for the third time as they return to Preston Park. What do the officers think will have changed?”

Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, leader of Conservative group, Brighton & Hove City Council
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, leader of Conservative group, Brighton & Hove City Council

Conservative Group Leader, Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, added: “There is a very simple solution for areas such as Preston Park and that is to designate them as Sensitive Sites. By doing so the Police can evict immediately, nobody will suffer the disruption and money will not be wasted.”

“Unfortunately the simple solution is not possible because the Green and Labour Parties have not supported the motion we put before the Council twice in the last year or so asking for sensitive sites to be designated. It would seem that they are not as concerned as the residents that our parks, playing fields and other green spaces are subject to huge unauthorised encampments.”

Cllr Warren Morgan
Cllr Warren Morgan

Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour and Co-operative group on Brighton & Hove Council, said: “The council does have a sensitive site protocol drawn up in conjunction with the police that we support. However, it remains the decision of the police as to whether they use their powers of immediate eviction. The council does not have these powers and the Tory-led Government has done nothing to change that.”

 

LETTER TO EDITOR: Thank you from THT

Ross Boseley
Ross Boseley

“Terrence Higgins Trust Brighton would like to thank  all the staff, performers and customers that made  the Dave Lynn drag roast at Charles Street last month a roaring success.

“A special thank you to Charles Street manager, Chris Marshall and entertainers Dave Lynn, Lola Lasagne, Michael Topping, Rose Garden, Maisie Trollette and Miss Jason who made this special night happen.

“An outstanding donation of £731.77 was raised from a week of fundraising.

“This donation will support local services for communities and individuals affected by HIV.

“A huge thank you again from us all at Terrence Higgins Trust Brighton.”

Ross Boseley, Health Promotion Coordinator : Community Engagement & Outreach at THT

 

When April met Winston

New photograph to go on display in April Ashley exhibition in Liverpool.

April Ashley
April Ashley

A new photograph showing April Ashley meeting Sir Winston Churchill has gone on display at the Museum of Liverpool.

This rare press image has been included in the universally praised April Ashley: Portrait of a lady exhibition, which has recently been extended to run until, December 7 2014.

The photograph, showing April and Winston meeting for the first time in April 1964, has been re-discovered in time to mark 50 years since the event took place.

Both April and Sir Winston were attending the last matinee performance of Fata Morgana at the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, which starred Churchill’s daughter Sarah in the role of Mathilde. The photograph was taken just months before Churchill’s last illness before he passed away in January 1965.

April meet Winston

In the photo Sarah Churchill can be seen on Sir Winston’s left, along with actor David Hemmings behind Churchill and Ellen Pollock who directed the show is in the centre.

April wrote in her biography, about the meeting: “I was so glad – even if only for a moment – I’d met someone who’d been such an important part of history. As children, we had been brought up with two gods: God and Winston Churchill”.

Tony Singleton, who also worked on Fata Morgana at the Ashcroft, recently unearthed the photograph in one of his treasured memory boxes.

April Ashley: Portrait of a lady opened at the Museum of Liverpool in September 2013, to tell the story of April Ashley – one of the first people in the world to undergo gender reassignment surgery – and the history of transgender people in Britain over the past 70 years.

Curated by Homotopia in partnership with National Museums Liverpool, the exhibition draws on April Ashley’s previously unseen photographic archive and personal documents to investigate the wider impact of changing social and legal conditions for all transgender, lesbian, gay and bisexual people from 1935 to today.

The photograph of April and Sir Winston went on display in time for the Un-straight Museum conference at the Museum of Liverpool from 13 – 14 June. This international conference, organised by Homotopia and National Museums Liverpool, explored the role of cultural institutions, curators and archivists in representing marginalised communities and promoting diversity.

The conference addressed the under representation of LGBT heritage in mainstream public spaces and showcased examples of ground-breaking work where hidden histories are being uncovered and presented.

For more information, CLICK HERE:

 

Survey highlights Kemptown MP is most responsive in East Sussex to his constituents

Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, responds to the most constituent enquiries to sitting MPs in East Sussex according to a new survey.

Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown & Peacehaven
Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown & Peacehaven

According to the writetothem survey 104 out of 124 respondents heardback from Simon within two weeks putting him in joint 51st place out of 650 MP’s and giving him the highest score of all East Sussex MP’s.

Commenting on the findings, Simon Kirby, said: “I work extremely hard to represent all my constituents in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven. I do my very best to respond to enquiries promptly. My constituents deserve and, quite rightly expect, a quick response to their query. I will try to do even better but of course some issues are very complex and require longer to provide a full response so I send an acknowledgement card to let people know I am looking into their issue.

I am here to help everybody in the constituency, regardless of how they vote, so if anybody in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven needs some help, please do get in touch.”

He added: “I aim to be as accessible as possible to constituents. As well as holding my regular constituency advice surgeries I have responded to 45,000 letters, emails and telephone calls since 2010, as well as occasionally making home visits if a constituent is unable to come to see me.”

The Kemptown and Peacehaven MP recently held a constituency advice surgery bus tour around the constituency as well as previously holding stalls at Pride, Kemptown Carnival and Saltdean Fun Day.

Councillors call for an end to discriminatory blood donor rules

Green councillors on Brighton & Hove City Council are calling for an end to the bar against gay and bisexual men donating blood within 12 months of sexual activity.

Cllr Alex Phillips
Cllr Alex Phillips

In 2011 a lifetime ban on donating blood by gay and bisexual men was lifted in most of the UK (except Northern Ireland); however any man who has had sex with another man within the last year is not permitted to donate blood.

To coincide with World Blood Donor Day on June 14, Green councillors have announced they are tabling a motion at the next city council meeting on July 17 urging the Government to change the rules.

The time it takes for tests to show whether someone is infected with HIV and most other serious blood-borne infections is now three months and for Hepatitis C is six months so infection is detectable much earlier than 12 months.

Green Councillor Alexandra Phillips, proposer of the motion, said: “We welcome the 2011 change lifting the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood but it doesn’t go far enough to end discrimination and help the supply of safe blood.

“The current rules are still discriminatory and are not backed by logical analysis of risk. Good science would support a six month window before donating blood after a possible risk, for all donors, on the basis that tests for HIV and Hepatitis C can detect infection within that time. The health service desperately needs safe blood donations, but this discrimination bars perfectly healthy men from helping to save lives.

“It is possible to have a safe donor system based on the prevention of harm yet which does not discriminate. Anyone wanting to donate blood should be asked the same basic questions irrespective of their sexual orientation. It is unethical to prevent a whole group of healthy people from donating blood when a blood donation might save a life.

“Now the council has responsibility for public health, we hope this motion will help reassure gay and bisexual men in our city that the council is set against such a discriminatory health policy and that the government should act.”

Cllr Mike Jones
Cllr Mike Jones

Councillor Mike Jones, who is an NHS sexual health adviser and is seconding the motion, added: “It’s absolutely crucial that blood supplies are safe and there should be proper measures in place to deal with risky individuals – but these rules mean in practice the vast majority of healthy gay and bisexual men are prevented from donating blood.

“The result is we cut the supply of safe blood to the NHS while high-risk heterosexual donors remain free to donate. The blood of a healthy gay man who is in a monogamous relationship and who has only had oral sex will not be used whereas a heterosexual man who has had multiple opposite-sex partners and who refuses to take safe sex precautions will not usually be questioned about his behaviour or have his blood excluded.”

He added: “Given that only around 5% of healthy people actually donate blood, rather than discriminating against large sections of the population, it would be far better and fairer to treat donors on a case-by-case basis using precise questions so that those gay and bisexual men who are willing to give blood would answer questions that accurately identify their degree of risk, so we aren’t turning away people who could be saving lives.”

The Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissue and Organs partly justifies the ban on the higher incidence of Hepatitis B in gay and bisexual men than the rest of the population since this infection could remain undetectable for several months under current testing. However advocates of a non-discriminatory approach say this could be addressed by a targeted Hepatitis B vaccination programme among gay and bisexual men.

Green councillors say health authorities should implement a ‘Safe Blood’ education campaign targeted at the men who have sex with men to ensure that no one donates blood if they are at risk of HIV and other blood-borne infections arising from unsafe sexual activity. This should be backed by a health promotion campaign for Hepatitis B vaccination within the gay and bisexual community.

 

Housing organisations support Newcastle Pride

One of the UK’s leading LGBT festivals is proving there’s no place like home, thanks to support from three of the North East’s top housing organisations.

Pam Walton from the Gentoo Group, with Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, Mark Johns of South Tyneside Homes, Louise Taylor from the Gateshead Housing Company and one of the stilt walkers from the Newcastle Pride parade.
Pam Walton from the Gentoo Group, with Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, Mark Johns of South Tyneside Homes, Louise Taylor from the Gateshead Housing Company and one of the stilt walkers from the Newcastle Pride parade.

Gentoo Group, South Tyneside Homes and The Gateshead Housing Company have joined forces to support Newcastle Pride, which returns to the region on the weekend starting Friday, July 18.

The trio, which collectively manages tens of thousands of properties across the North East, will be sponsoring the festival’s carnival-style parade, which will weave its way through the city on Saturday July 19.

This year’s parade, which has a Pride Through the Decades theme, will feature hundreds of performers and supporters, all dressed in colourful costumes inspired by LGBT icons from the past and present.

Spectators are invited to line the route from the Civic Centre, along Northumberland Street and Percy Street to the Town Moor, where there will be live music and entertainment throughout the afternoon.

Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, which organises the event, said: “The Pride parade is one of the most popular aspects of the annual festival and we’re hoping that with support from Gentoo, South Tyneside Homes and Gateshead Housing, this year’s will be bigger, brighter and better than ever.”

The Parade, which starts at midday on Saturday, July 19, forms part of a three-day programme of events taking place starting on Friday, July 18 as part of Newcastle Pride.

Other highlights for 2014 include live performances by big name acts including Sinitta, Shayne Ward and the Vengaboys at Newcastle’s Town Moor, where there will also be a fun fair, themed entertainment zones and various stalls open throughout the weekend.

For the first time in Newcastle Pride’s seven year history, this year’s event will also include a second stage outside the Centre for Life, where there will be live music from stars such as Steps singer Faye Tozer on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

The majority of the event is free, however a number of Gold, VIP and Platinum packages are also available incorporating hospitality and a reserved viewing area for the Town Moor performances.

For more information Newcastle Pride, CLICK HERE:

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