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Welsh national rugby team takes a stand against homophobic abuse

Welsh team backs Stonewall campaign at this weekend’s international game after international referee suffers homophobic abuse at Twickenham.

Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric sign the pledge
Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric sign the pledge

THE WELSH NATIONAL squad and the Welsh Rugby Union have joined Stonewall’s NoBystanders Campaign to help tackle abuse and bullying.

The move comes after openly-gay international referee Nigel Owens was subjected to homophobic abuse at Twickenham. Rugby’s finest have now taken a stand by joining thousands of individuals and organisations who are backing the NoBystanders anti-bullying campaign.

Statistics show that more than 75,000 young people will be bullied this year simply for being gay, and 21,000 will attempt suicide.

Homophobic bullying and abuse can have a devastating impact on young people’s self-esteem, with one in three who experience homophobic bullying changing their plans for future education because of it. It can also escalate from playground name-calling to grown-up violence.

Spectators at Saturday’s Dove Men’s Series International Match will be asked to join the squad in the campaign. The sell-out crowd at Cardiff’s 74,000-seat Millennium Stadium will be shown Stonewall’s NoBystanders campaign video, featuring Sir Ian McKellen.

Andrew White, Stonewall Cymru Director, said: “Every year 75,000 young people are bullied for being gay. That’s one young person for every seat in the Millennium Stadium.

‘The support of the Wales squad in calling out bullying language sends a message to thousands of supporters that we all have a part to play in stopping bullying. It’s time we all speak up and stop being bystanders to abuse.”

Nigel Owens
Nigel Owens

Nigel Owens, added: “I’m pleased to see the reaction of the rugby community against homophobic and other harmful language. I believe we all have to call out this language for the damage that it does. 

“Recently comments were thrown at me as I was simply doing my job. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me – you get disappointed and down, it gets to you.  We are only human and when people say horrible things about you, it gets in your mind.

“It’s a situation that too many people face in their own workplaces, schools and community. I won’t be a bystander to abuse and I hope that fans of the game will really get behind this campaign.”

WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis, said: “We are proud of the traditional values of rugby – of friendly camaraderie between players and supporters and also of respect towards players, fans and match officials. It is important we work hard to retain those values as they are genuine qualities of our national game and enable our sport to stand out from the crowd.”

For more information about Stonewall’s NoBystanders campaign, click here:

 

 

PREVIEW: ‘We All Live Together’ a Concert for World Aids Day

Local LGBT musicians join forces to raise money for HIV charity, Lunch Positive.

World Aids Day Concert

SOME OF Brighton & Hove’s LGBT choirs and musicians will be joining forces once again on December 1, to put on a fundraising concert, called We All Live Together: A Concert For World AIDS Day.

Funds raised from the concert will be donated to Lunch Positive, the weekly lunch club for people with and who are affected by HIV. Lunch Positive volunteers will also be serving home made mince pies and mulled wine on the night.

Gary PargeterGary Parteger from Lunch Positive said: “We’re overjoyed at the support from the choirs and music groups at this year’s World AIDS Day Concert. It means so much to have the support of so many groups and performers at this important event, and really proves that we are a community in togetherness.

“Our forthcoming year at Lunch Positive will be spent helping a growing number of people and aiming to reach people who do not easily access services. The proceeds from this year’s World AIDS Day concert will make a huge difference in all that we do. Thank you from our members and volunteers.”

We All Live Together will feature performances by the Brighton Belles Women’s Chorus, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, Rainbow Chorus, Resound Male Voices and Qukelele.

Leaders from the participating choirs and groups commented on what concert means to their organisation:

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Deborah Wolf

Deborah Wolf, Chair of the Brighton Belles Women’s Chorus, said: “The Brighton Belles love being part of a community that comes together with love, joy and music to help those who need a hand. When you are a certain age (as most of our choir are) you have almost certainly lost some-one you care about to HIV/AIDS and know many close friends living with it in their lives. World AIDS Day is a celebration, a remembrance and a reminder of the present also. We are honoured to join our friends as one voice.”

Paul Charlton
Paul Charlton

Paul Charlton, Chair of Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, added: “World AIDS Day represents many things to many people, in particular the many challenges that HIV/AIDS has presented to so many of us over the years. Working as part of a choir, you become very aware of not only what can be achieved when we all work together, but also how important it is that we find ways of doing so. Perhaps then we can somehow empower ourselves to each face life’s inevitable challenges with some sense of optimism and hope.”

Finola Brophy
Finola Brophy

Finola Brophy, Chair of the Rainbow Chorus, said: “As the only local LGBT choir the Rainbow Chorus is delighted to be performing for World AIDS Day alongside other Brighton choirs. This is such an important event in our year raising awareness and celebrating the lives of those living with and affected by HIV as well as remembering those who have died. We’re delighted that all proceeds will go to Lunch Positive who do such great work.”

Scott Roedersheimer, Chair of Resound, added: ”Resound Male Voices is delighted to once again be participating in the annual World Aids Day Concert to raise much needed funds and awareness. We stand in solidarity with our fellow singers in the knowledge that we make the greatest possible impact when our many individual voices join together.”

Seffy Sefton-Smith
Seffy Sefton-Smith

Seffy Sefton-Smith from LGBT ukelele band Qukelele, concluded saying: “Qukelele are delighted to perform at “We All Live Together” again this year and help support such a deserving charity.

“It’s great fun to get together with the other choirs, and the group number at the end always leaves us feeling very warm and fuzzy!”

The concert will take place at St Mary’s Church in Kemp Town Brighton on December 1 at 7.30 pm which will allow time for those attending the Candlelit Vigil from 6-7pm at the AIDS Memorial statue on new Steine Gardens to pop along to.

For more information, click here:

Tickets cost £5 and will be available to buy online from November 1 or in person from Prowler on St James Street. Its highly recommended to buy tickets in advance, but a small number will be retained to buy on the door on the night.


Event: A Concert For World Aids Day: We All Live Together featuring: The Brighton Belles, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, Rainbow Chorus, Resound Male Voices and Qukelele

Where: St Mary’s Church, St Georges Road, Kemptown, Brighton

When: Monday, December 1

Time: 7pm for 7.30pm start: Mulled Wine and Mince Pies available provided by Lunch Positive

Tickets: £5 each and will be available to buy online from November 1 at www.BrightonWADconcert.info, in person from Prowler on St James St and a small number will be retained to buy on the door on the night.

Fundraising: All proceeds to Lunch Positive

 

Council concessions on traders’s permits welcomed

Local Conservatives have welcomed a concession on traders’s permits in the city – but say cost is still too high.

Cllr Graham Cox: Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hove & Portslade
Cllr Graham Cox: Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hove & Portslade

TRADERS’ PARKING permits in Brighton and Hove cost £640 a year. The cost was more than doubled by the current Green Administration and an example of what many perceive as rip-off parking charges in the city.

This impacts on the costs of local traders and small businesses – builders, electricians, decorators, mobile hairdressers etc – who have to pass these costs onto householders having work done on or at their homes.

Little noticed at the time of the price hike was that the permits did not allow traders to park in a permit holders’ bay after 4pm. Most traders work until at least 5pm, and often later on emergency call-outs. A trader working at a customer’s house finds herself getting a ticket completing a job which goes on pass 4pm.

Councillor Graham Cox, Conservative Party Candidate for Hove and Portslade 2015, has welcomed the recently agreed concession to put the restriction on traders’ permits in resdients’ bays back to 5pm from December 1.

Graham said: “This will make things a little bit easier for our hard-working local traders, and if you are having work done on your house the tradesmen and women will not all have to disappear at 4pm without completing the job.

“The Conservatives are committed to ending rip-off charges. There remains a strong case for reducing this excessive tax on local businesses. Brighton and Hove charges far more than other authorities, and almost certainly would make up for any shortfall in revenue by selling more permits if the cost is reduced to a fairer level.”

Shadow Health Minister answers questions about Labour’s plans for the NHS

Over 60 local residents and healthcare workers including GPs had the chance to question Shadow Health Minister Liz Kendall about Labour’s plans for the NHS yesterday.

THE EVENT which took place in Whitehawk was hosted by Nancy Platts, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven.

Also speaking at the event were Frances McCabe, Chair of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove who outlined the work of Healthwatch and Dr Anita Amin a local GP who spoke about her experiences as a GP and how she would like to see the NHS develop in the future.

Nancy Platts
Nancy Platts

Nancy Platts, who has worked with many healthcare charities including Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Diabetes UK, said: “I want to pay tribute to everyone who works in the NHS, for their commitment and dedication to delivering a world class health service. This event was about bringing local people and those working at the sharp end of the NHS closer to those who are making the big decisions about the future of our health service in Parliament. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to come and share their thoughts over a light lunch. If elected as the MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven in May 2015 my job will be to listen and be the voice of the constituency in Westminster and holding these gatherings is one way I intend to do that.”

The discussion covered the needs of an ageing population, nutrition and malnutrition, managing the growing number of people with long-term conditions, keeping the NHS public, staff pay and the retention of GPs.  People also expressed concerns about waiting times for GP appointments and the impact of this on A&E.

Liz Kendall MP
Liz Kendall MP

Liz Kendall, Shadow Health Minister for Care and Older People, added: “David Cameron’s disastrous NHS reorganisation has cost £3 billion and inflicted chaos on the NHS. We can see signs of stress in all parts of the system – waiting lists are rising, people are struggling to see their GP and the cancer treatment target has been missed for the last 9 months in a row. The effects can be felt here in Brighton too – the local A&E has now missed the 4 hour waiting target for 45 weeks in a row – this means more than 18,000 people waited more than 4 hours in A&E in Brighton over the past year.”

“Ed Miliband has announced a range of measures to protect and improve services, including a guaranteed GP appointment within 48 hours and a new ‘Time to Care’ fund that would raise an additional £2.5 billion to recruit 20,000 more nurses, 8,000 more GPs, 5,000 extra home care workers and 3,000 more midwives. This would be funded by clamping down on tax avoidance, raising revenue from tobacco companies and introducing a mansion tax on properties worth over £2 million.”

 

Welsh Lib Dems lead landmark debate on transgender issues

The Welsh Liberal Democrats marked Transgender Awareness Week on Wednesday by leading a landmark Welsh Assembly debate on issues faced by Welsh trans people.

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IT IS THOUGHT to be the first time this topic has been discussed in-depth by the National Assembly for Wales. It is estimated there are over 31,300 trans people in Wales, yet there are significant problems relating to adequate healthcare and housing provision. Welsh Lib Dem Assembly Members will be raised these issues, in addition to the perception of trans people in Wales and what can be done to further raise awareness of gender equality issues in order to reduce stigma.

The Welsh Lib Dems called on the Welsh Government to identify a Minister to be given specific responsibility for transgender issues, and for that Minister to report back to the Assembly within 6 months with an action plan to address the concerns raised.

Kirsty Williams AM
Kirsty Williams AM

Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “This is a long overdue debate, and I’m pleased that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are giving these issues the attention they deserve. Trans people are subject to so much prejudice throughout their lives, and there’s so much more we can do to support them access public services.

“The Welsh Labour Government claims there isn’t enough demand for a gender clinic in Wales, but are doing so without any solid basis for their claim. Given that estimates put the number of trans people in Wales in the thousands, it’s astonishing to think that there still isn’t a single gender clinic in Wales.

“Trans hate crime has also been recognised as a concern by the Welsh Labour Government, yet there isn’t any publicly-funded LGBT safe housing in Wales for those facing bullying or persecution on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity in the same way that there would be for people experiencing domestic violence.

“This is yet another issue where Wales is falling behind compared to the rest of the UK. I sincerely hope the Welsh Government will take the opportunity to take action and put in place these services as quickly as possible.”

Peter Black AM
Peter Black AM

Peter Black AM, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Equalities Minister, added: “A number of high-profile trans people such as Kellie Maloney and Chelsea Manning have helped bring transgender issues closer to the foreground of public debate, but there is much more to be done in order to improve the awareness and understanding of gender issues.

“It is widely believed that ignorance breeds fear, and this often translates into hatred and discrimination against minority groups. We need to do much more to help people understand trans issues, so they will be more widely taken into account when designing services or implementing policy.”

National HIV Testing Week Update:

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) relaunches postal HIV testing service for gay and bisexual men.

HIV Postal Testing Kit

HIV AND sexual health charity THT is to mark National HIV Testing Week from November 22-30, by relaunching its highly popular postal HIV testing service for gay and bisexual men.

The Fastest Direct service is a collaboration between THT and Public Health England, with additional funding and support from HIV Prevention England.

The kit is available free of charge to gay and bisexual men living in England.

To have a kit delivered to your door, click here:

The process involves a simple finger-prick blood test, which is then posted in a pre-paid envelope to a laboratory for testing. Results are returned within 14 days, either by text message (for negative results), or with a telephone call to provide support and referral to a specialist HIV service (for reactive results).

In 2013, there were an estimated 43,500 gay and bisexual men living with HIV in the UK, one in six of whom remain undiagnosed. Undiagnosed infection is widely recognised as a key factor driving the UK’s HIV epidemic, as someone who remains undiagnosed is much more likely to pass the virus on unwittingly than someone who has tested and is on treatment.

National HIV Testing Week was established by THT and HIV Prevention England in 2012, in a bid to reduce high levels of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed HIV among gay men and Africans in England.

In 2013, THT ran a pilot postal HIV testing scheme in England, which demonstrated significant demand and acceptability for the option to test for HIV at home. Around 32% of those who returned a test had never tested for the virus before, and 25% had not tested in the last 12 months. 97% of users agreed that they would use the service again.

Cary James
Cary James

Cary James, Head of Health Improvement for THT, said: “There are more than 7,000 gay and bi men in the UK who have HIV but don’t yet know they have it. To slow the spread of the virus, we need to take every opportunity to get more people testing more regularly, and that includes finding new ways to reach people outside of the clinic. We are very pleased to be relaunching Fastest Direct, and we would encourage anyone who hasn’t tested before, or perhaps hasn’t tested in some time, to take advantage of the service and be sure of their HIV status.”

In April 2014, the sale of HIV self-testing kits – where a person performs an HIV test on themselves and receives an immediate result – became legal in the UK. However, no kit has yet been approved that is available for sale.

For further information on HIV testing, or to request a postal HIV test, click here: 

 

Have your say on how the council consults on planning process

Brighton & Hove City Council is keen to hear the views of people across the city on the process it follows for planning consultations.

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty
Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty

From today, Thursday, November 20, there will be an opportunity to comment on the draft ‘Statement of Community Involvement.’

To take part online, click here: or see printed copies at the council’s customer service centres and libraries.

The draft Revised Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out how the council will seek public views on the preparation of local plans (such as the City Plan) and planning policy documents. It also looks at the process for making sure residents have their say on individual planning applications.

The revised document updates the SCI adopted in 2006.

Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, chair of the city’s planning committee, said: “Planning affects all communities in the city, whether they are involved in submitting planning applications or being invited to give views on new schemes. Planning can also be emotive so it is only right that we are asking you how we involve you more in the planning process.

“It is so important that we make sure people have opportunities to have their say, so they can shape the future development of our city. It is equally important that the council plays its part and listens to our communities and properly considers their views.”

Closing date for comments is January 16, 2015.

 

Royal Pavilion Military Hospital Tour for Royal Pavilion & Museums

The Royal Pavilion launches a fascinating new audio tour about its history as a military hospital for Indian soldiers and a hospital for limbless men during the First World War on Saturday, December 6.

Brighton Pavilon

THE ROYAL PAVILION & Museums are launching a new audio and multimedia guide offering visitors a comprehensive tour of the former Royal Palace’s use as a military hospital during the First World War. The guide goes live on Saturday, December 6 marking the Centenary year of the day the Royal Pavilion first opened its doors as a hospital for Indian soldiers in December 1914.

The new audio and multimedia guide offers visitors an enhanced experience of the Royal Pavilion ground floor rooms and offers an alternative historical perspective on the often overlooked role the building played during the First World War.

While the audio guide focuses on the wartime use of the Royal Pavilion, visitors will also hear descriptions and explore archive photographs showing how rooms were originally used during its Regency period and will discover how rooms designed for lavish banquets, music and dancing were transformed into hospital wards for treating often horrific injures and illnesses sustained by soldiers on the Western Front.

The tour also extends the narrative and develops the history presented in the Indian Hospital gallery by including the next phase of the Royal Pavilion’s use as a military hospital for limbless men from 1916-19.

The guide features fascinating and in-depth narratives from Brighton Museum’s First World War project staff; Kevin Bacon, Andy Maxted and Jody East, as well as contributions from Davinder Dhillon and Tom Donovan of the Chattri Memorial Group.

The new tour will also offer visitors the opportunity to listen to the stories of limbless soldiers’ personal experiences and often satirical stories told through their self-published hospital newsletter ‘Pavilion Blues’.

The Royal Pavilion Military Hospital Tour will offer an alternative to the current standard and family audio tours.

Visitors will be given the option of which tour they would like when paying admission at the ticket desk. The military hospital tour will mostly be aimed at visitors who have already taken the standard tour and would like to extend their knowledge of the Pavilion, at visitors with a particular interest in military history, and at visitors who would like a slightly different perspective of the Pavilion.

From next Spring the tour will also be offered in two additional languages, French and Hindi, to encourage visits from local and overseas community groups who may have links either to patients, or the staff who treated them from 1914-1919. The translations are currently in development and tours in these languages will be available in early March 2015.

City Council win prestigious conservation award

Work to create 15 new butterfly havens in Brighton & Hove has been recognised with a national award.

Picture shows (left to right) Peter Titley of Marsh Christian Trust, John Gapper and his son Mark Gapper of Brighton & Hove City Council, Dr Dan Danahar of the Sussex Branch of Butterfly Conservation at the award presentation.

BRIGHTON & HOVE City Council has won the prestigious ‘Promotion of Lepidoptera Conservation Award’. The award recognises an outstanding, unprecedented or major contribution to the conservation of butterflies and moths.

The award was presented by Peter Titley, Trustee of the Marsh Christian Trust, the charity that supports organisations across the fields of conservation and education, at the recent Annual General Meeting of Butterfly Conservation.

Over the past seven years, council staff and conservationists have been working to create new Butterfly Havens, across the city from East Brighton Park and Carden Avenue to Hove Lagoon, Greenleas and Mile Oak recreation ground.

Dr Dan Danahar, Habitat Restoration Officer for Butterfly Conservation’s Sussex Branch, said: ”These havens have effectively brought the delights of the chalk downs within the reach of city dwellers.” 

”They have allowed precious downland wildlife to flourish on poor quality grassland sites. Careful grazing in a plan designed to benefit wildlife has further enhanced this green network of biodiversity hubs and corridors.”

The city’s first Butterfly Haven was created at Dorothy Stringer School in 2007. Work involved landscaping a chalk slope, sowing a carefully selected wildflower seed mix and planting 5,500 locally sourced wildflower plugs. Since then, 27 different butterflies have been seen on this site, a staggering three quarters of all the different species found in the city!

Inspired by this success Brighton & Hove City Council submitted an application in conjunction with the South Downs National Park in 2012 to become part of a Nature Improvement Area. The application was successful and the Council secured £91,000 funding for its part of the “South Downs Way Ahead” project.

John Gapper, who works at the council’s Stanmer Nursery, worked with staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, who provided advice on how to collect single species of seeds.  These were planted and grown into small plant plugs by volunteers. During the winter, council rangers worked with more volunteers to plant 200,000 wildflower plugs.

This work has already benefited many butterfly species, including the Dingy & Grizzled Skippers, Small and Chalkhill Blues and, in one case, bringing a colony of the spectacularly beautiful Adonis Blue directly into the city centre.

Cllr Pete West
Cllr Pete West

Councillor Pete West, Chair of the council’s Environment, Sustainability and Transport Committee, said: “I’m extremely proud that we have been able to create these magnificent havens which are already attracting many butterfly species back to the city.

“All credit must go to John and Mark Gapper and their hardworking team of volunteers whose knowledge, inspiration and expertise has made this project such a huge success.”

 

Handbags under the Hammer

WANTED Handbags, Hats & Heels!

Martlets Auction

THE MARTLETS Hospice is asking women from Brighton & Hove to dig out their unwanted handbags for a new charity auction event.

The Hove based charity is hosting their first ‘Handbags, Hats & Heels’ sale & auction of all styles of handbags, hats and shoes at the Sussex County Cricket Club in February. There will be items and prices to suit all purses, with sealed bids, items for sale and a luxury raffle.

Antonia Shepherd, Events Manger for the Martlets, said: “Whether your bags are Mulberry, Prada or high street chic – we want them all.

“The hunt is on for all those unwanted bags that can be auctioned off and sent to new loving homes. So what are you waiting for, dig out those bags languishing in the back of your wardrobe and help your local hospice.”

The money raised through the sale and auction will go towards the Martlets’ work caring for adults living in and around Brighton & Hove who are affected by terminal illness.

Handbag donations can be made at any of the Martlets’ shops in and around the city, the Hospice in Wayfield Avenue, the furniture warehouse on Hove Business Park and through special donation boxes around Brighton.

Antonia added: “It’s not just pre-loved bags we are after, if any local fashion stores wish to make a donation, we’d be really grateful – or if any local business can spare space for a collection box that would be really helpful too.”

The Hats, Handbags & Heels event itself takes place on Wednesday 11 February, with an afternoon auction between 2.30 – 5pm, or for those fashion lovers who want to make a night of it, there is also an evening auction 6.30 – 9pm.

Tickets cost £5.00 for the afternoon and £7.50 for the evening auction, and includes a complimentary cup of tea or glass of wine respectively.

To book your tickets telephone 01273 964200 or click here:  

 

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