Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Gay Oscar’s, the Golden Handbag Awards, hosted by Lola Lasagne and featuring funny ladies Zoe Lyons and Myra Dubois, powerhouse vocalist Jennie Castell and the brilliant Drag with No Name.
THE awards will take place on Sunday, June 21 in the glamorous surroundings of the Oxford Suite at the Brighton Metropole Hilton Hotel. Walk the red carpet when you arrive and have your photo taken with the multi award winning hostess, Joan Bond and the larger than life Sonia Marmite.
Zoe Lyons
There are just ten pre-booked VIP tables left for sale which seat 12 people and cost £240. To book one of these tables call 01273 749 947 or email: info@gscene.com
These final ten tables will be released on a first come first served basis.
If you’re not on a VIP table, unreserved single tickets, costing £20 each, can be purchased from Prowler, 112 St James’s Street, Brighton. Prowler don’t charge a handling fee for this service and all payments must be settled in cash at Prowler. These seats are not reserved and are allocated on the public tables on a first come, first served basis on the night.
This year you will only have the chance to vote online and voting will commence at 10pm on Tuesday, May 12 during the legendary Golden Handbag Quiz Night at Charles Street on Marine Parade.
Online voting will close at midnight on, Friday, June 12.
After the success of the award-winning accessibility matters initiative at Pride in 2014, access to this years event will be even easier in 2015.
ORGANISERS have moved this years Access Tent and Access Gate at the Pride Festival site to the south end of Preston Park making it easier for those with disabilities and mobility requirements to enjoy their day by making entering and exiting the park easier for those with disabilities and additional mobility requirements.
The Access Tent will form a strong part of the Community Area alongside the Family Diversity Area, Kids Area and Trans* Area and will once again by facilitated by the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum (LGBT CSF).
Joanna Rowland-Stuart
Commenting on the importance of the Access Tent at Pride, Disability and Trans* rep for the LGBT CSF, Joanna Rowland-Stuart, said: “The Access Tent is not just a meeting place for disabled visitors to Pride, for them it’s also a refuge, a place to seek advice, to get help, First Aid and to report problems of any nature with their day at Pride, up to and including reporting hate crime incidents.”
Billie Lewis
Billie Lewis, Elected Chair of the LGBT CSF, added:“I am hoping that the facility will not only benefit and empower those needing to use it but will remind the LGBT+ community that disabled people and the elderly are welcome at Pride and should be equally welcome throughout the LGBT+ scene.
“We will be working closely with other volunteer services to make sure the facility is as inclusive as possible.”
For more information on the Access Provisions at Pride, click here:
If you want to sponsor an element of the Access Area telephone 01273 231189
Event: Pride Festival Preston Park
Where: Preston Park, Preston Road, Brighton
When: Saturday, August 1
Time: 12noon – 10pm
Tickets: Early Birds Sold out: £16.00 advance (first release): The advance £18.50/ £21.00: Joint tickets available for Festival and Village party.
Peter left school without the qualifications he needed to get by so he returned to secondary school as a 25 year-old and started all over again.
Peter Kyle: Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Hove and Portslade
SINCE then he’s got a PhD in community development, set up a local film company, run a charity for youth unemployment and been an aid worker.
Peter said:“Being gay and going to school in the 1980’s under Section 28 taught me what it’s like to have a government that’s against you. Labour changed all that and it’s amazing to think that I’m now standing to be our city’s first openly gay MP.”
“But we live in an age where many people are still excluded from the best that life in Brighton and Hove has to offer. That’s why I was on the board of Pride, am chair of governors of a local school, and actively campaign for positive change across our communities.”
Peter’s position on the Stonewall Equality Manifesto: To download Manifesto, click here:
International Aid: With Labour many LGBT battles were won. From equalisation of the age of consent to civil partnerships and allowing trans people to have their true gender recognised in law. But I know there is a lot more to do. For example, I was an aid worker for almost a decade where I saw first hand that there are many countries that have not even begun the journey we started towards LGBT equality. Even worse, people are being actively persecuted and at times murdered with state complicity solely due to their sexuality.
Britain’s aid spending and diplomatic services are a powerful force around the world. If I become the MP for Hove and Portslade I will use my experience to steer our overseas activity as a nation to better advocate for positive change around the world for LGBT people. As a last resort, I would support withdrawal or scaling down of British investment in countries that do not take active steps towards equality and the elimination of gay and trans phobia.
Statutory PSHE and Sex and Relationships Education for primary and secondary schools in England: At home we must do more for our next generation. That means equipping them for the challenges of life in our 21st century economy and also developing the right attitudes to sex and relationships. I became chair of governors of a local secondary school so I could do my bit for our city’s students. I’ve leaned a great deal about how we can use our education system to teach the values and skills young people need to respect each other and develop rewarding and mutually respectful relationships into adulthood. I will continue my work of advocating for better relationship teaching, including same-sex relationships, going forward.
Reviewing the laws affecting trans people: There are still areas where legislation will play a role in promoting better equality, particularly for trans people. That’s why I signed up to the Trans Manifesto.
There is also more that we need to do within our LGBT community too. In the past we have united to campaign for changes to the law, but now many of those battles have been won we must also look to how we tackle challenges within our own community too. Risky and unhealthy activities such as ‘chem-sex’ is leading to increased HIV contraction rates and this is something we as a community should come together to solve in order to protect our friends and the young people who are emerging into the LGBT scene.
Peter’s position on the future Commissioning of Health Services and how that affects the Sussex Beacon:
“Because of the independence of voluntary organisations and the fact that service users are so integral to the way support is provided, organisations like The Sussex Beacon are essential to the future of our NHS. They are special because they are embedded within the communities they serve, yet form a link to mainstream public services.
People with HIV are still reluctant to be open about their status within mainstream services and when combined with the fact that so many people are now living into old age with HIV it is clear that the role of a well funded, independent, voluntary sector is as essential as it ever has been.”
For a full list of candidates standing in Hove and Portslade, click here:
Peter Lambell is 47 years old and has been an active member of his local community for many years, serving four years as a Surrey County Councillor, winning his seat from the Conservatives in 2009.
Peter Lambell: Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Hove and Portslade
AS Vice Chair of Governors at a school for children with severe learning difficulties, Peter has a particular interest in education. He was a member of the Council’s Education Select Committee and was opposition spokesperson for Education.
As a councillor, he worked to protect bus services from cuts, and to ensure respite care for parents with disabled children. He is a graduate of Oxford Brookes University and the College of Law and now works as a Business Analyst with his own consultancy company.
In his spare time he enjoys growing vegetables on his allotment with his wife, Judith, a Chartered Civil Engineer.
Peter’s position on the Stonewall Equality Manifesto: To download manifesto, click here:
Statutory PSHE and Sex and Relationships Education for primary and secondary schools in England: I fully support the Stonewall manifesto and applaud the excellent work that Stonewall are doing to highlight these issues. I am pleased that Stonewall have now included trans issues in their lobbying campaigns and have already expressed support for the manifesto for trans communities.
I am very supportive of making PSHE covering all types of relationships compulsory for all schools, but I would possibly go further than the Stonewall manifesto to ensure that there were no exclusions for non-maintained schools who do not need to follow the National Curriculum.
Combatting homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime: I believe that better training and education would in itself go a long way to reducing hate crime but would agree that more needs to be done to recognise the aggravating factors in these cases and would support Stonewall proposals for a change in the law.
International Aid: Stonewall have highlighted a problem which I am sure many people are not aware of and I would certainly be prepared to look at any aid initiatives that would help to ensure that the rights of LGBT people worldwide are respected.”
Peter’s position on the future Commissioning of Health Services and how that affects the Sussex Beacon:
“Due to the high cluster of people living with HIV in the area, Brighton needs to be viewed as a special case for higher than average health HIV funding. Agencies such as the Sussex Beacon have a strong record of delivery but alongside this more community-based support should be developed. The exceptional local HIV voluntary sector has a major role to play in this, such as groups like Lunch Positive. These groups need secure long term funding to be able to deliver this and provide community alternatives rather than expensive NHS based care.”
For a full list of candidates standing in Hove and Portslade, click here:
As the former Superintendent of Hove Police, and Head of Sussex CID, Graham Cox says he has always stood up for residents in Hove and Portslade.
Graham Cox: Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Hove and Portslade
GRAHAM was born in Mile Oak, went to primary school in Portslade, and has lived in Hove most of his adult life. He says he is not a career politician – indeed if elected he would be the first MP who has served 30 years in the police. He says he has never been interested in standing for election anywhere other than in Hove and Portslade as he has only ever wanted to represent the community he is proud to call home.
Graham believes with his experience in the Police, he is the ideal choice to stand up for residents’ concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour which he says people raise with him every day on the doorstep. As a local councillor, he shares people’s frustration with the state of Hove and Portslade and believes we need to clean up our towns!
Graham says:“All my life I have been committed to public service and, if elected as your MP in May, I will continue my track record by fighting for more school places, a new King Alfred, and an expansion of GP and other services at the excellent Hove Polyclinic.”
Graham’s position on the Stonewall Equality Manifesto: To download Manifesto, click here:
“Stonewall have done excellent work over the years and I am pleased to see that they have released their Equality Manifesto for the general election to ensure that work continues. I am proud to support their Manifesto and the four main pillars:
Statutory PSHE and Sex and Relationships Education for primary and secondary schools in England:It is so important that teachers are equipped with the right skills to teach children about hate crime, consent and abuse, whilst encouraging knowledge of all the different forms the family can take. We are lucky to live in such a diverse city but more work needs to be done here and across the country to stamp out bullying at a young age and encourage people to be comfortable with their identity.
Combatting homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime:As the former Superintendent of Hove Police – and Chief Superintendent of Sussex CID – it is unsurprising that I think we need to work hard to deal with hate crimes. We need to send a clear message that such crimes are unacceptable, they need to be reported, and the offenders need to understand why they are unacceptable. As a police officer I dealt with such incidents first-hand (including tragically two murders of local gay men) and I saw how such bullying and hate crimes can have a really damaging impact on individuals’ wellbeing. We need to stamp it out, and I support any initiatives that do so.
International Aid: As readers are no doubt aware, this Government has been the first in history to reach the UN commitment to spending 0.7% of GDP on international aid. Not only does international aid enable us to help communities around the world, demonstrating what a caring country we are, but it is also a form of “soft power”. Countries that persecute or discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation should not receive a penny piece of British taxpayers’ money. I fully support using money within the international aid budget to help LGBT communities achieve change and representation within their countries.
Reviewing the laws affecting trans people: It is no business of the Government, the Council or the employer to tell anyone what gender they are: the best person to decide your gender is you. We need to abolish all in-built biases in the system as well as looking at the 10-year-old Gender Recognition Act.”
Graham’s position on the future Commissioning of Health Services and how that affects the Sussex Beacon:
“I support the commissioning of health services so long as it delivers good patient outcomes. Currently just 5.8% of the NHS budget goes to private organisations (including charities) compared to 4.8% when Labour left office. There are some excellent charities in this city, delivering outstanding services better than the Council or the Government, that deserve our support: For example, Mankind offers counselling services to male survivors of sexual abuse, whilst Sussex Beacon supports those living with HIV. I do not think that we should allow a dogmatic approach to the NHS budget to get in the way of helping people.”
For a full list of candidates standing in Hove and Portslade, click here:
With less than 100 days to go, the countdown to Brighton Pride 2015 is well underway as Pride organisers prepare to deliver the biggest Pride celebrations the city has ever seen.
THIS year promises a citywide celebration as our diverse and spectacular communities come together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pride in The City with a wonderful Carnival of Diversity, the first edition of the Pride Diversity Games sponsored by Domestic & General and the ever popular Pride Dog Show.
From the spectacular Brighton Pride Community Parade to the glorious Pride Festival in Preston Park its time to get set for a city-wide Carnival Of Diversity.
The star-studded line-up of artists, performers, musicians and DJs already announced include; The Human League, Fatboy Slim, Jess Glynne, Hercules and Love Affair, Foxes, Tulisa, The Freemasons, Bright Light Bright Light, Kelli-Leigh, Blooms, Seamus Haji, Prok & Fitch and Wayne G who will perform in an array of diverse entertainment and community areas on Preston Park.
Add the Wild Fruit Big Top, the Legends Cabaret tent, the Radio Reverb Alternative Performance Stage, Shelia McWattie Women’s Acoustic Performance Stage, the Urban World Dance Tent, Bears Tent and you have a Pride we can all be part of, be proud of and celebrate.
Ticket sales are well up on this time last year and Pride expect to top last years record numbers over the Pride weekend.
Join the celebration and be part of one of the UK’s biggest, brightest and boldest Pride festivals ever.
Event: Brighton Pride Festival
Where: Preston Park, Preston Road, Brighton
When: Saturday, August 1
Time: 12noon – 10pm
Tickets: Super Early Bird and Early Bird tickets have sold out: £18.50 second release now available, then £21.00. (£25.00 on the day).
One of the UK’s largest free LGBT festivals is back in July with a bumper line up, celebrating 45 years of world Pride.
B*Witched
NEWCASTLE Pride, which attracted more than 65,000 visitors in 2014, will return to the city’s Town Moor, from Friday July 17 to Sunday July 19, with a One Love theme marking the anniversary of the first Pride marches.
This year’s event, organised by the charity, Northern Pride, will feature headline performances by platinum-selling American singer Belinda Carlisle and chart-topping Irish girl band B*Witched, with a host of other top acts appearing throughout the weekend.
Belinda Carlisle
X Factor finalists Lucy Spraggan, Kitty Brucknell and Joseph Whelan, will also be appearing as well as actress and singer Heather Peace, who most recently starred in BBC drama Waterloo Road.
A carnival-style parade, which last year attracted more than 7,000 participants, will run from Newcastle Civic Centre to the Town Moor on Saturday July 18, with a special candlelight vigil closing the festival on Sunday July 19.
A host of food outlets, stalls and themed zones, including a family and youth area, cabaret tent, Steve Paske Health Zone and women’s zone, will be open at the Town Moor throughout the three-day festival, with additional events also taking place in pubs and clubs around Newcastle’s Pink Triangle.
Mark Nichols
Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, said:“Newcastle Pride 2014 was a huge success, attracting a record number of visitors and boosting the city’s economy by more than £7.5m.
“This year we’re sticking with the extended three-day format and promoting acceptance, inclusion and One Love in honour of the original Pride marches 45 years ago.
“We hope that our bumper line-up will appeal to visitors of all ages and bring thousands to Newcastle city centre for three days of fun and live entertainment.”
Newcastle Pride 2015 is a free event, though a limited number of Gold Circle and VIP tickets are also available. These are priced from £10 and £25 respectively and include a host of benefits such as prime viewing for live music, private toilets and faster bar access.
A series of satellite events, including a dance performance, book exhibition and film screenings are also being planned throughout July and August. Full details will be announced soon.
For more information and a detailed schedule for Newcastle Pride 2015, click here:
Charles Child the owner of Dr Brightons handed over a cheque to Chris Gull, the Chair of the rainbow fund for £3687.46p.
Charles Childs (left) and Chris Gull (right)
THE money was raised week by week during the last 12 months by selling shots, small weekend fundraising initiatives and Dr Brighton’s birthday parties.
Chris Gull the chair of The Rainbow Fund, said: “We were very pleased to accept the donation of well over £3,500 raised by Dr Brighton this year. This is a spectacular amount for a small venue to raise, and will be put to good use immediately in our Spring Grants Round. On behalf of the local volunteer led LGBT and HIV groups who’ll benefit we’d like to thank the customers and staff of Dr Brighton for their hard work in raising this amount of money.
Zoe Lyons
Rainbow Fund Patron Zoe Lyons, added:“With continued austerity and cuts to services it is more important than ever that the Rainbow Fund is here to support the essential services these small groups provide for the Brighton and Hove LGBT community. These groups make a big difference to people’s lives.”
Charles Child concluded saying:“I chose to raise money for the Rainbow Fund over the last year because through their independent grants programme they make sure that the money goes to organisations with the most need. It is the fairest way to make sure that smaller groups who provide such great services don’t get squeezed during the present cutbacks.”
The UK gay Humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) condemn the UK Prime Minister’s handshake with African homophobic witch-hunting Pastor Rev Enoch Adeboye.
PRIME Minister David Cameron shook hands with the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Rev Enoch Adeboye, at the recent Festival of Life programme held in London.
PTT Secretary George Broadhead said: “This must disgust anyone who knows about Adeboye and his Church’s teachings, particularly on homosexuality and witchcraft. Rev Adeboye was one of the pastors who openly canvassed support for the anti-gay bill in Nigeria stating that homosexuality would wipe out humanity.
Last year Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill banning same-sex marriage and criminalising any homosexual associations, societies and meetings, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.
Since this law came into force, many LGBT Nigerians have been turned into criminals in their own country and become refugees abroad.
Supporting this draconian legislation, Rev Adeboye said:“Same-sex marriage is an anathema to the will of God for human beings to be fruitful, replenish and multiply on earth. Anything contrary to that is evil. How can a man who marries a fellow man produce a child and how can a woman who marries a fellow woman produce a child? If this evil is allowed to stay, there will not be newborns again in the world. As the older generation dies, will there be a new generations to succeed it? Even plants and animals have new generations to succeed them.”
Adeboye’s Redeemed Christian Church of God is among the Pentecostal ministries that are propagating witchcraft narratives in Africa. The preachings of these ministries are a major driving force for the witch-hunting which is ravaging many parts of Africa and African migrant communities, including those in the UK.
Leo Igwe
Nigerian Humanist Leo Igwe, who is researching witchcraft, said: “Participation by the British Prime Minister in a meeting organised by such a church gives it credibility. A handshake with its pastor is an endorsement of his teachings. As the UK general election approaches, it is obvious that Cameron went to this event in search of votes from minority communities. But is congregating and praying with a homophobic and witch-hunting pastor the way to achieve this?”
For more information about the Pink Triangle Trust, click here:
Edge Hill University is to become the first higher education institution in the UK to offer a module dedicated to the art of drag.
Edge Hill University
The Drag Kings and Drag Queens of Performance module has recently been validated and will be on offer to year 3 undergraduates on Performing Arts and Dance & Drama courses at the University from January 2016.
This module analyses relationships between performance, gender, sexualities and identity and the ways in which performance might be deployed in the service of specific political and cultural agendas.
Brian Rafle and Phil Starr
It will consider a variety of topics including drag performance, costume, lipsyncing and the use of humour and is underpinned by wider theories and histories of sexuality, performativity, gay and lesbian theatre, transgender identities, drag, HIV/AIDS and activism.
Final year students undertaking this module will consider the ways in which performance intersects with other identity-forming discourses such as gender, ethnicity and class.
The module has been devised by Senior Lecturer Mark Edward.
Mark says: “Despite the fact that performers have been ‘dragging up’ since Shakespearean times, this module is completely unique in exploring the crossing of boundaries in terms of gender and performance.
“The 2010 Education Act meant that providers of education, including universities, must go beyond non-discrimination based on gender, and in fact, promote equality, and Edge Hill has a fantastic reputation in promoting minority groups in terms of sexual identities.
“As part of undergraduate studies, this module not only explores drag as a highly camp performance art, it also engages with complex gender, feminist and queer theory to explore the social and political implication of ‘doing gender’ in performance. Drag as a performance art form has seen a relative decline in the past decade, yet there are new and exciting emerging forms coming through which makes this module all the more relevant to performance contexts. There’s a lot more to drag studies than wigs, make-up and high heels!”
Mark Edward is a performer, dance maker, writer and educator of dance. He has worked extensively in the dance field including with Rambert Dance Company (Ballet Rambert), Senza Tempo Dance Theatre Company in their world premiere of Lazurd, Penny Arcade (Andy Warhol film ‘star’) in her Bad Reputations, and Julie Tolentino (Madonna’s collaborator) on the Bottom Project.
His current research focuses on ageing performers and drag queens as well as examining inclusivity and equality for boys and men who dance. Mark is the writer and producer of the widely acclaimed work Council House Movie Star, in which he adopts the drag persona Gale Force, which headlined the opening of Liverpool festival Homotopiain 2012. In 2014, Mark’s work explored the prejudice and sexism young male dancers can often experience in an educational environment.
THE awards will take place on Sunday, June 21 in the glamorous surroundings of the Oxford Suite at the Brighton Metropole Hilton Hotel. Walk the red carpet when you arrive and have your photo taken with the multi award winning hostess, Joan Bond and the larger than life Sonia Marmite.
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