Lunch Positive will be hosting a Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) workshop on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) this Friday, May 22.
FROM November 2015, people receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will be required to claim PIP, so now’s the time to prepare for the changes.
If HIV affects your mobility or day-to-day living activities you may want to consider making an application for PIP. This workshop is also useful for people who do not receive this benefit to help them find out more.
The workshop is open to everyone with HIV. You do not need to be a Lunch Positive member.
For more details, contact: Tim Procter, Welfare Rights Co-ordinator, THT South, telephone: 01273 764200
What: HIV Workshop – Personal Independence Payments (PIP)
Brighton & Hove Library Service is also hosting ‘HAVE A WORD’ as part of its pre-Pride celebrations.
HAVE A WORD: Trans Special Event featuring Film Writing, Photography and Humour.
Thursday June 11: Brighton Jubilee Library 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Featuring Maeve Devine, Alice Denny, Fox Fisher plus other Trans* writers and performers.
Thursday July 16: Jubilee Library 7.30-9.30pm
HAVE A WORD line up includes: Peter Daniels, Sue Walker and Gerry Potter.
Tickets for both HAVE A WORD events at the Jubilee Library can be bought at: Merlin & Ellis, 9 Manchester Street, Brighton, open each day from 2pm or telephone: 01273 623560.
Soweto Spiritual Singers are a young vocal ensemble, performing both acappella and with instrumental accompaniment showcasing African Spiritual, Folk and Traditional Music and Dance. Their music is a shout of Joy, a towering onslaught of exuberance with earthy rhythms, rich harmonies to uplift the soul. They performed at the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup Opening Ceremony in Johannesburg to the cheers of billion people around the Globe.
A true celebration and unifying sounds they sing a wide range of song types in one highly trained voice. They also dance, clap, shout and ululate so bring an authentic South African feeling to the performance. With the fusion of the township culture and its influence on modern African Spiritual music, the singers gave us an evening in a chilly Brighton festival tent that was transformed and transported to Soweto on a mild spring night. My companion, who had spent many years living in Johannesburg had a sublime evening and was full of effusive praise for these talented young people and their compelling singing style.
A great celebration of movement and sound with some seriously good dancing too, those folk can certainly shift, jiggle and swing their butts. The group was smaller than I expected and the average age of the group was pretty young but they still managed to fill the space with their infectious, joyous singing and dancing. The show whizzed past and felt much shorter than it actually was and the appreciative audience got one fabulous encore before the Singers danced off stage into the Brighton night with the sounds a hugely appreciative Brighton Fringe crowd clapping enthusiastically.
This is a wonderfully fresh, refreshing and honestly uplifting and comes recommended.
Manchester Pride Spring Benefit brings community together for star-studded evening.
LAST Thursday (May 14) the Manchester Pride Spring Benefit saw Manchester’s celebrity and business worlds come together at The Monastery Manchester to raise funds for the Manchester Pride Community Fund.
The glamour packed evening featured performances from the soulful Dionne Bromfield who performed her hit ‘Mama Said’ and Britain’s Got Talent finalists swing quartet group, Jack Pack.
During the evening a live auction took place, auction lots included a hospitality package to watch Bette Midler in concert at the Manchester Arena and a Rolls Royce Brand experience day.
Mark Fletcher
Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive of Manchester Pride, said:“Our Spring Benefit was a great success. We received tremendous support from our generous guests who helped us to raise over £20,000 for the Manchester Pride Community Fund. This is more than twice the amount raised at our formal dinner event in 2014. It’s humbling to know that people are so willing to support us in our quest to raise essential funds for the vital services provided by our charity partners”
Dionne Bromfield
The Manchester Pride Spring Benefit is the annual number one must attend charity fundraiser for the LGBT community and their allies in Manchester. The Black Tie star-studded evening is complemented by Manchester Pride’s Big Weekend and The Superbia program of cultural events ,as part of the charities year-long calendar of fundraising activity.
Jack Pack
The Big Weekend will take place from Friday August 28 to Monday, August 31 2015.
Acts confirmed to perform across the bank holiday weekend include Texas, DJ Fresh, Atomic Kitten, Union J, Stooshe, Hot Since 82, and Big Weekend favorite Lucy Spraggan.
Other Big Weekend highlights include the vibrant Manchester Pride Parade on Saturday, August 29 which will weave its way through the city centre, following a 1.1 mile route, as thousands of visitors are expected to line the streets of Manchester to mark the 25th anniversary of celebrating LGBT life in Manchester by immersing themselves in this years Parade theme of Devotion.
Tickets are currently priced at £22 for a weekend ticket, £12.50 for day tickets and children’s tickets are also available from £5. Tickets provide guests with access to the event site, including the Main Arena, Sackville Gardens, the Gaydio Dance Arena and the Expo and help Manchester Pride raise funds for LGBT and HIV charities and organisations in Greater Manchester.
For more information on The Big Weekend, click here:
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) is observed annually on May 18, offering an opportunity to recognise and thank the many volunteers, community members, health professionals, and scientists who work together to find a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine.
IT is a day to educate communities across the nation about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research.
Sexual health charity, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) have renewed their call for access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). They say a vaccine for HIV could still be a long way off, but that existing prevention methods mean the UK already has the potential to reduce onward transmission of HIV, providing there is enough will to do so.
Latest figures show around one in four (24 per cent) of people with HIV remain undiagnosed and are unaware of their infection.
Dr Rosemary Gillespie, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Despite great progress made in research and treatment over the past two decades, we still do not have a vaccine for HIV. That day will no doubt come, but in the meantime, greater emphasis on preventive measures such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), compulsory inclusive sex and relationships education (SRE) and extending condom use should be the immediate focus of our efforts.
“By adopting these measures, we have the opportunity to substantially reduce levels of onward transmission of HIV in the UK.”
PrEP is taken before sex to reduce the risk of getting HIV. It is currently not available in the UK but Terrence Higgins Trust is advocating for PrEP to be made available on the NHS because it has the potential to prevent new infections among some of those at greatest risk of acquiring HIV.
The results of the PROUD study published in February, a UK-based clinical trial looking at the effectiveness of PrEP for gay men who are at high risk of acquiring HIV, showed the drug reduced the risk of getting HIV by 86%. The reduction in HIV infections as a result of PrEP was much greater than the researchers expected when they were planning the trial.
Swan House, a 5 star Boutique B&B in Hastings receives national recognition winning the Silver Award in the Bed & Breakfast/Guest House Accommodation of the Year category at the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2015 ceremony.
From left to right: Visit England Chair, Lady Cobham, Brendan McDonagh, VisitEngland Chief Executive, James Berresford and Lionel Copley.
THE Silver Award at national level is a great achievement and recognises Excellence in Tourism in England.
Swan House was presented with the Silver Award by Paul Callaghan, Chair, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and James Berresford, Chief Executive, VisitEngland, at a glittering awards ceremony at the Sage in Gateshead on May 11 2015.
This latest award will take pride of place alongside the Tourism South East Beautiful South Excellence Gold received by Swan House in December 2014.
Commenting on Swan House’s success, VisitEngland Chairman Lady Penelope Cobham said: “The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence celebrate the very best in English tourism. It is the highest accolade and recognises the true champions of our industry, as well as the top quality visitor experiences we are fortunate to have on offer in England. “The competition is of an increasingly high standard and so I offer my sincere congratulations to all our winners on this tremendous achievement”.
Swan House is now ranked as one of the top three businesses in their category for excellence in England. This year’s awards attracted a total of 345 applications.
Swan House proprietors, Brendan McDonagh and Lionel Copley said: “Everyone at Swan House is absolutely delighted to have won Silver at the VisitEngland awards. We have strived so hard and succeeded to be the best in the South East, with our Beautiful South Gold Award last year.
“To have won that accolade twice is an achievement not many bed and breakfasts can boast about. And now to be the Silver winner at national level, endorses and celebrates all we do to make our guests’ stay so memorable and special.
“This is a mega team achievement and one that we are all extremely proud of.”
Kevin Boorman, Head of Communications and Marketing at Hastings Borough Council, said: “I am delighted that Swan House has achieved this award. We pride ourselves on the quality of our offer here in Hastings & 1066 Country, and I am very pleased that this has now been recognised at a national level.
“I know that Brendan, Lionel and their team work exceptionally hard, are great ambassadors for Hastings & 1066 Country and I congratulate them on this fantastic achievement.”
Swan House
The June 2015 issue of Coast Magazine, said that:“award-winning Swan House in Hastings is widely considered a five-star blueprint for the quintessential boutique B&B (hotel standards at guest house prices with a big helping of effortless style)”
IT is a day to educate communities across the nation about the importance of preventive HIV vaccine research.
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