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Day: July 28, 2015

Council’s smart answer to bus ticket problem

Posted on by Gary Hart

Bus passengers with electronic ‘smart’ tickets will be able to use them on more than one bus company in Brighton & Hove from next week.

Brighton and Hove City Cllr Gill Mitchell launches the expansion of the Bus Key Cards in Brighton and Hove with L-R Neil Morgan (The Big Lemon) Nick Hill (Brighton & Hove Buses) and Joe Beckley ( Compass Travel). From August 3rd the electronic smart tickets will be accepted onThe Big Lemon and Compass Travel buses as well as Brighton & Hove buses.
Cllr Gill Mitchell (second from left) launches the expansion of the Bus Key Cards in Brighton and Hove

At present, smartcard tickets, known as The Key, used on Brighton & Hove Bus Company services, could not be accepted by other firms, meaning anyone who needed to make a journey involving more than one company had to buy tickets from different sources.

From August 3, the new multi operator ticketing scheme will be available on vehicles run by The Big Lemon and on all Compass Buses operating on the Brighton & Hove network.

To buy tickets online, click here: or at Brighton & Hove Buses’ North Street shop.

M-Tickets bought and displayed on mobile phones via an app will also be accepted across the three companies.

For more information, click here: 

Transport bosses say it will make cross-city bus travel easier and cheaper.

The move was made possible by a £71,000 grant the council won from the Department for Transport, plus resources from Brighton & Hove Buses and their parent company Go Ahead, and the project has funded computing changes to integrate the services, plus installation of card-readers on buses run by Compass Travel and the Big Lemon.

The companies provide supported bus services, subsidised by the council, which would otherwise not be commercially viable.   The three-year pilot scheme will cover Compass Travel services 37, 37B, 47 56, 57, 16 and 66, plus service 52 operated by The Big Lemon.

As well as winning the grant and facilitating the project, the city council is also contributing  £27,000 towards set-up costs, with bus companies meeting the running costs.

Smartcards can be topped up online or at Brighton & Hove Buses’ North Street shop, providing tickets ranging from single journeys to one-year seasons.

If successful the council’s multi-operator scheme could be extended to all operators of bus services in the city.

 Cllr Gill Mitchell, Chair of the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said:  “This makes cross-city bus travel much more practical.  It could increase travel on routes which have to be subsidised and make them increasingly viable.

“This has been a very positive exercise, with the council assisting co-operation between our different bus companies for the benefit of the travelling public.”

 

Supported services mainly run to outlying areas east of the city as far as Saltdean and to Hangleton, Knoll and Portslade in the west.  They cover routes or times that are socially important but not commercially viable.

Hepatitis C in the UK continues to rise

Posted on by Gary Hart

Latest figures published by Public Health England (PHE) show hospital admissions from hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease and liver cancer continue to rise.

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Although there has been a small drop in deaths in 2013 compared to 2012, overall trends in hospital admissions and deaths have been upwards for more than a decade.

PHE estimates that 160,000 people in England are living with hepatitis C, many of whom are unaware of their infections. However, more individuals are being tested and diagnosed; particular improvements have been seen in primary care where surveillance indicates that testing has risen by 21% in England in the last five years.

People who inject drugs remain at greatest risk of infection. In 2014, 83% of people who inject drugs and participated in surveys report having had a hepatitis C test, an increase from 67% in 2004.

The report highlights the importance of maintaining provision of needle and syringe programmes and to avoid substitution therapies in drug services as part of the wider efforts to prevent the spread of hepatitis C infection.

Dr Helen Harris, hepatitis C expert at PHE, who led the publication of the report, said: “With more patients being tested and improved treatments, there is at last real hope that we will begin to see an impact on the number of deaths from hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease and liver cancer.

 “Antiviral treatments are available in the UK that can successfully clear hepatitis C virus in the majority of patients, and new drugs coming online offer improved rates of viral clearance, fewer side effects, and are easier to administer.

“Hepatitis C is a problem in England, but it’s a problem with a solution.”

The recent policy announcement making new treatments available to patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, will help to reduce the future burden of hepatitis C disease, and a scale-up of new treatments in those with less severe disease could achieve a reduction in the numbers of people who would otherwise go on to develop serious liver disease.

 

Dr Charles Gore
Dr Charles Gore

Charles Gore, Chief Executive of  The Hepatitis C Trust, added: “We are living in a potentially transformative time for hepatitis C. New treatments offer us the chance to save and transform the lives of thousands of people in this country. No longer can we tolerate the ever-rising number of people dying from hepatitis C related cirrhosis and liver cancer. We can instead create a future where hepatitis C is eliminated as a serious public health concern.”

 

PREVIEW: Dragelicious!

Posted on by Contributor

Artist Mike Thorn presents his latest exhibition Dragelicious at the Honeysett Gallery on Madeira Drive at the end of July.

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Mike is a Brighton based artist and illustrator. He usually specialises in drawing and painting heavier, masculine men, including bears, skinheads, leather men, and men in uniform.

He said: “I am inspired to show images of gay men that challenge the stereotypical ideal of the toned, smooth, youthful physique. I portray relaxed, masculine men, often with a heavy, hirsute build, with an element of underlying sexuality, sometimes coupled with a hint of humour. Bears, leather men, skinheads and men in uniform all provide sources of inspiration. My work ranges from painting in oils and acrylic, drawing in coloured pencil, through to illustrating stories for various publications.

In this new exhibition he moves away from his usual themes and immortalises famous Drag Queens including Phil Starr, Miss Jason and Regina Fong.

Mike has staged exhibition in: New York, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Sydney, Amsterdam, Bergen, Cologne, London, Manchester and Birmingham.

Event: Dragelicious:

Where: Honeysett Gallery, Arch 280, Madeira Drive, Brighton

When: Friday, July 31-Sunday, August 9

For more information about Honeysett gallery, click here:

For more information about Mike Thorn, click here:

 

We All Bleed Red

Posted on by Gary Hart

Poet and artist Vince Laws has created We All Bleed Red for the church of St Peter & St Paul, in Oulton, Norfolk.

Vince Laws
Artist’s impression of ‘We All Bleed Red’ by Vince Laws.

“It’s a beautiful, simple church, just up the road from where I live,” said Vince. “Sometimes I go inside and practise poetry. Sometimes I sit on the wall outside and watch spectacular sunsets unfold.”

The church tower is in need of significant repair, the heating is inadequate and wooden platforms need replacing. A new floor of pamment tiles in the nave will create a level space, and allow a variety of community uses, such as art shows, concerts, and yoga.

“I want to show the tower bleeding, in need of first aid, and wounded,” explained Vince. “And at the same time, as the church takes on the new mantle of being a community space, I want ‘We All Bleed Red’ to be an invitation to everyone to use the space, regardless of religion, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.”

Stephen Jefford, who is co-ordinating the restoration project with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for St Peter & St Paul, Oulton, said: “We’re really thrilled that Vince has come up with such a dramatic idea. I’ve know for a while that he, like many in the village, cherishes the church as an open building. His idea of making the Tower a part of his exhibition is really thoughtful. We’re also really grateful for the support we’ve had from the Church and Diocese, as well as our regular parishioners, to embrace making the church building both a place of worship as well as a community resource.”

Vince will be exhibiting an array of text art and poetry inside the church from till Sunday, August 30, everybody welcome.

The church is open daily, and entry is free.

Access: Parking is on grass 20 metres from the church door, the main path is gravel, and there is a ramp into the church. Other paths around the church are grassy and uneven. There is no toilet.

Donations towards the Oulton Tower & Community Project are welcome.

Email: for details of how to donate.

The restoration project to date has been supported by a first round Grants for Places of Worship award from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), to develop the proposals further as well as an award from the Norfolk Historic Churches Trust; the church is awaiting confirmation of further funding from the HLF towards the costs of carrying out the works and would be grateful for any financial help toward this project.

For more information about Vince Laws, click here:

2015 Edinburgh Fringe to include over 50 LGBT themed shows

Posted on by Paul Gustafson

Organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have announced that this year’s programme will include more than 50 shows covering LGBT themes, including a number of new works.

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Highlights include: Trans Scripts, a show based on real interviews exploring gender identity through the struggles and triumphs of six transgender women.

In The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven, written and performed by trans playwright, performer and poet Jo Clifford, bread is shared, wine drunk and familiar stories are reimagined by a transgender Jesus.

The Traverse Theatre will present the world premiere of Swallow, a new play by Stef Smith which takes a long, hard look at the extremes of modern life with questions of identity, heartbreak and hope.

From the Czech Republic, Boys Who Like to Play With Dolls is a contemporary dance show set in a world in which masculinity and femininity are unrelated to male and female forms, questioning conventions and clichés of gender.

I Am Not Myself These Days is a new one man show by Fuel, adapted from a bestselling memoir, which recounts a time when Josh, the central character, worked as a drag queen, battled alcoholism and loved a crack-addicted rent boy.

By the Bi fuses modern dance, physicalised movement and spoken word to explore harmful and hurtful stereotypes of bisexuality such as confusion, greediness and promiscuity.

The International Stud is an award-winning play which follows drag queen Arthur on his search for love in the backrooms of the 1980s gay scene.

These Troubled Times is a comedic and irreverent exploration of homophobia, religion and the meaning of family.

How to Keep an Alien is based on a true story. Sonya meets Australian Kate and they fall in love just weeks before Kate’s visa is up and she must leave Ireland. Together they have to find a way to prove to the Department of Immigration that they have the right to live together.

Sex, Hugs and Gender Roles: A Panel Show About Sexuality is a free, unique stand-up panel show exploring relationships with sex, sexuality and culture.

Aussie cabaret sensation Amelia Ryan will perform her multi award-winning cabaret show A Storm in a D Cup, written about her gay father, transgender step-mother and failed career as an exotic dancer.

Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho returns after a sell-out at the 2014 Fringe and sees Maggie in a drag comedy cabaret extravaganza about gay rights, the 80s and disco.

The Night Shift with Gloria Hole sees the loud, crude and primarily drunk Gloria Hole question what on earth an ageing drag queen does when it’s time to hang up her heels.

The 2015 Edinburgh Festival Fringe will run from, August 7-31.

For further information on all the above shows, click here:

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