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Report provides further evidence of PrEP effectiveness

New Public Health England Study further proves efficacy of PrEP among men who have sex with men.

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Results of new modelling research published in The Lancet HIV journal show that offering PrEP with regular HIV testing, and early treatment to just a quarter of men who have sex with men (MSM) at high risk of contracting HIV could prevent around 7,400 new HIV infections (44 per cent of total incidence) in the UK before 2020.

Researchers estimate that even when targeted only at high-risk men, PrEP was more effective than all other individual measures aimed at the entire UK MSM population, preventing 59 per cent of new infections.

However, they predict that the greatest number of infections would be prevented by a ‘practical combined prevention programme’ that includes PrEP alongside yearly HIV testing for HIV-negative men and immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-positive men.

Terrence Higgins Trust has been campaigning for almost a year for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) – Stop HIV. PrEP Now to be added to the arsenal of the UK’s HIV prevention approach.

Dr Michael Brady
Dr Michael Brady

Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown, both in clinical trials and in ‘real life’ settings, to be highly effective at preventing HIV transmissions. Despite the proven benefits of condom use and the impact of HIV therapy on reducing transmission, the number of gay men infected with HIV each year has remained relatively stable over the last decade.

“This study is really important as it demonstrates that, in a relatively short space of time, PrEP could have a dramatic impact on reducing HIV transmissions. It also shows the importance of a combination approach to HIV prevention i.e. utilising PrEP alongside other interventions such as increasing HIV testing rates and earlier treatment for those who are infected.

“The reality is that the UK is now lagging well behind other countries on its approach to HIV prevention and its investment in successful interventions such as PrEP.  It is essential that PrEP is made available on the NHS as soon as possible for those most at risk. Every month we delay there are more people being unnecessarily infected with HIV.”

In November, France became the first country outside the USA, and the first country with a centrally-organised, reimbursable health system, to approve no-expense pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people who need it.

NHS England will be taking a view later this year as to whether PrEP will be made available on the NHS in the UK.

To read the Lancet article in full, click here:

Brighton Council looks to strengthen credit union services

Brighton & Hove City Council is to consider becoming a corporate member of East Sussex Credit Union (ESCU).

East Sussex Credit Union

The move would include loaning the organisation £250k to expand its services to more of the city’s poorest residents.

The not for profit organisation currently offers affordable loans, debt management advice and savings accounts to those who are excluded from mainstream lenders for reasons associated with financial hardship such as having a poor credit rating, and seeks to reduce reliance on high cost payday lenders.

The loan would mean a larger variety of products being available to a wider range and number of individuals and would benefit an estimated 2,500 households over and above the current 3,854 Brighton and Hove residents in the ESCU membership.

The proposal will be discussed at the council’s policy and resources committee meeting on January 21.  Should it be given the go ahead, the £250k loan would be funded from reserves and be payable in full at the end of a five year and one day term.

Other councils in England that have provided subordinated loans to their local credit union include London Borough, Haringay, Islington, Worthing and Adur.

Cllr Emma Daniel
Cllr Emma Daniel

Cllr Emma Daniel, chair of the Neighbourhood, Communities & Equalities committee, who supports the proposal, said: “This administration has pledged to tackle inequalities in the city and those experiencing financial hardship are among the most disadvantaged.

“The ESCU has reached its limit in terms of the size and number of loans it can offer and with the ongoing impact of welfare and public sector funding reform the city is expecting to see more and more people facing financial vulnerability.

“By investing in the ESCU, the council would be providing an effective financial resource that is directly beneficial to the communities of Brighton and Hove.”

ESCU has provided small loans from £100 to £15,000 to people who struggle to access traditional financial services and its loan rates are much lower than doorstep lenders, typically over 200% lower APR than well-known providers.

Famous artworks get non-heteronormative makeover in new exhibition

Famous artworks will be given a graphic twist as part of a new exhibition exploring relationships, gender and sex.

Darren 1 by Matthew Stradling
Darren 1 by Matthew Stradling

Birmingham School of Art, part of Birmingham City University (UK), will be hosting the Obscene and Pornographic Art show, which will see an erotic makeover handed to a series of 18th century Rococo style paintings by French artist François Boucher and nude male portraits.

The title of the exhibition is taken from a song by Bongwater, a 1980s USA psych-rock band, and highlights the exhibition’s aim of challenging audiences about what is considered to be obscene or pornographic by today’s standards.

Thank You (Dying Slave) by Matthew Stradling
Thank You (Dying Slave) by Matthew Stradling

Acclaimed UK artists Sadie Lee and Matthew Stradling will be contributing their works, which will be on display in the School of Art’s ARTICLE Gallery on Margaret Street from January 14 to February 11.

Mona Casey, Course Director in MA Contemporary Curating at the School of Art, and Director of ARTICLE, said: “This exhibition is about artists who explore genres of art such as Portraiture and the Nude and re-interpret that history from a non-heteronormative position.”

“Some of the images on display are explicit but they all play an important role in creating what is a fantastic, if challenging, representation of relationships.”

Also among the paintings on display will be a series of portraits of Holly Woodlawn, recently deceased, transgender actress and Warhol superstar, who appeared in such movies as Women in Revolt and Trash and also known as the ‘he who was a she’, in the Lou Reed lyrics of Walk on the Wild Side.

Sadie Lee is famed for her artwork exploring female representation in art, particularly focusing on gender, sexuality and the aging body.

Matthew Stradling has exhibited internationally, with many of his works exploring sex, death and the human body.


Event: Obscene and Pornographic Art Show

Where: ARTicle Gallery, Birmingham City University, Margaret Street, B3 3BX

When: January 14 to February 11.

Entry: Free

For more details, click here:

Local author to take new ‘HIV Happy’ workshop on tour

Paul Thorn, author and presenter of Radio Reverb’s HIV Happy Hour to tour new workshop around the UK.

Paul Thorn
Paul Thorn

The aim of the workshop will be to expand on of some of the ideas presented in his widely acclaimed book, HIV Happy.

Paul said: “This seems to be the next logical step in what is becoming a bit of a project for me personally. It is possible to live a happy, fulfilling and productive life with HIV if people take responsibility and chose to. I’m doing whatever it takes to get the message out there that people with HIV can take control of today, tomorrow and of their future.

“This workshop will show people how they can do just that and explore in more depth the concepts originally presented in my book. It will challenge the negative thinking that some living with the virus commonly have about themselves and that often holds them back from reaching their own potential.”

The “Explaining HIV Happy” workshop will be delivered in a variety of locations across the country.

If you are living with HIV and would like to participate, or an organisation who would like to host a workshop, click here: and register your interest on the website.

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Should Whitehawk FC change their name to Brighton City?

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, asks the views of his constituents’ on whether Whitehawk Football Club should change their name to Brighton City.

Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven
Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven

Whitehawk FC has submitted a request to the FA to change its playing name to Brighton City with effect from the start of the 2016/2017 season.

Simon said: “I have been asked to give my opinion on this but as a firm supporter of both Brighton & Hove Albion and Whitehawk, I am asking my constituents to email me and let me know their views so that I can give a representative response.”

If you are a constituent in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, email Simon with your views at: simon.kirby.mp@parliament.uk 

Please include your full name and postal address.

PREVIEW: Ruby Wax: Sane new world

“Wax has an extraordinary mind, and she has bought it to bear with her trademark wit… a Ruby beyond any price” – Stephen Fry

Ruby Wax:
Ruby Wax:

Following her sell-out UK tours in 2014 and 2015 and a successful run at the St James Theatre, Ruby Wax– comedian, writer, mental health campaigner – is bringing her one-woman comedy show, Sane New World, to the Arts Theatre in London for a final run from January 19 – February 13.

Ruby has based this new show on her No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling book Sane New World: Taming the Mind, which has enjoyed worldwide success since publication in 2013.

Ruby Wax: Sane New World will help you understand why we sabotage our own sanity and provides a manual on how to survive the 21st century, using Ruby’s knowledge from her recent Masters Degree in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy at Oxford University, spiked with her trademark comedy.

Ruby said: “We are not equipped for this century, it’s too hard, too fast, and too full of fear; we just don’t have the bandwidth. Our brains can’t take so much information in a world where we’re bombarded by bad news and force-fed information. I can just about take in the weather then I’m exhausted. You open a newspaper, everyone’s dead. We’re only supposed to know what our neighbour is up to; if the woman next door to you is having sex with the man next door to her we need to know; but four doors down and it’s none of our business.”

Using her signature humour, Ruby gives a tour of the brain and how to tame it: “We know so much about how the world works – but so little about our how our own minds work. It’s like having a Ferrari on top of your head but no one gave you the keys.”

Walk in Sessions 

During Ruby’s stay at the Arts Theatre she will also hold three free walk in sessions where the public can receive advice, ask questions and get help from:

♦ Peter Fonagy, Head of the Anna Freud Centre,

Richard Burnet, an expert on mindfulness for children in schools, and

Professor Russell Foster, a Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford.

Ruby Wax, added: “It has always been my dream to have these centres where you can meet your people and therefore feel less isolated. These meetings aren’t necessarily for those with mental illness, but for those who feel they’re on the cusp of burning out or simply going up the ladder of ‘stressdom.’ Meeting other people in the same boat is almost half the cure. We are all so ashamed that we have vulnerabilities, all thinking we should be so strong and on top of things. This is so exciting for me to offer these centres; I know if we want to stop the stigma that there is strength in numbers.”

A team from mental health charity SANE founded by Marjorie Wallace CBE will also be on hand for personal help and advice.

Ruby’s new book A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled is published by Penguin Life in January 2016.


Details of the walk in sessions:

Dates: January 27, February 3 and February 10, 2016

Venue: Arts Theatre, 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB

Time: 2-4pm (doors open from 1.30pm)

(No booking required)

More than £7,000 raised for Burning the Clocks

Burning the Clocks organisers announce that over £7,000 was raised to stage the annual lantern parade in 2015.

Burning the Clocks Parade 2015: Photograph by Simon Dack
Burning the Clocks Parade 2015: Photograph by Simon Dack

Burning the Clocks first began in 1993 as an uplifting antidote to the excesses of a commercial Christmas. People bring the paper and willow lanterns that they’ve made to parade through the city before passing them into a huge bonfire on Brighton beach. Each lantern maker becomes a part of the show as they invest the lanterns with their wishes, hopes, and fears and then pass them into the fire.

Collections on the night raised a total of £3,534.86 for the event produced by arts charity Same Sky and a further £4,030 was raised through a crowdfunding campaign.

John Varah, Same Sky, artistic director said: “We want to thank everyone who came along to Burning the Clocks. We had an incredible turn out on the night of people in the parade and spectators along the route – and the rain stayed away during the parade and the fireworks.  

“We especially want to thank the kind people who donated on the night, our wonderful volunteer bucket collectors and the 93 supporters who donated online to our crowdfunding initiative. We simply couldn’t make it happen without them.”

Photograph by Simon Dack
Photograph by Simon Dack

Celebrations were as impressive as ever, with the procession attracting around 20,000 onlookers.

For the first time, event organisers also welcomed 35 VIP guests, including the Mayor, Lynda Hyde, who led the 2,000 strong parade from Brighton’s Dome to the seafront.

Additional events in the run up to Burning the Clocks in 2015 included a special lantern-making workshop for children on December 20 at the Phoenix Gallery and a lantern-making workshop at Patterns – part of their monthly craft afternoon, Monthly Milk.

For the latest information and opportunities to help with Burning the Clocks 2016, click here:

To help fundraiser for the event, click here:

 

PREVIEW: Carnival Dreams the Musical

Carnical Dreams The MusicalThe Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon, stages the World Premier of Carnival Dreams The Musical on February 3.

The production stars Cheryl Fergison, who played the much-loved Heather Trott in EastEnders, is written by Norman Mark with haunting original music by Robert Orledge and directed by Andrew Lynford.

It’s Carnival time in Argentina and a small community dance group are preparing for the annual Samba competition. Whilst fighting his own inner demons, former dance champion Andre tries to instill a passion to succeed but senior dance tutor Jose’s bullying and bigotry does little to raise morale.

Cheryl Fergison
Cheryl Fergison

Jose is consumed with contempt for the people who surround him. A bible-quoting misogynist who physically and mentally abuses his wife Teresa, Jose delights in trying to humiliate the flamboyant camp drag queen Carmen and is determined to quash the growing romance between his daughter Cristina and Duarte, whose only crime is the colour of his skin. When the embittered Maria persuades Teresa and Cristina to escape Jose’s clutches, a heart-wrenching tragedy unfolds.

 

Can the dance troupe survive and win against this adversity?

Carnival Dreams will make you laugh and cry, it will shock and inspire but most importantly it reminds us to fight injustice, prejudice and embrace our wonderfully diverse communities.


Event: Carnival Dreams the Musical

Where: Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, Croydon. CR9 1DG

When: February 3-6, 2016

Time: 7.30pm, Thursday and Saturday Matinees at 2.30pm

Cost: £20.50 to £29.50: For parties of 10 or more – £10.00 (no other concession applies): First night offer 2 for 1

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone:  020 8688 9291

Arts Council funds work with older gay men in Eastbourne

A theatre company exploring the family archive of the late comedian and Generation Game host Larry Grayson wins arts award to work with older gay men in the Eastbourne area.

Larry Grayson
Larry Grayson

The Royal Hippodrome Theatre in Eastbourne has been awarded a Grants for the Arts Award to work with London-based Theatre company Cutting the Strings to devise and run a programme of workshops for older gay men in the Eastbourne area.

Darren Weir
Darren Weir

Darren Weir, Community Engagement Director at the Hippodrome, said: “The idea behind the project is to use the Larry Grayson story to open up the issues of hidden sexuality, isolation and  loneliness in families, as well as coping with ambitions later in life.

“This programme will involve working with a creative team to look at Larry’s life, as well as sharing stories and experiences, and advising the actors and playwright. It’s great that Cutting the Strings thought about doing this in Eastbourne.”

WEB.600.2The programme will culminate in a new show about Larry at the theatre, that will focus around his secret attempts to perform for the last time at the Royal Variety show in 1994. This will be premièred at The Hippodrome from March 24-26.

This creative programme is part of the theatre’s approach to engaging a wider theatre audience.

The free workshops will be run with the local Age Uk’s Rainbow Group, but are open to any gay person.


Event: Three days and three minutes with Larry

Where: Royal Hippodrome Theatre, 108-112 Seaside Rd, Eastbourne BN21 3PF

When: March 24-26

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: Tickets are on sale, costing from as little as £12.

To book tickets online, click here: www.royalhippodrome.com

Or telephone: 01323 80 20 20

For full details of the programme email: info@thelarrytour.com

 

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