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Steve Coogan to turn on city centre Christmas lights

The city starts its festive celebrations on Wednesday, November 16 when actor and comedian Steve Coogan will turn on Brighton’s Christmas lights.

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There will be a free party in East Street starting at 5pm with Phats and Small (Turn Around) and Brighton producers Kideko and George Kwali (Crank It) taking to the live stage to perform their chart topping hits.

There will also be performances by home-grown talent Theatre Workshop and the Dionne Slater Singing Group.

This year’s Christmas lights will be themed to reflect the city’s eclectic, fun and social atmosphere with words and emojis lighting up Western Road – including ‘Fairy’ and ‘Ding Dong’, along with playful twinkling tidings in North Laine and a gorgeous golden canopy of lights in The Lanes.

Gavin Stewart, CEO of Brilliant Brighton, who organise the event with Juice 107.2, says: “We’re really looking forward to this year’s big Christmas light switch-on, it’s a great opportunity for the city’s residents and businesses to get together and celebrate Brighton at the most wonderful time of year!”

“We hope to see as many people come down and join the party, as well as taking selfies with their favourite lights too!”

There will be a raffle, in association with local children’s charity, Rockinghorse with prizes donated by generous Brighton businesses including a made to measure shirt and styling consultation (worth over £160) from cutting edge tailors Gresham Blake; a luxurious cut and blow dry treatment with a senior stylist from award-winning salon Simon Webster Hair (worth £55) and Chocolate Truffle Advent Calendar from extraordinary chocolatiers Choccywoccydoodah, along with so much more.

The Christmas lights are a gift to the city from the 517 businesses that make up Brilliant Brighton. For the last decade the businesses of Brighton have dug deep to continue the tradition of lighting up the city centre, at a cost of approximately £75,000 per annum.

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For more information about Brilliant Brighton, click here:

 

Sussex ME Society hold successful medical conference

Nearly 150 people attended the Brighthelm Centre last month to hear presentations on the neurological aspects of ME, Nutrition and Immunity along with how local services help people accept and manage their illness leading to improvements.

 

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Dr Alan Stewart a clinician at the Sussex-wide CFS/ME Service chaired a successful and informative meeting where he introduced consultant neurologist Professor Leslie Findley and James Shute and Sarah Adelakun, all specialist therapists from the Sussex Service.

Splendid presentations were also given on Exploring the Neural Circuitry of Fatigue in CFS/ME and Brain – Body Interactions by Dr Mahinda Yogarajah and Dr Jessica Eccles who are both to be carrying out important new studies investigating ME/CFS.

For more information, click here:

 

Former Peer Action chair stands down

Richard Jeneway a former chair of Peer Action steps down as trustee after serving the organisation for the last five years.

Richard Jeneway
Richard Jeneway

Richard, one of the founding members of Peer Action in 2011, has decided after putting in five years of hard work to step down from his role as trustee of the charity to focus on other projects and commitments

Mike Nelson
Mike Nelson

Mike Nelson Chair of Peer Action, said: “At our September trustee meeting, we said goodbye to a long-standing trustee who is standing down after 5 years. We would like to thank Richard for his original vision and contribution towards making the organisation what it is today.

“We have welcomed two new Trustees to continue and develop the vision for the organisation within a strong and committed team.   

“Roger Gustafson joins Peer Action with experience with Body Positive London, the NHS and through working with such organisations as Eddie Surman Trust, GMFA, recently THT and others. Roger is bringing advocacy skills, team skills for working in groups, sourcing information, liaison with other groups, drafting press releases, submitting funding applications as well as having valuable contacts in funding and HIV circles.

“Gareth Lloyd joins Peer Action with experience of working within various charities as trustee for over 25 years his focus would be on the social and breaking isolation aspects of peer action as that is his area of experience as well as legal, insurance, technical and accounting areas.”  

PREVIEW: ‘A Peaceful Noise’ fundraising concert

web-600-2A very special night of rock and roll in aid of the Nick Alexander Trust.

 

When terrorists attacked the Bataclan Theatre last November, shock waves rippled throughout the music community and messages of support and solidarity flooded in from across the globe.

A Peaceful Noise, which makes its debut at Shepherds Bush Empire on November 15 aims to harness that solidarity and kick-start a movement that uses music to raise awareness, to unite and to pay tribute to all those who were affected by the attack.

The family of Nick Alexander, the British music merchandiser who died in the attack has mobilised the music industry on a global scale and are launching this landmark event to mark the anniversary of the attack and honour the music lovers that lost their lives in Paris with a special night of live music.

The event will raise money for two music-related charities, The Nick Alexander Memorial Trust which has been set up to actively enhance lives and break down barriers through music by providing musical equipment to community groups and Josh Homme’s Sweet Stuff Foundation a charity dedicated to giving assistance to career musicians, recording engineers and their families struggling with illness and disability.

Zoe Alexander, Nick’s sister and A Peaceful Noise founder said: “Live music was Nick’s passion and it seemed only fitting that we mark the anniversary of his passing in this way. Everyone who lost their lives that night had a shared love of music and we’re thrilled to bring some of Nick’s favourite artists together for this celebration of unity, peace and rock and roll”.

The concert will feature performances from a whole host of Nick’s friends and contemporaries including alternative rockers Maximo Park, ex-Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes, Travis lead singer Fran Healy and Frank Turner, who will be playing his only London date this year. There will also be DJ sets from Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack, Vicar/DJ Father Brian Ralph and Matt Walsh. Plus, more will be announced soon.

Frank Turner added: “Losing Nick in the horrible events in Paris was the worst part of last year; he was truly one of the good guys. Bringing people together in the spirit of peace and music for an evening is the least we can do for his memory, I’m honoured to be asked to play”.

Like the 88 others who lost their lives in the venue that night, as well as the countless injured, Nick was a music lover and going to gigs was a huge part of the fabric of his life. The creation and enjoyment of music exists in every culture across the world and we are stronger and louder together – together we can all make A Peaceful Noise.

About A Peaceful Noise:
web-300When Nick was killed in the terrorist attack on the Bataclan Theatre last November, his family were overwhelmed by the response from the music community. Over the following days and weeks, they received hundreds of messages of support and love from across the world; from artists and production crew, people who had bought a t-shirt from Nick at some point over the years, to people who didn’t know him at all but wanted to reach out.

The positivity and solidarity in those messages was clear – music fans would not let this terrible act divide them. They would stand up for the liberty and freedom that music brought them, and use it as a force for understanding and tolerance.

A Peaceful Noise is their response to try to harness that positivity – to pay tribute to the Paris victims with a positive message of understanding, to celebrate music’s unique ability to unite people as equals, and to raise money for two music related charities paying forward the love and goodwill within the community.

For more information, click here: 


Event: A Peaceful Noise

Where: 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Green, White City, London W12 8TT

When: Tuesday, November 15

Time: Doors 7pm

Cost: from £26 plus booking fee

To book tickets online, click here:

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OPERA PREVIEW: Alcina produced by Opera Alumnus

Turn on, tune in and drop out – but don’t fly off the Händel with Opera Alumnus’ psychedelic production of Alcina.

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Translated into English, Händel’s famous opera Alcina is set in Mexico, 1965. Alcina is still bewitching young men, but this time she is using magic mushrooms, and the young men are Americans, running away from being drafted into the Vietnam War.

This exciting new take on Händel’s classic opera will be reimagined and directed by Saskia Wesnigk-Wood with musical director Joe Paxton. This vibrant production is perfect for first time opera goers.

Opera Alumnus is a new Brighton based opera company, founded in 2014 by Joe Paxton who realised that there are limited opportunities for the many wonderful classical performers emerging from British Universities and Conservatoires. Opera Alumnus provides a platform for the finest vocal studies graduates to showcase themselves in a professional production.

Joe Paxton is a Brighton based Music Director who currently works with Brighton Early Music Festival, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus and at the University of Sussex.

Saskia Wesnigk-Wood is a Brighton based Director, co-founded the New Marlborough Theatre Company and directed the first Brighton version of Schnitzler’s once forbidden play La Ronde in her new translation. Saskia has translated five operas by Philip Glass. She recently translated into English Kepler, an opera about the medieval astronomer, which was commissioned in German by Landestheater Linz in Austria and had its American premiere at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Saskia also translated The Woman in Black; plays by Michael Frayn; Peter Whelan, Arnold Wesker.


Event: Alcina – an opera by Georg Friedrich Händel, produced by Opera Alumnus. Conductor: Joe Paxton, Directed/Reimagined by: Saskia Wesnigk-Wood. With Singers: Christine Cunnold, Jessica Wise, Emma Lewis, Lindsay Thomson, Andrew Robinson, Alexander Pullinger

Where: St George’s Church, St Georges Road, Kemp Town BN2 1ED

When: November 17-19

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: £12

To book online, click here:

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