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B RIGHT ON FESTIVAL: LGBT History Month: Sing-a-long-a ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’

Now at long last The Rocky Horror Picture Show gets what it’s been SCREAMING for – the full sing-a-long-a treatment. If you’ve done The Time Warp before, you’ll never have done it quite like this!

Have you ever been to a film musical and had the uncontrollable urge to burst into song?

Now’s your chance, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the campest cult classic of all time and you can now enjoy it like never before.

With Sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror, you get on-screen lyrics and all the favourite sing-a-long-a features. It’s never been so much fun. Your live host will lead you through a choral warm-up, judge the fancy dress competition and award prizes but it is YOU, the audience, who are the stars as you howl the night away!

Made in 1975 with Tim Curry as Frank ‘n’ Furter, Susan Sarandon as Janet, Richard O’Brien as Riff Raff and Meatloaf as Eddie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the craziest, most action-packed, romantic, scary Transylvanian party of all time.

It’s packed full of terrific numbers including The Timewarp, Sweet Transvestite, There’s a Light, I’m Going Home, Whatever Happened To Saturday Night? and Science Fiction Double Feature.

LGBT History Month is an international month-long annual observance of LGBT+ History and the opportunity to commemorate and remember the bravery of those who campaigned and spoke out over the years to help us achieve the freedoms and equality we enjoy today.

The PHIL STARR PAVILION, on New Steine Gardens, Brighton, BN2 1PB is a fully functional and heated performance space with fully equipped stage, light, sound system and licenced bar.

This ground breaking affiliation seeks to engage the city in the wide range of issues highlighted through the work of the Brighton & Hove LGBT+ Community Safety Forum, as well as partner/stakeholder work.

What better way to celebrate LGBT+History month than at a sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror Show in the park!


Event: Sing-a-long-a Rocky Horror Picture Show

Where: Phil Starr Pavilion, New Steine Gardens, St James Street, Kemptown, Brighton

When: Friday, February 17

Time: Door open 6.45pm

Cost: £12.28

To book tickets online: click here:

Don’t drink and drive on New Years Eve!

Police urge partygoers to arrange transport home and “Go cold turkey” on New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve partygoers are being urged to arrange transport home rather than drive as part of Surrey and Sussex Police’s Go cold turkey anti drink and drug drive campaign.

A total of 27 people have been arrested in the fourth week of the campaign (December, 20-29), including nine over the period of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

This year’s campaign has carried the simple message for drivers to Go cold turkey and have nothing at all if getting behind the wheel.

One of those arrested on Christmas Day included a 21-year-old man whose car was spotted driving with heavy front end damage by officers in St Peters Way, Chertsey at 9am. Officers noticed his breath smelt of alcohol and arrested him on suspicion of drink driving and driving without insurance.

Another driver, a 25-year-old man ended his shift early as a delivery driver on Boxing Day after crashing into a lamppost and fence in Camberley. Officers were called to the scene and the driver was arrested for drink driving.

On December 28 a 37-year-old man got his sense of direction wrong after driving onto the M25 towards Heathrow, when he told officers he was driving home to Haslemere. He was arrested for drink driving after pulling onto the hard shoulder near Egham.

Superintendent Chris Moon
Superintendent Chris Moon

Superintendent Chris Moon, Head of Surrey and Sussex Road’s Policing Unit, said: “Christmas and New Year is a time when lots of people are travelling on the roads to visit families. It is tragic there are still people who think it acceptable to drive on the same roads as those families and could potential cause a devastating accident.

“With New Year’s Eve coming up I would urge anyone going out to have a good time to think about how they are getting home as driving should not be an option. Book a taxi, arrange a pick up or have a designated driver – it could save your life.

“Any number arrested for drug or alcohol driving offences is one too many, but it demonstrates that we are taking this issue seriously in Surrey and are working hard to take offenders off the roads.”

The Christmas campaign launched on December 1 and the 2016 programme saw Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Units carrying out dedicated patrols across the two counties. The initiative, which was supported by Drive Smart in Surrey, the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership and the independent charity Crimestoppers, is set to run until Sunday, January 1 2017.

During the festive crackdown, Surrey roads policing officers will be tackling the issue on the roads network on a 24/7 basis.  Teams will be out day and night to educate the driving population and to deal with motorists who are found to be over the legal drink and/or drug driving limit.

If you see or suspect someone is driving under the influence of drink or drugs please tell Surrey Police.

Information can be passed via text on 65999 or by dialling 999 if the circumstances involve a driver causing immediate danger to others by driving when intoxicated.

Alternatively, you can call Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111, you won’t have to give your name, make a statement or appear in court.

Any information given will be passed on to the roads policing officers and acted upon. Officers will be tweeting about what incidents they deal with as and when they occur.

RESTAURANT REVIEW: Zona Rosa

Zona Rosa, located in the heart of Kemp Town, is the new venture of business partners Nick Roberts and Carlo Torre.

Carlo Torre and Nick Roberts
Carlo Torre and Nick Roberts

Open seven days a week, Zona Rosa operates as a conventional café during the day, serving coffee and cakes, then in the late afternoon switches to a restaurant serving traditional Mexican dishes with a modern twist, using fresh, local ingredients and flavour combinations, all served in a colourful, friendly setting in a unique relaxed atmosphere.

The restaurant gets its name from a district in Mexico’s capital which is known for its multicultural communities, bohemian atmosphere, appeal to creatives, and where its LGBT+ community is focussed. It’s one of Mexico City’s barrios mágicos (magical neighbourhoods).

Open seven days a week, Zona Rosa operates as a conventional café during the day, serving coffee and cakes, then in the late afternoon switches to a restaurant serving traditional Mexican dishes with a modern twist, using fresh, local ingredients and flavour combinations, all served in a colourful, friendly setting in a unique relaxed atmosphere..

The restaurant gets its name from a district in Mexico’s capital which is known for its multicultural communities, bohemian atmosphere, appeal to creatives, and where its LGBT+ community is focussed. It’s one of Mexico City’s barrios mágicos (magical neighbourhoods).

Head chef, Nick Roberts, brings an impressive pedigree to the table having worked in London at Harrods, The Groucho Club, and The Terrence Conran Group. Since moving to Brighton he’s been head chef at Brighton Rocks and more recently the Independent. Nick is passionate about his food and spent much of the last six months researching and creating this new menu for Zona Rosa. He is meticulous and leaves nothing to chance. His dishes are sometimes complex but never without flavour. My best advice is to ask for help navigating the menu on your first visit. All the usual Mexican favourites such as tamales, quesadillas, and burritos are featured but there are many hidden treasures on this menu that are easily overlooked. Ask your waiter, he will be happy to talk you through and help you discover them.

Better still try one of the three Taster selection menus Uno (£24.50), Dos (£30) and Tres (£36.50). I chose the Tres selection menu which included: Pork pibil tacos; mollett; cerviche tostada; pineapple, red onion, chilli, coriander and cheese Quesadilla, roast sweet potato with chilli lime salt, toasted cornbread, berries and vanilla cream. An orgy of new flavours, beautifully presented and the first time some of these dishes had travelled across my tongue. Highly recommended for first timers.

My husband ordered the Land & Sea (£9.95): grilled steak and prawn, refried beans, green rice, salsa, sour cream, cheese and avocado wrapped in a flour taco, beautifully seasoned, flavoured and very filling.

We washed everything down with a Michelada, Mexican beer with lime hot sauce, worcester sauce and tomato juice with a spiced salt rim which perfectly complemented the food. Zone Rosa boasts an impressive drinks menu and keep a full bar stocked with a selection of speciality Mexican drinks including tequilas, margaritas, daiquiris, and nonalcoholic choices such as horchata, Jarritos sodas, and tropical fruit smoothies. They stock branded spirits and soft drinks, their own house wine and aguas frescas, each flavoured with a different mix of fruits.

Zone Rosa offer an abundance of vegetarian and gluten-free options to eat in or take away. There is vibrant basement area which can be booked in advanced for larger groups or parties and outside they have a comfortable seating area with distant sea views which will come into its own during warmer months.

Roast sweet potato with chilli lime salt

Zona Rosa,
24 Garnet House, College Road, Brighton
For reservations call: 01273 818819

Opening hours:
Monday–Friday: 8am–9pm
Saturday: 8.30–10pm
Sunday: 8.30am–2.30pm

PREVIEW: ‘We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary’

New play spotlights the crucial importance of queer spaces and club culture.

The 1980’s saw a major shift towards the emergence of a global gay club culture, but it was set against a backdrop of desperate levels of unemployment, riots, driven by racism, and AIDS casually reported as a gay plague.

Yet with the fear and repression, came hope and defiance – young gay people found a way to come together, to speak out against oppression – and nowhere was this more true than in the vibrant underground clubs.

Combining naturalistic drama, contemporary dance and underground nightclubbing, We Raise Our Hands in the Sanctuary is a new piece of dance-theatre performed in the round and making the audience part of the party to create a tale of hope and of determination, and a message for the here and now to never give up.

Disenchanted by the London gay disco scene of 1981, two best friends set out to build their own underground club, a place of pure escapism where prejudice, poverty and bigotry can be forgotten for a few hours, lost to the dance.

But success brings its own demons; ambition, addiction and the dawning onslaught of AIDS threaten to tear their friendship – and their sanctuary – apart. And when you’re young, scared, rebelling and vilified for your sexuality, the crucial importance of queer spaces and of gay friendship cannot be underestimated.

The performance is choreographed by accomplished director Mina Aidoo, who trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance and has worked across myriad theatre, music, film and video projects that fit very appropriately for a story set in 1980s London underground nightclubs. The work keeps the dancers at the very centre of the performance, an integral element of the story-telling, deploying their bodies alongside the actors, performing in parallel and commenting or expanding on the dramatic action.

Neither a recreation nor a pastiche of the styles of social dancing of the era, instead the movement uses the techniques and tools of contemporary dance, combined with the heart of disco, to explore the themes of sexuality, masculinity and race that are intrinsic to the show.

Inky Cloak creates new work with the core goal of making theatre about people who have the courage to live on their own terms – whatever the consequences. As trans rights moved further into the political and cultural mainstream two years ago, Inky  developed Cover Her Face, which re-cast John Webster’s Duchess of Malfi as the trans heroine of a 1950s London ‘honour killing’ tragedy.

Now, with gentrification sweeping away LGBT clubs and pubs in the capital, Inky Cloak’s new work spotlights the crucial importance of queer spaces and highlights why club culture matters on a political, emotional and human rights level.


Event: We Raise Our Hands In The Sanctuary

Where: The Albany Theatre, Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG

When: Tuesday, January 31 – Saturday, February 11, 7:30pm. No performance on Sunday.

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: Tickets: £15 (Tuesday, January 31 & Wednesday, February 1, £10) CONCESSIONS: £12

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone: 020 8692 4446

 

PREVIEW: Brighton Science Festival 2017

The Brighton Science Festival 2017 will take place from February 11-19, 2017.

Since 2005, the Festival has been inspiring young minds across Sussex with their flagship Bright Sparks event – a weekend of hands-on, accessible science fun for youngsters and their parents. Twelve years later, they’re shifting the focus of the festival back onto young people. They, after all, are the mad scientists of the future.

In addition to the mammoth Bright Sparks weekend, organisers are putting on a jam-packed programme of shows, workshops and activities over the February half term to inspire curious minds of all ages. As always, the emphasis will be on serious fun – the kind of learning that doesn’t feel like work.

You and your kids will learn loads about technology, medicine and maths without even knowing it.

They will be taking the fear out of quantum theory, while putting the LOL into encephalology.

For more information, click here:

 

 

Record numbers attend Lunch Positive Christmas Lunch

Lunch Positive volunteer chefs

Lunch Positive the HIV lunch club attracted 90 service users, their entire team of 26 volunteers, trustees, supporters and friends of the charity to their Christmas Lunch on Friday, December 16 at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church.

Volunteers and helpers donated over 250 hours of their time preparing and delivering the four course lunch.

A raffle was held which raised £373.60 covering the cost of the lunch and a fantastic range of prizes were donated by local LGBT+ and HIV supportive businesses and the members themselves.

Gary Pargeter

Service Manager, Gary Pargeter, said: “Our Christmas Lunch was a wonderful event and a true reflection of all that Lunch Positive aims to do. Volunteers, members, friends and supporters worked alongside each other to bring together the whole event. They prepared a fantastic healthy Christmas meal, and everyone spent meaningful and enjoyable time together as a supportive community.

We heard so many moving accounts of what the lunch club means to people, how being with others with HIV makes a valuable difference, helps people to feel supported and more able to live more confidently with HIV.

Thank you everyone for taking part, supporting each other and the lunch club all year round.”

Following the lunch the doors of the food bank larder were opened so members could take food away and benefit from the food stocks and eat healthily at home over the Christmas period.

Lunch Positive will be open as usual tomorrow, Friday December 30 for its last lunch club of 2016.

For more information about Lunch Positive, click here:

Who’s the boss behind the bar @The Queens Arms?

Morgan Fabulous chats with Barry Nelson, manager of the Queens Arms in George Street, about Thailand, cabaret and Victoria Sponge.

Barry Nelson

Barry took over the Queens Arms nearly two and a half years ago and made some drastic changes to make the bar what it is today. Walls came down, the bar was replaced, the stage relocated and the whole interior was redesigned. Importantly for the drag queens, the upstairs bedrooms and kitchen were all remodelled giving a larger space for the cabaret acts to get ready and drink complimentary champagne before heading to the stage.

The bar has changed significantly since changing hands. Some preferred how it was then, others prefer it now, but that’s inevitable when a venue modernises.

Barry often used to drink there before he became manager and feels it now attracts more of the traditional Brighton cabaret crowd and sees new faces as well as the regulars who’ve been coming to the bar since it opened over 35 years ago.

Established cabaret acts including: Miss Jason, Kara Van Park, Lola Lasagne, Dave Lynn, Davina Sparkle and Sandra regularly appear at the QA five days a week and twice on Sunday.

During the winter months it’s closed on Monday and Tuesday but available for public hire for birthday celebrations and parties. On Saturday nights the bar staff dress in top hats and waistcoats to give the bar a burlesque feel.

Before taking over the reins at the QA, Barry managed Bar Revenge and later Revenge for eight years, where he first introduced the contestants of X-Factor onto the stage.

It was also the start of his drag career, as one night, 12 years ago, a member of the Lollipop Girls who appeared every Friday night cancelled and he got roped into standing in for them. Today you can catch him hosting at the Queens Arms on a Saturday and Sunday as the sassy seaside landlady Victoria Sponge.

Barry grew up in Cheshire then relocated to Bristol and Bournemouth where he worked on the gay scene before coming to Brighton to manage Revenge. Deciding to take a break from the commercial gay scene, he went on to be food and beverage manager at the Queens Hotel where he introduced Dine With The Stars, a cabaret dinner hosted by drag queens and special guests, which raised over £16,000 for the Thai orphanage in Pattaya, Thailand.

When the Queens Arms last changed hands Barry was offered the post of manager. Even though he loved his job at the hotel, he felt he belonged in the pub trade and accepted. Barry enjoys cabaret which has been evident in all his management ventures, and he loves travelling and exploring Asia, particularly Thailand where he’s been 26 times. In his spare time he enjoys reading about the history of Thailand and its celebrations as well as reading psychological thrillers.

Victoria Sponge has also visited Thailand and hosted events to raise money for the children’s orphanage there. He says it’s uncomfortable being in full drag in 40º heat and keeps his makeup in the fridge until he’s ready to apply it – a tip he plans to share with Davina Sparkle.

If you love cabaret or just fancy a drink and a slice of Victoria Sponge, then you’ll find Barry at the QA this and every weekend, that’s if he’s not on his 27th trip to Thailand.

 

 

Costa del Gscene

Elaine Evans
Elaine Evans

Elaine Evans current holder of the Gscene Golden Handbag Allies Award takes her ambassador role very seriously.

Each time she visits Spain on holiday she takes copies of Gscene to the local cafe. Here she is pictured outside Refuel Cafe Bar in Benidorm where she visits regularly.

The cafe enjoys great views overlooking the sea at Elche Park, better known as Dove Park and customers are able to keep up with all the latest gossip from Brighton & Hove.

Elaine said: “Refuel is very popular with people living in Benidorm and return visitors like me. Many of the locals come from Brighton and like to keep up with all the latest news from Brighton & Hove.”

Sea views from ReFuel
Sea views from ReFuel

Make change count this Winter for Brighton’s homeless

Homeless charities in Brighton & Hove join together this winter to raise awareness of how to help people living rough on the streets.

Brighton Housing Trust, St Mungo’s, Pavilions, Equinox and Nightstop are highlighting  what support is available in the city for people sleeping rough and offering advice on how best to help those in need.

Charities are reporting a huge rise in homelessness across the country. In Brighton & Hove, like many cities, there is huge demand for housing. Numerous changes in benefits available to lower-income earners are also having an impact on those at risk of losing their home. This is a national issue being addressed at a local level.

Speaking on behalf of all the charities organising the campaign Kellie Murphy, St Mungo’s Regional Director of the South of England, said: “This campaign focuses on getting the right help at the right time to those who need it most and are sleeping on our streets. This could be by encouraging people sleeping rough to contact support services, letting residents know how to refer people they are concerned about and providing an alternative giving option to donating on the street.

 “We live in a generous city and people understandably want to help those living on the streets. And giving to someone right in front of you is a natural reaction. But there are better ways to help and we’re asking people to think about how they can really make their change count

“Across the city there are organisations helping people sleeping rough by offering a way to come off the streets and into accommodation, making sure people are cared for, whether that be advice about healthcare, benefits, work or education.

“This is an important campaign. With numbers rising, there’s no more urgent time than now to galvanise the energy in the Brighton & Hove community and make their change count to help the city’s most vulnerable.”

The campaign has three main aims:

♦ Helping rough sleepers to access support services available in the city

♦ Asking residents to say where they’ve seen those in need so tailored help can be offered

♦ Suggesting an alternative giving option to donating on the street at:  www.localgiving.org/appeal/makechangecount

The charities are sharing their experiences of seeing how cash donated directly on the street can actually prevent people from linking up with professional organisations offering life-changing support.

Instead alternative giving through a charity supports projects and initiatives that provide practical skills and advice offering the best route off the streets.

Charities provide skills-building, assistance in finding employment and housing advice for young people. These types of projects aid social inclusion and address education needs.

For more information about the fundraising options for this local campaign, click here:

Residents are also being asked to contact Streetlink with information about where people are rough sleeping.

The rough sleeper outreach team, run by St Mungo’s, respond to details given to Streetlink and go out to see all known rough sleepers in the city.

The team discuss a person’s needs, working with them to explore options to try to move them off the streets and into accommodation.

For more information about Streetlink, click here: Or telephone 0300 500 0914

Outreach workers also help guide people to the wide range of services available. For example, nutritious food is available, without any referral required, seven days a week in the city from services such as First Base, Project Antifreeze, and St Anne’s Day Centre. Services to meet an individual’s need, whether that be related to health, education, accommodation or job advice are also provided.

Jesse Wilde
Jesse Wilde

Jesse Wilde, Equinox Senior Business & Partnerships Manager, said: “Brighton & Hove should be proud of its reputation as a progressive and generous city. When giving money to anyone asking for money on the street or a charity we’d urge people to ask themselves one question: ‘Is my generosity helping to keep someone on the streets or is it helping to get someone off the streets?’

The personal testimony of Equinox staff who used to sleep rough and beg is that being given money by the public made it more likely that they would stay in addiction. And less likely that they would engage with treatment and housing services.

As outreach workers, we have the privilege of working with some of the most vulnerable members of our community. To work assertively and empathically we need to get to know each individual. The job involves building rapport and gaining trust with people who have often endured and survived a lifetime of abuse and trauma. We see first-hand the damage caused by life on the street.

In our years of working with the homeless we have never met anyone who looks back with fondness on their time begging or sleeping rough. This initiative is about giving people hope and a real opportunity to move towards a more positive future.”

The campaign is supported by Brighton & Hove City Council, Sussex Police and the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner.

Cllr Clare Moonan
Cllr Clare Moonan

Cllr Clare Moonan, lead member for rough sleeping, said: “The rise of rough sleeping is a national problem and all areas are reporting significant rises, with more and more people seeking help with housing issues. People living rough on the streets are at high risk and need help. The average life expectancy of a man sleeping rough is just 47 years old.

“In Brighton & Hove the council has services and support designed to help those in need, ideally at early stages before the situation become severe. This year alone our housing team along with our partners has prevented 562 households from becoming homeless by providing advice and support. No one agency or organisation can tackle this alone and we very much support the aims of the local charities’ campaign and the vital work the organisations are carrying out every day in the city.”

 

Hove paraplegic calls for Human Rights Commission to investigate Brighton & Hove Council

Robert Carver, a paraplegic gay man abandoned for the last 5 years in a second floor flat in Hove with no disabled access calls for Human Rights Commission to investigate Brighton & Hove City Council’s (BHCC) policy for housing disabled people.

Robert Carver

He is asking that his case be included in a new enquiry being undertaken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into housing for disabled people launched on December 14.

Mr Carver has been housed in a second floor flat by Brighton & Hove City Council for the last 5 years. The flat has no disabled access and he has to be physically man handled up and down the stairs by his carer.

Mr Carver is paraplegic and has been told by his GP, nurse, occupational therapist and psychologist that he needs 24-hour-a-day care but Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) has only allocated him 28 hours a week.

This means he is left to his own devices for two days a week and on the other days from 17:00 till noon the next day. During that time he has no access to food, water, toilet, bath or even his bed.

Despite pleas for a review of this situation from Mr Carver’s medical team, independent advisers, and the local ambulance and fire services, BHCC recently reiterated that they see no need to expand the care he receives.

The accommodation the council allocated to Mr Carver is a second-floor flat which can only be reached by two flights of steep stairs. The flat has no lift and Mr Carver has to be dragged up and down the stairs by his carers in order to attend his medical appointments.

The flat itself is too small to accommodate a wheelchair which means that he is pulled around over the floor by his carer when moving round the flat to go to the bathroom and to bed.

For several years Brighton & Hove City Council social workers have maintained that Mr Carvers current accommodation and care is ‘perfectly acceptable’.

Following Mr Carver’s plight being highlighted by Meridian TV in October 2016 a BHCC spokesman admitted that the accommodation the council had housed Mr Carver in was “unsuitable”.

Despite BHCC saying in a statement to Meridian News on October 12 that new temporary accommodation with disabled access would be available shortly, no new accommodation has materialised.

Subsequently the Council have offered Mr Carver a bungalow in Whitehawk that was not wheelchair accessible and a ground floor studio in emergency accommodation in central Brighton notorious for damp, drug-use and misbehaviour, described by Caroline Lucas MP for Brighton Pavilion as being unsuitable for disabled people and previously ruled out by Brighton & Hove Council when they withdrew an offer of the property to Mr Carver in March 2016.

Mr Carver’s medical team and legal representatives advised him not to accept these offers despite being advised by Brighton & Hove City Council that if he does not accept their offer they might opt to choose to no longer recognise their duty of care to him.

This means Mr Carver could become ‘intentionally homeless’ and have no other option but to try to survive as one of the many street homeless in Brighton & Hove.

To sign the petition asking the Human Rights Commission to investigate Mr Carvers case, click here:

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