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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.”

 

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