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PREVIEW: Polari tenth birthday tour comes to the Marlborough Theatre

London’s multi award-winning LGBT literary salon returns to the Marlborough Theatre on Friday, October 20, as part of its tenth birthday tour, funded by Arts Council England.

Paul Burston

Curated and hosted by author Paul Burston with readings and performances from Sylvia Brownrigg, Cerys Evans, Alexis Gregory, VG Lee and John McCullough.

This event will be BSL interpreted.

Previous events at the Marlborough have sold out so book early to avoid disappointment.

“The most exciting literary movement in London… crackling with energy, ideas, excitement”….. Huffington Post

“Lively, funny and inspiring – a gay-themed salon of interest to anyone remotely interested in literature, whatever their sexual bent”….. Patrick Gale

“Always fun, alway thought-provoking – a guaranteed good night out”….. Sarah Waters


Event: Polari tenth birthday tour

Where: Marlborough Theatre, Princess Street, Brighton

When: Friday, October 20

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: Tickets £9.50 or £7.50

Or book online, click here:

Gogglebox star helps Samaritans highlight the power of listening

Brighton, Hove and District Samaritans call on the nation’s hairdressers and barbers to help people know that listening can save lives.

Around 160,000 hairdressers in the UK spend an estimated 2,000 hours a year hearing about the ups and downs of their clients’ lives.

By highlighting hairdressers’ listening expertise, Samaritans hopes to illustrate the value in everyone becoming better listeners, during the The Big Listen which began on Monday, July 24.

On that day, Samaritans asked the nation to build their listening skills by using its SHUSH! Listening Tips to help a friend, relative or family member who may be going through a tough time:

 

Samaritans Listening Tips or S-H-U-S-H:

  • Show you care:  focus just on the other person, make eye contact, put away your phone
  • Have patience:  it may take time and several attempts before a person is ready to open up
  • Use open questions:  that need more than a yes/no answer, & follow up e.g. ‘Tell me more’
  • Say it back:  to check you’ve understood, but don’t interrupt or offer a solution
  • Have courage:  don’t be put off by a negative response and, most importantly, don’t be                               afraid to leave silence

Samaritan volunteers are available anytime from any phone to help people who are struggling.

“Suicide is everybody’s business and we can all do our bit to encourage people to be better listeners and reach out for help if they need to,” said Alison, Branch Director at Brighton, Hove and District Samaritans.

Henry from Brighton, Hove and District Samaritans spoke to celebrity hairdresser Stephen Webb from Gogglebox about how listening to his clients can make a real difference to their wellbeing.

Stephen Webb
Stephen Webb

He said: “When you’re a hairdresser you get to know that maybe the person who’s sitting in the chair in front of you might be the only person that they can really talk to. That’s something you really learn. You’re kind of reaching out to them. You’re never crossing the line that you strike up a friendship outside of the salon, it’s always within the salon walls.

I think it’s really important to give everyone the time, because it might take them time to actually want to open up and they might be nervous on top of the issues they may be experiencing.”

Traditionally, people feel they can confide in their hairdresser or barber and those working within the profession understand the importance of their role in providing a listening ear.

“As a hairdresser over time you realise that the person sitting in front of you could be in real need of a chat. A massive part of my job is to simply listen and as a hairdresser we take the role as listeners very seriously. You go through so many things with your client’s deaths, births and marriages. And you’re there for each other every step of the way.”

For more information about Samaritans, click here:

Win a Holiday to the Florida Keys & Key West at Brighton & Hove Pride

Look for the Big Red Shoe in Preston Park on Saturday, August 5.

The Florida Keys has long been a favourite holiday destination for LGBT+ visitors, who receive a warm welcome to the island chain where the official motto, One Human Family, signifies an atmosphere of inclusion and recognition that all people are created equal.

In the subtropical island city of Key West, nearly a quarter of the year-round residents identify themselves as gay or lesbian, and from the moment visitors arrive, the ‘all welcome’ atmosphere is apparent.

On Saturday, August 5, visitors to Brighton & Hove Pride can ‘transport’ themselves to the Florida Keys with a stop at the Keys’ Preston Park stand (N5) for a ‘Sushi shoe selfie.’ Just look for the giant red shoe!

The shoe is a Key West icon. Every New Year’s Eve at midnight the Keys’ best known drag queen, ‘Sushi,’ whose real name is Gary Marion, is lowered from a balcony above Duval Street in the heart of gay Key West, dazzlingly gowned and perched in a sparkling six-foot red high-heeled shoe. An amazing sight to see, it’s an irreverent alternative to New Year’s Eve celebrations in other parts of the world. The party atmosphere is uniquely Key West, as is the balmy subtropical weather on a December night.

By jumping into a replica of the glittery high heel for a photo and sharing their picture on social media, using the hashtag #FLKeysShoe, Pride attendees will have the chance to win their own unforgettable holiday to the Keys which will include a four-night stay at LaTeDa Hotel in Key West, international flights and car hire.

There will also be plenty of useful Keys travel information available on the stand along with details of special holiday offers.

For more information about Florida Keys and Key West, click here:

 

Lunch Positive host community café at Pride on Preston Park

Lunch Positive, the local HIV charity that provides a weekly HIV lunch club is staging it’s Community Café at Pride again this year.

The café will be located in the Community Village at the south end of Preston Park on Saturday, August 5. Volunteers from Lunch Positive will be preparing and selling a range of affordable food and drink, with every penny raised on the day going to help run the lunch club over the coming year.

Gary Pargeter
Gary Pargeter

Lunch Positive Service Manager, Gary Pargeter, said: “Staging our café at Pride is always a hugely exciting and important community event, and a very important fundraiser to us.

“This year the support we’ve had in putting this together has been amazing with over 40 people who use the lunch club, our volunteer team, friends and supporters offer us their help.

“Everyone’s been amazing. It’s a wonderful example of community engagement, Lunch Positive being valued, and genuine empowerment for everyone involved. We’re so incredibly grateful, and hope that everyone has a fabulous day!

“Please come along and see us, and know that every penny raised goes to a charity that helps people locally.”

 

 

HIV prevention drug PrEP available on the NHS from September

NHS England announces world’s largest single PrEP implementation trial to prevent HIV infection.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) will be available through the NHS from September, as part of a three-year trial.

The announcement comes a year and a day after an historic win for NAT (National AIDS Trust) at the High Court that confirmed the NHS’s legal ability to fund the drug, which stops people from getting HIV.

The trial will provide PrEP to a minimum of 10,000 participants. Eligible participants for the trial will be able to access PrEP through sexual health clinics and will include men, women, transgender people, and individuals with HIV positive partners whose viral load is not known to be controlled by HIV medication.

Simon Stevens
Simon Stevens

Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, said“This major new intervention should complement and supercharge the wide-ranging and increasingly successful effort to prevent HIV. It’s another milestone in more than three decade’s worth of progress in tackling one of humanity’s major health challenges.”

The medical effectiveness of the drug in preventing HIV infection is well established. The NHS will use this trial to gather evidence on how to optimise uptake and implementation of a PrEP programme on a large-scale.

Deborah Gold
Deborah Gold

Deborah Gold, chief executive at NAT (National AIDS Trust), said: “We already know that PrEP brings down rates of HIV infection, changing lives for those at risk and saving public money. We now need to work with NHS England, local authorities, and the sexual health sector to make sure the widest possible range of eligible people at high risk of HIV have access to the trial. We will continue to monitor the uptake of PrEP, aiming to learn as much as possible about how to get PrEP to all those who need it most.

“This is a pivotal moment in the fight against HIV. PrEP, if targeted properly at those in need and at high risk of HIV, offers the possibility of transforming the English HIV epidemic. From September, people at high risk of HIV will have access via the NHS in England to an empowering new tool that is truly individual controlled and not subject to negotiation with a partner, leading to the improvement of many, many lives. We warmly welcome this announcement.” 

PrEP involves HIV negative people taking an antiretroviral drug to avoid getting HIV. Multiple studies around the world have shown the drug is highly effective in reducing the risk of contracting HIV.

The results of the PrOUD trial in England, released in 2015, prove that PrEP works and that concerns about it not working in a real world setting, were unfounded.

Most trials of PrEP involve taking the drug daily, however a French study, ANRS IPERGAY, has looked at the efficacy of PrEP when taken ‘on demand’, in other words not daily but only before and after sex and shows  significant preventive benefit.

Ian Green

Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, added: “We’re pleased that NHS England has announced a start date for the much anticipated PrEP trial. This PrEP trial has been gaining momentum in England, and is vital as we work towards ending HIV transmissions across the UK.

“The priority must now be to make sure that the trial reaches everyone at risk of HIV, and that it is rolled out speedily across the whole country, by the end of this year at the very latest. Spring 2018 is not soon enough.

“Now that the PrEP trial drug has been procured, we’re well on the way to protecting over 10,000 people at risk of HIV. To make sure no-one at risk of HIV is left behind, it is crucial that at the end of this trial in three years time, a clear process for routinely commissioning PrEP on the NHS is agreed.”

Dr. Will Nutland
Dr. Will Nutland

Dr. Will Nutland co-founder of PrEPster said: “PrEPster applauds the commencement of the IMPACT trial. International evidence on PrEP clinical efficacy is now so compelling that access to PrEP through the trial will have a significant impact on HIV in England. PrEPster will work alongside our colleagues for swift implementation across the country, and for diverse recruitment to the trial.”

 

wagamama to support Sussex Beacon during coming 12 months

Pan-Asian restaurant wagamama extends its London campaign #makeitrainbow to celebrate Brighton & Hove Pride this weekend.

The day’s profits from wagamama bun sales (now selling an average of 1,000,000 yearly) will be donated to local charity, The Sussex Beacon, every time a rainbow is spotted in the sky above the city, from August 4.

Rain falls an average of 115 days a year on the South Coast and wagamama is calling on the Brighton communities to help spot rainbows to unlock the donation by tweeting a picture with the hashtag #makeitrainbow.

To ensure the charity benefits whatever the weather and in case we enjoy 365 days of sunshine on the South Coast, which is very unlikely, wagamama is committed to donating a minimum of £2,500 to The Sussex Beacon, to support people living with HIV.

The Sussex Beacon provides specialist care, promoting independence for people living with HIV.

Since its launch, wagamama has always internally championed inclusiveness, acceptance and diversity. Its public facing ‘no clone’ hiring policy has always encouraged colleagues to embrace who they are without conforming to a stereotype.

Head of Marketing at wagamama, Andre Johnstone, said: “wagamama has always supported its staff when it comes to Pride across the UK but we have wanted to do more publicly to support the LGBT+ community in previous years. 

“I’m pleased we can expand our support following the success of London Pride and make a wider commitment to the community outside the capital to throw our support behind those who struggle to be who they are.  We are who we are and we want you to just be you. What better way to ramp up our continued support and celebrate Pride than by backing a vitally important charity such as The Sussex Beacon.”

Simon Dowe
Simon Dowe

Sussex Beacon CEO, Simon Dowe, said: “The Sussex Beacon has been at the heart of HIV support in the Brighton community since 1991 and we are proud to be associated with wagamama as they look to further embed themselves in Brighton.  Big brands normally support big causes and it’s a credit to wagamama to be a brand in the local area supporting local people.  Make sure to tag a rainbow folks.”

Michael Fish MBE
Michael Fish MBE

National Treasure, Michael Fish MBE, said: “A rainbow is a beautiful meteorological phenomenon caused by light being refracted in water droplets. It is impossible to predict just how many will occur in a specific time period, but British weather being what it is makes the UK a great place to spot a rainbow. This Pride campaign really does prove the adage correct: there is a pot of gold at the end of each rainbow.”

Brighton & Hove Pride is a platform for everyone in the local communities to raise awareness of LGBT+ issues and campaign for the freedoms that will allow them to live their lives on a genuinely equal footing.

This year hundreds of thousands of people will visit Brighton to support Pride and show unity in support of the LGBT+ communities.

Councils warn sexual health services at ‘tipping point’

NAT (National AIDS Trust) supports LGA calls for Government to reverse cuts to public health.

The Local Government Association (LGA) today warns that sexual health services are at ‘tipping point’ as significant increases in demand have coincided with dramatic cuts in the public health budget.

NAT’s recently published data from FOI requests to all UK local authorities, shows that HIV prevention services are also suffering hugely as a result of these cuts to the public health budget.

In areas with a high prevalence of HIV, NAT found that funding for prevention was down by almost a third in just two years.

Deborah Gold
Deborah Gold

Deborah Gold, Chief Executive at NAT, said: “The cuts to public health are short-sighted and store problems for the future. If cuts in HIV prevention continue at their current rate we will lose key services which we know to be effective at reducing HIV transmission. The impact of this will be worsened if wait times also increase for sexual health clinics. A failure to take public health investment seriously will lead to increased rates in HIV and other STIs, alongside further cost to the NHS and local authorities. 

“NAT fully supports the LGA’s call for the Government to reverse the cuts to the public health budget. These cuts have been opposed repeatedly by us and others in the health sector, by the Health Select Committee last year and more recently by the Lords Committee on the Long Term Sustainability of the NHS. 

“This stark warning from councils on the impact that public health disinvestment will have on the quality of sexual health services shows the pressure the whole system is under. It is now well past the time for the Government to start listening.”

Brighton businessman bids to become Mr Gay Europe – Campaign Day 20

Just two days left to vote!

 

Matt Rood has lived in Brighton for the last fifteen years. His job is his passion. He’s a dog walker and trainer and has his own company called ROODDOG. His other passion is fitness and he goes to the Underground gym in Brighton five or six times a week.

The last two years have been an emotional journey for Matt following the breakdown of his marriage. A friend came across the competition for Mr Gay Europe and encouraged him to apply.

Matt said: “I’m a very enthusiastic guy and love setting myself new challenges so I went for it. I hired the best personal trainer in town Sam Bird to help keep me focused and positive enabling me to be successful and reach my goals.”

A formal interview with Stuart Hatton former Mr Gay World 2014 followed, then a cv round, a photo round and two Skype interviews with the board of directors of Mr Gay Europe. He completed each round successfully and was awarded his new title, Mr Gay England.

Contrary to common perception, Mr Gay Europe isn’t a beauty pageant, it’s more about understanding LGBT+ law, LGBT+ rights and being cultured within the LGBT+ communities.

The Mr Gay Europe competition takes place in Stockholm, Sweden from August 1-6 when Matt will be competing against contestants from fifteen other countries.

The competition includes different rounds ranging from a formal interview, a written exam on the contestants knowledge of LGBT+ law, a social media challenge, a team challenge, a congeniality round, a fitness round and a round on the contestants campaigning work.

Matt’s campaign for the competition is called Pride Families. For three years he was a foster carer and helped ten children. He wants to use his new title as Mr Gay England and his experience as a foster carer as a platform to promote awareness showing that LGBT+ people can adopt and foster children providing them with loving, safe and nurturing homes.

In September, Matt will be working with Brighton and Hove City Council to launch a new fostering and adoption campaign and on July 8 he walked on the London Pride march with the fostering and adoption charity, New Family Social.

He added: “I’ve linked up with a local school too, as I believe the only way to combat discrimination in future generations is to work with children and teach them through respect, happiness and love for each other.”

Voting for Mr Gay Europe goes live on July 17 and you can vote online until August 4. Matt needs your votes as this counts for 20% of his final marks. Most importantly you can vote everyday the online voting is live to get a campaign going for him.

Matt concluded: “This has definitely been a whirlwind journey so far. I am loving every minute and I know if I win Mr Gay Europe the hard work starts there. I have the passion, motivation and drive to be a positive role model for our LGBT+ communities. So please vote for me.”

To vote for Matt and bring the title of Mr Gay Europe to Brighton, click here:

You can vote each day as Matt’s campaign gathers speed.

Research urges discussion about the term LGBT+ community!

The phrase ‘LGBT+ community’ can be problematic and must be used with caution, according to research from Sheffield Hallam University.

The UK-wide study, which included responses from more than 600 participants, explored the use of the phrase commonly used to describe and group people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans (LGBT).

The research, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, centred on questions around what the phrase ‘LGBT+ community’ means, with a number of the responses challenging the use of the word ‘community’.

Responses to the research revealed that many people felt excluded by the phrase ‘LGBT+ community’, as the language suggests that all LGBT+ people belong to one large homogenous group.

The results of the research have been used for the new book Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities, by Eleanor Formby, senior research fellow at Sheffield Hallam’s Sheffield Institute of Education.

The book examines a number of ideas around LGBT+ identities including community ownership, difference, diversity, spaces, symbols, and consequences for wellbeing, whilst also exploring the experiences of LGBT+ people to offer a broad analysis of commonalities and differences.

Eleanor said: “How we understand and use the term ‘LGBT+ community’ has implications for the delivery of social policy and service provision, and ultimately LGBT+ people’s lives.

“The concept is important but when it is used in the singular, which it so often is, this is not helpful to many LGBT people, not least because not all feel, or wish to be, included within a singular uniform community.

“The word ‘community’ is rarely, if ever, used for people identified as part of ‘majority groups’, for example “white community, “able-bodied community” or “heterosexual community”, so why do we use it for so-called ‘minority groups’?.

“Whilst community can offer benefits to some, in terms of affirmation and the suggestion of safety, it also poses potential dangers through perpetuating misconceptions and stereotypes, and ultimately risks implying that LGBT people are all the same, which they are obviously not, although they may of course share some experiences in common.”

For more information about the book, click here:

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