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Author: Gary Hart

‘Grief Encounters’ at Switchboard

Posted on by Gary Hart

Rainbow Fund supports SWITCHBOARD in developing a new and essential initiative – Grief Encounters.

GRIEF Encounters is a pilot project that aims to support LGBT+ people who have experienced a bereavement.

In addition to the universal experiences of grief, pain and distress, LGBT+ people face other barriers and stressors in bereavement including homophobia (trans/bi/queerphobia), failure to acknowledge our relationships, estrangement from our families, legal and financial issues, being excluded from discussions and decision being made by family members and health care professionals.

There is currently no LGBT+ specific service for those experiencing a bereavement. In the New Year Switchboard is planning to start the setup of a peer support group providing an exclusive and dedicated space to explore our grief.

It is really important that the specific needs of the LGBT+ communities are voiced so that we can receive the best and most appropriate support.

Switchboard are keen to talk further to anyone wanting to share their experiences, thoughts and ideas. Also if you would like to be on their mailing list to receive updates about further developments of this project. phone Switchboard Office on 01273 234009 to speak to or leave a message for Jackie, Switchboard’s new Grief Encounters Development Worker or email her on jackie.engelberg@switchboard.org.uk

New ticket machines on ALL Brighton & Hove Buses and concessionary card travel

Posted on by Gary Hart

New ticket machines are now being fitted onto all Brighton & Hove buses to improve the overall customer experience.

THE new machines will now enable customers to scan paper tickets bought from the driver, their M Tickets as well as still being able to scan their Keycards and concessionary passes, giving customers the added convenience of all the ticket machines being situated in the same place.

The machines are now all situated next to the driver and below the cab screen – regardless of bus type.

Whilst for the majority of Brighton and Hove Buses’ customers these will be seen as positive changes the recognise that some customers may require a little extra assistance to enable their independent travel.

Some customers may be unable to scan their passes and concessionary cards, for varying reasons, examples of which may include passengers with sight impairments not able to see the new position of the ticket machine or customers unable to use their hands.

Drivers will be on hand to offer assistance to any customer unable to scan their card. This may include the driver scanning the card on the customers behalf or if required accepting a concessionary card as a flash pass as long as it’s in date and the picture matches the likeness on the card.

Let staff know if their assistance is required and they will endeavour to help where and when they can.

If you experience any problems call: 01273 886200

Switchboard need trans and/or non-binary volunteers

Posted on by Gary Hart

Switchboard need trans and/or non-binary volunteers needed for their Trans Survivors drop-in service.

SWITCHBOARD are expanding their Trans Survivors Drop-In service! They need trans and/or non-binary Peer Facilitators to support a unique new group for transgender survivors.

In addition to their helpline offering support to trans and non-binary callers, from the end of November they’ll be offering a monthly drop-in space exclusively for trans and non-binary survivors of violence, crime and/or abuse, including sexual violence.

This is the first drop-in space in the UK which will specifically supports trans and non-binary survivors.

The Trans Survivors project is trans-led and always will be. They’re looking for trans and non-binary Peer Facilitators to help with the running of the group, to support group participants and to ensure the space is safe and inclusive. You’ll receive bespoke training on active listening, group facilitation and working alongside survivors, and you’ll be a vital part of shaping this new and necessary service.

Applications are open until November 12, and interviews will be held on November 14 and 15, depending on the availability of applicants.

Training consists of two dates between November 17 and 25, to be confirmed with successful applicants.

To view the role description, click here:

Or email: orla.white@switchboard.org.uk with any questions.

Do you have the ‘art’ to volunteer?

Posted on by Gary Hart

Local designer issues final call for help to put finishing touches to A Drop in the Ocean beachside art installation.

Irene Soler: Image Darren Cool
Irene Soler: Image Darren Cool

DESIGNER Irene Soler is asking for volunteers to help thread together more than 9,000 bottle tops to complete the last phase of the A Drop in the Ocean installation along the Volks Railway.

The tops were collected from the city’s seafront between August and October this year by the council’s Cityclean beach-cleaning teams, cafes and kiosks along the seafront, as well as by organised beach cleans and individuals.

They will be added to the 20,000 tops that have already been strung and hung along the beach railings in phases 1 and 2, creating a beautiful and colourful wave effect.

Irene said: “We’ve now collected almost 30,000 bottle tops in total from the beach since March this year. That’s 30,000 bottle tops that have been saved from ending up in the sea and harming or destroying our marine life.

“So far 110 fantastic local people have helped us complete phases one and two of the installation. Now I’m hoping volunteers will come along and assist us to finish off ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ which will finally stretch close to 60 metres along the seafront.”

The workshops will run this week on Thursday 8 and Friday, November 9 and next week on Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 from 10:30am to 5pm at Volks Railway Visitor Centre, Madeira Drive, Brighton.

Irene added: “The artwork really highlights the huge problem of leaving rubbish on the beach which can easily be blown or dragged into the sea by waves.
 
“It’s a worrying and depressing fact that 35 per cent of fish off the Brighton coast have plastic in their gut and a massive 80 per cent of ocean plastics come from the land.”  

Irene a volunteer
Irene a volunteer

Phase one of the installation was completed in July with more than 9,000 bottle tops used, with phase 2 finishing in October, using another 10,000 tops.

When phase one was launched, some people questioned why plastic was being taken onto the beach, but every one of the bottle tops was collected on the seafront.

The tops are from bottles of milk, fizzy drinks, water, sports drinks and even baby food pouches.

The installation will be completed by the end of this year after phase 3 is finished, and will stay in place until next Spring.

PREVIEW: A homoerotic painting exhibition by Harley Redford

Posted on by Gary Hart

The quiet out here can get real loud – A homoerotic painting exhibition at Pop-Up Brighton by Harley Redford.

THE quiet out here can get real loud is fine art graduate Harley Redford‘s first solo painting exhibition. The exhibition will take place at Pop-Up Brighton next to the i360 on Brighton seafront.

Harley Redford
Harley Redford

Harley said: “The things you see, create the feelings you feel. It is from these moments of exhilaration and excitement that conjure my paintings. They are a snapshot of my own reality, fuelled by a realm of insecurities and imperfections. I look into concepts of beauty and the sublime, sexuality and desire where I aim to construct an interpreted world shaped by unsettled feelings of being unwanted, undesired and isolated.”

 

Event: The quiet out here can get real loud is fine art graduate Harley Redford’s

Where: Pop-Up Brighton 76-81 Kings Road Arches, Brighton BN1 2FN

When: November 9-11

Time: 10am-3pm

QueenSpark Books want your stories

Posted on by Gary Hart

QueenSpark Books, the UK’s longest-serving community publisher will be publishing four new books as part of it’s Heritage Lottery Funded project, Archives Alive.

THE books, to be launched in July 2019, will draw on archive material from its previous 106 publications.

Working with local volunteers, QueenSpark will also be collecting new material for the books, and is looking for your stories, memories and anecdotes about Brighton and Hove, relating to the following themes:

‘Unsung heroes and pioneers’ – people who shaped Brighton, those who arrived and made a difference, and those who keep Brighton running today.

‘Outskirts’ – stories and memories from areas on the outskirts of the city, e.g. Moulsecoomb, Whitehawk, Portslade, Bevendean, etc.

‘Alternative Cultures’ – music, art, fashion, sexuality, politics, Co-ops, Open Houses, Naked Bike Ride etc.

‘Terraces’ – neighbours and neighbourhood, architecture and building, and how it creates and impacts upon our communities.

Do you have any stories, anecdotes or memories – anything from 20 words to 300 – about any of the above?

If so, email them to john@queensparkbooks.org.uk by 5pm, on Monday, November 26, and they’ll be put forward to the editing groups for possible inclusion in the books.

Also include a name that you would like to be credited by on the email.

Charles Street Tap raise funds for THT

Posted on by Gary Hart

Series four of Mrs Moore’s Bona Balls Up Bingo at Charles Street Tap came to an end after a twelve week run on Wednesday, September 26.

DURING the run Charles Street raised £500 in cash from the pool of balls round which was match funded by Global Corporate Ltd., bringing the running total raised by Bona Balls Up Bingo for THT South to £2,000

Film company acquire rights to local author’s new novel

Posted on by Gary Hart

Unstoppable Film & Television, the production company run by Noel Clarke and Jason Maza have picked up the rights to Juno Dawson’s new novel Meat Market, a story set in the world of modelling.

Meat Market follows Jana Novak, a 16-year-old girl of Serbian descent, as she is catapulted from her South London council estate roots to international stardom as a model. The book was written following two years extensive research by Juno Dawson into the fashion industry.

Juno is the multi award-winning author of eight novels, six of those for young adults. In 2018, she published the best-selling novel CLEAN, which was voted Cosmopolitan’s ‘Must Read’ book of the year in the Big Book Awards.

Juno is a regular contributor to Attitude Magazine, Glamour Magazine and The Guardian and has contributed to news items on BBC Women’s Hour, Front Row, ITV News, Channel 5 News, This Morning and Newsnight concerning sexuality, identity, literature and education.

Meat Market is scheduled for publication by Quercus Children’s Books, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Group, in May 2019.

Juno said: “I’m beyond thrilled to be collaborating with Unstoppable on my first TV adaptation; their warm enthusiasm for Jana’s story was overwhelming. The fashion industry can be a scary place and it feels timely to explore the ugly side of something that’s outwardly beautiful. As well as being a model, Jana is a normal teenage girl, going through heartbreaks and triumphs – I want ‘Meat Market’ to be as funny and outrageous as it is compelling.’

Noel Clarke and Jason Maza, directors of Unstoppable added: “‘Meat Market’ is an irreverent, entertaining and funny story that also tackles the huge contemporary themes of #MeToo and the hypersexualisation of girls. We were instantly drawn to the story itself and to the power of Juno’s writing, which has great warmth and humour even when she takes us to dangerous places. Juno’s research gives the story absolute authenticity and it is ideal to adapt as a returning series for television.”

Pho raise £695 for Rainbow Fund during Brighton Pride

Posted on by Gary Hart

Pho, the Vietnamese cafe in Black Lion Street Brighton donated £1 for each of their special Pride cocktails sold during this years Brighton Pride raising £695 for The Rainbow Fund.

CHRIS Gull, Chair of the Rainbow Fund, said: “The Rainbow Fund is grateful, on behalf of the twenty-two local LGBT+ and HIV projects that we are funding this year for this donation from Pho. They join a list of businesses in Brighton & Hove that are not just content to put a rainbow flag up to show support during the Pride celebrations, but embrace the meaning of “A Pride with Purpose” by supporting our communities in a very practical way. The projects that are supported with this donation will make a real difference to hundreds of people’s lives”
The Rainbow Fund give grants to LGBT+/HIV organisations who provide effective front line services to LGBT+ people in the city.

Dog Show closes Brighton Pride’s season of events

Posted on by Gary Hart

Despite an overcast sky, there was an impressive turnout in Preston Park on October 14 for the 2018 Pride Dog Show which was postponed earlier in the year due to inclement weather.

PRIDE partners Coastway Pets organised the event with the Novelty Ring playing host to categories such as Waggiest Tail, Handsomest Dog, Best Fancy Dress and Dog Most Like Owner.
Industry professionals oversaw the judging in the Pedigree/Condition Ring where categories such as AV Puppy and AV Hound were particularly well attended.
Rosettes were awarded for top 5 positions in each category ensuring every star pooch got the recognition their paws deserved with best in show (pedigree) going to Carmen a gorgeous Giant Schnauzer and best in show (novelty/condition) to an adorable rescue dog called Grizzle (pictured above) who also snatched the overall best in show title and goodie bag.
For a full list of the winners, click here:

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