A free event is being held on Wednesday, June 12 for the thousands of people in Brighton & Hove who dedicate themselves to being unpaid carers for loved ones who have health problems or disabilities.
The Open Market – Photo Visit Brighton
THE Carers Festival at the Open Market in London Road will run from 2-6pm presenting a great opportunity to meet other carers and find out about all the support services that are available for carers in the city.
There will be free tea, coffee and cakes for Carers Card holders. If you haven’t already got a Carers Card – which offers a range of discounts across the city – you can sign up for one at the event.
There will also be entertainments and more than 30 information stalls including:
♦ Age UK, Mind and the Alzheimer’s Society
♦ Brighton & Hove City Council’s CareLink Plus telecare alarms service
♦ Blue Badge and concessionary travel
♦ Back care and healthy lifestyles advice.
The event has been organised by Brighton & Hove City Council and the city’s Carers Hub.
For further information about the Carers Festival, call the Carers Hub on 01273 977000.
Proposed ‘merger’ and closure of Matlock Surgery will affect local community, say Greens.
GREEN Councillors maintain that plans to close another GP surgery in the city could have a “serious impact,” on the local communities.
Proposals to close Matlock Surgery, Withdean as part of a ‘merger,’ with Beaconsfield Medical Practice in Preston Park were revealed by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) this week following an announcement the lease would not be renewed.
Green Councillors are now calling on the CCG to provide more information on the decision, stressing the impact that another GP closure will have on the local communities and raising concerns that vulnerable or elderly patients will have further to travel to reach their nearest GP.
Greens say the CCG must also provide more detailed information on how another GP closure will affect the capacity of primary care in Brighton and Hove, calling on the council and CCG to detail how any plans could affect access to a GP for local residents.
Investigation by the Green Group of Councillors last year revealed that Brighton and Hove has approximately one GP to every 2,500 patients, with figures released by organisation Healthwatch from 2016-2018 showing the number of GP practices in the city reducing from 44 to 36.
Cllr Sarah Nield
At a recent meeting of the Local Government Association, Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty also raised the issue with Health Secretary Matt Hancock, challenging him to end the primary care crisis in Brighton and Hove.
Green Councillor for Withdean ward and member of the city council Health and Wellbeing Board, Sarah Nield, said: “Matlock Road surgery is right in the heart of a nest of streets, part of a parade of shops serving the local communities. Until recently it had a Post Office, but that has now closed, meaning that residents have to travel for their Post office services. Now the CCG has proposed that the GP surgery must go – which of course will affect the business of the adjacent pharmacy – and we remain concerned that a useful community hub may disappear, forcing local residents to travel further afield for their needs. I’m particularly concerned about how this will affect our elderly or more vulnerable residents.
“While the CCG claim that services will not be affected, I’m also concerned that this may mean we will lose yet another GP surgery in the city – when we are already dealing with a dwindling number of GP surgeries and an appalling GP to patient ratio. As the proposals are still open for review, we welcome news that the CCG will hold public engagement events and we would encourage patients to make their opinion on these changes known. However, Greens will continue to push the CCG for more clarity over their plans for primary care in the city – instead of endless ‘integration’ plans that herald in yet more savings, the needs of our residents and the impact of GP surgery closures on our community must be addressed.”
Patients currently registered with the practice (and their carers) are invited to attend one of the following events:
♦ Monday, June 17 from 5:45 – 6:45pm, at Exeter Street Hall, 16-17 Exeter Street, Brighton, BN1 5PG.
♦ Monday, June 24 from 10:45 – 11:45pm, at Church of the Good Shepherd, 272 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 5AE.
Or by post marked ‘Merger’, to one of the following addresses:
♦ Matlock Road Surgery, 10 Matlock Road, Brighton, BN1 5BF or Primary Care Team, Brighton and Hove CCG, Hove Town Hall, BN3 4AH •
Trans Vegas 2019, The second annual transgender arts festival will take place in Manchester from June 29 – July 3, presented by the city’s own trans arts company.
THE festival will be curated by Artistic Director of Trans Creative, Kate O’Donnell, herself an international performer, writer and curator.
Kate established Trans Creative two years ago to raise trans visibility and fight transphobia through arts and education. Kate was recently seen across Manchester as part of the ‘Strong Women’ campaign, and is well known in the city for her own work in theatre and her groundbreaking role in Twelfth Night at Royal Exchange Theatre.
Trans Vegas 2019 offers a programme of ground-breaking transgender art, performance and conversation in the finest venues across Manchester. The festival is entirely delivered by members of the trans community, and the world-class work has something on offer for audiences from every walk of life.
Kate O’Donnell
Kate O’Donnell said of this year’s Trans Vegas: “We wanted to hear twice as many trans voices at this year’s festival, we want to hear them roar and raise everyone’s trans spirits. Brace yourself Manchester, Trans Vegas is coming!”
This year Trans Vegas 2019 will continue to build on their partnership with Manchester Pride and Superbia, Manchester Pride’s year-round cultural programme.
Kate O’Donnell
Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride said:“We’re pleased to once again be supporting Transvegas and helping to introduce LGBT+ people across Greater Manchester to this innovative and compelling festival. It takes place over the weekend of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion and what better way to mark how far we have come than with this exciting programme which is packed full of talented Trans voices.”
Trans Vegas takes place from June 29–July 3, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, in which transgender and gender non-conforming people played a crucial role in resisting police violence and discrimination. Trans Vegas itself picks up this torch by supporting the most marginalised members of the trans community to tell their own stories.
With Norwich Pride only 50 days away, the annual Pride Without Prejudice art show has had to be cancelled due to a lack bookings.
DISMAYED by this news, Norfolk based poet and artist Vince Laws, has booked the whole of St Margaret’s Church of Art on St Benedict’s Street in Norwich and intends to fill it with art, and poetry, and politics, and performance.
Vince, is the former Norwich Pride Poet Laureate, artist, campaigner, creator of A Very Queer Nazi Faust which sold out Norwich Arts Centre in 2018, creator of the DWP Deaths Make Me Sick shrouds currently touring the UK, Umbrellas of Love, BANNED face-painting, B.Right.On Festival, Founder of The Norwich Dandies art collective editor of the Out Write poetry anthology.
Vince Laws
“I had already booked a wall for Pride Without Prejudice, now I’ve got the whole church,”said Vince. “I think it’s important for the whole community that an art show happens every year alongside Norwich Pride. I’m fundraising £1000 to put on a 2 week art show, that way it will be free for artists to show their work, free for performers, free to hold workshops, and free to visit. If you want to take part, get in touch quickly, there isn’t much time to make this happen.”
Any money left over will go towards next year’s PIMP MY UNICORN! so they can make sure the event happens annually. Once they have some money in the kitty for next year they can think about bringing artists and speakers in from afar.
Vince, is the former Norwich Pride Poet Laureate, artist, campaigner, creator of A Very Queer Nazi Faust which sold out Norwich Arts Centre in 2018, creator of the DWP Deaths Make Me Sick shrouds currently touring the UK, Umbrellas of Love, BANNED face-painting, B.Right.On Festival, Founder of The Norwich Dandies art collective editor of the Out Write poetry anthology and a former deputy editor of Gscene magazine.
On hearing of his plans to put on Pimp My Unicorn, Michelle Savage, Chair of Norwich Pride 2019, wrote “We know your show will be great – you have amazing vision and a unique capacity to transform a space.”
If you’d like to help in any way email: vincelaws@gmail.com. Volunteers artists and performers are needed to invigilate and help at events.
“You don’t have to bat for us to admire our balls!” Oscar Wilde
Event:Pimp My Unicorn! A two-week art festival to complement Norwich Pride.
Where: St Margaret’s Church of Art, St Benedict’s Street, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4AQ
When: Set up on Sunday July 21. Open Monday, July 22 with official Launch that night. Then open until 5pm on Saturday, August 3. Norwich Pride is on Saturday, July 27.
Access: Venue is wheelchair accessible using a ramp, with 2 ramps inside. The toilet is wheelchair adapted. There is a small kitchen with fridge. If you need help to take part, contact Vince.
A photographic archive tracing the history of New York City’s Pride Parades in the 1970s and ’80s, annotated by the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (1926-97), is coming up for auction on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
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SWANN Auction Galleries, who will be selling the archive in The Pride Sale on June 20, have put an estimate of $70,000-100,000 on the collection by Hank O’Neal (b.1940), the celebrated photographer, author and music producer.
A portion of the sale’s commissions will be donated to benefit The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City.
The archive comprises 120 photographs of New York City’s Gay Pride Parades by Hank O’Neal, each annotated by Allen Ginsberg, as well as an additional group of approximately 165 photographs by O’Neal of the NYC parades, five of which are signed and dated by O’Neal and contain Ginsberg’s captions.
Today at least a million spectators line the Pride parade route along Fifth Avenue. But, in its earliest days, the celebration was a much smaller event characterised by NY-style high energy, pithy signage, raucous crowd chants, extensive cruising and great music.
Dating from 1974-83, the images capture the importance of the parades to the early Gay Liberation Movement, depicting an array of fun-loving and politically-motivated participants, several openly displaying affection.
Most of O’Neal’s photographs focused on NY’s West Village or Christopher Street, the epicentre of the community. A range of sub-cultures associated with the LGBT+ communities are depicted: young and longhaired post-hippies, bare-chested muscle men, drag queens, fairies, leather-ites, Gay Daddies, protestors, pastors, parents of gays and the hikin dykes.
Some participants hold placards, including those protesting against Anita Bryant, the once-popular singer, who emerged as a strident anti-gay crusader in the late 1970s and teamed up with the divisive Evangelical figure Jerry Falwell. A banner for the Gay Men’s Health Project is a harbinger of the tragic era to come.
Marsha P. Johnson
Among those pictured is activist Marsha P. Johnson, whose image Ginsberg inscribed to the reverse: “If I keep dressing up like this I’ll save the world from Nuclear Apocalypse. But will anyone love me for it? I’ll save the world anyway. I know what looks good.”
Allen Ginsberg became involved in the archive when he first saw the photographs in 1982 and, according to O’Neal, was inspired to add his distinctive captions to the backs of the prints. His brief handwritten notes, which often reflect personal or historic observations, strike a wonderful tone.
A caption that accompanies a picture of a group of men holding the banner WE ARE EVERYWHERE reads, “We all look pretty normal, boy next door, handsome punk, ad man’s delight, daughters of the American Revolution.” A shot depicting two men dressed in ancient Roman costume reads, “Clark Gable and Nero on a date, smiling for the 1920s Hollywood photogs.”
The archive is part of a wide-ranging catalogue charting the course of Gay Rights Movement, many of the lots consigned by LGBT+ owners.
Further highlights include outstanding and historic pieces such as a Remembrance copy of Walt Whitman’sMemoranda During the War, inscribed to Peter Doyle, from “the author, with his love”, and published in 1875-76. The estimate is $50,000 to $75,000. Much has been debated about Whitman’s sexuality, but his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass, published in 1855, included some of the earliest writings made public that explore what appear to be queer love. As such, he is an important figure in the history of the LGBT+ movement.
A signed, extra-limited first edition of Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, dating to 1899, also features and is estimated at $40,000 to $60,000.
From around 1920 comes Gerda Wegener’s watercolour, chalk and wash painting Two Women in a Window, estimated at $15,000 to $25,000, while from 1953 comes a first edition of James Baldwin’sGo Tell It On The Mountain. The estimate is $800 to $1,200.
Fred W. McDarrah captured the Sip In, an event that presaged Stonewall by three years when three young men, members of the early gay rights group the Mattachine, set out to challenge bars in New York City that refused to serve gay people. After several false starts at bars that were either closed or unwelcoming, the three were indeed served drinks – on the house – by two bars after declaring their orientation, before moving on to Julius.
As the bartender at Julius started to serve them, the men told him they were gay, at which point he refused to continue by putting his hand over the glass, and it was this moment that McDarrah captured on camera for The Village Voice. A silver print of this 1966 image, printed in the 1990s, is on offer in the auction at an estimate of $1,500 to $2,500.
Important lots from the early 1970s include Su Negrin’s Gay Liberation poster, based on a photograph by Peter Hujar transformed into a poster published by Times Change Press in 1970, estimated at $400 to $600, and Donna Gotschalk’s poster, Sisterhood Feels Good, also published by Times Change Press, in 1971 and estimated at $400 to $600.
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Later in the decade, the gay rights campaigner Harvey Milk became the first out elected official in the history of the state of California. Winning a seat as a city supervisor in November 1977, Milk used his brief time in office to champion LGBT+ rights by successfully sponsoring a bill banning discrimination in various areas, such as housing and employment, on the basis of sexual orientation.
It was during this period that he wrote the signed, autograph letter to two friends declaring how he thought they “should have a memo from the 1st up front gay mayor of any city – it’s for real!!”
Tragically, Milk’s campaigning was brought to a premature and violent end on November 27, 1978 when he was assassinated alongside Mayor George Moscone.
Despite the brevity of Milk’s official political career, his influence and importance have made him an icon in the LGBT+ rights movement. The letter is estimated at $4,000 to $6,000.
Another great icon of the LGBT+ movement is Robert Mapplethorpe, the New York photographer, whose highly stylised black and white images encompassed striking subjects as diverse as portraits of celebrities, still lifes of flowers and gay and BDSM culture.
The sale includes an example of his Z Portfolio of 13 silver prints from 1981, with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000.
“Swann is thrilled to be hosting its inaugural Pride Sale and proud to continue supporting the community through a fundraising effort alongside the auction,”says President of Swann Auction Galleries, Nicholas D. Lowry.
“We see this as an important and unique event among the many happening this June, recognising the historical, literary and artistic achievements of LGBTQ+ writers, artists and activists,”Lowry continued.“This auction will celebrate the community and give collectors, connoisseurs and the curious an opportunity to observe and bid on a range of material from the last two centuries, with manuscripts, autographs, literature, art, photography, posters and more.”
For more information about the auction, click here:
Worthing Pride organisers are “absolutely overwhelmed and delighted” after receiving a Big Lotto grant of £10k to help fund the towns second Pride event on Saturday, July 13, 2019.
THE grant was secured following the positive reaction of the local communities and businesses who embraced the towns first Pride in 2018 which helped change perceptions of the seaside town.
Josie Kelly, founder of Worthing Pride, said that the self-funded event relies on the generosity of supporters and sponsors to cover essential set-up, build and services costs as income from ticket sales is not released till one week after the event.
She added: “with this amazing funding generosity from Big Lotto, not only has this given Worthing Pride a lifeline to cover many essential costs for this years Pride, but also ensures we have funds to cover costs for Pride 2020.”
Worthing Pride’s chosen charity, Horsham-based HOPE Charity Project, who support young and vulnerable children suffering from mental health issues, were also an integral part of the Lotto grants’ decision to award the event.
Claire Sparrow, founder of HOPE charity, said:“this is an incredible award for Worthing Pride, thanks to their generosity, this also means that more proceeds from the event can be donated to the charity, and will ensure that more local children, and their families receive the care and support they urgently need now. Thank you Big Lotto, we are so grateful.”
For more information about Worthing Pride, and to buy tickets online, click here:
Sussex PCC honoured in Queen’s Birthday Honours for 2019.
SUSSEX Police and Commissioner Katy Bourne has today (June 8), been awarded an OBE for public and political services.
The Commissioner has worked hard among other things for the victims of stalking after being stalked herself for 5 years.
Chief Constable Giles York
Chief Constable Giles York said:“Katy Bourne has been a consistent force for good since first being elected as the PCC for Sussex; she has always been a voice of challenge and support for the Force and championing the needs of the public and those who struggle to have their voice heard.
On behalf of all of us at Sussex Police we offer our congratulations on such well earned recognition in being awarded an OBE.”
Claudia Ortiz, Director of Brighton-based specialist stalking service Veritas Justice said: “We would like to congratulate Katy on receiving this very well-deserved recognition.
“She has shown immense commitment and dedication to improving outcomes for victims of Stalking and has shared her own experiences publicly. Her tireless work raising awareness of this devastating crime has inspired us locally and many others nationally to come together and create the changes that are so desperately needed by some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
“Her unwavering support and passion have driven the stalking agenda in almost every national platform and her work in support of victims of Stalking is most definitely saving lives and is testament to her ingenuity, creativity, and above all leadership in public service.”
Former Sussex lawyer, Paul Greenwood a former District Attorney in San Diego and one of the USA’s leading prosecutors of elder abuse who spoke at the launch of the Sussex PCC’s Elders’ Commission report launch Parliament.
He said:“I am delighted that Katy Bourne has been recognised for her innovative approach to raising awareness in Sussex about the ever growing crime of financial exploitation that targets our elder and vulnerable adult population.
“Education and community involvement with the police are essential in the fight to hold perpetrators accountable; and so it is gratifying that Mrs Bourne’s leadership in this area has been duly noted.”
Sussex PCC Katy Bourne said:“I am very honoured to have been nominated and to have been awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. This is a tremendous endorsement of the role of Police and Crime Commissioners and testament to the hard work of the team in my office who support me. I would like to thank them and also every single police officer, PCSO and police staff member in Sussex for working so tirelessly to keep us all safe.”
The local and national work of bus manager Victoria Garcia has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
VICTORIA, Accessibility and Community Manager at Brighton & Hove and Metrobus, has been making travel by public transport more accessible for disabled people and will receive the MBE for her dedication to this work.
Talking about her award, Victoria said:“It’s been a real honour to meet and collaborate with so many wonderful people from charities and other partner organisations and so many users of public transport. To receive this personal honour for working with these amazing people is overwhelming and humbling. I’m so grateful for their help in making our services more accessible.
“A huge thank you to them, my colleagues, my family, the people who nominated me and to my boss Martin Harris who has supported, encouraged and believed in me and my work. I have the best job in the world!
“My only regret is that my mother wasn’t here for this as she had such respect for the Queen; it would have made her very proud.”
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus’ Managing Director Martin Harris added:“This personal honour for Victoria is so thoroughly well deserved – her passion for her work is boundless. It’s so important that someone contributing to accessible travel, not just for our services, but increasingly influencing the entire industry, has received this recognition.
“Her work in directly engaging the community in designing accessible public transport solutions has been inspirational and this is a strong and clear signal of the way forward.”
Martin said Victoria had been instrumental in a number of initiatives for accessible bus design, including effective hearing loops, dementia-friendly colour schemes, more manoeuvrable spaces and safety poles.
Victoria has also led on the development of a passenger assistance card known as Helping Hand. The card is now used by many people travelling by bus and taxi and has been rolled out across parent company Go-Ahead’s bus services.
In addition to her work for local bus services, Victoria chairs one of the local community rail partnerships and, more recently, joined the Department for Transport’s accessibility team for a six-month secondment.
Kick-start a summer of cycling by taking part in Bike Week from June 8 to 16.
THE week-long celebration of cycling will be delivered by Cycling UK and Love to Ride. Anyone who logs a bike ride during the week will be in with a chance of winning some great prizes.
To celebrate the many benefits of the bicycle, Love to Ride and Cycling UK are inviting people to share their cycling experiences with the #7DaysofCycling hashtag.
It’s completely free to take part and everyone is invited to join in, it doesn’t matter if you ride every day or if you haven’t been on a bike in years.
People who ride a bike to work are shown to be happier, healthier, wealthier and more productive. Getting more staff cycling to work can benefit employers too by reducing illness and sick leave; with cycle commuters taking half the sick leave of their non-cycling colleagues. Those who ride to work regularly also report improved mental health.
Getting more people in the city cycling also helps the local environment by reducing congestion and improving air quality. Congestion and pollution contribute to 40,000 premature deaths annually in the UK and road transport is the main source of emissions in Brighton & Hove.
Many of the city’s employers, including Brighton & Hove City Council, offer a Cycle to Work Scheme which enables employees to borrow up to £3,000, tax and National Insurance free, to buy a bike.
The council has partnered with the Green Commute Initiative (GCI), a social enterprise which offers a flexible bike scheme to staff. Through the scheme, council staff can buy a conventional or electric bike, there is no upper limit on the cost of the bike and a longer period is offered for loan repayments. With GCI, the bike is offered as a tax-free benefit-in-kind by the employer, so that employees don’t have to pay tax on the price of their bike.
For those who don’t want to commit to buying a bike, the BTN BikeShare scheme, which began in September 2017, has over 500 bikes available for hire from hubs across the city. The pay as you go bike rental costs start at 3p per minute, allowing residents and visitors to travel around the city cheaply and sustainably. Since its launch, the scheme has had more than 69,000 users who have made over 560,000 journeys, covering more than one million miles.
Cllr Anne Pissaridou
Chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, Councillor Anne Pissaridou, said:“The benefits of cycling, which include boosting physical and mental health, are well documented and it is increasingly becoming a more popular way of getting from A to B. It also supports the local environment by reducing congestion and air pollution.
“Over the next year, we will be investing further in the city’s cycling infrastructure and developing the city’s cycle network. Our Local Transport Plan outlines plans to provide better surfaces, joined up and marked routes and improvements to the safety and quality of junction crossings for cyclists.
“I hope many residents are inspired to get back on their bike this week and cycle for fun, health and to commute.”
Kenneth Macharia, a gay rugby player from Bristol, faces imminent deportation to Kenya, where he will face serious danger of harassment, blackmail, and sexual violence, as well as up to 21 years in prison.
KEN, a UK university graduate, sought political asylum after his student visa ran out. However, his appeal was rejected and he is due to be deported to Kenya, despite the high risk of homophobic persecution that he will face there.
Ken is a “high profile homosexual man” in Kenya and the Kenyan media repeatedly targets him, resulting in cruel harassment.
Last week, the High Court in Kenya ruled to uphold homophobic laws that would mean a prison sentence of up to 14 years for homosexuality. It is not safe for Ken to live in Kenya. He wants to remain in the UK with his friends and family, and continue to work and contribute to our society, as he has done for the last nine years.
Today, Ken is due to report to a police station in Bristol and will most likely be forced to leave the country.
Brighton Against Borders‘ in collaboration with LGSMigrants Brighton have organised an awareness raising standing demonstration at the Clock Tower in central Brighton from 5.30pm-6.30pm.
For more info about the Brighton demonstration, click here:
Go along to show solidarity with Ken, as well as all asylum seekers and LGBTQ+ peoples. Wear pink, the team colour of Ken’s rugby team the Bristol Bisons RFCwho are also organising a demonstration at 11am this morning outside Bridgewater Police Station, TA6 4RR, Bristol. It’s very likely that Ken will be detained there, so as many people as possible need to turn up to show him support.
How can you help Ken?
Click here to sign the petition to stop the deportation (currently more than 156,200 people have signed).
Contact his local MP, James Heappey and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, petitioning them to intervene in Ken’s deportation.
Tweet Sajid Javid on Twitter with the hashtag #KeepKenHome
The event has been organised by Brighton & Hove City Council and the city’s Carers Hub.
Proposed ‘merger’ and closure of Matlock Surgery will affect local community, say Greens.
Brighton & Hove and Metrobus’ Managing Director Martin Harris added: “This personal honour for Victoria is so thoroughly well deserved – her passion for her work is boundless. It’s so important that someone contributing to accessible travel, not just for our services, but increasingly influencing the entire industry, has received this recognition.
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