06/03/2013 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

‘Brighton Blaggards’ softball team

Posted on 06/03/201307/03/2013 by Besi

If you’ve ever been in Preston Park, and heard cries of Let’s play ball or Two and One followed by high-fives and people waving baseball bats you’ve probably come across Brighton’s very own gay softball team.

Formed in 2011 as part of BLAGSS sports group, Brighton Blaggards plays as a mixed team of gay guys and girls in recreational games throughout the season, with the opportunity to also take part in competitive games.

Most of their players were new to softball, but have benefited from coaching by experienced players from the US and Germany, and they have also taught them a whole new ‘Americano’ vocabulary that rings out during the games!

All ages are welcome, and if you can swing a bat, sprint to a base, and throw a ball, you’ll love softball….and even catching can be made easy…..because you have a great big glove on one of your hands!

Softball is very like baseball, played with a larger ball on a smaller field, with 10 players each side and seven innings per side. It’s one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK, and once you’ve hit your first run…you will be hooked.

The Brighton Blaggards play recreational games throughout the Summer in Dyke Road Park, and more competitive games at Waterhall Sports Ground. In addition to the games, there’s often a barbeque, and a chance to get to know some of the other teams locally, in a fun and lively environment. They also join up with some of the other teams to take part in national tournaments.

The Brighton Blaggards are now gearing up for the new season. They will be hosting a monthly game for all comers beginning in March, and joining up with the Hove Tuesday club for competitive games throughout the Summer.

If you’d like to have fun this Summer, try a new sport and meet new friends, click here:

Play Ladies Hockey

Posted on 06/03/201307/03/2013 by Besi

The Honeybees are an independent local ladies hockey team, currently playing in Sussex Division 1. They are fun, sexy, sociable and predominantly gay! All ages are welcome, in fact the team ranges in age from around 25 to 50 – and although they often play teams half their age, they find that much of the time experience wins out over youth.

The Honeybees also take the social side of sport seriously, with their legendary team ‘do’s’ and social events! If you happened to catch Honeybees The Musical in Brighton, Eastbourne or London – that was about the team, and was written, directed and acted by a few of their talented players.

They are always looking for more experienced players and those looking to get back into hockey as they sometimes struggle to get 11 players out on a Saturday for their games.

Their home pitch is at Stanley Deason sports centre and they currently train on a Wednesday night between 6.30-7.30pm at Lancing Prep School in Hove.

Go along and try out hockey whatever your level with the Honeybees!

Contact Captains: Cat (07883 203364) or Katie (07719 756148).

Keep fit with ‘OutdoorLads’

Posted on 06/03/201306/03/2013 by Besi

OutdoorLads is a charity run by its members for its members, so while everything is done to the highest professional standards, the prices are kept low. All over the country people with different ages and backgrounds are joining OutdoorLads. The group has over 10,000 members and is growing.

Every weekend OutdoorLads runs a huge range of sociable outdoor activities all over the UK. Activities include hiking, climbing, camping, biking, canoeing, sailing and skiing.

One thing that characterises every OutdoorLads event is the friendly and welcoming nature of the guys you meet. Everyone mucks in to help make sure everyone has a good time and events run smoothly and ‘first event jitters’ quickly disappear.

The group has had a significant impact on its members:

• with 85% of members surveyed recently saying “it has had a very positive impact on their life”

• 68% saying they “have made loads of new friends though OutdoorLads” and

• 78% saying they have “been able to try loads of new things with the group”.

Whether you have loads of experience, want to try something new, get fit or just want to get out in the countryside more, try an OutdoorLads event!

You’ll have a great time, with friendly guys who all have a shared love of the outdoors.

You can see what typical OutdoorLads members say about the group in their video: youtu.be/FyUxCZdLlAs

For more information click here:

email:
Telephone: 07775 566005

Kemptown MP quizzes rail minister

Posted on 06/03/2013 by Besi

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven recently launched a campaign called “Better trains for Brighton”. Today, March 6, Simon met the Rail Minister, Simon Burns MP and quizzed him over the forthcoming renewal of rail franchise contracts affecting Brighton.

Simon said:

“I have been receiving a steady stream of complaints about rail services and the poor way matters are currently dealt with when problems occur. Often information is confusing or contradictory, the slightest incident seems to cause widespread and sustained chaos whilst fares have increased above inflation for years and passengers have had enough.”

“This morning I raised the poor rail service endured by residents in my constituency with the Minister. I also sought assurances that when the franchise contract comes up for renewal, passengers will be able to expect better value for money when it comes to the rail service they receive. ”

Simon concluded:

“It is clear that my constituents deserve better and I made this very clear in my discussions with the Minister.”

Bid to improve end of life care for LGBT people

Posted on 06/03/2013 by Besi

The University of Nottingham’s Last Outing project is looking to turn around the discovery that LGBT people have been identified as the most likely group to face discrimination when it comes to end of life care.

This finding from consultation for the English End of Life Care Strategy is why The Last Outing project, led by researchers at The University of Nottingham, wants to gather the experiences and concerns of LGBT people 60 and over regarding end of life care, which will be used to inform and improve policy affecting these groups in the future.

The first step of the project, which is funded by Marie Curie Cancer Care Research Programme and is the first of its kind in the UK, is to recruit participants for a survey regarding both positive and negative experiences of support and access to health and social care, as well as the concerns they have about doing so.

The project is particularly important as very little previous research has been done in this area. This is reflected by a lack of awareness that end of life care for LGBT people is even an issue.

Dr Kathryn Almack, who is leading the project, said:

“This is a chance for people who have felt invisible a lot of the time to have their voice heard. Our research is grounded in improving policy as well as feeding into academic papers.

“Very often we’ve found, talking to care providers, they would say ‘oh we don’t have any LGBT clients’. But statistics say 5-7 per cent of the population is LGBT. They must be using care services — that suggests to us they’re not disclosing sexual orientation or their needs are not being met.

“It’s been suggested to us that this generation — the 60s and over — will be the only generation to have these struggles. But if you look at the debates about gay marriage, bullying in schools — there’s still a lot of intolerance to address. And I think as you age you become potentially less assertive, confident and able to demand that services meet your needs and it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.”

At first, the project needs to recruit participants to fill out a survey regarding their experiences and concerns about accessing healthcare in the UK, as well as information about their support networks.

The researchers are looking for:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Trans people aged 60 or over
People under 60 who have LGBT partners aged 60 or over
Participants must be currently living in the UK

The project will run for two years (until August 2014). Following on from the survey, in-depth interviews with 60 of those surveyed will take place to examine the issues raised. There will then be a public engagement workshop to feedback findings and to collaboratively develop recommendations to contribute to outcomes of the study.

To complete the survey, click here:

For a hard copy email:

Prominant evangelist speaks out

Posted on 06/03/2013 by Besi

The Reverend Steve Chalke, founder of Christian charity Oasis, has called on the entire Church to re-examine its attitude towards homosexuals.

In an article, entitled ‘A Matter of Integrity’, featured in January’s Christianity Magazine, Rev Chalke argues that the Bible paints a far more inclusive picture than many acknowledge.

He uses examples from his personal ministry to illustrate how he has become increasingly aware of the suffering of homosexual people within the Church and alludes to cases where long-term exposure to such negative attitudes have impacted people’s mental and physical health. He also stresses, however, that he has arrived at this view not just through personal opinion and experience, but as part of his growing understanding of the Christian Bible.

Explaining his thoughts behind the article, Rev Chalke said:

“It is my duty to ensure that everyone, gay or straight, knows that I believe God is for them.

“If the Church in this country wants to be at the forefront of delivering social provisions, we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone knows the services we provide are for them. However, this commitment to inclusion is not just necessary in order to play a role in today’s society; it is, in my view, the most biblical way of mirroring the life of Jesus Christ.”

To view an extended version of the article and to access a new online resource centre offering support to gay people who have been hurt by practices within the Church, click here:

Lights out in City for ‘Earth Hour’

Posted on 06/03/2013 by Besi

Brighton & Hove will be taking part in the annual Earth Hour on Saturday, March 23 at 8.30pm.

The world-wide event, organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness of climate change, will see buildings throughout Brighton turn off their lights off to symbolise concern for the environment.

At the designated hour, the Brighton Wheel and the promenade lights will fall into darkness and all lights in council buildings will be off or, where light is needed for safety reasons, only energy efficient LED bulbs will be used.

A range of activities, co-ordinated by Brighton & Hove City Council’s Healthwalks, a scheme operated to boost mental and physical health, will culminate in a torch-lit walk from the bandstand at 8pm, behind the Maracatu Samba band.

Anyone can take part; to register, click here:

If you fancy being a steward, email:

Cllr Geoffrey Bowden, Chair of the Economic Development and Culture Committee, said:

“Earth Hour is a global movement created by local action. The Healthwalks’ Earth Hour procession gives people in Brighton & Hove the chance to be part of what is set to be the biggest environmental event in history, linking 7,000 cities around the world.”

For more info, click here:

Canary: Brighton Little Theatre: Theatre Review

Posted on 06/03/201320/05/2013 by Graham Robson

Award-winning playwright Jonathan Harvey‘s Canary spins through the swirling mists of LGBT History, effortlessly, and unflinchingly, focussing on the intertwined lives of those shattered by the establishment’s treatment of homosexuals.

First, we encounter Mary Whitehouse, in suitably ridiculous caricature with a heavy hint of Julie Walters’ Mrs Overall, played by a bewigged Sarah Leedham. Didn’t you know that you can tell it’s a gay if they’re wearing corduroy pants?

Canary flits from 1960s Liverpool, during the criminalisation of homosexual, with Billy (played by a malleable Samuel Nunn) and Tom falling foul of the law. Then it’s on to a stop-off in the 1980s, with Mickey and Russell, who’ve escaped to London’s streets paved with gold, only they’re littered with fear and those who have fallen from the AIDS crisis, the same crisis that effects them both.

What is presented as the here and now is a culmination of what went before; at times it was magical (the late coming out of ‘Tom’s father’ whose frustrated intent is grappled by Mike Skinner); or far fetched: Billy’s revenge on the doctor he encountered during the otherwise dramatically effective aversion therapy scenes.

In the second act, we encounter the Gay Liberation Front, the times are changing, who while adorned in drag cause chaos at Mary Whitehouse’s Festival of Light, which boasted the attendance of such luminaries as Lord Longford and Sir Cliff Richard.

There’s an appearance from Margaret Thatcher who together with Leigh Ward‘s bumbling Norman Fowler cobble together tongue-twisting terminology for HIV awareness, which wouldn’t seem out of place in a Victorian sex ed pamphlet.

Projections mark the change of action, adding much needed time and place markers on the otherwise sparse stage: we’re in a hospital overlooking the London cityscape; we’re flying through the clouds on a carpet ride in a dream-like sequence; we’re back in the present day.

These magic-realist scenes featuring Mickey’s mother, the play’s axle ‘Older Ellie’, embodied touchingly by Patti Griffiths, hone in on the search for answers: Why did she lie to her daughter about Mickey’s death? Was she ashamed? How did Mickey really die?

Answers become clear as the time/space spins dizzyingly; but the one question the audience may ask is: are there too many questions, from too broad a subject, from too many characters to answer?

The grandiosity, and emotional clout of Mickey’s death scene, played with humour till the end by Michael Williams, following contracting HIV in the 1980s should serve as the play’s crescendo, yet by that point several other characters have yet to see a conclusion, and when they do they fail to reach the level of intensity, clipping this bird’s wings.

Canary is playing until March 9 at Brighton Little Theatre.

Tickets: £9 from http://brightonlittletheatre.ticketline.co.uk/canary