08/08/2013 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

‘All Out.org’ deliver Russian Olympics petition

Posted on 08/08/201309/11/2013 by Besi

Yesterday, more than 50 All Out members travelled to Switzerland to deliver a petition of over 322,000 names from around the world to the International Olympic Committee, asking them to speak out against Russia’s anti-gay crackdown.

In fewer than 200 days, Russia will host the Winter Olympics despite their anti-gay laws, which fuel terrible violence and murder, flying in the face of the Olympics’ values of friendship and respect.

The Director of Communications accepted the petition and a meeting was held, where he listed the concerns and announced that the Olympic Committee has now asked for the Russian Government to state in writing that no athletes or visitors will be persecuted because they are gay.

More than 3,738 All Out members chipped in for a fighting fund to power the campaign, which meant that All Out could send some of their team to Switzerland.

If you would like to donate, CLICK HERE:

The UK’s first LGBTU youth summer camp

Posted on 08/08/201309/11/2013 by Besi

The Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre has launched the UK’s first summer camp catering exclusively for LGBTU teenagers aged between 13-18, which will take place in Snowdonia, Wales between August 18-24.

The camp will offer a combination of workshops and outdoor experiences for like-minded individuals in a friendly environment that is supportive, non-judgemental, diverse and non-heteronormative for like-minded individuals

Lukasz Konieczka, Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre Manager, said:

“LGBT young people can feel isolated, depressed and lonely in what is predominantly heterosexual world around them. Having space where they can belong and be part of something positive is vital in order to build positive self-esteem and resilience”

For more information on the summer camp, CLICK HERE:

Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre is a London-based leading provision for LGBT young people aged 13-19 offering mentoring, training and consultancy as well as school delivered anti-homophobia workshops.

Hove MP says tenants should not pay price for deposit protection confusion

Posted on 08/08/2013 by Besi

Mike Weatherley, the Conservative MP for Hove and Portslade, is calling for clarification from the Government on a recent ruling of the Court of Appeal with regard to tenancy deposit protection.

Mike recently wrote to his colleague Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Housing, about the court ruling and what the Government plans to do with regard to the matter.

Having now received a response from the Department for Communities & Local Government, Mike is calling for Ministers to address the confusion that has followed from the ruling without delay.

The problem relates to the renewing of Tenancy Deposit Protection schemes that, after the Court of Appeal ruling, should be renewed as part of a periodic tenancy, inevitably putting up the cost of renting for tenants.

In the Minister’s response, Mark Prisk said:

“…the decision could have implications for some tenancies where a deposit has been protected in an authorised scheme in relation to a tenancy begun after April 6 2007 and the fixed term has expired, and the tenancy continues as a statutory periodic tenancy.”

He added,

“We are exploring whether new legislation is required to clarify the situation.”

Mike commented:

“As a result of this ruling, there is a real danger that tenants will face extra costs for renting. Clarification is urgently needed so that landlords know exactly what their obligations are and that any consequences of the ruling that were not the intention of the legislation are cleared up. The last thing that anyone wants is for the costs of renting properties to go up.”

SAME DEEP WATER AS ME: Donmar Warehouse: Review: Stars: Two

Posted on 08/08/201309/11/2013 by Kat Pope

Big things were expected of Same Deep Water As Me, Nick Payne’s eagerly awaited new play, his first since the award-winning Constellations, but this play about two small time Luton ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors falls flat.

Andrew (a subtle Daniel Mays), is a man trying his best to show some decency but temptations just keep getting in his way. Sacked from his London post allegedly for a bit of fiddling, he’s back in his home town in a job he obviously hates when his old school friend Kevin (the always excellent Marc Wooton) walks through the door.

He’s had a shunt with a Tesco’s van and is desperate for compensation. Andrew takes the case on despite knowing that there’s a bit more to Kevin’s story than meets the eye, but he soon finds out what Kev’s up to (“We find ’em, we follow ’em, we prang ’em”) and sleepwalkingly falls in to his world of scams.

Barry (Nigel Lindsay), his boss, is a stolid everyman, more interested in scratchcards, varieties of teabag (“He went on a course,” says Andrew, boggling the mind), and especially Greggs the Bakers of which he’s a connoisseur. His fall back position when flummoxed is to go and get a Steak Bake, or to chant his pastry mantra: “I’m going to Greggs. Is there anything you want?”

We all know a Barry, I’m sure, and Lindsay plays him straightforwardly, but with a surprising dignity. In fact Lindsay is wasted on Barry, very much a peripheral character who never engages with Andrew much, despite their relationship supposedly being central. And that’s the problem with Same Deep Water As Me: it’s a little bit shallow, never getting to grips with the problems inherent in the compensation culture it portrays.

Relying on jokes and one-liners, Payne has neglected to develop his characters in any meaningful way, and it’s only by dint of the actors being so good that he gets away with any sort of play at all. The laughs are easy ones: “I’m sweating like a dyslexic on Countdown,” puffs Barry, while Kev’s wife Jen complains “I feel like I’ve been caught having a wank at the vets” which doesn’t really even make any comic sense (to me anyway: it might make you giggle like a loon I suppose). A complicated joke is told in the semi-darkness of a power cut only for the punchline to be cut off as the power comes back on. Cheap.

Characters are introduced and then disappear with no trace which is a pity as they’re the best thing about the piece. Odd and interesting, they make Andrew and Barry look like what they are: desperate solicitors in a sinking firm. Perhaps that’s the point, but it’s a funny way to make it.

The first half is set in the Luton office, while the second half moves to a courtroom when Kev’s claim is challenged and he and Jen have to go through the ordeal of giving evidence, and Andrew has to defend them in order to save his own neck as he’s in it as deep as they are by now.

Isabella Laughland’s ‘at fault’ claimant brought the only spark that looked like it might kindle into any sort of flame to the courtroom scene, although Wooton’s Kev nearly got there with his marvellously sweary turn as he gets first flustered and then incensed by the solicitor’s cross-questioning.

You sense that a playwright has come to a bit of an ‘I don’t know quite what to do here’ moment when they throw in a fight, and sure enough, there it is towards the end. It’s a bloody good fight, a proper brawl, but it doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose, and when Andrew suddenly comes across as a social commentator, talking about the lives of people like Kevin made empty by the pursuit of consumer ‘things’, it’s a rolling of the eyes moment. And when even this hackneyed device is followed by a sentence that begins: “When I was four…….” the rolling eyes are joined by a great big sigh of exasperation.

When a writer who produced something like Constellations is reduced to this formulaic an ending it’s perplexing and sad, and makes you wonder if we’ll see great things from Payne again, or whether he’s floundering so badly that he’ll never quite make it back to the shore.

WHAT: Same Deep Water As Me, by Nick Payne

WHERE: Donmar Warehouse, Seven Dials, London

WHEN: Until September 28, Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Thurs & Sat 2.30pm

TICKETS: £7.50 – £35

FOR MORE INFO: CLICK HERE: http://www.donmarwarehouse.com/whats-on/donmar-warehouse/2013/the-same-deep-water-as-me

WOULD I SEE IT AGAIN: Strangely yes, but only for the performances

Conservatives select team to contest Goldsmid Ward in 2015

Posted on 08/08/201308/08/2013 by Besi

Brighton and Hove Conservatives have selected their team to contest the Goldsmid ward in the 2015 City Council elections.

L to R: Paul Freedman, Lucy Samy & Linda Freedman.

Their candidates for the three member ward are:

Linda Freedman, former manager of a law firm, local school governor and charity volunteer. Linda describes herself on her twitter account @lindi_lmf as ‘anti-bigotry and pro equalities, dog, fresh air and freedom lover.’ Linda is passionate about education, and in particular ensuring children from less privileged backgrounds are given the opportunity to attend excellent schools.

Paul Freedman (who is no relation of Linda!) is an investment manager who lives in Goldsmid and in common with many other local residents endures the daily commute to London from Hove. Paul is a Hove boy who is keen to enhance the City’s reputation as one of the UK’s premier holiday destination. He is committed to keeping council tax down, and has campaigned against the hike in parking charges which have impacted negatively on so many Goldsmid residents.

Lucy Sami is a solicitor who instigated a campaign with fellow leaseholders to take over from the freeholder the management of the large block of flats in which she lives in the ward. She is a director of the ‘Right to Manage’ Company and liaises with leaseholders in order to ensure their concerns are addressed. Lucy has a particular interest in housing and tackling anti-social behaviour. She is keen to contribute her business and professional skills to make a difference for the local community, and is proud of her Coptic Christian heritage.

Linda Freedman said:

“Lucy, Paul and I are very proud to have been selected as the Conservative candidates for Goldsmid. We are committed to addressing the concerns of local residents, and are developing a positive and realistic set of policies on school places, traffic, conservation and housing which we think will appeal to Goldsmid voters.”

Mike Weatherley, MP for Portslade and Hove, added:

“Once again I am delighted with the talented candidates stepping forward to become Conservative Councillors. I will be working closely with Linda, Paul and Lucy over the coming months as we campaign to win in 2015. They make a fantastic team.”