The Mayor and Mayoress of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Brian and Mrs Nora Fitch hosted a reception at the Mayor’s parlour this evening to show their support for Brighton Pride.
Pride directors, Dulcie Weaver & Paul Kemp, Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Inspector Tony Lumb & Superintendent Nev Kemp
The purpose of the event was to thank this years Pride organisers and show they had the full support of the City Council and Sussex Police.
In his speech the Mayor thanked Pride Directors, Paul Kemp and Dulcie Weaver for delivering the City’s largest event for the second year running, making special mention of their decision to help the police and council make the St James Street Village Party a safer experience for both residents and visitors alike this year.
Representatives from each of the political parties attended the event along with Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp from Sussex Police, Paul Elgood Chair of the Rainbow Fund and representatives from Tran*Pride.
Teens today face decade of caring according to new stats obtained by the Charity Carers UK.
Teenage girls can expect to provide over nine years unpaid care through their lives for disabled, ill, or older loved ones, whereas boys can expect to provide just over 7.
Carers UK says these figures should be seen as a wake-up call that our ageing population means caring will affect us all.
Heléna Herklots, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:“Our ageing population means that future generations will see caring for loved ones have an even greater impact on their lives. Today’s teenagers will face almost a decade of caring throughout their lives. These figures should be a wake-up call – showing that our ageing population means we will all care at some point in our lives. But currently families are not getting enough support to care for older parents or ill relatives – too many are forced to give up work, risking financial hardship and exhaustion as they care without the help they need.”
Duty of care to an older or disabled loved one is most likely to happen during our 50s and 60s. Carers Uk says that the new figures show we will all spend a signicant proportion of our lives and retirement caring for another.
According to the new ONS figures on ‘unpaid care expectancies’, women aged 50 can expect to provide almost six years of the rest of their lives caring, and men just under five years.
Ms Herklots added:“This radical shift in family life necessitates a shift in the support provided by care services and workplaces. Just as the last generation fought for a step-change in how young parents are supported with childcare – we must now see a shift in how employers and social care services support families to combine caring for older or disabled loved ones.”
Carers UK has called for a new settlement for social care funding over concerns that the number of older and disabled people receiving care is falling at a time of rising demand. The group also calls for employers to provide additional flexibility for the 1 in 9 workers combining work and caring responsibilites through a new right that would allow for 5-10 days of paid care live.
Zimmer Stewart Gallery to exhibit the work of Sir Terry Frost during Arundel Festival.
Terry Frost: See Cyclists, Battersea (1947)
As part of the Arundel Festival and Gallery Trail exhibition the Zimmer Stewart Gallery will be presenting a review of work by Sir Terry Frost, RA (1915-2003).
In collaboration with his estate, the gallery will show paintings using oil, goache and watercolour as well as works on paper and prints.
James Stewart, gallery director, says:“We have worked with Anthony Frost for a number of years, and now also Luke Frost, so it made sense to look back at the work of Terry Frost for the Arundel Festival and review his work in this context and close the centenary of his birth.”
“We have had unique access to select works which have not been seen for some time, and also pieces which people may not immediately associate with Sir Terry Frost, RA.”
With a career lasting over 60 years, Terry Frost is recognised as one of the UK’s foremost abstract painters, exhibiting regularly in London and throughout the world.
Having attended evening art classes from the age of 16, Terry Frost’s interest in painting started seriously when interned as a prisoner of war in Germany in 1943 with Adrian Heath. After the war he moved to St Ives and studied under Leonard Fuller at Camberwell school, or art under Passmore and Coldstream. In 1951 he worked as an assistant to Barbara Hepworth.
Terry Frost has held many teaching positions including Bath Academy, Leeds University, Leeds College of Art before becoming Artist in Residence at the department of Fine Art Reading University in 1965, later he was appointed the University’s Professor of Painting.
The owners of Badcock’s Gallery, in Sir Terry’s home town of Newlyn, said:“His unique ability to allow the joy of life to emanate from his work reduces the formal qualities of painting to a simplicity that is the unforgettable trade mark of this remarkable man.”
Printmaking always played a key role in his work. For Terry Frost painting and printing were inseparable, with one medium creating ideas for the other.
Elected a Royal Academician in 1992, he was knighted in 1998. He exhibited extensively in Britain and the United States, and his work is held in museums and galleries worldwide, including Tate Britain, the Victoria and Albert and the British Museum.
In 2000 the Royal Academy staged a major retrospective of Frost’s work to coincide with his 85th birthday.
In 2013 Terry Frost: A Painter’s Life was published to mark ten years since Terry Frost’s death. The author Roger Bristow has written the first full-length biography of the artist. The Zimmer Stewart Gallery will have signed copies available during the exhibition.
In early 2015 Tate St Ives will exhibit works by Terry Frost to mark the centenary of his birth.
For more imformation about the gallery, CLICK HERE:
What:A review of the work of Sir Terry Frost
Where: Zimmer Stewart Gallery, 29 Tarrant Street, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9DG
With just one month to go to Brighton Pride a group of Pride Makers prepare fundraising buckets ready to shake on the Brighton Pride Community Parade.
Pride Makers at Prestamex House
Twelve Pride Makers spent Saturday afternoon in the new offices of the LGBT Community Groups Network in Prestamex House on Preston Road, putting new labels onto the fundraising buckets that volunteers will shake on the Brighton Pride Community Parade on August 2. Some of the volunteers came from as far afield as Bexhill on Sea and Worthing.
Pride Maker Debbie Wheatley explains why she volunteers for Pride: “I love being in Brighton and living my life in a non judgemental city. I want to give something back and this is the best way I can do it. Thank you Brighton Pride for everything you do for us all.”
There are many opportunies to volunteer for Pride and get a free ticket for the Preston Park event.
You can shake a bucket on the parade. You can carry the 60 metre Rainbow Flag or one of the 78 placards highlighting the countries were it remains illegal to be LGBT.
If you want to get involved and volunteer for Pride, CLICK HERE:
Students develop award-winning app to support young people in the LGBTQ+ community.
A team of students from Stratford Girls’ Grammar School in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, have won an award at the prestigious national Apps for Good Awards, held on June 23 at the Barbican in London.
The Stratford Girls’ Grammar School students’ app, ‘I’m Okay’, won the Information category, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, following an intensive pitching process to a panel of judges comprised of industry leaders and high profile figures.
‘I’m Okay’ is designed to provide support and advice to young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
The national Apps for Good Awards celebrate the next generation of problem solvers and digital creators: students who have created an app that tackle an everyday problem or issue they are passionate about.
The app creation and award-win marks the completion of the Apps for Good course by the students involved. Provided free of charge to transform the way technology is taught in schools, the Apps for Good course is designed to empower students aged 10-18 to seize the opportunities of our digital age and create solutions to the problems they care about, using technology. Apps for Good, a registered charity, provides the course content, training and connections to expert volunteers and then lets teachers do what they are best at – inspiring and guiding young people.
The Stratford Girls’ Grammar School students will now work with a development agency to launch their app onto the market in January 2015, with the support of Apps for Good and category sponsor, Thomson Reuters.
Emily Bowes, student, Stratford Girls’ Grammar School said:“I’m extremely glad we won, though I’m not sure it’s completely hit me yet! The competition was a wonderful experience and winning was just amazing. I’m very happy with the result.”
Simon Reid, head of computing at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, was also named Teacher of the Year at the Awards ceremony.
Simon said: “I’m incredibly proud to have won this award. Not only for myself; but also on behalf of the incredible students I work with, who make my job so worthwhile and rewarding.”
Debbie Forster, UK managing director of Apps for Good, commented:“The competition this year has been fierce; for their app to stand out above the rest is testament to their hard work, creativity and innovation through technology, but also to the valuable skills they have developed such as problem solving, team work and communication. For us, this is fantastic as this is the whole idea behind the Apps for Good course: to teach not only the fundamentals of coding and literacy, but also these transferable life skills which will set them up for success in the 21st century. We can’t wait to see the finished app get launched on to the market in January!”
Bob Schukai, head of Advanced Product Innovation at category sponsor, Thomson Reuters, said: Their app, ‘I’m Okay’, really stood out for its innovative design and creative solutions, and we are excited to work with the team to bring the app to market. At Thomson Reuters, we value developing technologies, talent, and innovative thinking, which is why we are so proud to sponsor the Information category and to continue to support this amazing organisation.”
Drag acts from the past and present will be donning their highest heels and most glamorous gowns for a special fundraising event being held next month.
Betty Legs Diamond
On Sunday July 13, Boulevard cabaret club, Churchill Street, Newcastle, will be taking visitors on a journey through the history of drag for a special evening of entertainment in aid of leading LGBT charity, Northern Pride who organise Newcastle Pride.
The aptly-named Dragged Through the Generations, which is open to ages 18 and above, will feature performances by some of the North East’s best-loved female impersonators, many of whom have been working the circuit for years.
This includes Anna Morphic and October De Winter, who were crowned Drag Idol winners in 2013 and 2014 respectively, along with Boulevard’s own Betty Legs Diamond and compere Miss Rory.
MIss Rory
Proceeds from the event, which is being held in the build up to the annual Newcastle Pride festival, will be donated directly to Northern Pride to help promote equality for the LGBT community and ensure the popular Pride festival remains free in future years.
Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, said:“Northern Pride and its annual Newcastle Pride festival rely heavily on the support of sponsors and individual donations to continue to promote equality and inclusion for all.
“Events like Dragged Through the Generations are a great way of bringing all branches of the North East community together and raising vital funds while having a fabulous time.”
Tickets for Dragged Through the Generations, priced at £5 standing and £10 seated, are available direct from Boulevard on 0191 2507068 or CLICK HERE:
To find out the line-up for Newcastle Pride, CLICK HERE:
A free one-day yoga festival, believed to be the first in Brighton, will take place this summer in the heart of Kemptown.
The Brighton Yoga Festival, which takes place in and around St George’s Church, Kemptown, on July 26, 2014, is a full day aimed at those completely new to yoga as well as seasoned yogis. Caroline Lucas MP for Brighton Pavilion is due to open the festival.
Co-founder of the festival Davy Jones, is also the Green parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown.
He said:“The aim of the Brighton Yoga Festival is, more than anything else, to give a taste of yoga to people who are curious but have never actually tried it before. There will be free beginner and taster sessions, demonstrations and workshops throughout the day for adults and children, covering a number of different yoga styles, from Vinyasa Flow to Ashtanga, supported by the major yoga schools and teachers from across Brighton and Hove.”
Co-founder Mikaela Perera added:“As well as yoga sessions, the interior of St George’s Church will have a music stage, featuring a number of live performers, plus areas dedicated to massage and other therapies, as well as stalls selling street food. And the cafe will be serving vegetarian food all day, going exclusively vegetarian from 2pm. A by-donation creche will also be available all day to make it easy for everyone to try yoga.”
Tasters of the Brighton Yoga Festival will be happening in the run-up to the festival, as flash mobs will be popping up unexpectedly on the streets of the city.
The Brighton Yoga Festival itself will run from 9am - 5.30pm on Saturday, July 26 at St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Kemptown.
Entry and yoga sessions and therapies will all be free of charge.
The festival is not-for-profit and raffle tickets will be on sale throughout the day, as well as collections in charity buckets, with proceeds donated to two local charities, LifeLines and Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project.
Plans for a permanent Traveller site which have been approved by the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) will now not be called in by the Secretary of State.
Plans for permaneant travellers site at Horsdean
Plans for the site, adjacent to the recently re-opened Traveller transit site at Horsdean, have been drawn up by Brighton & Hove City Council and funded by a government grant.
The SDNPA undertook a full public consultation before making the decision in February 2014.
Horsdean was chosen following an extensive selection process which explored 50 possible locations. The proposal is to create a permanent traveller site by extending the existing transit site on the former Horsdean Recreation Ground, which was cut off with the building of the A27
The plans show 12 new permanent pitches alongside 21 retained transit pitches. Each permanent pitch will consist of space for a static caravan and other vehicles, plus a kitchen, bathroom and dayroom in an amenity block.
The plans will also see the Traveller Liaison Team move to a management building on site, to ensure closer and better working with the Traveller community and to reduce management costs.
Cllr Pete West, chair of Brighton & Hove City Council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee, said:“I am relieved the Secretary of State has stopped thinking about calling this in, so we can now get on with building these much needed additional traveller pitches.
“The impact unauthorised encampments on the city’s open spaces has on local communities cannot be underestimated coupled with the expense of eviction. The permanent site will help ease this issue and give greater stability for travelling families and strengthen existing links with the local community that already exist with the transit site. By adding pitch capacity it will also reduce the likelihood of unauthorized encampments.”
The site will be aimed at Travellers with a local link, many who already regularly occupy spaces on the transit site. This should increase the council’s capacity to deal with unauthorised encampments, although the permanent Traveller site will not provide a complete solution.
Tenants will have to sign a secure tenancy that will, like all social housing, ensure that any anti-social behaviour will not be tollerated.
However, local Conservatives are calling on Brighton & Hove City Council and the South Downs National Park Authority to work with local experts to resolve serious concerns about water quality on the site.
The application was agreed by the South Downs National Park Authority in February. This was despite local water experts and the Patcham & Hollingbury Conservation Association (PAHCA) expressing serious concerns about the impacts of this large new development (a total of 33 pitches, housing up to 150 travellers) on the quality of the drinking water in the aquifer and extraction adit that sits directly below Horsdean and also on the amount of waste water carried from the site through the already overrun sewerage system that serves Patcham.
The site is also prone to flooding. As a result of these concerns the SDNPA Planning Committee agreed that the development should not begin until the Council has worked with the Environment Agency and PAHCA to address the water issues.
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald
Patcham Ward Councillor, Geoffrey Theobald, said:”There remain major concerns around both water quality and drainage and the fact that the Council will be creating a sizeable new settlement in the South Downs National Park. This comes just a week after the decision by UNESCO to designate the Brighton & Lewes Downs area an International Biosphere. The Secretary of State has put the ball back in the Council and the National Park Authority’s court to resolve these water problems and they must now seek all the local knowledge and expertise that they can to work up a viable drainage and sewerage system. I am far from convinced that this will be possible without huge expense to the council taxpayer.”
Hove & Portslade MP, Mike Weatherly, added:”Now that the Secretary of State has said that this decision will not be overridden, I would urge the South Downs National Park Authority to address the serious environmental concerns that have been raised about the development.”
Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, has launched a parliamentary petition about unauthorised traveller encampments in Brighton and Hove.
The MP, whose constituency covers a number of areas that regularly encounter traveller encampments such as Woodingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean, Moulsecoomb and East Brighton has launched the petition to raise the profile of the issue in the hopes it will encourage the City Council to take swifter action when encampments occur.
Last week he wrote to Brighton Police and the Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove City Council asking for urgent action to move on travellers from the Rottingdean Recreation Ground, which is to the north of Rottingdean Village.
He said: “People are rightly fed up with these constant unauthorised incursions by travellers into their neighbourhoods. The encampment at Happy Valley was moved on promptly last week and I have asked for similar action this time with the travellers that have arrived today at Rottingdean Recreation Ground. I shall continue to press the local authorities until this matter is resolved.”
“It is incredibly frustrating that year after year we have this expensive game of cat and mouse around the City, with local residents left to pick up the cost, and often the rubbish, left after unauthorised encampments.
“The Council currently has powers to tackle this issue, but too often it appears they are reluctant to use them. Whilst the Government cannot force them to act, I hope that by presenting this petition in Westminster to raise in parliament the situation in Brighton, that the Council will feel more inclined to act.”
He continued:“I am inundated with residents contacting me from across the constituency about this issue. Sites like Saltdean Oval, Happy Valley and Wild Park regularly have to suffer encampments and it is not right or fair on the local community, who often tell me they feel that the Council does not listen to their genuine fears and frustrations.”
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