National charity Action for ME is joining with the Sussex ME Society on October 7 to hold a conference at Hove Town Hall where doctors and researchers will talk about the latest developments in the field.
Caroline Lucas MP will open the conference
The event will be opened by Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion and local NHS representatives will be attending.
ME (Myalgic Encephalopathy) affects over 6,000 adults and children in Sussex, many of whom are housebound and in need of care.
Sonya Chowdhury of Action for ME said:“We were delighted to be asked by Colin Barton, on behalf of the Sussex organisation, to work together with him to deliver what is looking to be a really interesting event combining research and practice. As a national organisation, we feel it is really important to not be London-centric with our events so it is a real opportunity for us to connect with people living in Sussex, including members of the LGBT community who are affected by the illness. It feels like a really exciting time for research in the ME field and to bring this together with the practice from experts like Dr Gabrielle Murphy, Dr Zoe Gotts and Sussex consultant Dr Keith Hine will offer insight and learning for us all.”
HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) will be running a free rapid HIV testing service in Brighton and Hove during National HIV Testing Week.
National HIV Testing Week is a national campaign coordinated by THT and HIV Prevention England that encourages communities who are at risk of contracting HIV to test to improve early diagnosis. It runs from November 22-30.
In 2012, there were an estimated 6,587 people living with HIV in Kent, Surrey and Sussex and one in five of them were undiagnosed. Gay and bisexual men are one of the groups most at risk of contracting HIV, with 3,250 new infections in the UK last year.
THT is inviting gay and bisexual men to come to one of its drop-in sessions during National HIV Testing week, to talk about anything to do with their sexual health and get tested. Testing involves a finger prick blood test, providing results in 20 minutes. Trained staff and volunteers will provide one-to-one support before and after the test, and anyone who tests positive will be referred on to a specialist clinic.
The free rapid HIV testing service will be available at the following locations:
Monday 24 – Friday 28 November, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at THT’s Brighton centre on Ship Street
Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 November, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at THT’s Brighton centre on Ship Street
Every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Brighton Sauna, 75 Grand Parade, BN2 9JA
Marc Tweed, Centre Manager for THT in Brighton, said:“With around one in five people with HIV in Brighton and Hove remaining undiagnosed, we need to do everything we can to get people testing. Our local sessions offer a safe and confidential space for anyone who wants to take an HIV test, or just receive free advice and information on sexual health. We hope that during National HIV Testing Week we can encourage gay and bisexual men who have never tested, or have not tested in a while, to come to any one of our drop-in sessions.“
The Charleston Trust celebrated ‘A Bloomsbury Evening’, in aid of the Charleston Centenary Project, at the National Portrait Gallery in London last night.
Guests, including Sir Christopher Ondaatje, Burberry Chief Creative and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Bailey, Virginia Nicholson, granddaughter of Vanessa Bell, and Nigel Newton, Founder and CEO of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, were invited to a reception in the Ondaatje Wing of the National Portrait Gallery for a private viewing of the Virginia Woolf: Art, Life and Vision exhibition by the Curator, Professor Frances Spalding, CBE, followed by an intimate dinner in the 17th and 18th Century Galleries and a silent auction and readings by British author and playwright Alan Bennett.
The event raised over £170,000 including proceeds from the auction of some uniquely Charleston collectors’ items – a first edition of ‘The Waves’ by Virginia Woolf, an original watercolour Dorset painting by Duncan Grant and three beautiful original drawings by Quentin Bell, among many other generously donated gifts.
Speaking about the event, Alistair Burtenshaw, Director at the Charleston Trust, said:“This event perfectly brought together many friends that passionately support Charleston from the worlds of literature, fashion, television and the visual arts. We are delighted that the event raised such a significant amount towards the Charleston Centenary Project”.
Charleston, the home and country meeting place for the writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury group, including Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes, is situated in East Sussex. The house and gardens are open to the public every year from the end of March to the beginning of November.
The Charleston Centenary Project aims to protect and restore its buildings, construct new spaces and protect its peaceful rural setting by 2016, marking the centenary of Vanessa Bell’s and Duncan Grant’s arrival at Charleston.
Charles Saumarez Smith
Charles Saumarez Smith, trustee of the Charleston Trust and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy, said:“I would like to urge you to make a donation to help us build Charleston’s future. I am convinced that, in order for Charleston to be sustainable in the long term, it needs to develop the adjacent Barns to provide all the facilities that are not currently available – an auditorium, space for archives and storage, adequate offices, a better shop and, not least, decent lavatories – in order that visitors can enjoy their visit without having to endure the conditions of semi-dereliction which Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant experienced when they first visited in 1916. What could be a better way of celebrating its Centenary?”
Three years on from an historic Government move to outlaw enforced retirement, more than 1m over-65s are now choosing to stay in work.
The figures are revealed in new DWP analysis released to mark International Older People’s Day.
Nearly a quarter of a million more people aged 65 and over have opted to stay in work since the default retirement age – a form of legal discrimination in the workplace – was abolished on October 1, 2011.
There are now 1,103,000 workers aged 65 and over in work compared to 874,000 in the quarter October-December 2011 – an increase of 229,000.
Having the choice to work longer can open up significant financial opportunities for individuals and their families. An average earner working one year longer has the potential to boost their pension pot by around £4,500, in addition to earning an extra year’s salary.
There are also gains for the wider economy. Research shows that if everyone chose to work one year longer, GDP could increase by 1% – the equivalent of £16bn in 2013.
Steve Webb MP, Pensions Minister
Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: “In years to come, we’ll look back at the kind of age discrimination that the default retirement age represented and wonder how it was ever allowed. Forcing people to retire at 65 might have made sense in 1925 but in the 21st century it was nothing short of an outrage.
“We have to wake up to the needs and expectations of today’s workforce – 30% of whom are now aged over 50 and one million over 65. These people have a massive role to play in our economy and society and many quite rightly want to carry on using the skills and knowledge they have honed over decades and also pass them on to younger colleagues.
“We are now supporting older workers further by extending the right to request flexible working and providing new pension freedoms so they can combine pension income with earnings and therefore plan a gradual retirement.”
Ros Altmann, the Government Business Champion for Older Workers, added: “Older people are a huge resource for society and the whole economy. Indeed they have the potential to revitalise growth as more of them are working longer and staying active than ever before. There are currently well over one million people working beyond age 65.
“Encouraging and enabling more later-life working offers a massive potential financial boost both for individuals and the economy, as well as a more satisfying lifestyle for older generations and their families. Particularly, facilitating a phase of part-time working to ease people into full retirement can bring significant benefits but that means overcoming ageism and unfair negative stereotyping of older workers.
“It is also important to destroy the myth that older workers somehow take the place of younger ones.
“The evidence is clear that helping older workers stay in the workplace is not only good for their own finances but also helps create more jobs for younger people too. As older generations have extra income and spending power for the short and longer term, this can boost the outlook for the whole economy and workers of all ages.”
In October 2011 there were 526,000 men over 65 in work. There are now 643,000. And there are currently 460,000 women in work, compared to 348,000 in October 2011.
Many are driving an entrepreneurial boom helping boost the British economy, with over 400,000 people aged 65+ now in self-employment according to ONS data (April-June 2014).
Four open spaces in Brighton and Hove are set to be dedicated as Centenary Fields to mark the 100th anniversary of World War One.
Old Steine Gardens, the Chattri Memorial on the Downs north of Patcham, Easthill Park in Portslade and Patcham Peace Gardens are all being recommended for the special status, in a report which will be considered by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee on October 7.
The Centenary Fields initiative is a nationwide scheme being led by the Royal British Legion and Fields in Trust, aimed at securing permanent recreational spaces in honour of the memory of the millions of people who lost their lives in World War One.
The move to nominate sites in Brighton and Hove follows a notice of motion to a full council meeting in July which suggested Old Steine Gardens, the Chattri Memorial, and Easthill Park. In addition, residents in Patcham put forward the Patcham Peace Garden.
All the sites are owned by the council and already protected as public open spaces. However, dedicating them as Centenary Fields will give them further recognition as memorials.
• Old Steine Gardens: Old Steine Gardens are home to the Brighton War Memorial, which was unveiled in 1922 to honour those who died in WW1, and is the venue for annual remembrance services. Earlier this month (September) a commemorative stone and plaque were unveiled at the memorial in memory of Captain Theodore Wright, who was awarded the Victoria Cross in WW1.
• The Chattri Memorial: During WW1 injured Indian soldiers were treated at military hospitals set up at the Royal Pavilion and the Dome. The Hindus and Sikhs who died were cremated on the Downs and in 1921 the Chattri memorial was built on the cremation site. Memorial services are held every year to honour the dead.
• Easthill Park: Easthill Park, off Easthill Way, is home to Portslade War Memorial, where regular remembrance services are held every year. The memorial was moved to the park in 1954 from its previous location in Trafalgar Road.
• Patcham Peace Garden: The Patcham Peace Garden was purchased in the 1920s to create a memorial to peace following the Great War. The columns and small temple were purchased from the 1924 Wembley Exhibition and statues were relocated from the old aquarium.
Cllr Pete West
Cllr Pete West, chair of the Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee, said:“All these sites have a link with remembering and honouring those who died in conflicts. Dedicating them as Centenary Fields is a fitting way to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
“It is one of a number of ways we are commemorating the anniversary in the city, including memorial services held earlier in the summer, a major exhibition – War Stories: Voices for the First World War – which runs at Brighton Museum until March, an ongoing programme of events and activities at the city’s museums and libraries, and a permanent gallery at the Royal Pavilion charting its history as a hospital for Indian soldiers.”
At the meeting of the Committee, it will be recommended that councillors proceed to apply to the Royal British Legion and Fields in Trust for the sites to be dedicated as Centenary Fields.
Arts company Brighton Think Big is hosting a mural painting day in George Street, Hove, on Saturday October 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Naked bike ride mural in Providence Place, Brighton
Brighton Think Big is famous for producing street art including murals of the city’s annual naked bike ride and work adorning the derelict Circus Street area in Brighton.
Community members are running a day of painting to brighten up a much-used but dingy alleyway that runs between George Street and St Andrew’s churchyard.
Cllr Christopher Hawtree
Councillor Christopher Hawtree, deputy chair of the culture committee, said : ”This alleyway used to be blocked with bins and used to attract a lot of street drinkers. The George Street Traders Association is working together with the local arts-based organisation Brighton Think Big to encourage local people to help them transform the brick walls into a wonderful mural that will depict historic Hove. The idea behind this, apart from a great community day, is to increase the feeling of safety in this well-used alleyway and to provide a piece of art for everyone to enjoy.
“I have already been involved – up thirty feet! – in the preparatory painting work, and it’s very enjoyable.”
Funding has been provided through the European “Communities and Families Tackling Addiction” (CAFTA) project, along with Dulux Trade Paints, Brewers of Hove and the Hove Business Association and Hove Business Partnership.
Residents interested in helping can contact DAAT Neighbourhood Liaison Officer Nile Amos on 01273 293006.
National HIV Testing Week is a national campaign coordinated by THT and HIV Prevention England that encourages communities who are at risk of contracting HIV to test to improve early diagnosis. It runs from November 22-30.
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