The Nick Cave film 20,000 Days on Earth, released earlier this year, and Channel 4 drama The Fear are among film and TV productions shot partly on location in Brighton & Hove.
A PUBLIC information session is being held for people interested in finding out whether their home or business premises could be used as a location for filming at the Sallis Benney Theatre in Grand Parade, Brighton, on Saturday December 6 between 1.45pm and 3.45pm.
The locations event is being organised by Creative England and Brighton & Hove City Council as part of work to support the local economy by encouraging more filming in the city.
This follows Brighton & Hove being officially designated a Film Friendly City in April in recognition of its growing importance as a film and TV location, and centre for creative talent and film related businesses.
Picture from the Ronald Grant Archive
Television and film productions are constantly looking for new and interesting properties or land to use as film locations – whether it is it a pub, warehouse, cinema, cottage or church – and the session will provide information on what is involved. People will have an opportunity to add their details to Creative England’s national locations database if they wish to do so.
On the same day (December 6) between 6-8pm Creative England will be running one of its successful crew nights as part of the CINECITY Brighton Film Festival. The aim of the crew night is to bring together South-Eastern based crew, creative talent and filmmakers with facility houses, production companies, studios and broadcasters in a bid to create more opportunities for regional crew, boost the film industry in the city and throw a spotlight on the talented and skilled workforce and creatives in the city.
To find out more information about the event and to register, click here:
Creative England is a not-for-profit company, which offers a free bespoke service to film and TV productions shooting anywhere in England, outside of London, as well as promoting England as a premier film location.
For more information about CINECITY Brighton Film Festival, click here:
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather’s Tenancies (Reform) Bill which seeks to protect tenants against retaliatory eviction is due its Second Reading in Parliament tomorrow, Friday, November 28.
CAROLINE LUCAS, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion will be speaking up for and voting in favour of the Bill, after being lobbied by a huge number of her constituents on the issue.
Prior to the reading, Caroline will meet in Westminster Hall with constituents and representatives of Brighton and Hove campaign Home Sweet Home.
The Bill is also supported by national housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, among many other organisations.
TV presenter Dr Christian Jessen and TOWIE star Charlie King are among the famous gay men pledging their support for this year’s National HIV Testing Week (November 22-30).
National HIV Testing Week was established by Terrence Higgins Trust and HIV Prevention England in 2012, in a bid to reduce high levels of undiagnosed and late-diagnosed HIV among gay men and Africans in England.
Dr Christian Jessen, presenter of Channel 4’sEmbarrassing Bodies, said:“HIV remains one of the biggest health risks facing gay and bi men in this country. Medical advice says, if you’re a sexually active gay man, you should be testing for HIV and other STIs at least once every 12 months. National HIV Testing Week is a great opportunity to make that commitment, and be sure of your status. If we can get everyone behind that message, and testing regularly, we will see new infections start to fall.”
Charlie King
In 2013, there were an estimated 43,500 gay and bisexual men living with HIV in the UK, one in six of whom remain undiagnosed. Undiagnosed infection is widely recognised as a key factor driving the UK’s HIV epidemic, as someone who remains undiagnosed is much more likely to pass the virus on unwittingly than someone who has tested and is on treatment.
Charlie King, former star of The Only Way Is Essex, added:“National HIV Testing Week is such an important campaign, shedding light on a needlessly stigmatised topic. More gay men should go out there, get tested and know their status!”
Men are encouraged to visit www.startswithme.org.uk
To pledge support for National HIV Testing Week, find the nearest testing service, or order a postal HIV test. click here:
To mark World AIDS Day on December 1, and to raise money for the Sussex Beacon, a local HIV/AIDS charity, Simon Kirby, is auctioning a copy of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 signed by the three main party leaders, David Cameron, Ed Miliband, and Nick Clegg.
SImon Kirby MP
SIMON IS THE MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven and vice chair of the parliamentary group on HIV/AIDS.
All of the money raised from this auction will go to The Sussex Beacon, so that they can continue the work they do by offering specialist care and support for men, women and families affected by HIV.
The Sussex Beacon is open 365 days a year, and aims to support those living with HIV by addressing the physical, mental and social impact of the disease.
Simon said:“I have long been a supporter of this fantastic local charity, and I hope that this auction will raise much needed funds to help the Beacon continue its important work.
“This is also a wonderful opportunity to own an incredibly rare signed copy of the Equal Marriage Act, a piece of historic legislation which I am so proud to have played a part in making a reality.”
If anyone would like to bid on this item and support the Beacon, click here:
Bear-Patrol and The Brighton Belles women’s choir raised £425 during their joint MacMillan coffee morning supported by The Queens Arms on September 27, 2014.
ORGANISERS WOULD personally like to thank all the members of Bear-Patrol, The Brighton Belles and their supporters for creating such an amazing effort to support MacMillan and those affected and touched by them.
Rather than waste the food not sold on the day, they donated it to the New Steine Mews Hostel who were touched by their gift of cake and biscuits and this helped make everyones day complete.
Thanks to Alice Denny, Angie Brown, David Harris, Trudi Styles and The Pianoman, Neil Borrett and Jason Sutton for giving up their time free of charge and performing at the event.
Thanks also to Christoffer James Baker for designing the poster announcing the final total.
Nancy Platts, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, has challenged local MP Simon Kirby MP to back Labour’s new Bill to repeal the Tories’ new competition rules which labour say drive NHS privatisation at the expense of patient care.
Nancy Platts
LABOUR MP Clive Efford successfully introduced a Bill last week that will scrap David Cameron’s market framework for the NHS and make sure local NHS patients are always put first.
Now the Government is under pressure to honour this new bill and make sure it is enacted and enforced.
Labour say the Government has forced hospitals to open themselves up to a privatisation agenda which prioritises spending on competition lawyers and tendering exercises instead of on patient care.
Nancy Platts has backed Labour’s new Bill as a way of protecting and saving the NHS, and has challenged local MP Simon Kirby MP to do the same and ensure the government acts to make sure patients are put before profits.
Nancy said:“The Tories’ approach is to let private companies cherry-pick the most profitable NHS services, regardless of patient need, and spend more money on economic regulators and competition lawyers. Instead, Labour will ensure that the NHS once again puts patients before profits. Labour will rescue the NHS with our £2.5 billion Time to Care package which will fund new staff including 20,000 more nurses – investment the Tories will not match.
“I had no hesitation in backing this bill as it will make sure patients in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven are put first once again. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for our current MP. That’s why I’m challenging Simon Kirby to back the Bill now that is has passed and ensure that the government acts to enforce its provisions to protect our NHS.
“Patients in Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven are relying on him to do the right thing and back this Bill so that we can put an end to market forces being put at the heart of the NHS. Simon Kirby MP is fond of saying how he always puts his constituents first; its time he backed this up with action by ensuring that the government now listens to Parliament and acts to protect our NHS.”
Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven
Responding to the challenge, Simon Kirby, said: “I am pleased that the Bill had its second reading debate on November 21, 2014 and it was important for MPs to have the opportunity to debate the issues involved. The Government has always been clear that it is committed to protecting the NHS. That is why it has increased spending for the NHS (investing an extra £12.7 billion) and why it has guaranteed that it will always provide treatment free, regardless of ability to pay. Let me say as firmly as I can: It will not privatise the NHS.
“I am also personally committed to the NHS, which is why I campaigned so hard for the £420 million investment in the new Royal Sussex County Hospital here in Brighton which will make such a difference for patients and staff alike. I know how important the NHS is to everyone.
“The Bill seeks to prevent ‘privatisation’ that simply isn’t happening.
• There are no new competition provisions in the Health and Social Care Act – it simply codified practices the old PCTs were obliged to follow under European law. • Private sector provision grew at twice the rate under Labour than under this Government. Only 6 pence in every pound spent by the NHS is spent with private sector providers. • Labour signed contracts with the private sector that guaranteed levels of income to Independent Sector Treatment Centres regardless of the amount of work they actually carried out – which we have stopped. • We have made it a matter of law that commissioners cannot pursue competition in the NHS if it is not in the interests of patients.
“The NHS Confederation, the independent membership body that represents the service, has already expressed serious concerns about the Bill, citing the ‘potential for disruption caused by further changes’.
The Bill stops local doctors making decisions about the best services for their patients. Clinical leadership is highly valued in the NHS – but this Bill seriously undermines it.
What the reforms actually did was remove layers of bureaucracy in the old SHA and PCT organisations so we have been able to recruit additional frontline staff:
They removed 19,000 managers;
They save the NHS £5.5 billion in this Parliament alone and then £1.5 billion every year after that;
They mean we can afford to employ 8,000 more doctors and 5,600 more nurses on our wards compared to 2010;
They help us to carry out nearly a million more operations a year, perform millions more diagnostic tests, and refer 51% more patients for cancer treatment, ensuring people get the care they need.
“The Bill also claims that it will stop the NHS being affected by TTIP. Labour ignore the facts here too – because if there was any risk to the NHS, I would be the first to oppose the deal. The EU’s chief negotiator on the deal has said that ‘provisions in TTIP could have no impact on the UK’s sovereign right to make changes to the NHS’.
The EU have acknowledged that the deal ‘excludes any commitment on public services, and the governments remain at any time free to decide that certain services should be provided by the public sector’.
Labour MP John Healey, a former Labour Minister, has said the deal protects the NHS and ‘progressives should keep campaigning’ for a TTIP deal ‘that will be good for British consumers and workers’
“And here are some other facts Labour won’t tell you –
Labour’s Andy Burnham remains the only Secretary of State in history to privatise the services run by an entire hospital.
Labour went into the last election promising to increase private provision of healthcare – with their Manifesto promising to support ‘an active role for the independent sector.’
When he was Secretary of State, Andy Burnham said that he wanted the NHS to ‘finally move beyond the polarising debates of the last decade over private or public sector provision’.
“In my view, giving operational control for the day-to-day running of services to doctors was the right decision – but it has always been clear that Ministers are responsible for the NHS, and I am proud of its performance in challenging circumstances. The Government’s health reforms have focused on the role of the GP, believing that they are best placed to commission local health services as they have the best understanding of local needs. There are now 850,000 more operations being delivered each year compared to 2010, and thousands more doctors and nurses as I mention above.”
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) has been funded to run a Club Drug Clinic specifically for the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster.
The CNWL Club Drug Clinic is a dedicated service for anyone who has developed problems with ‘club drugs’ including students, clubbers and a range of other users.
In partnership with the Antidote/London Friend service, the CNWL Club Drug Clinic also provides a culturally competent specialist service for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual) people.
The clinic’s staff are addictions experts who specialise in problems associated with psychoactive drugs including GBL/GHB, Mephedrone, Ketamine, Methamphetamine, MDMA, legal highs and research chemicals.
The multi-disciplinary team provides a range of evidence-based tailored treatment and recovery interventions including, medically assisted detoxification, psychological therapies, peer support, family work and assistance with employment.
The clinic also offers a range of additional services including on-site sexual health screening including HIV and blood borne viruses, mental health assessment and referral and liaison and referral for physical health problems including ketamine-related bladder harm. The service is at the forefront of developing the research evidence.
Dr Owen Bowden-Jones
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Owen Bowden-Jones, who established the clinic in 2010, said: “UK drug services have traditionally focused on heroin and crack cocaine addiction. Club drugs, such as Ketamine, Mephedrone, GBL and so called legal highs, present new challenges. These drugs are often used by people who don’t fit the traditional stereotype of a drug user. Instead, our clients tend to be working professionals in their 20s and 30s who started taking drugs socially in clubs or at University.
“Despite the common reputation of club drugs as relatively harmless and recreational, the clinic has seen club drug use escalate and causepsychological, physical and social problems such as psychosis, dependence and relationship breakdown. These issues are similar to the problems we see with more traditional drugs.”
For more information about the clinic, click here:
Brighton mum of two Nikki Braterman, has been given new hope of a bone marrow transplant early next year thanks to a 43 year old male donor from Germany.
Nikki Braterman her husband and children
ALTHOUGH NOT a perfect match, doctors at the Royal Marsden have advised that the transplant should go ahead with this particular donor because, Nikki’s blood anti-bodies do not react against his blood in the same way as it did with potential donors identifiedfor Nikke earlier in the year.
On hearing news about the transplant Nikki, said: “I’m feeling much more positive after today’s news. I know there are a lot of risks and the outcome is still not certain, but the fact that a donor has been found gives me new hope. I know the donor is not perfectly matched but I am encouraged after being told that my blood antibodies do not react against his blood in the way that they did against previously identified potential donors.
Of course, we are still looking for further donors for two reasons. First, if this transplant failed a perfectly matched donor will give me the best fall back position. Second, the recruitment of more donors to the register, particularly from black and minority ethnic and mixed heritage backgrounds; could save other people’s lives as well as mine.
“Whilst I know it will be tough I am grateful I can have the transplant early in the New Year as I finally have the chance to get better. But first, I am looking forward to spending a very special Christmas at home with my family.”
A search for a bone marrow stem cell donorfor Nikki was carried out earlier in the year but no suitable matches were found.
The family launched an appeal to find a donor, through the website www.perfecttenmatch.co.uk, which provides further information on the appeal as well as links to all UK and many international donor registries.
Since the appeal was launched there have been over 350,000 hits on the website and Delete Blood Cancer has reported a 200% increase in requests for donor packs since they supported Nikki’s campaign.
Nikki was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in December 2013 and had undergone four rounds of intensive chemotherapy. She initially appeared to be responding well to treatment but was diagnosed with a relapse of the disease in her central nervous system in September 2014. Nikki has since been undergoing further treatment including radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
Whilst this treatment is necessary to bring the disease under control, doctors have said that the only prospect of a cure lies with a bone marrow transplant.
Because of the particular strain of acute myeloid leukaemia, and the fact that a relapse has occurred in the central nervous system (which is, in itself highly unusual and dangerous) the need to proceed to transplant is urgent, as doctors are certain that without a successful transplant Nikki would get ill again soon.
Although further risks and complexities remain with the treatment, the family now feel more optimistic. Nevertheless, they are carrying on the www.perfecttenmatch.co.uk campaign because there is a higher risk of transplant failure with Nikki’s current donor being a near match but not a perfect match. If that happens then there could be a need for a second transplant and risks would be lower if a perfectly matched donor could be found for that situation.
The family also wish to continue the campaign as they want to use Nikki’s situation to encourage more people to come forward as donors, especially as those from black and minority ethnic and mixed heritage backgrounds are less likely to find a good bone marrow stem cell donor match.
Nikki herself is mixed heritage, her mother being Anglo/Burmese and her father Irish. Although this isn’t always the case, perfectly matched donors are most likely to share the same ethnic background as the person benefitting from the donation. The best matched donor for Nikki is therefore most likely to have a South/East Asian and European mixed heritage themselves.
Caroline Lucas MP takes charity campaign to Commons on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion
CAROLINE LUCAS, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion has called on the Government today to develop the UK-wide strategy to end violence against women and girls.
In an Early Day Motion (EDM) Caroline also called for the recording and publishing of gender-specific violent crime data to be made a requirement for police, health and social services – the lack of which she said “seriously obscures the extent to which women and girls are subjected to gendered violence”.
The EDM, which coincides with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, is backed by national charity For Our Daughters, and has gained cross-bench support.
At least three to four women and girls die each week in the UK as a result of male violence – topping the annual death rate of troop losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Caroline who is Patron of For Our Daughters, said:“Far more needs to be done to tackle the high rates of violence against women and girls in our society. It’s critical that agencies are coordinated in their efforts to eliminate gender violence. It’s crucial also that all Parties work together on this issue. This must be a priority – the Government must act now to develop a more comprehensive UK-wide coordinated response to reduce and then end violence against women and girls. Urgent change is needed, as well as greater public awareness, to protect future generations.”
Jean Calder, Director of For Our Daughters, added:“In our view, there’s no greater threat to the nation than this violence at its heart. There can be no real possibility of real peace, justice or freedom within it until it is addressed. We want all parties to make this issue central to their manifestos and planning for future government. We know this is an intractable problem, but so too was sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. A time came when politicians called time on that conflict. We want Parliament to do the same in respect of homicide and sexist violence against women and girls.”
Labour has secured an urgent report from health officials on the closure of a major doctor’s surgery in Brighton and the potential consequences of further closures or retirements.
Cllr Warren Morgan
When Eaton Place surgery in Kemp Town closes in March 2015, over 5,500 patients will have to find alternative care if they have not done so already.
Leader of the Labour and Co-operative group, Councillor Warren Morgan, will be calling for clarity and action at the city’s Health and Wellbeing Board on December 9.
He will say: “A BMA survey this year showed that six in ten GPs are considering early retirement, and this closure in my ward highlights the consequences when that happens. Patients are now scrambling for places at other surgeries, often some distance from where they live, whilst others wait for the health authorities to find a place for them. From what we can gather, the health authorities won’t.”
“This closure will put other GP surgeries under huge pressure at a time when we are asking them to do more in terms of cancer screening, smoking cessation and other public health priorities. The surgery which is closing is within sight of the Sussex County, and could add pressure on an already stretched A&E. Further retirements or closures would put the system under intolerable strain in the east of the city. NHS England and the local Clinical Commissioning Group need to grasp this situation urgently.”
Recent figures have shown that the numbers of doctors training to take up GP practice are at their lowest for seven years, sparking fears there will soon be too few GPs to cope with the demands of a growing and ageing population.
Waiting times are anticipated to increase to two weeks by April next year.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt was forced to admit this week that he had to take his own children to A&E because he couldn’t get a GP appointment after his Government scrapped GP access targets.
Nationally Labour increased the number of GPs by 8,106, from 27,811 in 1996/7 to 35,917 in 2009/10, by pouring money into the service.
Since 2009/10 the total of GPs has fallen to 35,561. Under the Coalition, the numbers of GPs leaving to work abroad has doubled.
Labour has pledged to invest an extra £100 million a year in family doctor practices.
Labour will give all NHS patients contacting their surgery the right to:
• Consult a doctor or a nurse at their local GP surgery on the same day
• Get an appointment at their surgery on the same day if they need to be seen quickly
• Have a guaranteed appointment at their GP surgery within 48 hours
• Book an appointment more than 48 hours ahead with the GP of their choice
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