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Day: July 24, 2015

PREVIEW: ‘Queen Josephine’s Ouch House 200’

Posted on by Gary Hart

A Queen will always rise again after a fall. No matter how Ouchy that fall maybe.

Queen Josephine

Boxing Day 2013 and Brighton DJ and RadioReverb presenter Queen Josephine had a horrible accident. She ended up in hospital with a fractured skull, broken elbow and her writing arm shattered in eight places. Little was going to raise her spirits as she lay recovering in the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Except perhaps pen and paper.

Resurrecting her love of cartooning Queen Josephine began chronicling her long recovery from surgery with the cartoon strip Ouch House Diaries. Left handed scribbles became right handed drawn delights as she used honesty and humour to deal with the trails, tribulations and occasional humiliations of her sick bed.

Aided and abetted by her two feline nurses Madge and Hubbell and partner-in-line Kate Wildblood, Queen Josephine’s adventures soon gained followers as she shared her Ouch House Diaries on social media, Tumblr and Queenie’s Strip Service in Brighton’s GScene Magazine.

To celebrate 356 days of pen and ink Queen Josephine has created Ouch House 200, an A2 cartoon featuring everyone who made it into the Ouch House Diaries. A kind of Where’s Queenie?, the Ouch House version of Where’s Wally?

The Ouch House 200 will be part of the Duke Of Norfolk’s Brighton Pride fundraising Community Art Show Pride Edition exhibition alongside artists from across the city’s diverse LGBTQ community.

Supported by very generous framers ArtsWerk, all profits from the sale Ouch House 200 will be donated to Brighton Pride and The Rainbow Fund for their continuing support of local LGBT charities and organisations as well as The Friends of Brighton & Hove Hospitals in recognition of the amazing support and care Queen Josephine received from staff whilst at The Royal Sussex Hospital.

Event: Queen Josephine’s Ouch House 200, Duke Of Norfolk’s Community Art     Show Pride Edition and exhibition

Where: 113-114 Western Road Brighton BN1 2AB

When: July 25 – August 21, 2015

For more information, click here:

 

StartUp Britain comes to Brighton

Posted on by Gary Hart

Simon Kirby, MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, yesterday welcomed StartUp Britain to Brighton on the latest leg of their tour of the UK.

Simon Kirby MP

The national campaign by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, harnesses the expertise and passion of Britain’s leading businesspeople to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK.

The tour launched last month by the Prime Minister David Cameron and Business Secretary Sajid Javid MP at Downing Street, has been to 28 cities across the UK over the summer in a Routemaster bus with advisors from Natwest, Sage and StartUp Loans to give advice to people wanting to start-up their own business.

Mr Kirby, said: “Having previously set up and run successful businesses in Brighton and Hove I know how daunting it can be for budding entrepreneurs to take that first step towards setting up a new business. It is great that StartUp Britain, along with Natwest, Sage, and StartUp Loans, are able to offer great advice to all those who have a business idea and are thinking of taking the plunge to start a business.

“Every great business has to start somewhere, and the entrepreneurs who visited the tour bus today may go on to run large successful businesses one day. Around 4.47 million people in the UK are self-employed. Hopefully the StartUp bus tour will encourage more people to set up their own businesses.”

Labour to march at Trans* Pride on Saturday

Posted on by Gary Hart

The Brighton and Hove Labour and Co-operative Group will march at Trans* Pride tomorrow, Saturday July 25.

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Cllr Warren Morgan, Labour Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade and Nancy Platts, Chair of Brighton, Hove and District Labour Party issued a joint statement.

They said: “We are proud to live in a City that celebrates diversity and our trans* community. No-one should be held back or discriminated against because of their sexuality or gender identity. Despite the great strides we have made, there is more to do to ensure that equality is reflected across our society.

“For the trans* community in particular, we need to go much further to stop transphobic bullying; we need to strengthen the law on transphobic hate crime and ensure gender identity is respected and supported in schools, workplaces and across society.

“The city council under Labour leadership will continue to take forward the work and recommendations of the Trans Scrutiny Panel, of which the new council leader Warren Morgan was a member. 

“The Labour Party are looking forward to joining the parade on Saturday to show our support and we wish our trans* community a happy Pride event!”

 

Council unveils sun safety campaign for kids by kids

Posted on by Gary Hart

Children from schools across Brighton & Hove have designed posters to urge other children to ‘slap on a hat’, ‘slop on’ sun cream and ‘seek shade’ as part of a campaign to stay safe in the sun.

Sun Posters

The posters are the result of a primary school design competition and aim to appeal to young children with messages such as ‘sip water’ and ‘slip on some protective clothing’.

The posters will be on show in leisure centres, nurseries and Children’s Centres as part of a campaign to protect children from the damaging effects of the sun.

The campaign is called Staying safe in the Sun and complements the Speak Up Against Skin Cancer initiative. Melanoma – a skin cancer linked to sun exposure – is predicted to rise by around a third in the next 15 years, and Brighton and Hove is already in the worst 10% of areas affected so it’s worth taking precautions.

The rate is particularly high among the city’s female population, although rates are above average across the board.

Council staff and Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club’s charitable arm Albion in the Community have visited schools to press home the importance of taking care in the sun.  A team from the council has also visited every local sun bed establishment to make sure they are meeting safety guidelines and a website www.speakupagainstcancer.org has been launched to tell people how best to stay safe in the sun.

Dr Peter Wilkinson, Deputy Director of Public Health in Brighton and Hove, stressed how important it is to stay safe in the sun.

He said: “We want everyone to enjoy the sunny weather safely.  Sunburn is unpleasant and painful and increases the risk of developing skin cancers and of ageing prematurely.  It’s important to remember to look after yourself and others who are at risk from the sun, including infants and children.”

“These bright and fun posters by our local children carry a simple message: slap on a hat, slop on sun cream, slide on sunglasses and seek shade. This is especially important when the sun is at its most powerful in the middle of the day.”

 

‘Bed… and Breakfast’ with Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus is tonight

Posted on by Gary Hart

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus continue their 10th Anniversary Celebrations with their contribution to this years Pride Arts Festival this year, Bed… and Breakfast.

Brighton Gay Mens Chorus

IS it a holiday romance, or just a dirty weekend? High season or low rent? Check in with Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus for a thoroughly musical probing of the ups and downs of the seaside mini-break.

Whatever the weather, you are promised a warm welcome, a varied menu and some unexpected encounters. Getting away from it all can be an adventure, and whether you end up in a single, a double, or get a king-size upgrade, the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus hopes you have a pleasant stay… and far too much fun to be bothered with a good night’s sleep!

Paul Charlton
Paul Charlton

Chairman Paul Charlton, said: “After a very successful opening of the Brighton Fringe Festival, with two packed shows, we are looking forward to entertain our audience with our summer show ahead of the Brighton Pride celebrations.

“We have some exciting new additions to our repertoire, to which I’m sworn to secrecy by the Music Team, but with a title like Bed & Breakfast, it’s safe to say that there will be love in the air of Brighton & Hove this summer.”

Event: Bed and Breakfast….. with the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus

Where: All Saints Church, The Drive, Hove BN3 3QE

When: Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25

Time: Doors open 7pm for 7.30pm start

Tickets: £12 per ticket (£10 conc)

To book tickets online from June 1, click here: 

 

PREVIEW: King of the Fringe! Pride Edition

Posted on by Eric Page

The Marlborough Theatre will be presenting a night of wonderous gender bending bliss with their  very special Pride edition of King of the Fringe; Brighton’s number one Drag King competition.

drag kings

Slick back your hair, glue on your ‘tache and join the King of the Fringe crew for a night of seriouisly macho fun as they try to find a suitor to the throne.

Kings will endure two rounds:

♦ Fashion (with a little Q&A thrown in)

♦ and Talent (anything from lip syncing and singing to karate and nunchuck skills goes).

Who will be the King of Brighton Pride? Will it be you? Go along and join in the fun

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There will be special guest performances from Adam All and Apple Derrieres (who will also be head judges), Sammy Silver and George Faithless! Plus music from queer anti-folk/punk musician Seth Corbin!

After the show there will be a stylish swaggering parade of Kings to Traumfrau at Envy above Charles Street!

Event: King of the Fringe

Where: The Marlborough Theatre, Princess Street, Brighton

When: Friday, July 31

Time: 9pm

To book tickets for the event, click here:

On the buses with Pride

Posted on by Gary Hart

Brighton & Hove buses have unveiled their first official branded Pride bus in time for Brighton Pride on August 1.

Brighton Pride Bus

The bus is now in general use all around Brighton operating on a variety of routes across the city.

Buses in the Brighton & Hove fleet can be branded with the name of a person of note with a local connection who passed away at least 12 months ago, so Brighton Pride chose to name the Pride bus after drag legend and charity fundraiser, Phil Starr.

Phil performed on stages across the world for more than 50 years raising thousands of pounds for charity.

His last show was at Legends cabaret bar on Marine Parade where he had been the first performer 14 years earlier, and his final number? Well ‘We’ll Meet Again’ obviously.

Phil Starr was a great supporter of the annual Pride event in Brighton and Hove so Pride felt it appropriate that the first Pride bus should be named in his honour.

Paul KempPaul Kemp, director of Brighton Pride said: “We are thrilled that Brighton and Hove buses have joined other prominent City businesses to support Pride in our City in this our 25th Anniversary year. This is just the start of an ongoing relationship that includes a dedicated bus and shuttle service from the Pride campsite as well as exciting all year round promotional activity with the Pride bus” 

Nick Hill, Head of Commercial Development for Brighton & Hove Buses, added: “We are proud to promote diversity in this vibrant, wonderful city and are delighted to help celebrate 25 years of Pride in such a colourful way.” 

Look out for Phil Starr Pride bus on the roads and hop on board for a fabulous ride …

Dine for MindOut!

Posted on by Gary Hart

Like cooking, eating, socialising with friends, and raising money for a good cause?

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MindOut are offering an opportunity to do all those things with a new fundraising initiative, Dine for MindOUt!

Take part and you could win a meal for two!

In the next few months MindOut are launching a string of food related fundraising events. The idea is simple and everyone can join in.

Invite your friends round for dinner and ask them to make a donation. Follow the themes MindOut suggest or come up with your own, just ask for a £3 minimum donation from all your guests. If you don’t want to cook you can host a picnic or BBQ anytime you like!

Over the next six months MindOut will suggest six food themes, each with their own info packs giving you recipes, tips and telling you about the hidden benefits of the ingredients.

The campaign starts in July with Indian food, recently voted Britain’s favourite food. However, you can chose your own type of food if you like.

When you host the dinner, BBQ or picnic, take photos, videos, write blogs and post them to www.facebook.com/DineForMindOut so they can see how it goes.

MindOut have created a Facebook page, make sure you ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ it with your friends to keep up to date with related upcoming events.

If you use Twitter or Instagram use #DineForMindOut so all your friends can follow the fun.

Each month MindOut will publish a dedicated info pack inspired by the current theme. It will be a jump-start for the novice by providing a popular recipe for each food group: meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan. You don’t have to follow these if you have your own source of culinary inspiration, but there will be tips, interesting facts on the ingredients… and look out for the Celebrity Dish!

At the end of the diner (or brunch, picnic, gathering) you just pass an envelope among your friends to collect a minimum £5 donation each.

You can take the donations to MindOut, LGBTQ Mental Health Service, Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton BN1 3XG. Telephone 01273 234839. Or at the click of a button you can make a single donation at https://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/mindout-lgbt/dineformindout

Each month, MindOut will randomly pick the name of a host, who will win dinner for two at one of the restaurants supporting the scheme.

For more information email: info@mindout.org.uk or telephone 01273 234 839

For more information, click here:

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