Everyone associates Bordeaux with just wine, and yes they do produce some 700 million bottles of red wine a year, which English wine snobs call claret. But what of the actual place, being quite fond of a glass or two we thought it may be worth a visit, it was.
Bordeaux: Place de la Bourse
Just an hour’s flight from Gatwick takes you to one of the loveliest cities in South West France, situated on the river Garonne.
We booked a BA Fly/Drive trip, surprisingly the same price as our usual orange aircraft but with the benefit of free luggage and free drinks, and booked into the Mercure Cite Mondial. This is a smart modern hotel in the Chartrons area, a very trendy location, almost on the river. The breakfast on their seventh floor restaurant was one of the best we have had in a long time and has a great view of the river and the city.
Bordeaux: Old Town
The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and much to our surprise the all the city is quite lovely. Just 20 years ago the whole place was rundown; the river was hidden by dingy warehouses, as it was once a major port. Today it has been totally regenerated with wide open boulevards, the honey coloured 19th century buildings have been cleaned and the riverside opened up.
One of the first areas to be renovated and pedestrianised and still the place to go on a Friday and Saturday evening, is the St Pierre district in the heart of Old Bordeaux. The star of the Bordeaux show is the river which winds round the city in a great arc. They have built a fabulous quay with cafes, restaurants and very trendy bars, it’s where the smart set eat, drink and stroll.
We had dinner in the excellent gay run La Cigale restaurant, run by two very friendly, good-looking guys, cosy and very reasonable. The new hi-tech tram system is very cheap and the best way to see the city. There are apparently 376 listed historic monuments; we saw a few, all the famous shops are there, lovely squares and parks and being there during the June heat wave certainly added to the overall experience.
Bordeaux: Le Quai des Marques
Bordeaux is still being developed, but today it is a well-groomed and good mannered French city which compares itself with Paris, that may be a step too far but it is certainly worth a visit.
From there we drove to Biarritz just two hours down one of the most boring roads in France, and there are plenty of them. The A63 is a long, straight, utterly featureless road but gets you where you’re going quite quickly.
Biarritz, is a 20 century town made fashionable in the 1930’s by frequent visits by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor is now a relatively quiet seaside resort on the Basque coast. They opened the first casino in 1901 and for some time the town became very popular with the beau monde, film stars and minor European royalty. Today it has a sense of faded gentility. It became known as the Queen of Seaside Resorts, today it’s more the Queen Mother.
To be honest it was a disappointment, yes it has several large lovely surfing beaches, some very grand buildings and hotels and lots of shops but not a lot else. There is however a lot of great restaurants in the buzzy, trendy Halles district. Being in the Basque country the food is based on the famous pintxos. Fantastic and great fun.
The receptionist at the very uninspiring Mercure President Hotel we stayed in was disarmingly honest and said we should go to Bayonne, a short drive away, so we did. Google Biarritz and you will get dozens of references to Bayonne and there’s a good reason.
Bayonne
Bayonne is a truly magnificent medieval city and well worth a visit. The narrow streets and squares of the perfectly preserved old town are mainly pedestrianised and great to wander around. The city is famous for cured ham, expensive but delicious we even brought some home. Bayonne is also known as the chocolate capital of France. It is also the capital of the Pays Basque, the signs are confusing as the Basque language is almost impossible to understand but most are also in French. In Basque welcome becomes ongietorri Baiona or in French Bienvenue à Bayonne, it does get a bit baffling.
Biarritz and Bayonne are just ten minutes and many centuries apart, and quite fascinating in their own ways.
Green Councillors to join thousands of revellers for the ‘Carnival of Diversity’ Pride Community Parade, celebrating 25 years of Pride in Brighton & Hove.
Cllr Alex Phillips: Deputy Convenor of Green Group
Green councillors, including Phélim Mac Cafferty, Alex Phillips, Louisa Greenbaum and Leo Littman will accompany the Green Party float which will be driven by their busman colleague Cllr Tom Druitt.
The parade will set off from its new starting point at the Peace Statue on Hove Lawns at 11am on Saturday, August 1, progressing along the seafront past the West Pier, turning left up West Street, right at the clock tower, left at the Old Steine and out on the London Road to Preston Park and the main event.
Cllr Alex Phillips, Deputy Convenor of the Green Group, said: “I’m proud to say that, alongside Pride’s achievements and those of many lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) groups across Brighton & Hove, our City Council has become an award-winning and pro-active advocate of LGBT rights, promoting equality and understanding while tackling homophobic discrimination and bullying in our communities and in our schools. As Greens, we have fought for the law to change so that gay men are not discriminated against when giving blood; we have fought for equal gay marriage; we have worked in schools with organisations like Stonewall and Allsorts youth project so that children learn that some people are gay and that’s fine; and we have done ground-breaking work on the needs and discrimination faced by people who identify as trans through the council’s cross-party Trans Scrutiny Panel (link).”
“In spite of all this, there are no grounds for complacency, even in cities like Brighton and Hove there is LGBT hate crime and some people still live in fear just because of their sexuality or gender identity. We have led the way on LGBT rights both here and abroad and we will continue to do so.
“In the next 25 years our vision is for a city where people are treated as equals regardless of their sexuality or gender identity and no one is ever afraid to go out because they are in fear of their safety. There is still much more work to be done and as Greens we will continue to fight for it.”
In 2014 the former Green administration controversially attempted to remove the annual £25,000 Grant to Pride from the Councils main budget putting the future of the Pride Parade at risk. A Conservative amendment in 2014 reversed the decision and a Labour amendment in 2015 secured £20,000 to help fund the parade,
Cllr. Phillips added: “Pride at 25 has become a fun, energetic celebration of human rights, diverse relationships and resistance to intolerance and bigotry on a scale that would have been unimaginable in the early days. All the Green councillors wish Pride Happy Birthday and Congratulations at reaching 25 in such style!”
Rev Martin Williams, the Archdeacon of Brighton, will march on the Pride Community Parade, on Saturday, August 1, with members of the Brighton Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement.
The theme of this years parade is Carnival of Diversity. The Parade will start from the Peace Statue on Hove Lawns at 11am progressing along the seafront past the old West Pier, turning left up West Street, turning right at the clock then left at Old Steine and out on the London Road to Preston Park for the main event.
If you intend to march please email Nigel Nash, the chair of Brighton Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, to say you are coming and he will give you instructions where to meet on Hove Lawns.
On arrival Preston Park, St John’s Church, Knoyle Road, Preston, Brighton BN1 6RB will be holding ‘Open Church’ from 1-2pm for refreshments, an opportunity to picnic and use the churches facilities.
At 2pm there will be a service of welcome with guest speaker Rev Andrew Woodward.
For more information about the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, click here:
Katy Bourne the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner will join police officers on the Brighton Pride Community Parade this, Saturday, August 1.
The theme of this years parade is Carnival of Diversity. It will start from the Peace Statue on Hove Lawns at 11am progressing along the seafront past the old West Pier, turning left up West Street, turning right at the clock then left at Old Steine and out on the London Road to Preston Park for the main event.
Commenting on being part of the 2015 celebrations, Mrs Bourne said:“Brighton Pride is the biggest cultural event in the city’s calendar and showcases all that is great about the city and its vibrant LGBT community.
“This is my third year attending in my role as PCC and I’m really looking forward to joining Sussex Police officers on their march to Preston Park and meeting all those who help make this an important and fun day.
“As with previous years I will have a stand in Preston Park next to the Surrey and Sussex Police Diversity Team. This is part of my Talk Sussex programme, which is an opportunity for residents to have their say in local policing and crime priorities. We will be tweeting on the day using #TalkSussex. My Youth Commission will also be in Preston Park gathering views on LGBT hate crime and the police’s response to it.
“I look forward to visiting the volunteers of the LGBT Community Safety Forum at the Access Tent. They will be providing services for disabled visitors including older, deaf and blind attendees during the parade and at Preston Park. This facility has been supported with a grant from my Safer in Sussex Fund (SiSF). A previous grant from the SiSF supported their ‘Report It!’ project, which aims to make it easier for members of the LGBT community to report a crime and get the help and support they need.
A spectacular musical revue of the illustrious leading ladies of a bygone golden era.
Miss-Leading Ladies is a whirlpool of illusion, captivating chemistry and a delightful homage to those revered leading ladies of a bygone golden era.
Ria Jones and Ceri Dupree star in this stunning celebration of some of the greatest grande dames of stage and screen, adding their own unique family twist. From Ethel Merman to Doris Day, Marlene Dietrich to Danny La Rue, to name a few.
This gene pool of rip-roaring talent will lead you astray in their dazzling revue of these illustrious leading ladies. Between them these siblings lay claim to 60 years of showbiz. Featuring the richest array of costumes scarcely seen since the heyday of La Rue, and over 20 show stopping songs and vocals that have ripped the roof off the Royal Albert Hall on more than one occasion.
Singularly sensational, but together a tour de force, when they combine their talents into a unique theatrical experience. What other actress can lay claim to having played both Evita and Mrs Overall in her career, and what other actor can lay claim to have walked in the shoes of every legendary leading lady. A celebratory evening that will long remain in the memory of those quick enough to have secured tickets.
Event:Miss Leading Ladies, starring Ria Jones and Ceri Dupree: Musical Director Edward Court: Directed by Sarah-Louise Young
Where: St James Studio, 12 Palace Street, London SW1E 5JA
Top politicians among those in the Scottish LGBTI Awards’ shortlist.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Patrick Harvie witness the first same sex marriage just after midnight in Glasgow, on December 31, 2014
The first Scottish LGBTI Awards will take place at Glasgow’s iconic Grand Central Hotel on Thursday, September 10 2015, to mark what organisers are calling an ‘historic year’ for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) rights in Scotland.
The Awards are being organised by the Equality Network, Scotland’s national LGBTI equality and human rights charity, to recognise and celebrate the campaigners, politicians, journalists, public bodies, businesses, community groups and individuals that have made a contribution towards securing greater equality in the past year.
The inaugural event which will be hosted by one of Scotland’s best-loved comedians, openly-gay Karen Dunbar, comes on the 35th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1980, 20 years after Scotland’s first Pride March and 15 years after the furore over the repeal of Section 28 during the first term of the Scottish Parliament. It will also mark the first year of equal marriage in Scotland, after the country became the 17th in the world to pass same-sex marriage legislation in February last year.
The glittering red-carpet awards ceremony will be attended by 350 LGBTI people and equality supporters from across Scotland, including leading politicians, businesses and celebrities as well as dedicated activists.
Michelle McManus
Well-known LGBTI equality supporters including Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus, lesbian singer-songwriter Horse McDonald, and West of Scotland celebrities Robert and May Miller will be among acts providing entertainment on the night.
The Equality Network, who launched a major new report earlier this week revealing that LGBTI people still face widespread prejudice and discrimination in Scotland, say that they hope the event will provide an opportunity to recognise the significant advances made in recent years, while also encouraging further efforts for equality in the future.
The charity has received hundreds of public nominations for the 15 award categories, some of which will be decided by public vote while others will be decided by an independent judging panel.
Among the most competitive of the categories will be the prestigious ‘Politician of the Year’ award whose nominees include First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Conservative Party leader Ruth Davidson, Green Party leader Patrick Harvie, Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie, Labour’s Margaret McCulloch, and the SNP’s Alex Neil, who led on Scotland’s same-sex marriage legislation.
Lorraine Kelly
Queen of daytime TV, Lorraine Kelly, is nominated for the ‘Journalist of the Year’ award in recognition of her efforts to raise awareness of transgender equality through several high-profile interviews with trans activists, and because of her longstanding support for LGBTI equality, including during the equal marriage campaign in Scotland. Speaking this week Lorraine Kelly said she was “very honoured and delighted to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award”. She will be up against former Scotland on Sunday Deputy Editor Kenny Farquharson, a long-standing ally of LGBTI equality, STV’s openly-gay reporter Alan Jenkins, and Katherine O’Donnell, the openly-transgender Night Editor of The Times, among others.
STV News, BBC Reporting Scotland, and charity sector newspaper Third Force News are up for the ‘Media Outlet of the Year’ award alongside LGBTI-specific outlets Kaleidoscot, Scotsgay, and Gaia Magazine.
Public bodies including the Scottish Prison Service, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, the Judicial Institute of Scotland, and the Scottish Government’s One Scotland campaign are among those shortlisted for the ‘Public Body Initiative of the Year’, for their efforts promoting equality. While major organisations including Barclays, RBS, and the Gay Police Association are among those shortlisted for ‘Staff Network of the Year’ for their work advancing equality in the workplace.
John Barrowman
The shortlist for ‘Event of the Year’ will include the Commonwealth Games, whose televised opening ceremony saw openly gay actor John Barrowman kiss a male dancer in what was widely seen as sending a message to the 41 Commonwealth countries that still criminalise homosexuality. The Games will compete for the award alongside Scotland’s two main gay pride events, Pride Glasgow and Pride Edinburgh, and the milestone event that was the passage of Scotland’s same-sex marriage legislation.
The ‘Student Group of the Year’ award shortlist includes three of Scotland’s ancient universities, Glasgow, Edinburgh and St. Andrews, among others, while nominees for the Culture Award will include Scotland’s only LGBTI arts festival, Glasgay!, the LGBTI history project Our Story Scotland, and the respected openly transgender playwright Jo Clifford, who will perform her acclaimed play ‘The Gospel According to Jesus Queen of Heaven’ at this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Recognition will also be given to youth groups, sports groups, venues, community groups, charities, volunteers and dedicated LGBTI campaigners from across the country, from Shetland to Ayr.
Two special awards, chosen by the Equality Network, will also be presented on the night, including a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award and a ‘Friend for Life’ award which will recognise some of those activists and supporters that have made a particularly significant contribution towards LGBTI equality in Scotland.
The event is being sponsored by UNISON Scotland and Humanist Society Scotland. It will include a celebratory champagne reception, a three-course dinner, entertainment, and a fundraising auction. All money raised will go towards the Equality Network’s campaigns for LGBTI equality.
Scott Cuthbertson
Scott Cuthbertson, Development Coordinator for the Equality Network, said:“This has been an historic year for equality in Scotland and the Scottish LGBTI Awards will provide an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the important advances we have made, and the inspiring work of those that make a positive difference to the lives of LGBTI people. We know that there is still much more to do before LGBTI people will have full equality in their day-to-day lives so we hope that the recognition these awards provide will encourage further progress in the future.”
Karen Dunbar
Karen Dunbar, who will host the awards, added: “I’m chuffed to bits and really looking forward to hosting the first ever Equality Network Scottish LGBTI Awards. It’s vital that we celebrate the people who have made a difference to the lives of LGBTI people here in Scotland, and great that the event will support the work of the Equality Network, Scotland’s National LGBTI Equality Charity!”
To purchase tickets for the event costing £45 (£400 for table of 10): click here:
The Scottish LGBTI Awards – shortlisted nominees:
Politician of the Year
Ruth Davidson MSP
Patrick Harvie MSP
Margaret McCulloch MSP
Alex Neil MSP
Willie Rennie MSP
Nicola Sturgeon MSP
Journalist of the Year
Stuart Duffy
Kenny Farquarson
Alan Jenkins
Lorraine Kelly
Katherine O’Donnell
Jonny Stone
Media Outlet of the Year
BBC Reporting Scotland
Gaia Magazine
Kaleidoscot
Scotsgay
STV News
Third Force News
Event of the Year
The Commonwealth Games
The legalisation of same-sex marriage
LGBT Youth Scotland – The National Youth Summit
Pride Edinburgh
Pride Glasgow
STUC LGBT Workers Conference
Public Body Initiative of the Year
Judicial Institute of Scotland – Development of transgender inclusive training and review of Equal Treatment Bench Book
National Gender Identity Clinical Network for Scotland – foundation of new body to coordinate gender reassignment activity in Scotland
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Development of LGBT inclusive new training for GG&C staff
Scottish Government – One Scotland Campaign
Scottish Prison Service – New inclusive policies around transgender prisoners and development of training DVD for Staff
Travel & International Team NHS National Services Scotland – First government funded online resource aimed specifically at keeping LGBT travellers safe abroad.
Staff Network of the Year
Balfour Beatty LGBT Network
Barclays Spectrum LGBT Colleague Network
Gay Police Association Scotland Group
RBS Rainbow Network
SWAN LGBT Scottish Workplace Networking
University of Aberdeen Staff LGBT Network Group
Student Group of the Year
BLOGS (University of Edinburgh)
Dundee & Angus College
Glasgow University LGBTQ+
Saints LGBT (University of St Andrews)
SAUWS LGBT+ Society (University West of Scotland)
Vale of Leven Academy LGBT Committee
The Culture Award
Jo Clifford
The Glasgay! Festival
Horse
LGBT History Month Scotland
Loud & Proud Choir
Our Story Scotland
Equality Initiative of the Year
Ayrshire College SU & Ayrshire College – #JoinTheConversation
The Ayrshire LGBT Development Group – Engaging LGBT people across Ayrshire
LGBT Health & Wellbeing – Age Capacity Building Project
LGBT Youth Scotland – The Schools Charter
Scottish Refugee Council & LGBTI Partners – Information campaign for LGBTI Asylum Seekers
Scout Scotland – Working to include LGBT in the Scouts in face of US ban
Community Group of the Year
Ayrshire LGBTQ
Bi & Beyond
Highland LGBT Forum
Grampian T Folk
Shetland LGBT
TransParentSees
Youth Group of the Year
Beyond Gender
Fusion LGBT Youth Group Clydebank
The Glitter Cannons & West Lothian LGBT Youth Forum
I write this to you from the island of Crete, where the beaches are two-thirds empty, the hotels less than half full and some restaurants all but deserted.
For us, it’s a July holiday paradise. Turn up at any beach, any time of day and have your pick of the best spot, visit local points of interest and there’s no need to blink up through the mists of lost sleep at the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds – there aren’t any. And yet (of course) the people are as welcoming as ever, if not more so and the landscapes unchanged at strikingly beautiful.
But the British are turning their backs and Greek people are worried. They could be angry but they’re not.
The people we have spoken to have expressed their disappointment at the British media (British newspapers are for sale at every supermarket):
♦ GREEK SUPERMARKETS ARE RUNNING OUT OF FOOD! It isn’t true.
♦ MEDICATION IN SHORT SUPPLY AS PHARMACIES RUN DRY! It isn’t true.
♦ AIRLINES TO GO UNDER AS FUEL RUNS OUT. It isn’t true.
♦ GREEK AUTHORITIES TAKING SPARE EUROS FROM BRITS LEAVING GREECE! A skill our tabloid journalists have always excelled in, the appalling lie.
It has to be said, I am many miles away from a troubled Athens, with hundreds of islands scattered across the Aegean between us, but here in Crete, the beaches are beautiful, the food fresh and plentiful, the wine inexpensive and the hospitality of the Greek people warm, welcoming and considering their recent history, frankly as inspiring a community you are not likely to meet anywhere else.
Today the banks reopen, and although there remains a restriction for the Greek population in accessing their own hard-earned money and personal life savings, we have yet to see a cash machine queue or one without money in it, and we have been able to access our own money freely. Sewing hundreds of Euros into the lining of the swimming trunks was a wasted week back in Blighty. Again – NO ACCESS TO CASH FOR TOURISTS; it isn’t true.
And it’s not just Crete, I hear from friends in Skiathos and Mykonos similar tales without woe. For tourists, you will notice little change. Of course, some restaurants won’t take a credit card, the Greek people cannot access their own cash beyond a rationed daily limit and their only way to pay their suppliers is through the money we give them, this is now a cash based society, and you know what? Good. We’ve become so locked into our new payment systems at home, that we fail to see the hideous social divorce wrapped up in one word contactless. What a shameful aspiration to have welcomed into our lives, to be without contact.
The Greek’s need more contact, not less, and it is we that can give it. Of course from our protected islands of new Conservatism we can bemoan the silliness of a ‘No’ vote in the recent referendum but the Greeks are a proud nation and ask yourself this, do you not have the opportunity to celebrate your own pride in who you are and who you have the free right to become?
Have you not spent years campaigning, or watching from the sidelines those who do fight for the human freedoms from the autocratic superstate who has spent your life informing you that you are a second class citizen? Given the opportunity, I too would have voted no. And whatever else you may think, or wherever your own political affiliations lie, the Greek people did not ask to be part of the European superstate the single currency has become, nor did they cause the world-wide economic troubles that affected us all. Is it fair then that they appear to be paying the greatest price?
Greek’s and gays have always got along, some islands almost exclusively attracting the gay traveller, I believe Skiathos now even offers Mamma Mia themed boat excursions if you can bear such Piers Brosnan influenced awfulness. Or, be adventurous, ignore the opening bars of Chquitita (it is after all Spanish) and go somewhere else and give a little back. And so if you’re considering a late August or early September sojourn into the sunshine, go Greek. And if you’re staycationing this year, ask your local shop to stock Mythos beer and buy real feta, not that ‘Greek-style’ nonsense.
I’m leaving Crete tomorrow for the island of Karpathos, I shall take my Greek taxi to the Greek bus and fly out on a Greek airline to spend another week eating Greek food and drinking Greek wine in the company of the Greek people. They deserve our attention, yours too.
Cosmos (part of the Monarch group), Thompsons Holidays, Olympic holidays and Thomas Cook all have last-minute deals in all island locations, available online.
World champion powerlifter, Chris Morgan inducted to the National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
Chris Morgan
The ceremony took place on Friday, July 24 at the Centre on Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois.
Chris an eight-times world champion powerlifter is active in Europe’s campaign against homophobia in soccer, and made first appearance at Gay Games V in Amsterdam.
He has been a loyal and active global Ambassador for the Federation of Gay Games (FGG) for many years.
The Chicago based National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame, was established in 2013 to honor individuals and organisations whose achievements and efforts have enhanced the fields of sports and athletics for the LGBT community.
In addition, the Hall of Fame preserves the history of LGBT individuals who have impacted professional and amateur sports and provided outreach and education to the sporting world so that LGBT youth all across the nation feel welcome and safe to participate in any and all athletic related activities.
To see a full list of Inductees and bios, click here:
The list of 2015 inductees include:
Kye Allums, an activist and the first out transgender Division I basketball player.
Megan Rapinoe, an American pro soccer player, Olympic gold medalist, and 2015 World Cup champion who came out as lesbian.
Roy Simmons, a former pro football player who came out as gay after he retired and who died in 2014.
Helen Hull Jacobs, a top-ranked tennis player who won 10 Grand Slam titles and was known to be a lesbian. She died in 1997.
Dale Scott, the first out active Major League Baseball umpire
Among the Class of 2015 are several with a strong connection to the international Gay Games movement…
Roger Brigham, the Federation of Gay Games Honorary Life Member who was the first openly gay sports editor at a major metropolitan daily, the Anchorage Daily News, in 1982. He also the founded the Equality Coaching Alliance (now with more than 200 members). He’s also the author of the Bay Area Reporter.‘s “Jock Talk” sports column.
Gene Dermody, who is a rare veteran of every one of the Gay Games. He is the pioneer of LGBT wrestling and has served the FGG in many capacities, including President and Technology Officer. He is an FGG Honorary Life Member and in 2014 received the FGG’s highest honor: the Tom Waddell Award.
Robbie Rogers who is a professional soccer/football player who is one of the only male professional athletes active on a team sport while being openly gay. He famously appeared in a video with NBA star Jason Collins shown at the Opening Ceremony of 2014’s Gay Games 9 in Cleveland.”
The next Gay Games are scheduled to take place in Paris in 2018.
For more information about the Paris Games, click here:
For more information about the Gay Games, click here:
The popular Pride Dog Show due to take place this afternoon, Sunday, July 26 at Hove Rugby Club, has been cancelled.
Pride Dog Show 2014
Following an improvement in the weather yesterday organisers had hoped it might be possible for the event to proceed, but with the deterioration of weather conditions overnight a decision was made this morning to cancel the event on safety grounds.
A spokesperson for Pride said:“Regretfully due to todays weather conditions and the expected long periods of rain and wind all day, the Dog Show has been cancelled this year. Our partners Coastway Vets had concerns over safety and have been given no other choice but to pull the event.
If it is not possible to reschedule the event for later in the summer, stall holders will be either refunded or offered the opportunity to donate their entry fee to the Rainbow Fund. Entries will be refunded after the Pride festival and will take of couple of weeks to administrate, so please be patient. Our apologies for any disappointment, but this was out of our control due to the extreme weather conditions. Watch this space for rescheduled date!”
The Rainbow Fund make grants to LGBT/HIV organisations in Brighton and Hove providing effective front line services to the LGBT communities in the city.
Danny Eade is the final Pride Ambassador for 2015 and will join David Raven, Alice Denny and Aneesa Chaudhry representing their respective communities at the front of the Pride Parade on August 1.
Danny also known as Danny Gogo became a YouTube sensation after appearing in the sixth series of BBC3’s ‘Snog Marry Avoid’.
Danny has more than 70,000 twitter followers, but despite his pink hair and various outrageous personas has a very serious side to his character.
Having been bullied himself at school he has not been afraid to speak out against bullies not only in the straight community but also within the various gay communities who are too often very quick to attack other gay people who look and behave different to themselves
Danny said:“What an honour to be chosen as a Pride Ambassador I will work very hard and take every opportunity to highlight the issues surrounding the bullying of young people in school and on the scene.”
Danny received the most nominations in the July voting round.
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