26/09/2016 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus join Alan Cumming on stage

Posted on 26/09/2016 by Graham Robson

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) will join iconic stage actor and performer Alan Cumming on stage for two numbers at the Brighton Dome in October.

On top of his myriad of accomplishments and accolades, Alan Cumming has been hailed by Time Magazine as one of the most fun people in show business!

On Friday, October 7, Brighton audiences will have the opportunity to see the full range of this Renaissance man’s talents when he brings his award-winning show Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs to Brighton Dome Concert Hall.

Inspired by his infamous post-show dressing room parties during his Broadway run in Cabaret, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs premiered at New York’s legendary Café Carlyle and recently sold out Carnegie Hall.

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus is extremely excited to jointly perform two of Alan’s favourite songs rearranged specially for the Chorus.

The Chorus will also return to the Dome Concert Hall for their own Christmas show, Pull A Cracker, on December 10.

For details and booking for both shows, click here:

Seeking Brightonians for new BBC documentary

Posted on 26/09/2016 by Gary Hart

Brighton-based TV company Factory Films are producing a documentary to be shown on BBC South East in 2017 about Brighton’s role in the fight for LGBT+ equality.

Broadcaster, comedian and gay rights activist, Simon Fanshawe, will reveal the extraordinary story of the fight for equality over the last 50 years, through the colourful history of his home town and its community.

The producers are looking for people to help with their research and/or to take part in the programme, especially same-sex couples with children, or couples due to marry in the next couple of years. Although if neither of these applies to you but you have some interesting or evocative stories you’d like to share, or photos, footage, memories, diary entries etc, they would also very much love to hear from you!

Filming takes place mid October so they need to hear from you soon! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please contact Megan on megan@factoryfilms.tv

London Assembly to improve engagement with non-binary, intersex and transgender people.

Posted on 26/09/2016 by Gary Hart

London Assembly Green Member Sian Berry has welcomed a commitment from City Hall to make their public engagement procedures more inclusive for non-binary, intersex and transgender people.

In a response to a question from Sian about why the recent City Hall clean air consultation only included male and female gender options, the Mayor of London committed City Hall to reviewing the wording of the gender question when collecting data from Londoners, and promised that City Hall would change its wording ‘shortly.’

The response also noted that the Office for National Statistics will test new wording on its own gender question next year, ahead of including it on the 2021 Census, but that City Hall would review their wording ahead of this.

Sian said: “It’s great that the Mayor has responded positively to making gender questions more inclusive. This follows his previous commitment to support my proposal to phase in ‘gender-blind’ processes for recruitment across the whole Greater London Authority and to allow the inclusion of gender-neutral titles.”

“People shouldn’t have to choose between male and female when giving their personal details to public bodies. I want everyone in society to be able to engage with City Hall’s work, so this is a positive step.”

Successful Stay Alive app: Saving lives at the click of a button

Posted on 26/09/2016 by Gary Hart

The charity behind the UK’s first suicide prevention app aims to raise £20,000 to further improve support services.

Grassroots Suicide Prevention launched a crowdfunding campaign on World Suicide Prevention Day 2016. The charity plans to use funds raised to enhance and improve their lifesaving app, Stay Alive. Stay Alive is a free, nationwide pocket resource, packed with useful information to help people at risk of suicide and anyone who knows someone at risk of suicide.

A recent survey of Stay Alive revealed that 76 percent of users have used the app to help someone else stay safe from suicide with the ‘safety plan’ function being the most useful feature.

Since its release in 2014, the app has been downloaded over 16,000 times, won multiple awards and has been included as a National Inspiration on the Crisis Concordat website.

Miranda Frost, Grassroots Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our vision is that no one has to contemplate suicide alone. The app is a big part of giving a lifeline to those at risk of suicide. With your help and donations Stay Alive can become more effective and will help even more people at risk. It’s quick and easy to donate essential funds. You’re just a few clicks away from saving a life.”

To find out how to donate, click here:

Clock Tower key returns to city after 129 years

Posted on 26/09/201626/09/2016 by Besi

A key to the clock tower that was presented to the town of Brighton in 1887 has travelled all the way across the world to be returned to the city 129 years later.

Brett Dubois, the great great grandson of Alderman Edward Martin, the Mayor of Brighton in 1887, came over from Australia to present the key back to Brighton & Hove.

James Willing, who gifted the clock tower to the city, gave the key to Alderman Martin and the town of Brighton. It was then passed down from generation to generation of Alderman Martin’s family, finally ending up with Brett.

Brett and his partner, Yan Pothin, stopped by the Mayor’s office where they returned the key to Mayor Pete West and visited the clock tower.

Brett said: “The key should go back to the city of Brighton & Hove so other people can see it and learn about this piece of history.”

This is not the first time that the key has made the journey from Australia to Brighton as Brett brought it in 2013 and his grandparents came with it in 1962. However, this time it will stay with the city.

Mayor Cllr Pete West said: “It was great to meet Yan and Brett; their key unlocks a significant part of the city’s history and we are pleased to be its custodian once more. Former Mayor Cllr Denise Cobb and I were delighted to welcome it home.”

BOOK REVIEW: THE GOOD SON: Paul McVeigh

Posted on 26/09/201626/09/2016 by Eric Page

THE GOOD SON

Paul McVeigh

I do love a good hard Northern Ireland queer read and down here in the soft bubble of the South East we often overlook fiction set in the fourth part of our lovely Untied Magic Kingdom. McVeigh brings us right up to date with this vivid honest portal of growing up in Belfast during the troubles and the protagonist jumps straight out the pages into your face with a verve and jokey energy that is astonishing.

I loved this book. The intricacies of the family life as Mickey Donnelly tries to balance his manically strange family life against his dreams of escaping to America and emerging identity.

Mickey’s voice is wonderful, direct, funny, and ribald, with a grip on dialect and Ulster life which delighted me. He’s a broken boy in a broken family in a violent hard place where love and laughter are stuffed in the cracks between the awful stuff that happens on a daily basis. This book is funny & sad, and it’s a superb read, like real life there are no happy endings in this book, but there is a honest realisation that life is complex, and there are no miracles coming out of the sky.

Profound, funny, gripping and this book touched me moving deftly beyond life in Northern Ireland and getting to grips, with a confident prose with the bigger issues in growing up and out.

Out now, see the publishers website here for more info or to buy the book.

Call us now

Day: September 26, 2016

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus join Alan Cumming on stage

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) will join iconic stage actor and performer Alan Cumming on stage for two numbers at the Brighton Dome in October.

Seeking Brightonians for new BBC documentary

Brighton-based TV company Factory Films are producing a documentary to be shown on BBC South East in 2017 about Brighton’s role in the fight for LGBT+ equality.

London Assembly to improve engagement with non-binary, intersex and transgender people.

London Assembly Green Member Sian Berry has welcomed a commitment from City Hall to make their public engagement procedures more inclusive for non-binary, intersex and transgender people.

Successful Stay Alive app: Saving lives at the click of a button

The charity behind the UK’s first suicide prevention app aims to raise £20,000 to further improve support services.

Clock Tower key returns to city after 129 years

A key to the clock tower that was presented to the town of Brighton in 1887 has travelled all the way across the world to be returned to the city 129 years later.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GOOD SON: Paul McVeigh

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Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) will join iconic stage actor and performer Alan Cumming on stage for two numbers at the Brighton Dome in October.

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Brighton-based TV company Factory Films are producing a documentary to be shown on BBC South East in 2017 about Brighton’s role in the fight for LGBT+ equality.

Share this:

London Assembly Green Member Sian Berry has welcomed a commitment from City Hall to make their public engagement procedures more inclusive for non-binary, intersex and transgender people.

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The charity behind the UK’s first suicide prevention app aims to raise £20,000 to further improve support services.

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A key to the clock tower that was presented to the town of Brighton in 1887 has travelled all the way across the world to be returned to the city 129 years later.

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