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April Ashley to be honoured by University of Liverpool

April Ashley, one of the first people in the world to undergo pioneering gender reassignment surgery, is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool this week.

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Born in Liverpool in 1935, April Ashley MBE is a former Vogue model, actress and restaurateur who became one of the most famous transgender people in the world.

She was instrumental in lobbying the government to pass the Gender Recognition Act in 2004 and in 2012 she was appointed an MBE for services to transgender equality.

An exhibition of her life April Ashley: Portrait of a Lady held at the Museum of Liverpool attracted more than 1.3 million people.

April will receive her honorary degree at a ceremony at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on Wednesday, December 7.

PREVIEW: Murder at Lezzton Abbey

Tickets are now on sale for the new show from the Lezzwood Players; The Lezzwardians – Murder at Lezzton Abbey – a sapphic slapstick sing-along send-up of Upstairs Downton Abbey.

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In the picturesque village of Lezzton-Under-Weald (twinned with Dul-las-Ditchwater), the strict social order of an Edwardian household is upset when a mysterious murder leads to implausible plot-lines and tragic lapses in continuity.

web-300What is Miss Scarlet up to with the rope and the lead piping? Who has been tipping the velvet with Mrs White? Why is Mrs Danvers so weird? And with whispers of insurgent Suffragettes, will the old order survive until tea time?

The Lezzwardians  – Murder at Lezzton Abbey is an original Lezzwood Players show with murder, mischief, mystery and music-hall style songs.

You are welcome to enter the BUTTONHOLE and BAKE-OFF competition: During the interval, they will be awarding prizes for the kinkiest cupcakes and the most decorative floral buttonholes. Don’t forget to bring your entries along!

The Lezzwood Players have been startling audiences in and around Brighton since 2012 with their sensational saucy satires of well-loved theatrical genres.

A quirky bunch of queer women from the Brighton area, on a madcap mission to create unique entertainment for broad-minded audiences in the Brighton area and beyond.

At the core of all their shows is the warped genius that is Catriona Norrish who writes the scripts that are developed on a shoe-string by the rest of the cast.

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Previous productions include:

Lezzington Towers: A riotous, irreverent re-working of everyone’s favourite girls’ boarding school adventure story. [Nov 2013]

‘Mallory Towers meets Carry-on Spanking’ – Forgotten Tomatoes

Murder at the Lezzwood Saloon: A whip-crackaway-ride through the worst cliches of the Wild West musical. After sell-out performances in Brighton, the show was revived for audiences in Eastbourne and somewhere up north. [2014 and 2015]

‘Proof if it were needed that the duelling dildo scene should never have been cut from Annie Get Your Gun’ – Doris Day (Bus Driver, Bexhill)


Event: THE LEZZWARDIANS – MURDER AT LEZZTON ABBEY – The Lezzwood Players

Where: The Barn Theatre, 24 Southwick Street, Southwick, West Sussex, BN42 4TE

When: February 10 & 11

Time: 7.30pm

To book tickets online, click here:

Or telephone: 01273 597 094 (open evenings only and manned by volunteers)

For more information about The Lezzwood Players, click here:

PREVIEW: Fourth meeting of LGBTQ+ History Club

The next LGBTQ History Club meeting will be on Sunday, December 11 at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery.

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Guest speakers this month are John Walker and Alf Le Floric. John will be talking about how the deaf community in Brighton found its place within the wider LGBT community. Expect stories of the late Princess Diana, Punch and Judy club, and flirts in sign language classes.

Queer in Brighton have updated their website with a blog section, and are now looking for contributions!

Get in touch if you have an anecdote, a story, if you were there when it all happened, or have photographs, zines, papers, and other archive material that helps illuminate Brighton’s LGBTQ+ heritage!

Email info@queerinbrighton.co.uk if you would like to submit something or find out more. 
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Event: The Fourth LGBTQ History Club meeting

Where: Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton BN1 1EE

When: Sunday, December 11

Time: 3pm-5pm

Cost: Free but important to follow this link to RSVP – so organisers can cater accordingly

For more information about Queer in Brighton, click here:

PREVIEW: Qukulele Christmas Special

Brighton’s favourite ukulele band rock up at the Latest Musicbar on Sunday, December 18 with a festive feast of mashups and mayhem.

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Banish those winter blues with some Hawaiian hilarity, seasonal silliness, special guests and songs old and new!

The band’s varied repertoire proves that any song can be given the Qukulele treatment. They harmonise, strum and kazoo their way through covers and mashups including Bonnie Tyler, Kylie, and Taylor Swift, along with a sprinkling of seasonal numbers.

Their very special guests this year are rising Brighton comedy star Ali Macfarlan, and The Cheer Up Mollys, with their own brand of folk, Americana and ‘rescued’ pop.

The night will be compered by Ali Hendry-Ballard of all female comedy troupe, Short & Girlie Show. Plus a starring role for The Audience!

Qukulele are a regular sight at community events, benefits and launches around Brighton and Sussex.

Now in their 7th year together, the 9-piece group have had a busy year including performances at Brighton Fringe Festival, Portsmouth Ukulele Festival, Mind Out for the Laughs, Brunswick Festival, Paddle Round the Pier and Stanmer Apple Day.

This year they will once again be joining Brighton’s LGBT choirs for the annual World Aids Day concert at St Mary’s Church on December 1 at St Mary’s Church in St James Street, Kemptown.

For a flavour of the show, check out Qukulele’s Christmas video here:


Event: Qukulele Christmas Special

Where: Latest Musicbar, Manchester Street, Brighton

When: Sunday, December 18,

Time: Doors 7.30pm, show 8pm. Late bar.

Tickets: £7

To book tickets online, click here:

For more information about Qukulele, click here:

 

New housing association seeks Council recognition

ETHRAG is the UK’s first residents association exclusively for those living in emergency and temporary accommodation.

Daniel Harris
Daniel Harris

Emergency and Temporary Housing Residents Action Group (ETHRAG), has begun the process of being formally recognised by Brighton and Hove City Council as a recognised residents association in the city.

ETHRAG which was founded by local housing campaigner Daniel Harris alongside other residents and community champions have received formal confirmation from Brighton and Hove City Council that the City, Neighbourhoods and Communities Group will begin the process of integrating ETHRAG into the current model.

ETHRAG founder Daniel Harris, said: “This is fantastic news and a welcome step forward, having recently lived in Emergency Accommodation I understand the challenges residents face on a daily basis. The hard work from councillors like Clare Moonan and David Gibson have allowed the hidden homeless to once again have a voice.

The city indeed has a housing crisis, we also have a crisis around Emergency and Temporary Accommodation with many private landlords charging £800 for a room, with a sink, microwave and small shower. This is paid from public money and standards have dropped, ETHRAG will help to revolutionise the way we treat the vulnerable and offer a beacon of help for those who live in the dark in the city”

ETHRAG’s aims include: better standards, better treatment from landlords and Council staff, and an end to Revenge Evictions.

The Residents Association’s main objective is to be able to provide a safe space for residents to get involved, to end the isolation people in emergency accommodation suffer and help people fulfil their full potential in life.

ACCOMMODATION: Kemptown flat share available

Want to share a flat with a young woman in a creative career who is great fun?

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The 2 bedroom flat is on the second floor of a beautiful regency building only yards from the sea, in Portland Place, Kemptown.

The room is a good-sized double and the flat has a large lounge, fabulous kitchen and bathroom, all newly fitted.

Rent is £130 weekly plus bills.

For more information, email: trishwilliamsonline@gmail.com

Or telephone: 07792 060225

Unusual 2017 calendar reveals six-month views of Brighton landmarks

Local artist Nick Sayers publishes unusual 2017 wall calendar, featuring super-long-exposure images of iconic Brighton & Hove landmarks.

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He shot these with pinhole cameras, hand-made from beer cans and photographic paper.

Unlike an instantaneous digital photo, these ‘solargraphs’ have continuous exposure times of three to six months. The tracks of the sun can be seen in each image, as it passes across the sky from Brighton in the east to Hove in the west.

Sites include the Bandstand, Palace Pier, Embassy Court, Peace Statue, Marina, Prince Albert pub and the old Brighton Wheel.

Calendar pages feature a map and history of each photo location and are available to buy for £8.50 at Zoingimage photography shop in central Brighton (1 Sydney Street, BN1 4EN) and at City Books in Hove (23 Western Road, BN3 1AF).

To purchase online, click here:

 

Large photographic prints of individual images are also available on request.

Nick Sayers
Nick Sayers

Nick says: “I’ve always been fascinated by the science of the seasons, the winter and summer solstices, tides, eclipses and equinoxes. I start and stop my camera exposures at the solstices because this is when the sun is highest and lowest in the sky. I therefore get a wide, six-month band of sun tracks in my images. Occasional cloud cover gives the lines an intriguingly dashed ‘Morse code’ effect.”

With this strong connection to the seasons of the year, it seemed appropriate to make a calendar of the images. And with the winter solstice, Christmas and New Year coming up, what better time to buy one?”

I will be out around the city from 21 December, installing more cameras – with permission where necessary – to capture a new batch of images. However, these won’t be ready to process until after the summer solstice on 21 June!”

web-300Pinhole cameras made headline news in Brighton in August 2015, when a solargraph camera attached to a seafront road sign was mistaken for a bomb. This delayed the start of the Pride parade, which was re-routed while police inspected the camera and destroyed it.

As well as making this 2017 calendar, Nick runs workshops showing adults and children how to make pinhole cameras for home use, at schools and science events. He also makes other artworks inspired by physics, engineering and maths.

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Special compensation payments for season ticket holders on the Southern network

Season ticket holders on the Southern network will receive special compensation payments the Secretary of State announced last week.

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In a letter to Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown he said that: “while nothing can truly make up for what you and your constituents have had to endure, I hope this goes some way to showing that the government is on their side.”

web-300For example, passengers with a Brighton to London annual season ticket, will get £371 back. Quarterly, regular monthly and weekly ticket holders will also qualify for compensation.

Govia Thameslink Railway will contact passengers setting out what they are owed and how to have it paid directly into their bank accounts.

For those passengers who do not wish to have money paid into their bank accounts evouchers will be available.

Simon Kirby MP
Simon Kirby MP

From December 11, all Southern passengers will be eligible for compensation for any train delayed for 15 minutes or longer, rather than the current 30 minutes.

Mr Kirby said: “I am absolutely on the side of hard-pressed commuters in Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven and continue to urge the Unions and the Company to do all they can to resolve this dispute.”

 

UTUBE REVIEW: CINEBRA – A History of Horror

If you missed Cinebra’s Halloween special at Charles Street or you enjoyed it so much that you want to relive it, then here is your chance!

Filmed live on the night, Cinebra presents History of Horror – The Movie! If you don’t already know, Cinebra is a collaboration between Lydia L’Scabies and Rococo Chanel.

Their two lovable characters, Megan and Sophie are parodies of every teenage girl film geek out there, delivering a hilarious and unique cabaret show. The show features original songs and comedy and also parodies of horror films, you should defiantly check out their Carrie skit, it is funny and intruding.

Megan and Sophie often perform at Revenge where are welcomed on stage with loving arms, they truly capture the crowd and put on a hilarious show.

You can follow them as “Cinebra” on YouTube where they review films in their own unique way.

New PrEP trial will benefit 10,000 people

News that NHS England will fund a PrEP clinical trial for 10,000 people over next 3 years costing £10million receives cautious welcome.

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NHS England are to fund a major extension to the national HIV prevention programme led by Public Health England with the aim of supporting those most at risk and reducing the incidence of HIV infection.

Ten new specialised treatments have also been commissioned as part of the annual prioritisation process for specialised treatments.

The new HIV initiative will be a partnership between NHS England and Public Health England, and follows the recent Court of Appeal ruling that NHS England, alongside local authorities, has the power, although not the obligation, to fund the provision of anti-retroviral drugs for the prevention of HIV, known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

The first phase of implementation will be the launch of a large-scale clinical trial in early financial year 2017/18.

Although the evidence around the clinical effectiveness of PrEP is strong, advice from Public Health England has highlighted outstanding implementation questions that should be answered prior to using PrEP in a sustained way on a substantial scale in England.

These questions will be answered by the clinical trial, paving the way for full rollout.

The US Government approved PrEP in 2012, with Canada, France, South Africa, Kenya and Israel all following. Norway became the first country last month to make PrEP available on their National Health Service.

It is anticipated that the clinical trial phase will include at least 10,000 participants over the next three years. NHS England will fully fund the cost of the clinical trial phase and will work in partnership with local authorities, the Local Government Association and Public Health England to implement the findings as part of a wider national rollout.

Detailed planning will now take place to ensure the launch and the clinical trial phase can begin as swiftly as possible. Up to £10 million will be made available over the next three years to fund all aspects of the trial.

Next steps will include asking both the manufacturer of the branded PrEP drug Truvada, as well as generic manufacturers to make proposals to participate in the trial.

Caroline Lucas MP
Caroline Lucas MP

Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “With thousands of people living in the UK with undiagnosed HIV, and 5000 new cases a year, this news is welcome. For too long now the roll out of PrEP has been delayed and this national programme of treatment will, we hope, benefit the thousands of people who have waited far too long. 

While there are still questions to be answered about how this will work in practice, this is a step forward.

I congratulate the many campaigners who will welcome this small step forward in the roll out of a drug that has the potential to save thousands of lives of those most at risk from HIV.”

Dr Jonathan Fielden
Dr Jonathan Fielden

Dr Jonathan Fielden, Director of Specialised Commissioning and Deputy National Medical Director, NHS England said: “We’re pleased to be able to announce funding not only for ten new specialised treatments but also a new ground breaking national programme for PrEP that will benefit at least 10,000 people.

“This has, in part, been made possible by the willingness of many pharmaceutical and device companies to come forward with lower and more responsible prices. Continuing this constructive joint working will enable us to fund more new drugs and treatments in the future.

“We have however, had to make some tough decisions over what we are not able to fund at this point in time within the resources we have available. We will ensure those treatments have the opportunity to be considered as part of the next annual prioritisation round in spring 2017.”

Prof Kevin Fenton
Prof Kevin Fenton

Professor Kevin Fenton, Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England, added: “Currently 13,500 people are living in the UK with undiagnosed HIV and we are still seeing around 5,000 new infections each year. Given we are in the fourth decade of this epidemic there are too many new infections occurring, and we need to use all tools available to save lives and money. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with NHS England on this major new addition to the national HIV prevention programme. This comes after much planning and preparation to ensure we can successfully coordinate this extremely important and large-scale clinical trial.

“We encourage all those who may be at risk of HIV to ensure they get tested and we are again working with local authorities to fund the HIV home-sampling test kit as well as issuing joint guidance for the first time with NICE, which supports increased uptake of HIV testing.”

Cllr Izzi Seccombe
Cllr Izzi Seccombe

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “We are pleased that NHS England has acted quickly and chosen to fund the commissioning of this trial and rollout of PrEP. We now want to stand united with the NHS to defeat the spread of HIV.

“PrEP is a ground-breaking method of treatment that has the potential to save lives and councils want to work with the NHS to help roll out the trial.

“Local authorities have invested millions in providing sexual health services since taking over responsibility for public health three years ago, and we firmly believe that PrEP could significantly reduce levels of HIV in the community.”

Dr Ian Williams
Dr Ian Williams

Dr Ian Williams, Senior Lecturer and Hon Consultant Physician, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of NHS England’s Clinical Reference group for HIV, said: “This announcement demonstrates NHS England’s commitment to fund PrEP and provides the chance to best prepare England for optimal roll out following this large-scale clinical trial. For now, the trial will provide access to PrEP for thousands of people most at risk of acquiring HIV.

“I’m delighted that the work of many people from the HIV Clinical Reference Group, including clinicians and patient advocates, is providing the foundations for this trial. Now we look ahead to working with partners in PHE, the voluntary sector and local government to get the trial underway across England, helping us to better understand how to integrate PrEP as part of comprehensive HIV prevention service aimed at preventing transmission of HIV and other STIs.”

The Clinical Reference Group met throughout 2015 and were led to understand a decision would be made in June this year whether to make PrEP available on the NHS, following a period of consultation.

Without warning NHS England announced in March 2016 it was not their responsibility to commission HIV prevention services, but they would provide £2m over the next two years to run a number of early implementer test sites for 500 men “most at risk”.

Following the success of a challenge of that decision to the Court of Appeal by National AIDS Trust last month, £10million pounds will now be made available over the next three years to provide PrEP to 10,000 people.

Ian Green
Ian Green

Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “With 17 new HIV diagnoses made every day, we need to be bold and ambitious in our approach to HIV prevention – and this must include access to PrEP for all who need it. 

“For two years we’ve been calling for a long-term, stable home for PrEP within the NHS, so it can be used as a vital tool in our HIV prevention armoury alongside condom use, regular testing and early treatment. 

“We welcome the fact that PrEP will be made available to 10,000 people who are at risk over three years. Preventing the spread of HIV is good news for everyone. Not only will this make a life-changing difference to each of these individuals by protecting them from an incurable and highly stigmatised condition, but for every person who would have become HIV positive without PrEP, the NHS will save £360,000 in lifetime treatment costs.

“However there are many questions that need to be answered about the proposed trial.  We need to know how it will work in practice and understand how those at risk, no matter where they live, will be able to access PrEP.

“This trial alone does not provide the long-term stability that is needed – NHS England must make a commitment now that when the trial ends they will fully fund PrEP for all those who are at risk. Only then can we look forward to a future without HIV transmissions, which would be a stunning achievement in terms of public health.”

 

The decision to also routinely commission ten new specialised treatments is based on advice from NHS England’s clinical priorities advisory group which assessed the relative priority of investing in a new range of specialised treatments and interventions. This took into account revised prices submitted by some manufacturers since provisional investment decision were published in July.

Ivor Caplin
Ivor Caplin

Ivor Caplin, former MP for Hove & Portslade and Minister for Veterans at the Ministry of Defence, added: “At last NHS England is not only listening to the many voices who have said that PrEP works but is finally going to commission the game changing drug. This trial is to be welcomed because it will over this next 3 years give clear answers to I hope all the Public health questions. 

It must be remembered that regular testing is still at the heart of making sure status is known to all and is a key part of the recent Proud study and will need to be part of this major programme. 

Simon Kirby MP
Simon Kirby MP

This is major step forward as the fight to reduce or maybe eradicate new HIV infections across Brighton & Hove goes on.”

Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown MP, concluded: “I welcome the announcement of the large scale clinical trial and especially as I understand they will be asking both the manufacturer of Truvada and generic manufacturers to take part. This is good news for many people in Brighton Kemptown.”


Treatments that will now be routinely commissioned by NHS England:

Pegvisomant for acromegaly as a third-line treatment for adults

Auditory brainstem implants for congenital abnormalities of the auditory nerves or cochleae

Haematopoietic stem cell transplant : Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma /Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinaemia (adults)

Everolimus for subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) associated with tuberous sclerosis complex

Rituximab for immunoglobulin-G4 related disease (IgG4-RD)

Microprocessor controlled prosthetic knees

Tolvaptan for hyponatraemia secondary to the Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone (SIADH) for patients who require cancer chemotherapy

Ivacaftor for children (2-5 years) with cystic fibrosis (named mutations)

Sodium oxybate for symptom control for narcolepsy with cataplexy (children)

Pasireotide for Cushing’s Disease

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