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Why I’m running the Brighton Half-Marathon in support of Terrence Higgins Trust UK

Craig Hanlon-Smith
Craig Hanlon-Smith

Gscene columnist Craig Hanlon-Smith explains why he will be running the Brighton Half-Marathon tomorrow (Sunday, February 26) in support of Terrence Higgins Trust UK.

The day is upon me. The decision some eight weeks ago to run The Brighton Half-Marathon is now an almost immediate reality. The training done, the carbs gorged and all that awaits me now as I thread my Stonewall Rainbow Laces through the eyelets in my training shoes is the 13.1 mile run itself.

The past few months have been unsettling and not on a small-scale. As political establishments and ideals I have for more than twenty years publicly shackled myself to are defeated, it is a challenge not to feel despondent, unnerved, destabilised. But as two friends have both pointed out to me over an anxious beer or five, there are some world events that you cannot take to heart or try to manage alone. And as unpalatable as I may find it, perhaps during those twenty years of my comfort, there were those on the opposite side of the political fence who were experiencing then, the instabilities that I feel now. That doesn’t mean that I suddenly agree with them but I do think I understand how they may have been feeling, and a little more understanding of how it feels to be in somebody else’s shoes can go a long way.

And so with the advice of friends ringing in my ear, earlier this year I looked to what impact or changes I could simply effect and help to make a difference however small. I can run. I can probably get a few people to sponsor me and I can lob a few quid at a charity – it’s not much of a stretch, it’s realistic, achievable, get to it.

What I was not prepared for was the degree of individual and personal support people around me would offer. To be one man, sitting on more than £2000 of sponsorship the evening before the run is yes overwhelming, but also encouraging, life affirming and frankly beyond my wildest imagination when I responded to a tweet from Terrence Higgins Trust in late December 2016.

I remember exactly who was the first person to sponsor me, and I know precisely who has been the most recent. And in between? support that has dropped into my charity giving page from as far afield as San-Francisco and Columbia (ah the positives of social media) to my next-door neighbour. I have sat gob-smacked as I have watched the tank fill up from people I have not seen in over twenty years and from people I have never met, from close friends to the anonymous and £500 in the past four days alone. My faith in humankind is restored and I am truly sorry that I ever let it leave for a bit.

To all those who have shown me the colour of their money, I take it to heart and I think you’re all f***ing brilliant. But as a friend most dear recently pointed out, this is not an entirely unselfish act my charity fundraising run. £2k to reduce the levels of social anxiety currently felt by Craig Hanlon-Smith is not much of a sacrifice for others and I admit, I feel great about my little charitable mountain climb, [Darren] you were right, it is not unselfish at all. But it’s actually much more personal than it first appears. Why HIV/AIDS and why Terrence Higgins Trust?

I am running on Sunday with a number of individuals in mind. I can’t name them all here as I have not sought their permission, nor that of those close to them but they will know who they are. When I make a new friend, I am emotionally committed from the off, there isn’t much of a warm-up period and if this is going to work out as a longer term arrangement I feel and therefore act as though we’re the best of friends immediately and throw myself in with forty-two feet – sometimes that approach has been a disaster, others amazing. This is as true today as it was in the early nineties when this story begins.

My new friend some twenty-five years ago instantly told me of his HIV positive status and of the miserable expectations that may bring. Freddie Mercury had just died and for a young recently out gay man such as myself, the news was devastating – much more so for him.

I watched from the side-lines as he was hospitalised many times, had part of his lungs removed, recovered from and then contracted pneumonia once more. I paced the streets looking for him for weeks not understanding where he had gone, only to run into his newly acquired partner to learn he was sick again and once more in an isolation unit.

I can think of two occasions when I thought he would lose the war. But he didn’t. He came back time and again and just in time for the treatment advances that were made in the mid 1990s that saved thousands of people in the UK alone and thankfully him. Time is a great healer but distance from events can sometimes render us forgetful. All those years ago, no matter how ill he was, I never once heard him complain, or show any signs of self-pity, anger, or tear filled sorrow. And two years ago on his fiftieth birthday he took me to one side and said “me, fifty! Who’d have thought it”. So on Sunday he will be the laces in my shoes and the wind beneath my wings, I owe it to him for being so brave and strong. What is a run along the seafront compared to all of that?

Of course not everyone was that fortunate. I have spoken to many people, much older than myself, who talk of the devastation of the mid-late 1980s and early 1990’s, of attending a different funeral everyday for a month as their circle of loved ones and self-made families disappeared. And when I think of my friends, my husband and however short or long the time that I have known and cared for each of them, the idea of losing them all one after another in quick succession all but breaks me. I cannot imagine nor do I want to, the horror of that and yet that is the experience of so many in our community. And so I also run this for a deep sense of love, respect and gratitude I have for them, each of them, and for everything they give without hesitation to me, but also for my community and what it has survived.

U.S based writer Larry Kramer said: “What are you without your history? You aren’t a people. You are nothing”.

Let us not be maudlin, or fearful. Let us celebrate the generosity and kindness that I, you, we have seen people bring, it is wonderful. But let us not forget. Everything that has gone before is part of who we are today. And whilst I cannot single-handedly reverse Brexit or put Hilary in The White House, I can get up off my DISCO arse and do something.

If you would like to sponsor me, click here:

@craigscontinuum

REVIEW: A Midsummer Night’s Dream@Young Vic

With the whole cast of 14 on stage for the full two hours of this production, and with it taking place on a stage full of mud, you’d be forgiven for thinking this play was set on the last day of Glastonbury.

Director Joe Hill-Gibbins has made a rod for his own back with this claggy backdrop, laid out on a large semi-circular stage which opens to a full circle due to clever use of mirrors. The Dream should be ethereal, full of fairies mucking about with mortals, flitting here and there in the starry summer sky.

But on Johannes Schutz’s set the cast have to physically haul themselves everywhere, dragging their all too corporeal flesh through the mire. It’s murky, it’s confusing, it’s obfuscating.

A fine cast of players (who, by the end of the run, will have calves like knotted sheets) is squandered in an ironically rushed-feeling production, although the time drags interminably while viewing. I took to doodling the figures slapped down in the clayey field, as no character was given sufficient time or breathing space to develop into a rounded person I cared about even a little. The lovers are sketched out minimally: some of the Rude Mechanicals have just a couple of lines.

And is this play funny? Bottom’s line of “I’d rather have a handful of dried peas” got huge guffaws on press night, although I’m pretty sure not many in the audience could have told quite what was so funny about it.

At the end of the two hours, everyone is coated in mud. Leaving the theatre, I had a similar feeling. Nothing was clear, nothing was clean, nothing felt uplifting. And that’s not really how I want a piece to make me feel.

2 stars

Review by Kat Pope

Trump’s attack on trans students has international impact

In the past few days, the world was reminded by three separate incidents that transgender people are subjected to violence and discrimination every day.

Firstly, the Trump Administration revoked the Obama Administration’s guidance policy allowing trans students to use bathrooms congruent with their gender identity

♦ Secondly, a trans woman named Keke Collier was murdered in Chicago

♦ Thirdly, Shameera Krishnan was shot and killed in Malaysia

Persecution and discrimination against transgender communities remains high globally, with few countries having legislative protections for trans citizens.

President Trump’s administration reversed a federal guidance which allowed transgender students in public schools to use bathrooms which correspond to their gender identity. The guidance enacted during the Obama administration required that schools receiving federal funding allow trans students to use facilities that are congruent with their gender identity. President Trump’s reversal now puts this decision at the hands of state legislators. At least seven states are currently considering bills that would restrict transgender people from using bathrooms which match their gender identity, following in the footsteps of North Carolina’s House Bill 2. In March the US Supreme Court will hear the first-ever case regarding this issue, a case brought by 17-year old trans student Gavin Grimm who has been denied from using the boys bathroom in his school.

Jessica Stern
Jessica Stern

Jessica Stern, Executive Director of OutRight Action International, said: “Bathroom access is a basic human right. With this directive, the Trump Administration is encouraging trans students to drop out of school and directing them to unemployment which leads to poor healthcare and homelessness. Unless President Trump intends to revoke citizenship for transgender youth across the country, this amounts to a failure of his alleged campaign promise of ‘America First’. The only policy that will make the US stronger is one that puts human rights first, including for transgender students.“

Also in the US, 24-year-old Keke Collier, also known as Tiara Richmond, was shot in Chicago on Tuesday, making her the fourth known transgender woman to be shot and killed in 2017.

The United States has enacted a federal hate crime law criminalising violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, however violence against the transgender community is prominent. In 2016 at least 21 transgender people were murdered in the United States, most were transgender women of colour.

Shameera Krishnan, aged 27, was attacked, shot, and died in the Jalan Pasar area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday morning. Discrimination and persecution against the transgender community is commonplace in Malaysia, where a religiously conservative society and application of Islamic moral policing infringe on the rights of trans people.

Malaysia criminalises homosexuality and cross-dressing. Last week the Malaysian State Religious Affairs Department released a video suggesting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT+) people can be trained to change their sexual orientation and gender identity to fit with heterosexual and cisgender standards.

Commenting on this week’s events, Jessica Stern, added: “What happens in the United States makes news around the world, and so this decision will have negative impact beyond US borders, fueling hostility and persecution of trans and gender non-conforming people everywhere.”

Every day around the world, LGBT+ people’s human rights and dignity are abused in ways that shock the conscience. The stories of their struggles and their resilience are astounding, yet remain unknown—or willfully ignored—by those with the power to make change.

Adoption and fostering charity celebrates LGBT week with special event Brighton event

PARENTS And Children Together (PACT) marks national LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week with a special event in Brighton for prospective LGBT+adopters.

PACT supports families across the south-east through adoption, award-winning therapeutic support, community projects and actively recruits LGBT+ adopters. 16 per cent of people who adopted with PACT in 2016 were from the LGBT+ community.

PACT’s free event on Saturday, March 11, to mark the national week of awareness-raising which runs from March 6 – 12, will feature a question and answer session with a panel of PACT LGBT+ adopters who have children placed with them from a range of different backgrounds.

There will also be opportunities for people to talk individually with experienced adopters and social workers as well as to meet other prospective adopters over refreshments.

Brian and Andy adopted two brothers, aged four and five, through PACT in 2014.

Brian said: “We haven’t looked back and the boys are the best thing we have ever done. So far we have had no issues as a same-sex couple and the boys are very happy.”

Jan Fishwick
Jan Fishwick

PACT Chief Executive Jan Fishwick, said: “This event offers an ideal opportunity for LGBT+ people who are looking to start or extend a family through adoption to find out what it’s really like from those who have already been through it. We are proud to be supporting national LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week again, and we look forward to working with many more LGBT+adopters this year.”

LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week is organised by New Family Social, a charity that supports LGBT+ adopters and foster carers. PACT adopters are entitled to become New Family Social members for life free of charge.

PACT’s event will be held at the Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton from 2pm until 4.30pm and light refreshments will be served.


Event: LGBT+ Adoption and Fostering Week event for prospective LGBT+ adopters.

Where: Brighthelm Centre, North Road, Brighton

When: Saturday, March 11

Time: 2pm – 4.30pm

Cost: Free entry

For more information, click here:

To book a place call 0300 456 4800 or email: enquiries@pactcharity.org

 

Over 1,500 artists to exhibit at Artists Open Houses Festival 2017

The Artists Open Houses (AOH) festival 2017, the largest event of its kind in the UK, will take place in Brighton, Hove and beyond over four weekends in May, starting Saturday 6th May 6 to May 28.

The largest event of its kind in the UK, around 200 houses and studio spaces across the city open their doors to exhibit the work of over 1,500 artists and makers. Last year over 200,000 people visited the festival.

AOH help artists connect with audiences in self-curated, non-traditional art spaces. This usually means visiting artists’ own homes, offering festival-goers an exclusive snapshot of how creatives live in this vibrant and creative city. From beautiful Regency-style properties to quirky and colourful cottages, many of the houses boast stunning gardens creatively landscaped by their owners.

AOH also offers the chance to buy artworks directly from the artists and makers themselves. There is a hugely diverse selection of artworks on show, from original paintings, prints, graffiti arts, ceramics and textiles to photography, sculpture, crafts, jewellery and many other media.

The houses are grouped into one of 14 trails around different areas of the city and beyond, each with its own unique character and atmosphere – from the fishermen’s houses of Hanover to the urban warehouse spaces of the North Laine and cottages of the South Downs village of Ditchling.

Australian born artist Penelope Kenny is the 2017 Brochure Cover artist, beating more than 180 other artists to the coveted title, Penelope draws inspiration from Darwinism, dioramas, natural history illustration and taxidermy. She will be exhibiting her work at the at the Waterloo Room, TOM, Hove as well as 3 different open houses; The Flamingo House, Peggy Poppleton and Friends and The Stanley Road Store.

Judy Stevens
Judy Stevens

Judy Stevens, Artists Open Houses Festival Director, says: “Brighton and Hove is an incredibly creative city with a wealth of talent. The festival is a fantastic platform for artists and makers and it’s a testament to its success that so many artists of all ages and at all stages of their careers choose to take part.” 

Entry to the Artists Open Houses festival is free to the public.

For full listings, click here:

 

POLITICS: LGBT people and the Council’s budget

Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, Conveyor of the Green group on Brighton & Hove City Council explains why this is not the time to cut the council’s LGBT+ Community Safety post and other cuts affecting the LGBT+ communities in Brighton and Hove.

Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty
Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty

This is a horrendous time for the city council’s funding. Figures from the Local Government Association tell us that almost 80% of councils the length and breadth of the country will struggle to make ends meet.

Conservative government cuts are perpetuating inequality in our communities in Brighton and Hove. LGBT+ people are facing greater inequality too: like other vulnerable groups, services for LGBT+ people around the country have been the first to be cut. As austerity bites and inequality rises under the Conservative government cuts, we cannot give ground to bigotry.

Even if we put the impact of austerity to one side, things are far from perfect:

♦ A report produced by the Health Committee of the London Assembly reports LGBT+ people identified that 40% of LGBT+ people experience a mental health issue, compared to 1 in 4 of the wider population. Some of that is because LGBT+ people are often invisible when it comes to decisions because of poor data and poorer consultation.

♦ One in six lesbian, gay and bi people have experienced a homophobic or biphobic hate crime or incident over the last three years; while 38 per cent of trans people have experienced physical intimidation.

We have to be mindful of how short-sighted cuts could really jeopardise LGBT+ equality. Our analysis of this year’s city council budget meant we were able to identify that Labour’s council budget included cutting the LGBT+ community safety post.

In the aftermath of Brexit we have faced a spike in hate crimes-leaping from 49 to 64 crimes and incidents, including several prominent violent homophobic attacks in the city. The evidence is clear: now is not the time to cut the budget for the LGBT+ community safety post.

Our analysis also showed that because of the massive 80% cuts to the youth service and the £370K cut to the investment programme in the voluntary sector, support for LGBT+ people, including our young people, would be hit disproportionately.

We know that almost half (48%) of trans people under 26 said they had attempted suicide. More than half (55 per cent) of lesbian, gay and bi pupils have experienced direct bullying. So it is clear that the work that Allsorts and community youth groups do with young LGBT+ people in the community is more than a service – it can be a lifeline.

Many other LGBT+ community and voluntary groups rely on the funding that the council injects into the sector and it’s often matched by other bodies such as the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), so that Council money invested here stretches further. Lately the sector has been warned that the CCG will not be providing funding into the future so cuts here will hit twice as hard.

To read the series of proposals which outlined our priorities and principles in the budget, click here: 

Our proposals include measures to reverse the cut to the LGBT+ Community Safety post and reverse cuts to the youth service. Our aim: to make suggestions that turn the focus of the Council towards the real value of the city’s preventative work and towards ‘spend to save’ initiatives that will support the Council – and our residents – in the long-term. This is a different approach to managing budgets but we must push to resist savage cuts in difficult circumstances. We wanted to stick up for our more vulnerable community members and preventing problems for LGBT+ people becoming a crisis further down the line.

All the evidence supports the fact that if you cut services you will inherit problems in the future. This is why we committed to a different approach, putting prevention at the heart of our proposals. We are glad that the amendments that we put forward to budget Council have reversed some of the planned cuts to services that support LGBT+ people. We worked hard to save what we could, but we feel as if there really are no winners in a budget that cuts £20m.

To read Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty blogg, click here:

Annual Brighton Trans and Non-Binary Conference 2017

Brighton University holds its Annual Brighton Trans and Non-Binary Conference on July 20, to take place alongside Brighton Trans Pride.

Conference organisers invite trans and non-binary people; researchers; people from the public, community and voluntary sector, and those who want to know more about trans lives and trans issues to the 2017 conference.

Scheduled to run alongside Brighton Trans Pride (July 21-23 2017), this year’s conference seeks to bring trans and non-binary people, researchers and allies (as well as those who seek to work better with trans and non-binary people) together in order to work towards making a more trans and non-binary inclusive society.

Confirmed keynote speakers include: Jack Monroe, Meg-John Barker, EJ Scott and Juno Roche.

There will be a quiet room available at the conference and support will be provided by volunteers from Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard.

The building is fully accessible and sign translators can be appointed if needed.

To contribute to the conference, you will need to submit an outline of what you would like to do (no more than 250 words, but it can be less than this). This will need to be written and submitted by March 24,2017 to, click here: 


Event: Brighton Trans and Non-Binary Conference

Where: University of Brighton, Grand Parade Building, 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton, BN2 0JY

When: July 20

Time: 9am – 5pm

To book online, click here:

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