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Day: October 28, 2017

REVIEW: Orpheus Caledonius: BREMF

Posted on by Eric Page

Orpheus Caledonius

Brighton Early Music Festival

St Georges Church

8pm

28th October

L’Avventura London
The Old Blind Dogs
Siobhan Miller singer
Žak Ozmo director

BREMF Community Choir

The 18th-century fascination with Scottish tunes was kindled with the publication of William Thomson’s Orpheus Caledonius (1725). Which was the very first collection of Scottish songs to be printed along with their melodies. Many of the airs to which Robert Burns later set his own words came from Orpheus Caledonius, but despite its importance, this collection has been neglected. The concert this evening gave us a peep into the history of music as it changed from one form to another, layering itself in sophistication and pretension and hiding it’s raw and beautiful thick strong roots.  The music this evenings threw off the accumulated soil and detritus of fashion to take us back to the honest simplicity of this music, hiding in plain sight often in the melodies and themes of classical music and brimming with earthy stories and passions.

We had some jolly songs from the BREMF Community Choir, who were all tarten’ed up and tam’o’shantered and sang in the interval which kept the atmosphere very jolly.

Period instrument ensemble L’Avventura London paired up with Scotland’s roots revival champions, folk band Old Blind Dogs, and special guest singer Siobhan Miller – two-time winner of the ‘Scots Singer of the Year’ award – and filled St Georges with passion and pure delight as they reanimated these hauntingly beautiful melodies and lively, toe-tapping dances. The sounds of eighteenth-century art music and contemporary folk have never been so engagingly brought together. Miller added some sly and funny commentary to the performance, utterly delighted the crowd with her soft delightful voice which melted me in a moment into a die hard fan, and then thrilled everyone by getting up to dance, she wow’d the audience with her charm.  It’s a pity the amplification wasn’t quite as balanced as it could have been, something to pay more attention to in future performances.

This was a beguiling mix of the 18th century blending with contemporary Scottish folk singing and the talents of Miller and Ozmo which together brought us into a state of sublime simplicity, where the music and atmosphere transcended the event and took us to a very special pure space of perfection.

Full details of the event can be seen here

Once again the BREMF challenges and surprises with its in-depth programing and the festival is off to a grand start and gathering speed.

For more info or to buy tickets see the BREMF website here.

 

Brighton & Hove Way….the next steps

Posted on by Besi

In April  2017, over 300 people from across the diverse communities of Brighton & Hove joined the Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Pete West in pioneering a new pathway around the city; The Brighton & Hove Way (B&H Way).

After collecting thousand of pounds for the Mayor’s 27 chosen charities, the walkers and the Mayor decided to campaign to make the 27 Km trail a permanent way marked route.

With the support of council officers Cllr West is aiming to create a B&H Way Association, that will work to establish and care for the route and promotes its use.

The inaugural meeting will be in the Council Chamber at Hove Town Hall on Tuesday, November 21, from 6.30-7.30pm.

The B&H Way follows existing rights of way from Saltdean Oval to Emmaus Portslade, giving walkers the opportunity to discover some of the best of Brighton’s downland, while never being far from the city edge.

Cllr Pete West
Cllr Pete West

Cllr Pete West, said: “Easily accessible by public transport and radial walking routes from the city centre, the B&H Way offers a great opportunity for more people, both residents and visitors, to get out and enjoy the richness of the South Downs National Park which is on our doorstep.”

Lead charity Rise UK are planning another sponsored walk of the B&H Way in Spring, 2018, which organisers hope will become an annual event.

If you want to support getting the B&H Way up and running, recognised and well cared for go along to the inaugural meeting and help found the Association.

If you wish to attend RSVP to: brightonandhoveway@gmail.com

Follow BrightonandHoveWay on Facebook

Martin Fisher Foundation Update

Posted on by Contributor

Since its launch two years ago, the Foundation has been working hard with partners to develop the Towards Zero HIV Strategy for Brighton & Hove and has led, with Brighton & Hove City Council, the successful application for the city to become the first United Nations (UNAIDS) Fast Track City in the UK. This has been on the back of exciting news around the reduction in the number of new cases of HIV and further improvements in the number of people living with HIV who are on effective treatment. In partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council and community stakeholders, the Foundation is now moving to implement the strategy and seeks the support of both individuals and organisations across the city to take this exciting work forward!

The Martin Fisher Foundation has been set up to take forward the important work of Professor Martin Fisher, Consultant in HIV Medicine & Sexual Health in Brighton. The Foundation continues Martin’s ethos of treating people living with HIV with dignity, compassion and respect, and focuses on the development of new initiatives around effective HIV prevention, treatment and care.

Towards Zero HIV Strategy
The Strategy sets out the Foundation and its partners’ vision and aims to accelerate towards zero HIV stigma, zero new HIV infections and zero deaths from HIV in Brighton & Hove by 2025.

It focuses on five key activities, each of which has the following strategic goals:
• Reducing HIV-related stigma;
• Increasing HIV testing;
• Improving access to PrEP;
• Championing research and evaluation;
• Ensuring patient involvement and peer support.
Underpinning the key activity areas is a commitment to support the ongoing delivery of treatment and care services for people living with HIV across the city in order that high quality standards of care can be maintained.

Progress on delivering Towards Zero HIV
First Fast Track City in UK
The Martin Fisher Foundation has led work with Brighton & Hove City Council culminating in the city being the first in the UK to sign up to the Paris Declaration on Fast Track Cities Ending AIDS – signed at a ceremony on August 3, 2017. This initiative aims to hasten the elimination of HIV/AIDS by 2030 in over 65 cities around the world, gives access to additional support from UNAIDS and encourages sharing of expertise between the cities. The interim target for Fast Track cities is to reach the 90-90-90 targets by 2020.

These targets are:
• 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status;
• 90% of people who know their HIV- positive status on treatment;
• 90% of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.

Currently, in Brighton & Hove, the first target is not being achieved as only an estimated 86% are aware of their status. This highlights the importance of initiatives to promote regular testing. The city is already exceeding the second two targets with proportion of people living with HIV who are taking antiretroviral therapy having increased from 87% in 2013 to 97% in 2017, and 96% of these individuals having an undetectable virus in their blood stream.

Combination Prevention
The Foundation has championed a combination approach to prevention, which recognises that different prevention choices will be appropriate for different individuals and that this may vary as people’s circumstances change. This includes using condoms, PrEP, regular testing and making sure those living with HIV have undetectable levels of the virus and are then uninfectious. This approach was launched at the Foundation’s Brighton & Hove Pride events in 2016 and will be the basis of future work and a public campaign – watch this space!

Reduction in Number of New Cases of HIV
The Foundation is very excited to share news from partners at Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust. Recent analysis has shown over the last four years that the Brighton HIV clinic has noted a decrease in new HIV diagnoses. The number of new cases has decreased from an average of six per month in 2013 to three per month in 2017.  The general downturn is thought to have been achieved through combination HIV prevention – increased HIV testing, earlier treatment and possibly use of PrEP (although the impact of PrEP requires further substantive evidence).

Testing Pilot
Following a successful application to the Public Health England Innovation Programme, the Foundation has been running a pilot to provide free HIV self-sampling kits from a vending machine at Brighton Sauna. Since June over 100 tests have been supplied, far exceeding the number carried out by traditional ‘out-reach’ services at the venue.

Dr Gill Dean, HIV and Sexual Health Consultant and Trustee of the Foundation, explains: “The aim is to encourage people who haven’t tested so far to test. If we can get to that 14% of people at risk who haven’t recently tested and, for those who then test positive encourage them to start treatment, then they will essentially become uninfectious and this will further help to reduce new cases of HIV.”

Funding for five more state of the art machines at a range of venues across the city has now been secured. This will help improve access to testing and a broader range of testing services in-line with the Towards Zero Strategy!

Stigma Work
Tackling stigma is crucial if we are to reach Towards Zero and the Foundation is proud to announce a formation of strong implementation and research partnership across city partnership with Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Brighton, Latest TV and Ditch the Label. We will use digital platforms and a range of innovative methods to reach new audiences to provide important messages aimed at helping to reduce HIV stigma and discrimination.

Successful implantation of the Towards Zero Strategy depends on full backing, support and engagement of community organisations in the city as well as individuals getting involved. The Foundation is delighted that over 20 key partners have given their support, and following close joint working with Brighton & Hove City Council, a ‘Towards Zero HIV Taskforce’ has been formed and ‘implementation groups’ are now being put together.
Dr Adrian Brown, Chair of the Foundation, commented, “Working together is key – Brighton & Hove has a strong track record of partnership which Towards Zero is building on. We have now agreed with the city council structures and mechanisms to deliver the strategy. Achieving Towards Zero will only be possible with the support of organisations and people in the community We would love people to share their comments and ideas and for as many people to get involved as possible. Please do get in touch with us!”
info@martinfisherfoundation.org

Research indicates ‘no deal’ Brexit will cost Brighton & Hove dearly

Posted on by Gary Hart

A ‘no deal’ Brexit will cost the Brighton and Hove economy nearly £2 billion over the first 5 years after we leave the EU according to new joint research by the LSE’s Centre for Economic Performance and the Liberal Democrats.

The research data suggests a ‘no deal’ Brexit will mean an economic hit of £1.96 billion over the first five years after we fall out of the EU.

David Davis MP, the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union and other members of the cabinet have recently been talking up a no deal Brexit and this research indicates that the country simply can’t afford it.

If the UK exits the EU in March 2019 without a deal, the research shows Britain’s economic output (gross value added) in the five years after Brexit would be reduced by 5.3%, or £430 billion.

Even if the UK agreed to a Norway style arrangement with full single market access, this would still result in a reduction to five-year economic output of 2.9%, or £235 billion.

Carrie Hynds
Carrie Hynds

Local LibDem Parliamentary Candidate Carrie Hynds, said: “These figures are a real indictment of the government’s strategy. David Davis is still talking up the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, yet these figures suggest that would cost Brighton and Hove a ruinous £1.96 billion over five years. Even a relatively soft Brexit could cost the City over £1 billion in lost economic activity.

“The government must rule out a no-deal to end the uncertainty and confirm its commitment to stay in the single market and customs union.

“Once the negotiations are over the people must be a given a say on whether we accept the deal on offer. The LibDems are the only party that offers the country an ‘Exit From Brexit’.”

The Prime Minister, Theresa May MP, confirmed in Parliament this week, that MPs would have the opportunity to vote on any Brexit deal before we finally leave the EU, despite David Davis MP earlier suggesting that a vote could happen after leaving.

For national figures outlining the cost of no deal to each local authority area and also the cost of a softer Brexit to local economies. Click Here: 

HIV charity offer support to service users struggling with Universal Credit implementation

Posted on by Gary Pargeter

Lunch Positive respond to Universal Credit implementation in Brighton & Hove.

As the implementation of Universal Credit enters its final stages, there are big changes ahead with the longstanding link between disability benefits and higher levels of other benefits decreasing.

New claimants may be worse off and existing claimants who experience a change of circumstances can also possibly lose significant amounts of benefit.

Most claims need to be claimed and managed on-line with little or no telephone or face to face back up except for the most vulnerable claimants.

Lunch Positive is planning its own response to these fundamental changes in the welfare benefits system, aiming to support people with HIV in its own way.

A group of key volunteers will undertake specialist training in understanding this new benefit and will be available at lunch club sessions each Friday at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church to signpost information and specialist services to support people.

The lunch club will introduce additional computers for members use, with 1-1 support from volunteers to help complete on-line claim forms and manage these claims.

A new page will be added to the Lunch Positive website giving information on key welfare benefits, including information and help to access local specialist support services such as money advice workers, crisis support services, and food banks.

Lunch Positive has continued to develop its own emergency food service, taking donated food from local suppliers and making these available on a weekly basis to people at the lunch club who may need them and the charity has extended its network of referrers to support the supply of emergency food to people in need and crisis.

Gary Pargeter
Gary Pargeter

Gary Pargeter, Service Manager at Lunch Positive, said: “Many more people experience economic disadvantage and poverty than is often realised, including significant in-work poverty.

“No one should struggle unnecessarily, and we hope that our service along with other support services will be a port of call for people when they are in need.

“We know that many people sometimes find it difficult to ask for help, to acknowledge that times are very hard, or worse. As the people delivering Lunch Positive, we come from the HIV community, and many of us have experienced or share these challenges. Please, never feel that you cannot ask for support. Empathising and helping wherever needed is what drives us.”

For more information about Lunch Positive, click here

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