Lunch Positive, the weekly HIV lunch club is open throughout December with some very special events planned.
♦ Friday, December 1 – A members special World AIDS Day lunch attended by the Mayor of Brighton & Hove Cllr. Mo Marsh. ♦ Friday, December 15 – Lunch Club Christmas lunch and raffle ♦ Friday, December 22 – Christmas buffet, with food parcels available for people to help them over the Christmas and New Year period ♦ Friday, December 29 – Early New Year’s celebration lunch ♦ Friday, January 5 – New Year’s roast lunch
Gary Pargeter
Gary Pargeter, Lunch Positive service manager, said: “We have a busy December planned, and are overwhelmed by the generosity of our volunteers and helping members to ensure the service continues to be provided consistently throughout the winter holidays.
“This month helping members, volunteers and trustees will work together and give over 400 hours of their time to deliver the lunch club.
“At a time of year when social isolation, loneliness, essential spending and financial pressures can be especially challenging we are determined to do everything we can to support our community. We’re always ready to meet new people with HIV that would like to join the lunch club. So if you or anyone you know is interested then please get in touch and spread the word.
“We are a service for people for HIV, provided by people with lived experience of HIV. We have a very friendly group of volunteers who are always available at lunches to help new members settle in.
“We’ve seen a large number of new people join us this year and it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know each other. There is always room for more!”
For more information about Lunch Positive, click here:
Borders are closing and migrants are being vilified across the UK, both systemically and on the streets.
Traumfrau think it’s time to rebalance the power and give migrant friends a platform by throwing a party and celebrating everything migrants bring to the UK!
Join them at the Marlborough Theatre for a free party, a night of DJ sets, shows, and installations, by local migrant artists, as a celebration of multi-culturalism, national identity and above all, our migrant communities.
Behind the decks you will find:
♦ Mima Chovancova – Slovak 80s synth music!
♦ Pushy C – Dropping the best of Old Skool RnB, Garage with a twist of Bhangra, Bollywood, Reggaeton & Latino beats.
♦ DJ Queen Deena – Iranian prince brings you a wild set from the middle east.
Appearing on stage ♦ Filip Canha – migrant artist living in Brighton, Filip presents a durational piece “BEAT”
♦ Subira Wahogo – African, Jew(ish), queer non-binary spoken word poet and activist, mostly writing about things that make them angry.
♦ Miss Liliane – a drag queen channeling the spirit of Europa Martyred!
Art and Instllation by: ♦ Violetta Marchenkova – from the Jewish Russian diaspora in Latvia, Violetta relocated to the UK in 2013. SPYING (2017), is an experimental documentary film in the tradition of travel essays. It offers a personal view of New York through the eyes and the camera of a Russian spy who struggles to speak in her native language.
♦ Mima Chovancova – Postcards from Betweenity- is a series of very honest visual diary entries and coloured confessions of the anxieties, fears, and strong feelings of otherness and exploration of authenticity of a young Slovak artist living and practising in England
If you’re a migrant, go along and enjoy the marvels of dancing to songs you understand the lyrics to, share your experiences of micro aggression, and rant about the impossible bureaucracy of moving. If you are a Brit, go along and support your queer migrant friends.
This year’s annual Brighton Bear Halloween party raised a record breaking £533 for the Rainbow Fund.
The Night of The Living Zomibears held at Subline on October 27 was a huge success with many turning out in costume to enjoy the raucous party atmosphere.
Top prizes donated by Brighton Gin, Clone Zone and The Camelford Arms were given to those in the best outfits.
Graham Munday
Graham Munday, Chair of Brighton Bear Weekend, said: “The party went really well especially as we had so much competition was on that night. Peopled turned up early and stayed late. I must say thank you to Subline staff Steven Lee, Polly, DJ Screwpuious and the bar staff Craig Warren and John Tovey. On the door, Sharon bravely kept all the beautiful freaks in the club. Thank you to the companies that donated prizes.”
BBW are now getting ready for their Very Beary Christmas Weekend starting on Saturday, December 9 with Bear-a-oke at Bar Broadway from 7.00 pm to 9.30pm.
Rainbow Fund award grants through an annual independent grants programme to local LGBT+organisations who deliver effective front line services to LGBT+people in Brighton & Hove.
Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents Rugby Football Club play Crawley III on Saturday.
Following their wonderful win against the Kings Cross Steelers in their 2nd Birthday match, the Sea Serpents return to League action against Crawley this Saturday, November 25.
Go along and support them as they aim to win their first match in the Sussex League.
Hove Rugby Club (Hove Recreation Ground, Shirley Drive, Hove BN3 6NQ) is open to all and has a fully licensed bar and a cafe serving lots of delicious grub.
The match kicks off at 2.30pm.
The Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents are Sussex’s first Gay & Inclusive rugby club. They’re members of International Gay Rugby (IGR), the Sussex RFU and the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Their kit is sponsored by The Camelford Arms.
Cinecity, the Brighton film festival, is showing a number of LGBT-themed films tonight and over the weekend.
The Misandrists (pictured) is the latest provocation from underground queer film legend Bruce LaBruce (The Raspberry Reich, Hustler White, Gerontophilia). It’s the story of a dissident lesbian feminist cult hiding out in the heart of “Germwomany”. The group, which calls itself the Female Liberation Army, is led by Big Mother, an influential leader who publicly pretends to be the headmistress of a convent school for abused and delinquent girls. The FLA indoctrinates its young recruits to take up the struggle of freeing all female people through a mix of revolutionary porn-making, songs about taking down the patriarchy, and even a sneaky dancing nun. But does the FLA’s brand of radical feminism hide some darker and more exclusionary beliefs? Thursday 23 at Duke’s at the Komedia.
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin. A fond portrait of Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin, sure to delight diehard fans and newcomers alike. Jennifer M. Kroot’s affectionate tribute traces Maupin’s life from his conservative boyhood and youthful flirtation with Republican politics to his current status as beloved gay icon, raconteur, and advocate of sexual liberation. Tales of the City chronicled the daily adventures, love affairs and lives of a group of fictional friends living in San Francisco. It began life as a newspaper serial, with regular installments appearing in the San Francisco Chronicle. Kroot takes this as inspiration, structuring her film as a series of themed vignettes, incorporating talking heads, archive footage, and clips from TV and film. This film, winner of the Documentary Spotlight prize in this year’s SXSW Audience Awards, is sure to have audiences rushing back to the shelves to pick up his books. Friday 24th at Duke’s at the Komedia.
Love, Cecil is a warm but unsentimental portrait of Cecil Beaton and his work, offering the viewer an honest account of a larger-than-life and occasionally controversial character. A photographer for the Royal Family and three-time Academy Award winner – for costume design and art direction – Beaton’s publicly celebrated works are placed in intriguing context by his private frustrations and lifelong search for personal happiness. Having brought the biographical documentary Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015) to the big screen, Lisa Immordino Vreeland turns her inquisitive attentions to the life and work of Beaton. Restless and multi-talented, he was a highly-regarded figure in the art world in a career spanning almost sixty years that encompassed photography, writing and theatre, film and costume design. Saturday 25 at Duke of York’s Picturehouse.
Entire Scottish Premier Football League (SPFL) signs up to the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter.
More clubs in Scotland have pledged to make the game more inclusive for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) fans.
For the first time two-thirds of SPFL and all teams in the Scottish Premier League have taken a stand by signing up to the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter.
The move is coordinated by Scottish LGBTI charity the Equality Network, who developed and launched the charter, and the Stonewall Rainbow Laces campaign.
Sixteen clubs from across Scotland join the thirteen clubs already signed up, making up two-thirds of the teams in the SPFL. All twelve clubs in the SPFL premiership have now signed up, and the first club from the West of Scotland Super League, Clydebank FC, has also signed up.
It’s the first time in Scotland that so many clubs have made a commitment to better include LGBT+ people in the beautiful game and it includes the biggest clubs in Scottish Football.
The Charter includes a set of five principles which aim to remove the barriers to sport for LGBT+ people. Over thirty governing bodies of sport have also signed up, including the Scottish Football Association, Scottish Rugby and Scottish Athletics. Last week the SPFL became one of the latest signatories.
Signing up to the charter today are: Dundee, Hamilton Accies, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Ross County, Dundee United, Dunfermline, Falkirk, St Mirren, Annan Athletic, Berwick Rangers, Clyde, Edinburgh City, Stenhousemuir, Stirling Albion & Clydebank.
They join Aberdeen, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs, Partick Thistle, Rangers, St Johnstone, Dumbarton, Airdrie, Albion Rovers, Forfar, Elgin City and Peterhead.
Scott Cuthbertson
Scott Cuthbertson, Development Manager of the Equality Network, said:“With two thirds of SPFL clubs signed up to the LGBT Charter we’ve reached a milestone, but we’ve still a long way to go before we eliminate homophobia from the terraces.
“We’re looking forward to working with these clubs who today have made a commitment to LGBT supporters, officials and the next generation of LGBT+ players. Our door is always open to clubs who haven’t yet signed up and who want to make their club more inclusive.”
The charter states as its aim that “Scotland will be a country where everyone can take part, enjoy, and succeed in sport at all levels whatever their sexual orientation and gender identity”, it was developed in consultation with sports governing bodies (SGBs), other sports stakeholders and LGBT+ people.
SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster, said:“We are pleased to offer our support to the Equality Network’s Scottish LGBT Sports Charter by becoming a signatory, and are glad to see that 28 of our member clubs have already also signed up or are in the process of doing so.
“We have previously demonstrated our commitment to inclusivity and diversity in sport by backing Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign and now look forward to also working with the Equality Network on these matters. We would also encourage all of our member clubs who wish to sign up to take that opportunity.”
John Nelms, Managing Director of Dundee FC, said:“Dundee FC pride ourselves on equality and inclusion for all and we are delighted to sign up to the Scottish LGBT Sports Charter. It’s heartening to see so many clubs throughout the leagues showing their support for the charter.”
Kilmarnock FC chief executive Kirsten Callaghan, added:“Kilmarnock Football Club is proud to sign up to the Equality Network’s Scottish LGBT Sports Charter. Everyone is welcome to attend our matches in line with our club’s strong belief in equality and inclusion.
“Abuse and intolerance of any person based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is simply unacceptable and must be confronted wherever it is found. Next week we will stand proudly with our opponents St Johnstone in showing our support for Stonewall Scotland’s Rainbow Laces campaign.
“Sport can be a huge force for good in teaching unity and tolerance and we look forward to helping support the LGBT community through this programme.”
The Equality Network’s Scottish LGBTI Hate Crime Report published this year reported that 15% of LGBTI people had experienced hate targeted at them while watching football and 51% said they had witnessed it.
A 2012 study by the Equality Network showed that 57% of LGBT+ people would be more likely to participate in sport if it was more LGBT+ friendly, and that football was the sport identified as having the biggest challenges to overcome, by some margin, in relation to LGBT+ inclusivity.
Think you know your wines? Go to a wine bluff and benefit the work of the Martin Fisher Foundation.
Martin Fisher Foundation are holding a fun evening of tasting and guessing “Which wine?”.
Nibbles will be provided – there will be a raffle with some fabulous prizes and tickets are just £20 each.
The Bluff be held at the Hanover Community Centre, 33 Southover St, Brighton BN2 9UD on Friday, November 24, from 7.45pm until 10.30pm.
Following the death of Prof Martin Fisher in April 2015, his partner, Adrian Brown and Martin’s family set up the Martin Fisher Foundation with the aim of celebrating and continuing the legacy of Martins work in HIV research. … Throughout his internationally recognised career, Martin played an important role in the development and implementation of HIV research.
Event: Martin Fisher Foundation Wine Bluff
Where:Hanover Community Centre, 33 Southover St, Brighton BN2 9UD
Unusual Risks, the medical financial advisers publish results of their latest HIV Insurance Survey.
Chris Morgan – Unusual Risks
After contacting all of the major Life Assurance providers in the UK, they found that 75% of insurers are now offering some form of HIV Life Assurance.
This is the seventh year that Unusual Risks have surveyed the availability of HIV Life Assurance in the UK, with the earliest survey result in 2011 indicating only 50% of insurance providers were offering any form of HIV Life Assurance.
This year, Unusual Risks found steadily increasing numbers of Life Assurance Companies offering Life Insurance for HIV Positive people. Gradually over the last seven years more insurers have elected to offer HIV Life Assurance, meaning more choice for HIV Positive consumers.
Chris Morgan, Lead Financial Adviser of Unusual Risks, said: ‘‘We recently surveyed the top twelve life assurance groups, who were service brokers and were delighted to see that 75% of companies are now offering some form of Life Assurance to HIV Positive people. We are greatly encouraged that this figure continues to improve each year.
“Having more Life Insurance products available to HIV Positive people is obviously a good thing, because this is now leading to improved terms for consumers. Unusual Risks are constantly liaising with product providers to improve the availability and standards of HIV Life Insurance.
“We have recently been obtaining improved terms for policyholders who initially took polices between 2009 and 2013. Most of these policies were only for short 5 and 10 year terms, which can now be replaced with longer policies for up to 25 years”.
Unusual Risks have been touring the country during 2017, with their HIV & Finance Tour, raising awareness of financial issues for people living with HIV. Their programme of free educational workshops are open to HIV professionals and Peer Support Mentors.
Their next regional dates are scheduled for East Midlands on January 11 and Yorkshire on the January 12. Further events will follow in the North West and Scotland in the spring.
‘Truth Project’ inquiry comes to Brighton in January.
The Truth Project, part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining the extent to which institutions and organisations failed to protect children in England and Wales from sexual abuse, will be hearing from victims and survivors in Brighton in January 2018.
The project, which launches across England and Wales next year, was set up to give victims and survivors of child sexual abuse the opportunity to share their experiences in a supportive and confidential setting. Information gathered in Truth Project sessions will mean the Inquiry can get a better picture of the past to help create a safer place for children in the future.
Peter Saunders, Victims and Survivors Consultative Panel member, said:“Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse often tell me they’ve been silenced, ignored and failed by organisations they trusted. That was my experience too.
“We cannot change what went wrong in the past but by talking to the Truth Project, together, we can help to protect the next generation.”
Drusilla Sharpling, Inquiry Panel member and head of the Truth Project, added: “People from all walks of life experience child sexual abuse. Whoever you are, and whatever your background, the Truth Project is here to listen to you.
“The experiences victims and survivors share with the Inquiry will help us make recommendations to keep children safe in future, so that institutions and individuals can never again say, ‘We did not know’.”
The Truth Project aims to put victims and survivors’ needs first. Victims and survivors can share as much or as little information as they feel comfortable with and suggest measures that might protect children from sexual abuse in the future.
Sessions will be with a trained facilitator in a confidential setting, the Inquiry can cover travel expenses, and victims and survivors can bring a companion with them.
For more information, view: www.truthproject.org.uk or phone 0800 917 1000 (weekdays from 8am–8pm).
Community groups and good causes across Brighton and Hove have less than two weeks to go to bid for grants to put Pride in our city.
For one weekend every year, hundreds of thousands of people flock to Brighton and Hove to mark the LGBT+ celebration, which is one of the biggest in the UK.
Community groups are invited to bid for money raised from the event to ensure that the positive message of Pride has an impact on areas of the city all year round.
Now in its third year, the Pride Social Impact Fund is accepting applications from groups or organisations which need a little helping hand in making a difference in their community.
All applications must be submitted by midday on November 30.
Tim Ridgway
Tim Ridgway, chairman of the Pride Social Impact Fund, said:“In just a few years, the Social Impact Fund has made a massive impact to the lives of thousands of people across the city, proving that the Pride celebrations can have an impact on the community beyond just one weekend a year.
“I’m delighted to say that this year we have a record amount of money to distribute. I urge groups across the city to submit their bids as soon as they can and look forward to being able to help some amazing grassroots groups put a little bit of Pride back into our city.”
Launched in 2016, the Pride Social Impact Fund has so far distributed about £15,000 to groups across the city.
Projects put forward do not have to be LGBT+ related; they don’t even have to directly-linked to Pride (although applicants directly impacted will be favoured).
However big or small, the only criteria is that it will brighten up people’s lives by the time Pride comes round again next year.
This year, up to £19,755 is available for groups to bid for.
Funding comes from contributions made by businesses within the Pride Village Party in the St James’s Street area as well as extra funding from Pride ticket sales.
The application process for this year’s fund is open now and bids will be considered by a panel made up of representatives from The Argus, BBC Sussex, Juice 107.2, Brighton and Hove Independent, Sussex Life, Gscene, Latest magazine and Latest TV.
Among those groups to benefit in 2016 were the Tarner Community Project, who received £1,000 towards creating drop in sessions for young people not in education, employment or training.
Other grants saw £500 gifted to the Friends of Preston Park towards Easter Egg quiz and hunt; and £300 awarded to Ardingly Court Residents Association for new lawn mower and a garden shredder.
Little Green Pig received grant of £500 in 2016
£500 was also granted to Brighton-based Little Green Pig creative writing charity which helped fund a videographer for This Is My City project.
Emily Hogan, of Little Green Pig, said:“This was a really special project for us. In the end, 120 children from across the city contributed to writing the travel guide and we are all so proud of the result. Thank you to everyone at the Social Impact Fund for their incredible support.”
Paul Kemp
Paul Kemp, director of Brighton and Hove Pride, added:“Pride is only able to deliver this fundraising with the help of local businesses who contribute to the fund but we’d like to encourage more local businesses across the city who benefit from the bumper weekend of business Pride brings into the city, to get involved with our fundraising efforts for all our communities.”
How to apply
The Social Impact Fund has been set up to provide small grants for communal good. Grants are awarded annually to organisations or groups within the city with particular emphasis on areas directly affected or in the footprint of Brighton and Hove Pride.
Submissions should be a maximum of 400 words mapping out how the money will be spent and why the cause is deserving. Please note the maximum award will be £1,000. There is no lower limit.
There is no restriction on numbers of entries by individual groups. However, the emphasis is on supporting community and grassroots groups, rather than individuals.
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