This intimate graphic novel with its warmly illustrated and humorous drawings follows Lily, as she transitions to her true self. It’s an honest story of the day to day experiences of transition, from the extraordinary to the mundane, depicted with humour, fortitude and intuition. Depicting her experiences from coming out right through to gender reassignment surgery, Lily’s story provides vital candid advice on the social, emotional and medical aspects of transitioning and will empower anyone questioning their gender.
The illustrations and pastel colour scheme works well to promote a feeling of presence and believably in the characters. There was a few times when I thought the explanations and set up’s for Lily to question and educate curious (or hostile) characters could have been more deftly and naturally handled but overall the narrative works well enough. Dodging nothing and allowing us real understanding of the changes and adjustments needed on a regular basis this books is an utterly charming journey into a new life which allowed the reader –tans or cis ally- to gain understanding whilst connecting with a protagonist who is likable, everyday but utterly themselves at every step of the way.
Based on the author’s experiences, from laser hair removal and coming out to her parents, through to dating, voice training and gender reassignment surgery, this intimate and witty book is a testament to being who you are and a celebration of gender diversity.
Author Symington is an illustrator, graphic novelist and blogger from Vancouver who publishes a cool web comic Life of Bria.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers continue to produce a seriously interesting and engaging range of books that make a difference and it’s well worth a peruse of their books lists if you’re not already familiar with this excellent British publishing house.
Multi Grammy award-winning superstar Nile Rodgers & CHIC to headline Brighton Pride LoveBn1Fest On Sunday August 5, 2018.
Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger, guitarist Nile Rodgers and his multi-platinum selling band CHIC are confirmed to headline Brighton Pride’s LoveBN1Fest on Sunday, August 5 in Preston Park.
LoveBN1Fest is the brand new Pride Sunday Festival on Preston Park celebrating everything Brighton & Hove and helping raise extra funds for the Pride Social Impact Fund while bringing all our communities together.
Famed for tracks such as Le Freak, I Want Your Love and Good Times, Nile Rodgers has written and produced for some of the most illustrious artists in the world including Madonna, Diana Ross, David Bowie and Eric Clapton.
They will perform a unique set featuring some of the greatest collaborations of Nile’s four-decade career including David Bowie, Madonna and Diana Ross, whose collaborations with Nile have sold over 300 million albums and 50 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Sigala, Disclosure and Sam Smith reflect the vanguard of contemporary music.
Their set, one of the highlights of Glastonbury Festival 2017, will reverberate at the LoveBN1Fest to hit records produced by Nile Rodgers such as Pharrell Williams’Get Lucky, Diana Ross’sI’m Coming Out, David Bowie’sLet’s dance and a raft of CHIC hits including Good Times and Le Freak.
With more artists to be announced… LoveBN1Fest will feature performance and dance tents, family tent, circus skills, cabaret and theatre, spoken word, community stalls and food village, accessibility tent and WellBeing area. LoveBN1Fest has something for everyone and, with children under 11 going free, it’s the perfect Sunday In The Park for Pride.
Pride organisers urge local people to get their tickets early this year as sales expectations are very high.
To book tickets for LoveBN1Fest, £27.50 & £37.50, click here:
To book joint tickets with Pride Saturday, click here:
Children under 11 are free (but still require a ticket)
Click for highlights of Chic’s set at Glastonbury 2017
Celebrities share images of family and friends to support Barnardo’s urgent carer appeal.
Celebrities are backing a Barnardo’s campaign highlighting the importance of having someone to support you in aid of the charity’s urgent campaign to find thousands of foster carers to look after the UK’s most vulnerable children.
Singer Paloma Faith, former TOWIE TV stars Lydia Bright and Debbie Douglas, Cold Feet actress Fay Ripley, Love Island’s Marcel Somerville, Gogglebox vicar Kate Bottley and gold medallist sprinter Jamie Baulch are using #wesupportfostering to share personal images of their families and the people who have supported them through thick and thin for Barnardo’s Fostering week launched today (Monday, January 22).
Dr Thomas Barnardo started fostering children more than 130 years ago and since then the charity has helped hundreds of thousands of the UK’s most vulnerable children to grow up happy and healthy.
Now, the UK’s leading children’s charity is calling for more people to consider providing caring, stable home environments to help transform young lives as there’s a pressing need to find more than 7,000 foster carers in the next 12 months to support children desperately in need of loving families.
The foster carer drive comes as new YouGov research for the charity reveals nearly half (46%) of people think a lack of support from fostering agencies is likely to put people off fostering. While 62% say they think people may not be confident they can look after a foster child, and 45% believe not having any training on how to be a foster carer could be an issue.
In stark contrast, a poll by Barnardo’s of their own foster carers reveals that more than 8 in 10 carers (82%) are happy with the level of support and advice they receive from their Barnardo’s fostering service and believed it was excellent or good, while three quarters (75%) said they would recommend their Barnardo’s fostering service to others.
Barnardo’s foster carers rate the support and training they receive highly, with almost 80 per cent telling us that our out of hours support was either good or very good. Almost 90 per cent of them also rated Barnardo’s supervising social workers as good or very good.
The State of the Nation’s Foster Care survey is a UK benchmarking survey of foster carers conducted by the Fostering Network, which works with fostering services and the wider sector to develop and share best practices.
In comparison to the Barnardo’s survey, just 44 per cent of the survey’s respondents rated the out of hours support provided by their agency, as good or very good. Nearly three quarters (73%) rated their supervising social workers as good or very good.
Barnardo’s support includes a dedicated 24-hour access to a qualified social worker, training, access to foster carer support groups, short breaks and a generous financial fee.
Paloma and her mother
Mum-of-one Paloma Faith, who shares the above archive image of her and her mum as a toddler, is keen to emphasise the importance of having support while bringing up a child.
Paloma said:“Raising a child is so rewarding but it can also be a challenge, so knowing you have someone to help you when you need it makes such a difference. Barnardo’s is special because they provide their foster carers with continual support and advice, no matter how big or small the problem.”
Debbie Douglas
Barnardo’s ambassador Debbie Douglas, who has fostered more than 200 children over the 25 years, added:“I would urge people to consider fostering as opening your heart and home to a vulnerable child is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
“It can be challenging but the satisfaction of knowing you have helped transform a child’s life for the better is wonderful.”
Debbie’s foster daughter Ellie highlights how important it is for a foster child to feel supported by their foster carer.
She said:“Being in care can be hard but having a loving and supportive foster family makes a huge difference. Life is so much better knowing that you have their support when you need it; someone to care for you, to love you, to help you solve problems and to help you grow up.”
Fay Ripley
Actress Fay Ripley believes it is important for parents and carers to know they are not alone.
She said: “Caring for a child is wonderful yet all parents know it can also be challenging at times. No matter if you’re a parent or a carer, everyone needs someone to turn to when things get tough. That’s why the continuous support Barnardo’s provide to carers is essential during a foster carers journey – it gives them the tools to help children achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Javed Khan
Barnardo’s Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said: “Children who have been taken into care have sometimes experienced trauma or difficult circumstances making everyday challenges more difficult to overcome.
“Having a foster carer to support them through the difficult times can help enormously but our carers can only do this if they’re properly supported too. That’s why we ensure they have everything they need whether that’s advice, training or peer support, to feel confident they can help transform a young life.”
To find out more about becoming a foster carer, or the support Barnardo’s can offer, click here:
First Year Out
The illustrations and pastel colour scheme works well to promote a feeling of presence and believably in the characters. There was a few times when I thought the explanations and set up’s for Lily to question and educate curious (or hostile) characters could have been more deftly and naturally handled but overall the narrative works well enough. Dodging nothing and allowing us real understanding of the changes and adjustments needed on a regular basis this books is an utterly charming journey into a new life which allowed the reader –tans or cis ally- to gain understanding whilst connecting with a protagonist who is likable, everyday but utterly themselves at every step of the way.
Celebrities are backing a Barnardo’s campaign highlighting the importance of having someone to support you in aid of the charity’s urgent campaign to find thousands of foster carers to look after the UK’s most vulnerable children.
You must be logged in to post a comment.