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Pride Dog Show returns to Preston Park again this year

The Pride Dog show, one of the most popular community events staged during the annual Brighton Pride celebrations is once again at Preston Park on Sunday, July 29, from noon-5pm.

PAMPER those pooches and paw your way to one of Brighton Pride’s most accessible community events with a day of fun and barking frolics, as dogs and dog lovers come together to shine with Pride and celebrate our four-legged friends.
Part of the Pride Community Day programme of events and in association with Coastway Vets, the Pride Dog show will feature awards in numerous categories including Best Bitch, Dog most like their owner and of course Best in Show!
There will be retail stalls, a glamorous catwalk doggy fashion show, a bar and refreshments for you to spend some pennies also.
Cabaret artist Drag With No Name will judge the Novelty Classes, while industry professionals will oversee all entries and judge each category, ensuring every star pooch gets the recognition their proud paws deserve.
The Pride Dog Show will take place on Sunday,  July 29, 2018  in Preston Park.
To enter your dog or apply for a market stall, view: www.brighton-pride.org/pride-dog-show

Poppers and Viagra together – Why it may be time to think again

Following recent medical reports, urgent research is underway to further explore a potentially dangerous consequence of poppers and Viagra when used together.

INITIAL concerns suggest that in some users, the combination may be fatal.

Poppers and Viagra

The use of Viagra and poppers is not uncommon amongst the gay communities, often along with alcohol and recreational drugs. The most common side effect reported amongst combination users is a strong headache, but often dizziness, sickness, and even a temporary loss of consciousness known as syncope.

However, it is a serious and sudden drop in blood pressure that is causing the most concern as this can prove to be fatal.

Party and Play

The reason people use both of these things together is so they can sustain a sexual encounter for longer while also using the effects of poppers to facilitate this play. While it may be fun there are risks and these risks are certainly something to be aware of and take seriously.

Poppers – Facts

– Poppers are normally sold in small bottles. The volatile liquid inside evaporates to produce a vapour that can be inhaled.

– Poppers can be called a range of things including Amyl Nitrate, Butyl Nitrite, and Liquid Gold. They can be found on sale in a range of shops but normally sex shops and so-called “head shops” often associated with smoking paraphernalia

– Historically poppers were used to treat angina in the mid to late 1800s. They were used as a room odourisor and were never intended to be inhaled directly.

– Inhaling poppers can give a range of effects including a head rush as well as relaxation of both vaginal and anal sphincter muscles

Viagra – Facts

– The active chemical in Viagra is called Sildenafil. Viagra is simply the brand name.

– The original development involved trying to find a treatment for cardiovascular diseases and not erectile dysfunction.

– Viagra has been taken by over 40 million men globally and this number continues to rise!

– Viagra is commonly copied, the market is flooded with fake Viagra many of which either don’t work or can have harmful ingredients

Viagra and Poppers Health Risks

This is the second serious health risk now linked to the use of poppers, following the identification of poppers maculopathy which affects the eyes.

In 2006 one of the key ingredients of poppers, isobutyl nitrite was reclassified as a cancer-causing drug and replaced with isopropyl nitrite. It is this substituted ingredient that is thought to be linked to poppers maculopathy although it is not yet known what is the cause of these newly recorded symptoms.

Poppers use alone reduces blood pressure and increases the heart-rate, and recorded common side effects of Viagra include headaches and blurred or impaired vision. Over 1% of the UK’s population state that they have used poppers in the past twelve months, making it the UK’s fourth most popular recreational drug.

Both Viagra and Poppers can cause blood pressure to drop and it is this combination that can prove fatal.

Poppers and Viagra Important Information

Generally, it is recommended to avoid any recreational drugs.

– It is highly advisable not to take Viagra and Poppers with 24 hours of each other. outside of this window, the risk for a fatal blood pressure drop is greatly reduced.

– Avoid taking both if you have any kind of heart condition. If you do have a heart condition consult a doctor before considering Viagra on its own.

– Poppers just so happen to be very flammable so keep them away from any naked flames.

Research Into Health Effects

As part of their research, Pharmacists, Assured Pharmacy has created a survey (this survey is now complete  – edit April 2021)

Survey results can be seen here

Results from the survey will be used to determine how little is known about the issue and if there is a particular demographic that requires a more urgent focus.

Martlets marathon man runs three marathons in six weeks

University of Sussex staff member sets himself the challenge of completing three marathons in six weeks to raise funds for the Martlets Hospice in Hove.

MARK RAVEN, who is the University’s Head of Research Finance, completed his first marathon in 2011. He has since run several other marathons both in the UK and overseas, including a 30-mile ultramarathon in December 2017.

Mark says: “It’s a real challenge to run a marathon, but that sense of achievement and buzz you get when you finish is just amazing. There’s also something really special about being in a large group of people who are all trying to reach the finish line.”

This year he has set himself the challenge of completing three marathons in just six weeks to mark a particularly important milestone.

He explains: “It has been 10 years since my friend passed away at Martlets hospice. Although it was a really difficult time, the staff were absolutely fantastic. It was then that I decided that I wanted to give something back to a place that had made a real difference.”

Not only has Mark run several marathons to raise money, he has also organised other fundraising activities such as pub quizzes. To date, Mark has raised around £15,000 for the hospice.

Antonia Shepherd
Antonia Shepherd

Antonia Shepherd, Fundraising Manager at the Martlets, said: “Mark is a fantastic fundraiser, but he’s never attempted something as ambitious as three marathons in six weeks.

“We’re immensely proud and grateful to Mark. Money raised by our fundraisers helps us provide life-changing care to people across Brighton & Hove and the surrounding areas.”

Mark is now preparing for his third and final marathon in Edinburgh tomorrow,  Sunday, May 27, having completed the Brighton and London marathons in April.

This is the first time that Mark will attempt the Edinburgh marathon. He is hoping that the downhill course and favourable weather conditions will help him finish the challenge with a good time.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to tackling a new course. I love the city of Edinburgh and I’m hoping to finish my three-marathon challenge in style by achieving a personal best.”

If you wish to contribute to the total Mark raises, click here:

Union Square play host to same sex wedding to celebrate first Grampian Pride

Union Square, Aberdeen’s shopping and leisure destination, today (Saturday, May 26) hosted the first same-sex wedding to take place inside a Scottish shopping centre.

FOLLOWING an announcement last month that the free “Union Altar” pop-up wedding service was available to anyone wishing to get married on the date of the first Grampian Pride, loved up couple Joy McIntosh and Nydine Park took up the centre’s offer.

The colorful ceremony saw the newlyweds tie the knot at the bespoke wedding altar after proudly walking in the march along Union Street. The brides were surrounded by friends and family while a Registrar from Aberdeen Registry Office conducted the ceremony, which saw the happy couple exchange personalised vows, as well as taking part in a romantic hand-fasting ceremony.

A Union Square spokesperson, said: “We are thrilled that Joy and Nydine took this unique opportunity to get married in Union Square in celebration of the first ever Grampian Pride. We want to congratulate the happy couple and wish them a lifetime of love and happiness.”

“This inaugural Grampian Pride is a significant milestone for Aberdeen and the Grampian community. We wanted to show our support for the LGBT+ community and what better way to make this Pride a memorable one – than a declaration of love is love!”

Joy McIntosh, who married her partner of four years, said: “We had been thinking about getting married for a while now. We read about the opportunity at Union Square and the fact it was designed to celebrate Grampian Pride made us take the plunge! The service itself was exactly what we had hoped for and my (now) wife Nydine looked so beautiful as she walked down the aisle!” 

Deejay Bullock, Co-Chair of Grampian Pride, added: “It’s fantastic to have Union Square’s support for our first ever Grampian Pride, and even better to have Joy and Nydine mark the day by celebrating their love in such a unique and special way.”

The newlyweds, along with 20 of their friends and family, enjoyed a complimentary champagne reception in Pizza Express following the service.

Festival REVIEW: The String Quartet’s Guide to Sex and Anxiety @Theatre Royal

The String Quartet’s Guide To Sex And Anxiety

Theater Royal

Brighton Festival

The claustrophobic close and tempestuous relationship between sex, anxiety and music comes to a head in this remarkable highly focused production from one of Europe’s most exciting theatre directors, Calixto Bieito – he grabs music and drama and collides them head on with the award-winning string powerhouse The Heath Quartet performing alongside an equally stunning quartet of actors to deliver an unmissable montage of melody, hopelessness and madness.

Drawing inspiration from the writing of Byung-Chul Han (The Burnout Society) and Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy, this innovative production explores the effects of the 21st Century on our mental well-being, and the way music echos on crumbling sanity and reflects the tensions in our minds as we attempt, sometimes futility to cope, deal and process the endless things that life throws at us.

The set is a huge stack of music stand and chairs, far too many for the eight people on stage, four musicians and four actors, suggests church hall’s and therapy circles, places where we people gather in a circle or let their pain, addiction, trauma or despair out and be heard, and hope that by sharing it, it lessens the pain.

This piece of work is not that kind, nor that deluded and both carefully perfectly balanced music and wretched aching stories of crushing tribulation working against the narrative of time, easing pain and leave us starkly facing the truth, that sometimes there is no resolve to the anguish and only death will provide the silence and stillness of the mind so desperately craved.

The narratives are oddly light, they engage, some of them are very funny, but it’s the laugh of a clown using humour to hide their deep sadness. We meet a women who tells us in lilting gentle prose about the death of a child, each relentless domestic moment of calm taking a step closer to the awful tragedy, an amusing and droll disquieted man who’s tried everything and found nothing works, his listings of treatments, drugs and therapy schools and types is both deliriously humorous and perfectly timed but we feel his unmet needs tangibly.  A women who’s sexual anxiety first we laugh at drives us without warning in to the full horror of violent rape, it’s a shocking moment of rage and shame, and still the music goes on, as does the night.

We see deep into these people’s souls, we look at the abyss and it stares implacably back at us, bearing witness to life and all it’s horrors. With prose and poetry intertwined and readings from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton and some rather subtle use of lighting and soundscape we are softly enveloped by these devastating narratives and left, at the end, in the screaming silence of our own minds.

You can see a full list of the works used here.

The Heath Quartet are masterful, their solid interplay both with each other, the narrative and the actors is a tour de force and they kept the tension up to the very last note.

There was one of those rare moments when the audience is stunned and need to compose themselves enough to be able to applause. It’s a real moment of theatrical magic, we wrenched ourselves back to the rococo comfort of the Theatre Royal and the place erupted with appreciation, applause and perhaps the huge relief that we’d got to the end relativity unscathed.

Music
Beethoven String Quartet No.11, opus 95
Ligeti String Quartet No. 2

For full details of the event, click here:

TONIGHT: An evening with Zak Black

The Rottingdean Club have a real treat lined up for you tonight, Saturday, May 26.

ZAK Black is an international showman who always receives five-star reviews for his productions and performances.

From appearing in the West End, to topping the charts, Zak has nurtured a successful twenty year career on stage and screen while successfully creating the UK’s most revered Variety Show and critically acclaimed one man show.

Zak will serenade you with big band songs, ranging from Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone, to Adele and Freddy Mercury.

Bookings are being taken for dinner at 6pm, 6.30pm and 7pm, before you settle down for a truly one of a kind evening of cabaret with Zak.

To book a table for dinner, or just to see the show telephone: 01273 309 529.

An evening not to be missed.


Event: An evening with Zak Black

Where: The Rottingdean Club, 89 High Street, Rottingdean BN2 7HE

When: Saturday, May 26

Time: 9-11pm

Organisers promise a bigger Trans Pride, 2018

Organisers of Trans Pride 2018 are planning a week long series of exciting events culminating with a march along Brighton and Hove seafront and a park event in Brunswick Square Gardens, Hove on Saturday, July 21.

Trans Pride Committee (from left to right): Ashleigh (Site Manager); Grace (Community Outreach Lead); Dani – (Project Coordinator); Angela (Stage Lead & Trustee); Sarah Savage (Trustee); Natalie (Project Lead & Trustee);  Sukey (Treasurer); Michelle (Volunteer Lead); Kai (Accessibility & Trustee)

THE organising committee for Trans Pride 2018 (pictured above) are planning to increase the number of official events throughout Trans Pride Week, to reflect the diverse and different needs of the city’s varied Trans communities including exhibitions, creative workshops, a vinyl night, gaming night, arts night and live music.

A spokesperson for Trans Pride said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard this year to put together a much more diverse programme to suit all tastes and we feel like the communities should expect something bigger and better this year.” 

On Saturday, July 21, there will be a march starting from central Brighton (location to be confirmed), proceeding along the seafront to Brunswick Square Gardens in Hove for the main party in the park event featuring spoken word, poetry as well as community stalls and live music. The park will have accessible toilets, a hearing loop for the stage, places to get food and drink, but sorry, only assistance dogs are allowed in Brunswick Square Gardens.

The popular and much-loved film night will take place on Friday, July 20 and following the park event in Brunswick Square Gardens on Saturday, July 21, there will be an after party and DIY live music gig. The ever popular picnic will take place (weather permitting) on Sunday, July 22.

If your interested in volunteering, email: volunteer@transpridebrighton.org, otherwise for ALL queries, email: info@transpridebrighton.org

For up to date daily information check out the Facebook group: Trans Pride Park Event 2018

 

Working it out with ME

The Sussex ME Society that works for those affected by ME or Chronic fatigue syndrome across the county welcomes recently published research highlighting the cognitive problems experienced by patients.

Colin Barton
Colin Barton

RESEARCHERS reviewed 52 studies and found high rates of subjective cognitive symptoms, including forgetfulness, distractibility and word finding difficulties along with slow information processing.

The work published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry indicates a similarity to deficits reported in patients with mild traumatic brain injury and whiplash.

The authors of the research hypothesise that pain, fatigue and excessive interoceptive monitoring produce a decrease in externally directed attention. This increases susceptibility to distraction and slows information processing, interfering with cognitive function, in particular multitasking. Routine cognitive processes are experienced as unduly effortful.

Colin Barton of the Sussex ME Society, said: “Many of our members report that the cognitive problems they experience are as disabling as the physical symptoms of the illness.”

Myalgic encephalopathy (ME) or Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) that can sometimes follow a viral infection or trauma is classified as a neurological disorder.  Symptoms include profound physical and mental fatigue, concentration and working memory difficulties along with mild confusion, muscle pain, sleep and mood disturbances, gastric and vision problems.

To read the research, click here:

Peacock Poetry Prize winners announced

The winners of the Peacock Poetry Prize 2018 – an annual creative writing competition produced by Brighton Festival and Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) and supported by Lulu.com – have been announced.

EIGHT finalists were chosen from 100 entries – a record number for the competition – which this year had the theme of ‘hard work’, a subject inspired by Brighton Festival 2018 Guest Director David Shrigley’s book of the same title

Submissions were divided into three age groups – those writers aged between 11-13 years, 14-16 years 13-16 years and 17-19 years.

Working with Words by George Linehan won the 11-13 years category, Alzheimer by Lottie Erratt-Rose won the 14-16 category, and The Farrier by Amelie Maurice-Jones won the 17-19 age category.

The rest of the finalists were as follows: Yasmine Conway, Cole Hodler, Lillia Hudson-Amatt, Sylvie Goodwin and Christopher Clay.

Each finalist received a cup featuring designs by Guest Director David Shrigley.

The Peacock Poetry Prize aims to encourage young writers to explore the written word from a creative point of view. Each year they are encouraged to write on a different theme, with this year being hard work. Whether completing an assignment, building a relationship or breaking a habit, we all work hard on aspects of our daily lives. Each finalist submitted up to three poems with a maximum length of 20 lines per poem.

Pippa Smith, Brighton Festival’s Children and Family Producer, says: “The Peacock Poetry Prize offers a great opportunity for young people to have their writing seriously appraised and appreciated. Our panel of judges reads and discusses every poem and it is always a struggle to decide which of our many talented entrants will be invited to the finalists’ award party. We are thrilled that so many young people in Brighton and Hove are Writing poetry. The standard of entries remains high, once more, showing a real love of language, and composition that is truly astonishing and a maturity even from our youngest entrants”

William Baldwin, Principal of Brighton Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College, added: “BHASVIC is proud to have sponsored the Peacock Poetry Prize. Poetry is imaginations language, helping us understand and appreciate the world around us. A great poem can describe what we ourselves have no words for. As poetry is such a universal vehicle of human expression it is vital that we continue to nurture a love for it in the younger generation.”

Kat Head, Guest Judge of the competition, said: “Discovering what the next generation of poets have to say about ‘Hard Work’ was an experience that ignited me. The emotional maturity of the poems is striking, and shows the scope and individuality of Brighton’s up and coming writers.”

Entries were judged by a panel of experts, led by Kat Head, and prizes were awarded to the winners in each category at the ceremony at Brighton Dome Founders Room on Wednesday, May 23

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