Brighton & Hove Council fly trans flag on Town Hall to show unity and support for trans people on Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20).
THE council published a Statement of Unity and Support:
“Brighton & Hove is recognised as a beacon for LGBTQ+ communities and a welcoming city where we are able to be true to ourselves, to live authentically and celebrate the strength that real diversity brings to us as a city.
“We stand firmly alongside our trans friends, family, colleagues, students, customers, to defend their right for full inclusion and trans equality.
“We recognise the challenges and increasing hostility directed at the trans and non-binary community. We are proud to celebrate our city’s diversity and offer support and solidarity.
“Everyone deserves to be valued and treated with respect. That is not open to debate. Trans lives are not a debate.
“In Brighton & Hove we are proud to come out for trans equality.
Santa will make his first trip spreading Christmas magic and good cheer around Brighton & Hove this Thursday evening (November 22) on the Brighton and Hove Bus Company annual Santa Bus.
The Santa Bus on tour – with Santa is Rebecca Kite from the Brighton and Hove Bus company
LAUNCHED by Brighton & Hove Buses, The Argus Appeal and Martlets Hospice, the Santa Bus will visit more than 200 streets across 20 nights, collecting money for the two charities.
The Santa Bus has raised more than £200,000 in the 14 years it’s been going. Last year, it raised £35,000 and this year’s target is £50,000.
Martin Harris
Brighton & Hove Buses’ Managing Director Martin Harris said:“We’re so pleased to once again be lending Santa one of our buses, along with a willing crew of drivers, as he visits local communities. We’ll also be mobilising elves and reindeer from our bus depots for Santa’s first trip on Thursday to give him a hand.
“The Santa Bus is in its 15th momentous year and it has already raised almost a quarter of a million pounds for Marlets Hospice and The Argus Appeal. Every year, I’m blown away by the generosity of the people who live in this city. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we exceeded our target this Christmas and helped out these organisations that do so much for people in Brighton & Hove?”
The bus is covered with 9,600 fairy lights – cabled up and fixed by a team of engineers at the Brighton & Hove Buses’ Conway Street depot – and plays Christmas songs as it goes. Volunteer bucket collectors will knock on doors and collect donations as the bus makes it way through the streets.
Brighton & Hove Buses’ staff will be dressed as elves, reindeer, Christmas trees and snowmen for the first night of the Santa Bus. Other companies also volunteer and collect on other nights, including Legal and General, Lloyds, and Brighton & Hove City Council.
The Santa Bus will visit suburbs including Bevendean, Coldean, Downs Park, Goldstone, Hangleton, Hollingdean, Meadowview, Mile Oak, Mouslecoomb, Patcham, Peacehaven, Southwick, Wish East, Wish West and Whitehawk.
Arron Hendy
Arron Hendy, Editor of The Argus, said:“The Santa Bus is the city’s biggest Christmas project and we are so proud that hundreds of thousands of pounds has been raised in the past 15 years for these two wonderful charities. A big thank you to Brighton and Hove Buses and to all the volunteers whose efforts make this such a success year after year.”
This year, there have been changes to some of Santa’s routes and the days he visits so that he can visit as many children as possible. Father Christmas will not be able to get off the bus and meet everyone for this reason, but rest assured he knows where you live, in time for Christmas Eve.
For a full list of the Santa Bus’ routes, click here:
The Santa Tracker will have live updates of Santa’s location using the interactive map on B&H Buses’ home page.
The Santa Bus makes its first tour on Thursday, November 22, between about 5.30pm and 8.30pm, and runs daily until December 19.
Brighton & Hove City Council is set to end its litter enforcement contract with controversial company 3GS and bring the service ‘in-house’.
THE contract is due to end in February, 2019 and both the company and council have agreed not to renew it.
A report going to the council’s environment, transport and sustainability committee next week recommends the council becomes its own enforcer, with all staff being directly employed by the local authority.
3GS had faced public criticism until it was taken over seven months ago by London-based law enforcement company the Red Snapper Group (RSG) which carried out a ‘root and branch’ review of the service.
Cllr Gill Mitchell
Cllr Gill Mitchell, the committee’s chair, said:“We’ve been thinking for some time of bringing the service in-house. Council officers carried out extensive research into the legal and financial implications and we believe it would be very beneficial to the council, our residents, business and tourists to completely run the service ourselves, tailored to the city’s needs.
“It will mean we can target the enforcement of litter, including dog fouling, fly-tipping, cigarette butts and chewing gum, much better and have more control over the way the service and staff operate and behave.”
She added:“RSG has done an incredible job of making 3GS a much more professional operation, but renewing the contract isn’t something the council or RSG want to do.”
Presently, money made from the fines is divided between RSG and the council, with the local authority using the income to tackle the city’s litter problem in other ways, including providing additional litter and dog bins and environmental education for local schools.
However, RSG runs its services by keeping all the money collected on fines.
Managing director Martin Jerrold said:“We acquired 3GS in April of this year. We have completed a root and branch review of the service structure and have concluded there are inherent contradictions built into many of the legacy contracts. “All new contracts we are entering into guarantees cost neutrality whilst providing a high quality, low quantity enforcement service. We believe it is not possible to supply a compassionate and proportionate enforcement service and provide and income to the customer. As a result no income is generated for the customer. 3GS loses money on the Brighton contract.”
If councillors on the environment, transport and sustainability committee agree next Thursday (November 27) to bring the service in-house, a wide-ranging programme of public education, consultation and communication will follow.
This will be to ensure residents, businesses and visitors are aware of their responsibilities regarding environmental enforcement and the implications of what may happen if they are found to be committing an offence.
Offences include fly-tipping, littering, fly-posting, uncontrolled distribution of leaflets, graffiti, overflowing trade waste containers and illegal disposal of commercial waste in residents’ communal bins.
Cllr Mitchell added:“This will be a new start for the council, its residents, business and tourists so far as environmental enforcement is concerned. “We are committed to combating fly tipping and littering and ensuring the city remains attractive and enjoyable for all those living and working here, as well as those visiting the area. “The council will take a fair and proportionate approach to issuing fines for environmental offences to ensure that those spoiling the environment for others are made accountable for their actions.
“Part of this is the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) which provide a quick, visible and effective way of dealing with low-level straightforward environmental crimes, and an alternative to prosecution.”
At present, a FPN fine for littering is £75, but if the council’s in-house plan gets the green light, there will be an early payment discount, reducing it to £55 if paid within 10 days. The Government, which gave the responsibility of litter fines to local councils, suggests a standard fine of £100.
However, there will be no early payment discount for other offences, including fly-tipping and disposing of commercial waste illegally, presently £300, as the council will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to such crimes.
The contract with 3GS was for three years and started on February 1, 2016.
Co-written by satirical magazine Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and writer/cartoonist Nick Newman, this play is funny, sharp, annoying, self-indulgent but highly relevant in our age of fake news, corrupt Governments, and mob rule.
WILLIAM Hone, a social reformer and satirist is subjected to three separate trials on consecutive days at Guildhall, with the threat of deportation to the colonies as his possible sentence.
Joseph Prowen plays Hone with wild energy, frenetic physicality and annoying self-indulgent glee. His is a unite unlikeable character, but his adversaries, including the bloated sex-mad George, the Prince Regent are so much worse. Jeremy Lloyd has lots to get his teeth into playing Prinnie who lived round the corner from the Theatre Royal in the Brighton Pavilion.
The problem with satirists like Hone and Hislop the playwright is that their parodies can often seem obscure, irrelevant and arrogant. This play has tracts of time where that is the case.
The villains are black-hearted with no redeeming characteristics, and the heroes are one-dimensional shining knights. The true hero of the story is probably Hone’s ever patient wife, who bore him twelve children, underplayed here by Eva Scott.
The action moves at breakneck speed between the trial room and the streets of London, hurried along by a bouncy Peter Losasso as Hone’s rogue in arms the cartoonist George Cruikshank.
The parodies for which Hone faced such silly, blatantly political trials, seem very tame to us nowadays and Cruikshank’s cartoons – some of which we see are far more aggressively anti-establishment.
Prepare yourself for lots of schoolboy humour about obesity and flatulence, which seem rather at odds with the serious subject matter.
As an observer in the play, who turns out to be Charles Dickens, tells us Hone was undoubtedly the father of Press freedom. And for that alone, the play is worth seeing and remembering in these times of fakery and deceit.
Tighter writing would render this a good modern commentary and its regional tour should certainly lead to a West End airing.
Trial by Laughter runs at the Theatre Royal, Brighton until Saturday, November 24. It’s tour also takes in Chichester in February and Eastbourne in March 2019.
Subline the gentleman’s club on St James Street are holding a mega raffle to benefit Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).
PAT Clutcher will draw the winners of the Subline Grand Raffle Draw during the interval of the Mr Subline contest on Saturday, November 24.
All proceed from the raffle are being donated to THT who Subline raised money for at their birthday party last Saturday (November 17) and will also be raising money for at the annual Mr Subline Contest this Saturday (November 24).
Tickets for the raffle were sold during the Subline Birthday Party and will be on sale all week at The Marine Tavern in Broad Street.
XS Group Live presents…The Red Party – a charity fundraiser for the Sussex Beacon.
THIS World AIDS Day weekend The Arch will be transformed into a Red palace for the Red Party.
All profits raised by the event will be donated to The Sussex Beacon. The Sussex beacon offers support, respite and critical care for patients living with HIV in the Brighton and Hove area. There will also be collection tins on the night so please give generously to this very worthy local cause.
Music on the night will be provided by DJ Alex Ryan who will joined by DJ’s Wildblood & Queenie and superstar DJ, Paul Heron bringing that underground house vibe.
The Arch has an amazing 12kw Funktion-one bespoke sound system and has played host to some of the biggest names in the DJ world.
The Arch operates a strict NO ID NO ENTRY policy. Accepted forms of ID are Passport or Driving licence so remember to take those along with you on the night. This includes people that are over 25.
The dress code is smart casual but organisers want you to get noticed and be fabulously RED.
Advance tickets available from Prowler and Skiddle.com and are priced at £7.00+bf.
There is also a very limited amount of Earlybird tickets available from Skiddle.com priced £5.00+bf
Event: THE RED PARTY
Where: The Arch, 187-193 Kings Road Arches, Brighton, BN1 1NB
The party moves on to Hideout at 210-214 Kings Road Arches, Brighton from 11pm-5am for Intimatewith DJ’s Screwpulous and Devilish banging out the tunes. Entry is just £5 for anyone who comes with a stamp from The Red Partymotherwise £6 with flyer.
Brighton’s newest LGBTQ+ clubnight has it’s second outing on December 14 at Popvault on Brighton seafront.
SEEKING solace from the cold, they noticed a faint glow in the distance. A warm glow. Drawn towards it, they realised this glow was coming from the guests of Polyglamorous, who were snowed in but keeping warm by dancing to some sick beats.
Four DJ’s, Drag Hosts, Gender Neutral Toilets, if you have accessibility needs make contact with organisers.
Brighton & Hove Council fly trans flag on Town Hall to show unity and support for trans people on Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20).
Managing director Martin Jerrold said: “We acquired 3GS in April of this year. We have completed a root and branch review of the service structure and have concluded there are inherent contradictions built into many of the legacy contracts.
XS Group Live presents…The Red Party – a charity fundraiser for the Sussex Beacon.
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