Brighton & Hove Council are organising monthly Healthwalks for LGBT people and their friends in association with BLAGSS.
Healthwalks are a great way to get some gentle exercise and make new friends. There are a range of walks on offer on the first Sunday of each month exploring different parts of our beautiful city.
Full details, meeting points and times can be found in the Brighton & Hove Healthwalks Spring~ Summer 2014 Walk Programme.
Next month the TAKEPART Festival is a two week showcase of hundreds of sporting events, activities and taster sessions.
TAKEPART 2014 will take place between June 21 – July 6, is the largest celebration of community sport and physical activity in the country and will be crammed full of great opportunities for you, your family and friends to have fun and get active together in Brighton & Hove.
Whatever your interests, age or ability, TAKEPART gives you the chance to explore what is on offer across the city and will help you lead an active lifestyle. Activities range from Archery to Zumba and everything in between!
The TAKEPART Festival programme will be released May 30, 2014 and will be available at bars, cafes, libraries and leisure centres.
A number of bars and restaurants across Soho and central London have announced special offers for participants in this year’s Walk For Life.
The walk is on Sunday, June 8 and the theme is ‘Heroes, Heroines and Villains’.
All adults who complete the 10km sponsored walk around central London will receive a medal at the finish line, which they can then use to unlock special offers and discounts at participating venues.
Offers include:
• Circa, Frith Street: 25% off drinks until 8.00pm
• East Street Restaurant, Rathbone Place: 50% off total food bill all night
• G-A-Y Bar, Old Compton Street: Drinks for £1.50 all night
• Green Carnation, Greek Street: 25% off drinks all night
• Ku Bar, Frith Street and Lyle Street: First drink free
• New Bloomsbury Set, Marchmont Street: Selected discounted drinks all night
• She Bar, Old Compton Street: First drink free
• The Queen’s Head, Acton Street: 10% off drinks all night
The walk starts and ends at Bloomsbury Square Gardens, with a circular route that takes in the South Bank, Theatreland, and The City.
Registration costs £7, and funds raised go to Terrence Higgins Trust’s Hardship Fund, a project that offers small grants to people living with HIV in severe financial need. Anyone who raises more than £100 in sponsorship will also receive a free Walk For Life T-shirt.
Sonya Trivedy, Director of Fundraising at Terrence Higgins Trust, said:“We’re thrilled that so many venues are getting behind this year’s event, either by providing special offers for our walkers, or by registering a team themselves. The money raised through the walk will help some of the most vulnerable people in the UK, so please sign up today and be someone’s hero.”
To join the fun, either as an individual walker or as part of a team, CLICK HERE:
Or telephone (020) 7812 1665.
Registration costs £7 per person, which helps Terrence Higgins Trust cover the costs of the event.
If you go down to Preston Park on August the 2 you’ll be sure of big bear surprise!
Yes the Brighton Pride Men’s Zone, supported by Brighton Bear Weekender, is back; bigger, better and more Bear-tastic than ever before.
2014 will see the return of the much loved, Men’s Dance Tent with the scene’s best loved DJs keeping the dancefloor hot, hot, hot from 12noon till 10pm. Add the Men’s Zone alfresco area, Bears bar, food stalls, Hog Roast, seating area, picnic area plus lots of Bear surprises, and the Men’s Zone will be the perfect spot to get your grr! on and grab yourself some big burly bear, silver daddy and bear cub grizzly action.
What: Pride Brighton & Hove 2014: Freedom To Live: The Men’s Zone: The daddy of all proud days this summer.
Where: Pride Festival Preston Park
When: Saturday, August 2
Time: 12noon – 10pm.
Cost: £9 /£12.50 Early Bird tickets Sold out. Discounted £15 advance (first release) until end of May. Then £17.50 in June /£20 in July and more on the day.
Everyday Matters, an exhibition by Lumini Glass Group, will be held at the Jubilee Library in Brighton between Monday, June 2 and Saturday, June 7.
This will be the first ever glass exhibition to be held at the library and will show works by seven members of the glass group: Emma Rawson, Sophie Sheehan, Pippa Davismoon, Charlotte Morrison, Jenny Sharp, Jennifer Anne Brown and Maria Beddoes, who each share skills and raise public awareness of glass art in its widest sense.
New research from Vote Watch Europe, shows that UKIP has the laziest MEPs from the UK.
The research shows that UKIP MEPs missed 40% of key votes in the European Parliament between 2009-2014. The Green Party’s two MEPs attended over 90% of the key votes during the same period while Greens across Europe attended more votes than any other party.
Participation of UK Parties in roll call votes (key votes) in the European Parliament were:
• Greens- 91.40%
• Lib Dems- 86.89%
• Labour- 84.97%
• Tories- 80.39%
• UKIP- 61.08%
Keith Taylor, MEP
Keith Taylor, the Green Party MEP for South East England, attended 92.8% of key European Parliament votes. He said:“This new research makes it clear that UKIP simply can’t be trusted to represent their constituents. Their MEPs happily claim the parliamentary salary and expenses, but they don’t even show up to four in ten of the key votes. Many people don’t realise that a vote for UKIP is a vote for the laziest party in the European Parliament.
“Greens work hard in the European Parliament to represent the views of our constituents. We always try our best to get to key votes and ensure that we stand up for those who voted for us.”
The latest ICM Guardian Poll puts the Green Party in 4th place ahead of the Lib Dems for the Euro Elections.
Keith went on to say: “The good news is that the polls are predicting that there will be more Greens representing the UK in the European Parliament after May 22. That means more MEPs working for the common good and voting for laws which protect people and the environment.
“When Greens say we’re going to put people first and protect the environment, we mean it. That’s why we’re always active in the Parliament.
“At this election Greens are offering voters a chance for a real change in direction. We want radical change from business as usual, and when we say we’ll stand up to vested interests, we mean it.”
First conference in Spain for the LGBT travel association includes delegates from 32 countries.
James Costos, US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and the Principality of Andorra: Photo credit: Gabriel Rega/IGLTA
The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association hosted its most attended and globally diverse convention outside of North America on May 8-10. Approximately 275 delegates from 32 countries gathered in Madrid for networking and education to further lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tourism globally.
They were welcomed to Madrid by a high-level roster of Spanish dignitaries that included Isabel Borrego, Secretary of State for Tourism/President of TURESPAÑA; José Francisco García, General for Cultural Heritage at Madrid City Council; Carmen Gonzalez, Vice Minister of Tourism and Culture for the Region of Madrid; and Doña Ana Isabel Mariño Ortega, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Culture for the Community of Madrid.
The opening session also included a greeting from James Costos, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain and Principality of Andorra, and a keynote speech from David Scowsill, President/CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council.
IGLTA President/CEO John Tanzella, said: “Spain is a longtime partner to IGLTA and the LGBT tourism community. It was an amazing conference that showcased Spanish support for gay travel and resulted in our biggest, most diverse group of attendees for a non-North American event. It also attracted the most media attention in our 31-year history. We thank the national tourism office of Spain, the region of Madrid, and the city of Madrid for doing so much to raise the visibility of LGBT tourism and IGLTA.”
The conference next year will be held in Los Angeles, California from April 9-11m 2015.
Host city reception, Madrid City Hall: Photo credit: Gabriel Rega/IGLTA
The International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia was supported by local politicians, students and voluntary LGBT/HIV sector organisations this evening.
Leaders of the Labour and Conservative group on Brighton and Hove Council were keynote speakers at tonights IDAHOBIT event in New Steine Gardens.
May 17 commemorates the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental health diseases. In 86 countries globally, homosexual acts remain illegal while in many countries lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and those who identify as trans are often murdered simply because of their sexuality or gender identity.
Green Councillor Geoffrey Bowden read a message from Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighon Pavilion who had to withdraw due to family commitments. Cllr Bowden a former Pride trustee recently controversially said “Pride is not a sacred cow” at full council in defending his decision not to reinstate the annual £25,000 council grant to Brighton Pride. His decision was successfully reversed with support of an ammendent by the Labour and Conservative Groups on Brighton & Hove City Council.
Students from Brighton’s Universities carried a 60 metre rainbow flag up St James Street and into New Steine Gardens and the Rainbow Chorus conducted by their musical director, Aneesa Chaudhry sang beautifully at the beginning and end of the evening.
The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch welcomed everyone to the event and Katy Bourne the Police and Crime Commissioner congratulated the LGBT Community Safety Forum on organising the evenings proceedings and their work helping reduce hate crime in the city.
Dr Sam Hall from the Clare Project spoke passionately about the importance of getting the prefix right when addressing a trans person while the contribution of Nick Douglas a paid worker at Switchboard, highlighted why some volunteer LGBT/HIV organisations choose not to work in partnership with Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard.
The evening finished on a positive note with Joanna Rowland-Stuart speaking on behalf of Regard, the national organisation of disabled LGBT people explaining how this year, special efforts were being made to include the needs of deaf and disabled LGBT people at this years Pride by the LGBT Community Safety Forum who are organising all access issues at this years event.
A minutes noise followed as the Rainbow Flag was raised to bring the evening to a close.
Speakers during the evening included:
The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch
Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, Leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton and Hove City Council
Cllr Warren Morgan, Leader of the Labour and Cooperative Group on Brighton and Hove City Council
Dr Sam Hall, The Clare Project
Shane Murray, co-president of Allsorts Youth Project
Gary Pargeter, Lunch Positive
Rory Smith: LGBT Liaison / Hate Crime Co-ordinator
Aneesa Chaudhry: The Voice Box
Ed Whelan: FTMB
Pc Rich Bridger: Brighton & Hove Division, LGBT Neighbourhood Policing Team
Alex Hyatt: MindOut Mental Health Project
Amaryllis Strong: Brighton Bothways bi-sexual group
Simon Dowe: Chief Executive at The Sussex Beacon
Rev. Michael Hydes: Metropolitan Community Church
Nick Douglas: LGBT Switchboard
Anthony White: LGBT+Campaigns officer, Brighton Student’s Union
Joanna Rowland-Stuart: REGARD, the National LGBT disabled organisation
For more information about the LGBT Community Safety Forum, CLICK HERE:
ME that is classified as a neurological illness affects over 6,000 adults and children across Sussex many of whom are virtually housebound and in need of care.
Three of Brighton’s top destinations – The Brighton Wheel, the Grand Hotel and the Sea Life Centre – were bathed in blue, green and purple light, the colours of International ME Awareness Day, on the night of Monday May 12 in an awareness-raising event organised by the Sussex ME Society and ME Space.
The GMFA/RVT Sports Day returns on August 25 in London.
This annual carnival of athletic mayhem takes place on bank holiday Monday, August 25, at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (just behind the Royal Vauxhall Tavern) and will be hosted by Timberlina.
Registration for teams is now open so it’s time to get training and help raise vital funds to support HIV prevention for gay men and to benefit the local community.
As is now traditional, the Vauxhall Sports Day will revisit old-skool sporting events with a big gay twist, so you can thrill to the Handbag Toss, gasp at the 50m mince and jump for joy for the Space Hopper relay.
If you’re fed up of watching from the sidelines and want to show off your sporting prowess, form a team and register now. Everyone is welcome to take part, whatever your sexual preference, gender or athletic ability but there are only a limited number of places for teams.
Or CLICK HERE: to view videos and pictures of previous events.
Matthew Hodson, GMFA’s Chief Executive, said:“Each year Sports Day gets bigger, better and more outrageous. If you’ve never been to a Sports Day before, you’re missing a real treat. It’s like the World Cup but with bigger balls.”
The Gay Sports Day is an institution dating back to the 80s. This is the 8th successive year that GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern have joined forces to host the event. Money raised from the event funds GMFA’s sexual health work for gay men, including HIV prevention campaigns like ‘Think Again’.
GMFA currently receives no money from the Government for their HIV prevention work and relies upon the support of the gay community to fund this work. Money raised will also go to two organisations that help look after the local Vauxhall community – Vauxhall City Farm and The Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.
Each team of five collects sponsorship for the event, with a minimum of £500 expected from each team. There are three award categories with medals for the winning team, for the team that raises the most money and for the team with the best outfits.
Matthew added:“Sports Day is all about fun, celebration and giving back to the community. The money raised at this year’s event will help GMFA to prevent new HIV infections by giving us money to run campaigns, like the ‘Think Again’ ads, which have got young gay men to consider how HIV could affect them. We’ve got more campaigns coming up this year and every penny raised will help us to ensure that we can reach more gay men with HIV prevention information. So whether you want to show off your sporting prowess, your finest fancy dress, or just to cheer from the sidelines, we hope to see you there.”
The location of IDAHOBIT 2014 has been moved from Old Steine and will now be held in New Steine Gardens, on Saturday, May 17 starting at 6.30pm.
May 17 commemorates the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental health diseases. In 86 countries globally, homosexual acts remain illegal while in many countries lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and those who identify as trans are often murdered simply because of their sexuality or gender identity.
This year’s event in New Steine Gardens will include:
• Performances from The Brighton & Hove Rainbow Chorus.
• A minute’s ‘noise’ to remember the international victims of homo, bi and transphobic violence; (so bring a whistle, horn, bell, tambourine, trombone etc to make some noise!)
• Raising of the Rainbow flag and release of balloons as a symbol of hope for the future.
• Speeches will come foremost from key personalities within the LGBT community.
Confirmed guest speakers include (in no particular order):
The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch
Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald, Leader of the Conservative Group on Brighton and Hove City Council
Cllr Warren Morgan, Leader of the Labour and Cooperative Group on Brighton and Hove City Council
Dr Sam Hall, The Clare Project
Shane Murray, co-president of Allsorts Youth Project
Gary Pargeter, Lunch Positive
Rory Smith: LGBT Liaison / Hate Crime Co-ordinator
Joanna Rowland-Stuart: REGARD
Aneesa Chaudhry: The Voice Box
Ed Whelan: FTMB
Pc Rich Bridger: Brighton & Hove Division, LGBT Neighbourhood Policing Team
Alex Hyatt: MindOut Mental Health Project
Amaryllis Strong: Brighton Bothways bi-sexual group
Dulcie Weaver: Director Brighton Pride
Simon Dowe: Chief Executive at The Sussex Beacon
Rev. Michael Hydes: Metropolitan Community Church
Nick Douglas: LGBT Switchboard
Anthony White: LGBT+Campaigns officer, Brighton Student’s Union
Flag Raisers: Sj Ramage and Ted Talbot
Flag Bearers: Students from the Brighton LGBT Students Union
Cllr Geoffrey Theobald
Brighton & Hove City Council Conservative Group Leader, Cllr. Geoffrey Theobald, is supporting IDAHOBIT 2014 and the vigil in New Steine Gardens.
He said:“It is quite astonishing to think that as recently as 1990 homosexuality was still officially considered to be a mental illness. Thank goodness we have moved on a long way since then – not least with the recent introduction of same-sex marriage in the UK. Indeed, this country, and Brighton & Hove in particular, stand out as beacons of tolerance and diversity internationally. But much still remains to be done. The Conservative Party in this city, be it councillors, MPs or activists, is fully committed to working with our partners to continue to tackle the scourge of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia wherever it occurs and supporting events such as IDAHOBIT is a vital part of that.”
Brighton & Hove IDAHOBIT is organised by the Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum and is an open and inclusive event that everyone is welcome to attend.
A British Sign Language interpreter will be present throughout the event and refreshments will be provided by the THT Outreach Service. Tented areas will be available in case of adverse weather conditions.
IDAHOBIT 2014 has been staged with financial support from: The A-Bar, The Amsterdam Hotel, Billie Lewis Promotions, Tesco Shoreham and B&Q Shoreham, The Ambassador Hotel, James Tomlinson lighting, MBI Sound & Light, The Brighton & Hove LGBT workers forum and the New Steine Hotel.
For more information about the LGBT Community Safety Forum, CLICK HERE:
For more informationa about Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum, CLICK HERE:
Healthwalks are a great way to get some gentle exercise and make new friends. There are a range of walks on offer on the first Sunday of each month exploring different parts of our beautiful city.
Next month the TAKEPART Festival is a two week showcase of hundreds of sporting events, activities and taster sessions.
The research shows that UKIP MEPs missed 40% of key votes in the European Parliament between 2009-2014. The Green Party’s two MEPs attended over 90% of the key votes during the same period while Greens across Europe attended more votes than any other party.
The latest ICM Guardian Poll puts the Green Party in 4th place ahead of the Lib Dems for the Euro Elections.
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