Author: Besi

The new law to allow same-sex marriage marriages comes into effect on Saturday, March 29, 2014.

To celebrate, Brighton & Hove City Council’s Register Office, in partnership with the Royal Pavilion are accepting applications from same-sex couples wishing to be the first couple to be wed in the city.

The selected couple will be wed, free of charge, in the magnificent setting of the Royal Pavilion’s Music Room at what will be both Brighton & Hove’s first same-sex marriage and first late night wedding. 

At one minute past midnight on the day same-sex marriage ceremonies become legal, the city’s registrars will conduct the first wedding in the Music Room of the Royal Pavilion. This will be the first marriage to take place in the beautiful Music Room which has only recently been licensed for evening weddings.

Cllr Leo Littman, lead councillor for City Services, said: “We warmly welcome the change in the law allowing people of the same sex to marry one another.

“Brighton and Hove is a very popular place for both weddings and civil partnerships. We are now seeing a high level of interest from same-sex couples wanting to get married here. You can feel the excitement build towards the city’s first same-sex wedding in March.

“Holding the first ceremony in our grand, historic Royal Pavilion gives the city the chance to show itself for what it is; egalitarian, forward looking and also with a real respect for our history. It’s a venue close to my heart; I was married at the Royal Pavilion in 2007. 

“We hope and expect that in the years ahead many more happy couples will choose to hold their weddings in our city.”

This offer is open to any same-sex couple planning to be married in Brighton & Hove. Both parties must be legally able to be married on March 29, 2014. The couple must also be willing for the media to be present at their ceremony and to appear in publicity about this historic moment.

Couples in existing civil partnerships cannot apply as the legislation to convert a civil partnership to a marriage has not yet been announced.

Senior Ceremonies Registrar, Trevor Love, part of the team organising the celebrations for the day, said: “We’ve been taking enquiries for over a year from couples wanting to know when we will be able to offer same-sex weddings. Even before the government announced the official date, we were inundated with people wanting to be married as soon as the law allowed and asking to go on a waiting list. We hope to share this sense of excitement. The ceremony we have planned is going to be a wonderful celebration for the happy couple and the city.”

The selected couple will be able to invite 80 guests to join them for their wedding in the Royal Pavilion Music Room. There will be no charge for the registration services or room hire for the ceremony, however all other costs associated with the wedding must be met by the couple including accommodation, transport, catering, reception or other room hire and new frocks.

Couples are invited to write or email Brighton & Hove City Council Register Office in big letters explaining why the Royal Pavilion is special for them and what it would mean to be married there on March 29.

The closing date for applications to be received is Friday, January 31, 2014. The lucky couple will be announced on Friday, February 14,  2014.

The Register Office is already taking bookings for Saturday 29 as many same-sex couples are wanting to be wed on the very first day the law allows.

To apply for this special Royal Pavilion ceremony, e-mail: register.office@brighton-hove/gov.uk

In the ‘subject box’ mark your e-mail: First Wedding March 29.

If you do not have access to e-mail write to:

Linda Holm Superintendent Registrar, Brighton & Hove Register Office, Town Hall, Brighton, BN1 1JA

For information on ceremonies with Brighton & Hove City Council Register Office, including fees for registrars attending external venues, CLICK HERE:

LGBT Children, Young People and Familes Day on February 4 is part of LGBT History Month.

For the second year running, Young People’s Voice – a campaigns action group based at Allsorts Youth Project in Brighton will be hosting the event and they are inviting individuals, communities and groups from across the nation to get involved.

Last year, Allsorts ran a hugely successful LGBT Tea Party, LGBT Youth Champions Dinner and LGBT Youth Prom. This year they are holding a conference in Brighton Exploring Intersectionality to educate and celebrate complex and diverse identities and the connections between them. 

Jess Wood MBE, Co-Founder and Director, of Allsorts is encouraging the LGBT community to get involved where they are, she said: “We warmly invite you to share with us in promoting this idea of a dedicated LGBT Children, Young People and Families Day on the first Tuesday if every LGBT History Month in your own context and in your own way! You could show a film about trans young people in a school; put on an event about diverse families; enable a faith group to hold a Q&A session with some LGBT young people; design some fun and engaging stickers to distribute across your networks, use social media to generate interest throughout the Day!”

Sue Sanders. Founder, of LGBT History Month is supporting the event, she added: “At last year’s event, I received an award from Allsorts as an LGBT Champion and I delivered keynote speeches at both the tea party and the dinner. I was deeply touched by the admiration and respect shown to me by the new generation of LGBT young people. As the founder of LGBT History Month, I love to see people doing their own thing and coming up with inspiring ideas about how to celebrate our communities during the month. My work with Schools Out  tells me how important it is for children and young people to have their own voice. I think Children, Young People and Families Day is a great way of doing this. Let’s hope the Day will catch on beyond Brighton and Hove and become as establishing part of LGBT History Month across the UK.”

To show your support for the event by ‘liking’ and sharing the official facebook page, CLICK HERE:  

To join the global event, CLICK HERE:

If you would like to attend,CLICK HERE:

Or email info@allsortsyouth.org.uk for more details.

London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard reveal they take over 160 calls a month about coming out.

The figures were released as the charity welcomed Olympian Tom Daley’s announcement that he is now in a relationship with a man.

The Big Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £421,964 over three years to a Glasgow based project helping older LGBT people.

LGBT Health and Wellbeing is a groundbreaking project working with older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Lothian and Glasgow. The award comes from the Big Lottery Fund’s Investing In Communities funding stream.

Announcing the funding Maureen McGinn, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, said: “Our aim is to support people and communities in greatest need and this project will do just that by helping older people to be less isolated and to look after themselves. This funding is an excellent illustration of how our funding is helping change the lives of thousands of people.”

LGBT Health and Wellbeing currently provides the LGBT Age befriending service for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people over 50. Older LGBT people have a lot of issues in common with other older people – while also dealing with a wide range of issues relating specifically to their LGBT identity.

Research shows however that older LGBT people are less likely to access services than other older people and more likely to be isolated and without family to call on.

Some older LGBT people may be facing challenges such as coming to terms with their sexual orientation or gender identity later in life, ageing with HIV or coping with the loss of a same sex partner. As one of the service’s clients explains,

LGBT Health and Wellbeing Director, Maruska Greenwood, said: “Meeting with a befriender can be a lifeline. I met someone likeminded and could talk about my partner and being a lesbian and that was accepted. This service really needs to exist.”

“This award is fantastic news. It means we can continue our vital support for older LGBT people in Lothian, and extend it to Glasgow, where there are no specific services for LGBT older people.

“Older LGBT people really have been overlooked. They have lived a great part of their life in much less liberal times, and are frequently reluctant to use support services as they fear not feeling welcome or accepted.

“The LGBT Age Scotland project will make a real difference to individuals who may be isolated or disadvantaged by providing them with one-to-one support, information and safe and a welcoming social space where they can be themselves without fear of prejudice or discrimination. The project will support individuals to maintain their independence, and build the natural supports in their lives.”

The project proposal was developed following extensive consultation with older LGBT people.

One older gay man said: “Isolation for older LGBT people is an extreme problem and only likely to get the worse. I feel that doors close to me because of my age and I feel very isolated because there are hardly any older people at community events such as Pride. I want to be with others like myself, to have a circle of friends who care for each other, as we can do and talk about things some people who aren’t gay might not feel comfortable with.

“I want open affirmation of my identity when dealing with public services. I don’t want to have to go back in the closet if I need support! I’ve found it too hard to be out to contemplate having to be cautious, to go back in the closet later in life. It’s scary to think I might not be able to be myself just because I’m getting older.”

The living and family situations of older LGBT people differ significantly from non-LGBT older people.

Research shows that older LGBT people have significantly diminished support networks when compared to the general older population:

• 2½ times are more likely to live alone

• are twice as likely to be single as they age

• are 4½ times more likely to have no children to call upon in times of need.

LGBT people consistently indicate an increased sense of vulnerability and significantly higher levels of concern around general ageing issues such as health, mobility, independence, housing and care needs, often due to expectations around discrimination. Not having children, or close bonds with biological family, creates more intense anxieties about the future.

Opportunities to access formal community groups and social networks diminish, as generic groups for older people can exclude older LGBT people, whilst activities targeted at gay people are too focused on younger age groups.

The diminished personal support networks of older LGBT people means an increased reliance on external services. Yet many have experienced discrimination in health and social care services in the past, thus fear of discrimination and fear of disclosure act as significant barriers and mean older LGBT people are five times less likely than non-LGBT older people to access services for older people.