Besi – Page 486 – Scene Magazine – From the heart of LGBTQ+ Life

Claire Sweeney guest stars with Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus tonight at the Dome

Posted on 06/12/201307/12/2013 by Besi

Actress and West End star Claire Sweeney will be appearing with the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus at their Pull A Cracker Christmas show at the Brighton Dome tonight, December 7.

Claire Sweeney, originally known for her TV role as Lindsey in Brookside, has had a long and varied stage career, playing some of the most coveted roles in the West End including Roxie Hart in Chicago and appearing in the first series of Celebrity Big Brother. She will be joining the chorus in their 3rd year at the Brighton Dome raising money for the Sussex Beacon.

Claire said: “Having heard so much about them, I’m absolutely thrilled to have been asked by the boys at Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus to join in the fun at their Christmas Special in the fabulous Brighton Dome on December 7th. I’m equally delighted that we will also be raising funds for such a fantastic charity as the Sussex Beacon, which does so much good work for people living with HIV and AIDS”

This year, Pull A Cracker: The Christmas Special, has a nostalgic theme associated with classic Christmas Special TV shows that have glued us to our screens over the years and will include classic favourites such as It’s Raining Men, The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year and a rather camp Christmas medley!

Paul Charlton is the chairman of the 85 strong choir for gay and gay friendly men.

He said: “With the help of our fans, we have been able to raise in excess of £5000 for our friends at the Sussex Beacon at each of our previous Dome shows. We are hoping to at least match the same amount at this years show and every ticket we sell will add to the total amount raised. So please come along an join in the fun!”

2013 has been a big year for the Chorus. They won having the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition in February and were awarded a coveted Golden Handbag after being voted by the local community as Brighton and Hove’s Favourite LGBT Social/ Leisure Organisation in June.

WHAT: Pull A Cracker with Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus: The Christmas Special

WHERE: Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Brighton

WHEN: Saturday, December 7

TIME: 7.30pm

COST: Tickets £10 – £15 – £18 (Concessions £2 off)

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

OR from the Dome, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone the Dome Box Office: 01273 709709

Mandela dies peacefully aged 95

Posted on 05/12/201306/12/2013 by Besi

President Nelson Mandela died at 9pm, local time, this evening at his home in Johannesburg after a long period of illness.

Nelson Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape in 1918. While a law student in 1943 he joined the African National Congress to campaign against apartheid. In 1956 he was charged with high treason, but charges were dropped following a four year trial. In 1962 he was arrested, and convicted of incitement and leaving the country without a passport and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1964 he was charged with sabotage and sentenced to life in prison where he remained for 27 years.

Following an international campaign to free him he was released from prison in 1990. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected South Africa’s first black president in 1994.

In a statement on South African national TV announcing the death, South African President, Jason Zuma said: “Nelson Mandela had passed away peacefully in the company of his family.” He added: “Mr Mandela had departed and was at peace”.

From Downing Street, Prime Minister David Cameron, said: “Nelson Mandela was not just a hero of our time he was a hero of all time.”

“A great light has gone out in the world. I believe that his inspiration for the future will be every bit as powerful as the extraordinary things he achieved in his remarkable life.”

In a speech to the American people, President Obama said that the first political act he personally engaged in as student was to join the anti apartheid movement in the USA. He added: “Today he has gone home. He no longer belongs to us, he belongs to the ages.”

Paul Ward, Acting Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “Nelson Mandela’s inspirational leadership has been as important in the fight against HIV as anti-HIV treatments. Whenever he addressed a World AIDS Conference, no one could fail to be moved to action. The ideals he stood for – freedom, compassion, and the universal human right to love, life and happiness – struck a chord at a time when people with HIV, myself included, were facing unacceptable levels of prejudice and discrimination. Nelson Mandela was one of the few world leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder with people with HIV, and the legacy of that will continue to be felt not only in South Africa, but in countries and communities worldwide.”

Brighton Film School launches new Art Direction course

Posted on 05/12/2013 by Besi

Love film? Excited by the creative process? Do you have artistic flair and an eye for design?

Brighton Film School are launching a new, industry focused Higher National Diploma course in Art Direction and Production Design. The BTEC HND Level 5 is a high-level, certified qualification equivalent to the first two years of a degree programme and the film school is accepting applications now for a start date in September 2014.

This course will be delivered by industry professional Anna Deamer at the specialist facilities in Brighton Film School, located on Ditchling Road in Brighton. Students will develop their skills and working practice in preparation for a career in the Art Department in the film, television and related industries. It is ideal for any student coming to the end of their Art Foundation Diploma or in their final year of their A levels of an art or related course, although applications will also be welcomed from those who can demonstrate a passion and desire to work within the industry or can provide a creative portfolio instead.

Anna Deamer, lead lecturer for Art Direction at the film school and an industry professional from film and theatre commented: “This is a fantastic new course for those with an artistic background or qualification from school or college to take an industry focused, practical, degree level course. The course teaches art and design skills that are transferable and relevant for a wide range of career paths and professions.”

Head of School, Gary Barber added: “We are delighted to add this exciting new art course to our growing curriculum for 2014. Students will have the opportunity to learn practical skills and take an idea from script to delivery in both theoretical and live projects and have an opportunity to actualize their designs in our film school studio or on location on film school shoots.”

“Students will get a brilliant, practical and valuable education here and have the opportunity to work alongside other students from the Filmmaking HND and Cinematography and Directing Diploma to create exciting sets and fulfil the role of the art director in several short films, music videos and documentaries.”

The new Art Direction and Production Design HND is a 2-year course starting in September 2014. As well as being led by Anna Deamer, an experienced University lecturer and Art Direction industry professional, the course will welcome film industry guest speakers throughout the year which in the past have included the legendary cinematographer Brian Tufano (Trainspotting, Billy Elliot, East is East) and writer David Scinto (Sexy Beast, Gangster No.1, 44” Chest). Students in the 1st year will earn a Higher National Certificate qualification before progressing onto the 2nd year to the Higher National Diploma.

Course fees are just £5,250 a year, which are significantly cheaper than most Universities and students can apply to finance their studies with student loans.

For full course information, CLICK HERE:

Brighton Film School is accepting applications for the new Art Direction and Production Design HND directly through their website: http://brightonfilmschool.co.uk/

Gay. Let’s Get The Meaning Straight!

Posted on 05/12/2013 by Besi

Last month Stonewall, the LGB equality charity launched a new campaign with pop star Will Young and Mumsnet to tackle homophobic language in Britain’s schools.

The campaign, devised by young people, is in response to research conducted for Stonewall by the University of Cambridge that showed that 99 per cent of gay young people still regularly hear phrases like ‘that’s so gay’ and that 84 per cent of those young people are distressed by it.

Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall said: “Homophobic language has a devastating impact on gay young people’s self-esteem. With your support, we’ve already been able to send our resources to over half of all secondary schools in Britain. But we know there’s still much more to do. We want to ensure that every secondary school can access our posters and new guidance for teachers and young people.

To help Stonewall make this possible:

* Make a donation – just £5 allows Stonewall to send these materials to a secondary school, ensuring that hundreds of pupils understand why it’s wrong to say ‘that’s so gay’. Simply text GAY to 70500 or to donate to donate £5 online, CLICK HERE:

* Buy a ‘Gay. Let’s Get The Meaning Straight’ t-shirt to show your support to young people.

To take action to help tackle homophobic language in your local school or workplace, CLICK HERE:

Ben concluded: “Since launching the campaign we have received cross-party support and commitments from schools up and down the country to tackle the problem. With your support they will be able to turn those commitments into real action so they can realise their ambition that every single child in Britain should be able to reach their full potential – regardless of their sexual orientation.”

Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Patient Survey

Posted on 05/12/201305/12/2013 by Besi

East Sussex Healthcare, a Trust providing NHS hospital and community services, has launched a survey in partnership with Stonewall’s Healthcare Equality Index for lesbian, gay and bisexual patients in East Sussex.

The questionnaire takes five minutes to complete and will be an opportunity for patients to give feedback on the Trust’s healthcare services to LGB people.

All information provided is completely confidential and will go to Stonewall’s Health Team, not to the services discussed.

Those surveyed are asked to use the code 302 to identify the Trust when prompted.

To complete the survey, CLICK HERE: www.stonewall.org.uk/patientsurvey

Brighton DJs head up Friday nights on Gaydio radio

Posted on 05/12/2013 by Besi

Local DJ’s Jonesy and lil Alex take up residency on Gaydio every Friday night between 8pm and 10pm starting Friday, December 6.

lil Alex and Jonsey — lil Alex and Jonesy

The station’s relaunch of Friday nights is the latest in a series of changes to both the image and sound of Gaydio over the past year. Jonesy and lil Alex are renowned for their unique ‘party house’ sound, blending anthemic samples with body shaking basslines and beats alongside the latest trends in house music.

Jonesy and lil Alex (aka Steve Jones and Alex Ryan) have been playing around Brighton and the South of England for the last 6 years. Jonesy is no stranger to music or radio, having hosted the lunchtime show on Juice 107.2 for several years and more recently founding Brighton’s biggest music festival, Shakedown. He is also now Promotions Manager and resident DJ at the South Coast’s number one LGBT club, Revenge.

Meanwhile, lil Alex claims to have played every decent dance floor in the UK, with a list of credits including the infamous Wildfruit dance tent at Brighton Pride, Ministry Of Sound, Fire, Hed Kandi and has played alongside acts like Freemasons, Laidback Luke and Fatboy Slim.

“We can’t wait to get back on the airwaves playing the music we love,” said Jonesy. “House music has had a huge resurgence and this is an exciting opportunity to lead the way and entertain both gay and straight alike!”

Lil Alex added: “The world of clubs, bars and house music can be a hard one to navigate, but both Jonesy and I have worked hard to keep our sets fresh and original. We’ll be hunting out the best remixes, mash-ups and bootlegs exclusively for our show on Gaydio”.

Gaydio claim audiences of 850,000 listeners a month following the acquisition of DAB Digital Radio licences formerly operated by GaydarRadio. The station is available on DAB in Brighton and across the Sussex Coast, in London and also in Manchester on FM.

To listen, CLICK HERE:

Older and Out 2

Posted on 05/12/201305/12/2013 by Besi

On Friday, November 29, Somerset Day Centre and Lifelines hosted a get together for the newly formed Older and Out group.

It was held at the Somerset Day Centre and was well attended by the LGBTQI community who enjoyed the venue, the opportunity to meet others and the cake!

At a previous event, held to gather information about what the older LGBTQ community want, concerns were expressed about the lack of support networks in older age, ‘As you get older the worry is that the support networks aren’t there – and not everyone has children.’

Volunteers manned the decks and provided a mouth watering selection of cakes and tea and coffee. There was a very friendly atmosphere and attendees and volunteers are all hopeful that this will become a regular gathering with other activities and social events also being organised.

The intention, moving forward, is for older people to also be able to use this as an information service and for confidence building to enable the formation of lobbying or other groups.

The next event, on February 14 is keenly awaited.

Winterland Christmas Festival

Posted on 05/12/2013 by Besi

The old municipal market’s doors are being opened this Christmas for a free event called Circus Street Winterland.

Every child who visits the Winterland Labyrinth – an alternative to Santa’s grotto created by Copperdollar, award winners of Brighton Festival & Fringe – will receive a free gift.

Visit the Bell Tent Imaginarium by Periplum, where children and adults of all ages can enjoy a digital tour of discovery into Alice’s Wonderland.

Carnival and circus performances, Christmas decoration making, Christmas trees for sale and delicious hot and cold food and drink are also on offer.

For more information, CLICK HERE:

Gay Iceland – Rainbow Reykjavik Winter Pride Festival

Posted on 05/12/201315/10/2018 by Besi

The annual Rainbow Reykjavík LGBT Winter Pride Festival in Reykjavík takes place between January 30 and February 1.

The three-day programme offers a mixture of nature, activities, culture, cuisine, music and nightlife.

The party starts on January 30 with a soak in the Blue Lagoon, followed by dinner at the renowned Lava Restaurant and a party at Icelandair Hotel Reykjavík Marina – one of Iceland’s most popular bars.

The day after, guests will enjoy a guided tour around Reykjavík, visit the Penis Museum, have lunch and go to a show. This is followed by a free afternoon to enjoy Reykjavík. The cherry on top of this year’s festival is going to be the Rainbow Reykjavik Dinner & Divas show orchestrated especially for the event on the evening of Janaury 31.

On February 1, Rainbow Reykjavík guests will enjoy a tour of the Golden Circle, followed by an optional dinner before heading-off to the Rainbow Reykjavík Masquerade Party, where organisers expect a crowd of up to 500 people for what has become THE club night to be seen at in Iceland.

The festival is sponsored by Icelandair and supported by: Icelandair Hotels, Reykjavik Excursions, Visit Reykjavik, and Pink Iceland – who both produce and organise the event.

For more information, CLICK HERE:

To view Pink Iceland, CLICK HERE:

London Road’s chance to Shine

Posted on 05/12/201305/12/2013 by Besi

A series of art installations are appearing in London Road in the run up to Christmas.

Shine on London Road launches on Saturday, December 7 at 6pm and will highlight the businesses, restaurants and shopping in the area.

It is part of the national Portas Pilot project and Small Business Saturday which aims to boost the areas economy in the run up to Christmas.

Five new art-works will be installed in London Road and be in place from December 7 to January 5. These works celebrate London Road as a sustainable vibrant community and shopping area and provide a unique alternative to Christmas lights.

During the afternoon between 2pm and 6pm there will be small scale musical and choral performances and events up and down the high street highlighting that London Road has changed and is changing.

This will include Meet the Artists events with Lucid Design who are designing the archways for the Open Market and Jon Mills who designed and made the Ghost Train.

The installations include:

reCyculture – Night Bikes

Five glowing bicycles appear from a rooftop on London Rd, frozen in mid-leap. A large and bold, sculptural installation, which will be seen along the length of the street. High impact and highly visual, the installation will put the bicycle at the heart of the new London Rd and will be presented by the creative team behind Bicycle Ballet (and a London Road resident)

Exploring Senses – Hidden Toys

Exploring Senses CIC (ES) helps to inspire children and young people to engage in education, sustainable materials practice, digital making, and to become active citizens. They will run two sessions of ‘toy-hacking’ workshops in the Fusebox for local young people. Images of the toys created will be projected onto a wall in London Road, but the images will only be revealed when a passer by walks past. This project fuses community arts practise and digital arts.

Digital Funfair – Light Hearted

A heart shaped chain of led lights is mounted high in the trees on Circus Parade. At street level, under the kissing statue, there are two hand rails placed a few metres apart – far enough so that one person is unable to hold both rails at the same time. When two or more people connect the two hand rails the heart lights up and the longer they hold the more sequences the heart goes through.

Paul Matosic – Trees

Paul Matosic creates stunning installations out of reclaimed polystyrene packaging, animating them with LED lights to create magical sculptural installations that also illustrate how much unrecyclable waste our white goods generate.

Karen Tilley and Esther Springett – The London Road Jingle

Local artists Karen and Esther will create a unique soundscape for London Road using found sound, words and song from local people and community groups. This will be mixed into a festive soundscape which will be installed in a variety of listening stations along the London Road.

What: Shine on London Road

Where: London Road

When: Saturday, December 7

Time: 6pm

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Author: Besi

Claire Sweeney guest stars with Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus tonight at the Dome

Mandela dies peacefully aged 95

President Nelson Mandela died at 9pm, local time, this evening at his home in Johannesburg after a long period of illness.

Brighton Film School launches new Art Direction course

Love film? Excited by the creative process? Do you have artistic flair and an eye for design?

Gay. Let’s Get The Meaning Straight!

Last month Stonewall, the LGB equality charity launched a new campaign with pop star Will Young and Mumsnet to tackle homophobic language in Britain’s schools.

Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Patient Survey

East Sussex Healthcare, a Trust providing NHS hospital and community services, has launched a survey in partnership with Stonewall’s Healthcare Equality Index for lesbian, gay and bisexual patients in East Sussex.

Brighton DJs head up Friday nights on Gaydio radio

Local DJ’s Jonesy and lil Alex take up residency on Gaydio every Friday night between 8pm and 10pm starting Friday, December 6.

Older and Out 2

On Friday, November 29, Somerset Day Centre and Lifelines hosted a get together for the newly formed Older and Out group.

Winterland Christmas Festival

The old municipal market’s doors are being opened this Christmas for a free event called Circus Street Winterland.

Gay Iceland – Rainbow Reykjavik Winter Pride Festival

The annual Rainbow Reykjavík LGBT Winter Pride Festival in Reykjavík takes place between January 30 and February 1.

London Road’s chance to Shine

A series of art installations are appearing in London Road in the run up to Christmas.

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President Nelson Mandela died at 9pm, local time, this evening at his home in Johannesburg after a long period of illness.

Share this:

Love film? Excited by the creative process? Do you have artistic flair and an eye for design?

Share this:

Last month Stonewall, the LGB equality charity launched a new campaign with pop star Will Young and Mumsnet to tackle homophobic language in Britain’s schools.

Share this:

East Sussex Healthcare, a Trust providing NHS hospital and community services, has launched a survey in partnership with Stonewall’s Healthcare Equality Index for lesbian, gay and bisexual patients in East Sussex.

Share this:

Local DJ’s Jonesy and lil Alex take up residency on Gaydio every Friday night between 8pm and 10pm starting Friday, December 6.

Share this:

On Friday, November 29, Somerset Day Centre and Lifelines hosted a get together for the newly formed Older and Out group.

Share this:

The old municipal market’s doors are being opened this Christmas for a free event called Circus Street Winterland.

Share this:

The annual Rainbow Reykjavík LGBT Winter Pride Festival in Reykjavík takes place between January 30 and February 1.

Share this:

A series of art installations are appearing in London Road in the run up to Christmas.

Share this:

Latest News