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WHO’S THE BOSS BEHIND THE BAR?
DO YOU HAVE A SPARE ROOM OR SPARE TIME TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY? Brighton becomes ever more pressured and increasingly difficult for young people to move into supported accommodation or rent privately, more than ever Nightstop hosts are needed to provide longerterm accommodation.
) Reece has been general manager of Legends for almost 10 years and is kept extremely busy running the hotel, bar and nightclub. He’s full of praise for his team of friendly staff who he says are always there to support him and make him smile.
Nightstop is currently in need of more hosts to provide longer-term accommodation for young people, supporting 16-25 years olds in their homes from a week up to a month at a time. They also need volunteers to befriend and mentor young people, providing some one-to-one support during their stay in Nightstop and into settled housing.
Born in Anglesey, North Wales, he had a happy upbringing and his parents were fully supportive when he came out. One of his closest friends was also gay, but there wasn’t anywhere for them to socialise and be fully accepted in Anglesey, so at the age of 17 Reece moved to Manchester, where the gay scene was thriving. After a few years on the Manchester scene, and having gained managerial experience with Johnson Cleaner, he got a transfer within the company to Brighton and when his friend, Collin Day, who was manager at Revenge, asked him if he fancied a bar job at the club, he accepted.
If you have a spare room or some spare time and would like to help to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping locally, contact the Nightstop team for more information about how you can be involved and help out by emailing: coordinator@sussexnightstop.org.u k or call: 07500 770996
For more info about Sussex Nightstop, view: In Brighton their amazing volunteers, www.sussexnightstop.org.uk trained and supported by Nightstop, To make a donation to Nightstop, opened up their homes and view: accommodated and supported 50 https://localgiving.com/charity/suss young people for over 500 nights in exnightstop 2015. As the housing situation in
JOIN THE GSCENE READERS TRIP TO EURO DISNEY ) There are a few places left on Gscene’s magical trip to Disneyland Paris from May 19-21 2017, to see the dazzling new Disney shows and glittering new parade celebrating 25 years of Euro Disney. You will be whisked away from Brighton early on the morning of Friday, May 19, arriving just a few hours later by Eurostar direct into Marne-la-Vallée train station in Disneyland to stay for 2 nights at the luxury Vienna Dream donation to the Rainbow Fund who Castle Hotel, a Disneyland Resort give grants to LGBT/HIV Paris associated hotel. organisations providing effective front line services to LGBT people in Your price includes return journey Brighton & Hove. The all in cost is from Brighton to Disneyland by just £425 per person based on two Eurostar, two nights stay at the people sharing. To reserve your hotel, a three course meal on the place call 01273 749 947 (25% first night (May 19), unlimited access to both parks for the duration deposit required. Full payment by April 1, 2017) of your stay and a £10 per person
REECE ROBERT MANAGER @ LEGENDS
) Sussex Nightstop is a community response to youth homelessness, providing accommodation in the homes of trained and supported volunteers. These volunteers are people from the wide and varied communities of Brighton & Hove who have a spare room or some spare time and want to help make a difference in their local community. Last November, Nightstop were one of the finalists in this year’s BCC Sussex Community Heroes Awards, recognising the important work of their volunteers in supporting vulnerable young people who are homeless and at risk of rough sleeping.
Morgan Fabulous chats with Reece Roberts from Legends on Brighton seafront.
Like many people who worked on the gay scene at that time, Reece felt his colleagues were more like family than workmates. Tony Chapman owned Revenge and Reece says he was a great person to work for. Tony looked after his staff well, so when he bought Legends Hotel, Reece was happy to take the manager’s job there. For many, Legends is the hub of the gay community in Brighton. I’m a frequent visitor there as I like the clientele it attracts, and there’s always a warm and friendly atmosphere. I had never really considered what the hotel above is like, and I know it sounds like I’m writing a yelp review but I was pleasantly surprised at the very high standards of rooms when I got a guided tour. With constant refurbishment and additions to the furniture and decor, the rooms are fresh, sophisticated and modern. Most importantly the staff are really friendly and the rates extremely reasonable for a hotel on Brighton seafront. If you have friends or relatives visiting for the weekend, I highly recommend you push them in the direction of the hotel. The upstairs bar is currently undergoing an £80,000 refurbishment which includes new glass doors, a new floor, new tables, new wall recoverings and reupholstered furniture. I got a sneak preview of some of the designs, and it’s going to look fabu-lous! The bar and club will remain open while the refurbishment is being completed. Reece lives with Justin, his partner of 16 years, and their cat, Dinky, in Peacehaven and in his spare time loves cooking, socialising and keeping fit.
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