PHOTOGRAPHY Dean Stockings www.deanstockings.co.uk
CONTRIBUTORS
AJ, Jaq Bayles, Jo Bourne, Nick Boston, Suchi Chatterjee, Nick Douglas, Craig Hanlon Smith, Adam Highway, Enzo Marra, Andrew Modd, Rick Moore, Netty, Charles Nyereyegona, Carl Oprey, Rachel Wood, Eric Page, Marcus Patrick, Steph Scott, Del Sharp, Keith Sharpe, Gay Socrates, Brian Stacey, Glen Stevens, Craig Storrie, Duncan Stewart, Mick Sykes, Jordan Thomas, Vron, Roger Wheeler, Mike Wall, Morham White, Kate Wildblood
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Michael Hootman, Chris Jepson www.chrisjepson.com, Sarah Haddow, James Ledward, Jack Lynn, Sam Milford www.realbrighton.com
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REVENGE STEP ASIDE WITH PRIDE
▼ Michael Deol and R ober t Webb, owners of Club R evenge have announced they are not progressing with their plans to organise a two day Pride event on Preston Park in 2013 This leaves the oppor tunity for a new community grouping headed up by Paul Kemp from Aeon Events Ltd, Dulcie Danger and David Hill from E3 Enter tainments Group to create a new week-long Ar ts Festival and to stage a one day event on Preston Park on Saturday August 4, 2013 Local international superstar DJ Norman Cook aka Fat Boy Slim has pledged his suppor t to the new organisers David Hill from E3 Enter tainments Group has also agreed to sit on the financial scrutiny board along side Tony Chapman owner of Legends and David Calderhead owner of the Amsterdam Hotel
Following the collapse of Pride Southeast Ltd who organised Pride till 2011 with debts of over £250,000, Michael Deol and Rober t Webb created a Community Interest Company (CIC) to payroll and finance Pride 2012 In order to guarantee the event went ahead, both Mr Deol and Mr Webb agreed to personally underwrite the finances of Pride in 2012
Pride 2012 was considered a huge success and for the first time in 10 years £31,000 was donated by Pride organisers to benefit local LGBT and HIV organisations These donations were distributed to local LGBT/HIV organisations last month by the R ainbow Fund through their grants program administered by the Sussex Community Foundation A fur ther £40,000 has been lodged with the Rainbow Fund as seed funding for next year’s event and who organises it Michael Deol, said: “ We had a wonderful time during the last 10 months organising this world class event and I would like to thank everyone who helped us pull Pride 2012 'out of the bag' A t Revenge we are immensely proud that our efforts have led to funding over the next year for such LGBT/HIV projects as Allsorts, MindOut, Sussex Beacon, LGBT Switchboard, Lunch Positive and GEMS to name a few It was a huge responsibility taking the event forward and we wish Pride 2013’s organisers every success in supporting the LGBT voluntary sector Pride belongs to the people of Brighton & Hove and whoever has the privilege to organise it each year carries a huge responsibility and not only the expectations of the 35,000 LGBT people who live in the city but the many thousands who visit us during the event each year and bring millions of pounds into the local economy ”
Paul Kemp, speaking for the new organisers, said: “Last year’s Pride proved that with everyone working together as a community great things can be achieved Pride finally turned a corner and was able to raise £31,000 for the Rainbow Fund to distribute to LGBT/HIV organisations We must all thank Michael and Robert, the owners of Revenge, for helping to stabilise Pride, putting it in a healthier position moving forward than it has been for many years It is our mission to build on this success and with the help of the community raise even more for the Rainbow Fund to distribute in 2013 ”
Landlord consent for use of Preston Park will be decided at a Council committee meeting on Januar y 10
GSCENE COMMENT
▼ Whoever organises Brighton Pride takes on the expectations of a demanding community who have seen their Pride go through many ups and downs over the last 15 years Just 12 shor t months ago, when Brighton Pride was at its lowest ebb, the directors of Revenge took over the reins of Pride and turned a £250,000 loss into a £80,000 surplus in just 12 months In the process they gave grants of £31,000 to local LGBT/HIV organisations in what was the first year of trading
I want to thank them on behalf of an expectant community for everything they have done for Pride over the last 12 months Confidence and credibility have returned to the event and they have shown that this model works as an oppor tunity to raise money for our LGBT/HIV organisations
Pride is presently in the ascendancy and the contributions of the owners and directors of Revenge are responsible for that Expectation in 2013 will be to top last year’s fantastic achievements This will be a hard act to follow
ACTIVIST SECURES NEW BRIGHTER LIGHTS FOR ST JAMES’ STREET
▼ Chris Cooke, local community activist, has secured new lighting for St James’ Street, Kemptown to replace the current low level ambient lighting The lights on St James’ Street have been of major concern to residents for a number of years Many complain the area is too dull at night with several black spots along the street Successive political administrations have failed to take the problems of the area seriously Investment by the city has been poor Chris said: “The new functional lighting will have a dramatic impact on the street, making it that much brighter and hopefully that much safer The ambient lighting we have at the moment is little more than useless I firmly believe that brightly lit thoroughfares discourage anti-social behaviour This is the first of many steps in rebuilding our neighbourhood and I’m delighted that the new lights will make St James' much more inviting for residents, businesses and of course our visitors too ”
The installation of new lighting was announced at a public meeting called by residents at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church on November 30 to discuss safety issues in St James’ Street and the general run down appearance of the area Repor ted crime has increased by over 40% in the previous 12 months An order for new lanterns was placed by the council on November 15 and the lights should be commissioned in approximately four weeks time
One hundred and twenty residents attended the public meeting with 30 people signing up on the night to form a new Local Action Team (LAT), free of political interference and to agree and take forward an action plan to make the area safer and cleaner for everyone living there as well as visitors to the many hotels and guest houses in the area
A constant theme from the audience during the evening was the reason the previous LAT did not deliver was because of ‘political infighting’ One hotel owner described the atmosphere of the former LAT as 'toxic' A key role of the new LAT is to make sure that does not happen in future and methods for keeping the group ‘politics free’ were tabled for discussion at the first working group meeting
Chris Cooke agreed to steer the new LAT thought its early days and his post as chair was confirmed at the first meeting of the working group on Wednesday, December 18 which was attended by 30 people who had agreed to be on the working group at the end of the public meeting on November 30 The Reverend R obin Selmes, Vicar of Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, was elected as treasurer, Chris Cooke as Chair Person, with local residents Frank Haigh and Fiona Shackley as secretary and communications officer Nick Head, Local Hotelier, agreed to coordinate a team to take action on pedestrian priority, street lighting, and other issues to improve the quality of life for those who live and work in the area Meetings are expected with the City Council in the New Year Chris Cooke agreed to liaise with the police to improve action on anti-social behaviour, begging, street drinking and drug abuse as well as the recent upsurge in violent, often homophobic attacks A fur ther team is to work for action on street cleanliness, graffiti, dangerous cycling and, par ticularly, dog fouling
The group agreed to set up a new constitution and bank account A public meeting is to be held on Wednesday, March 13, at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church at 6 30pm to repor t back to the community on progress and to establish a formal constituted body to represent the people of St James’ Street and to liaise with the police on priorities for the safety of the local community
BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS SUPPORT THE RAINBOW FUND
▼ The Brighton Gay Men's Chorus’ World AIDS Day Concer t We all live Together at St Mar y's Church in Kemptown on December 1, raised a fantastic £1,131 for the R ainbow Fund The chorus were joined during the concer t by Brighton's only LGBT choir, the R ainbow Chorus, Brighton's female group of ukulele players, Qukelele, R esound and children from the Theatre Workshop Each group performed by themselves then all the choirs came together for the finale to perform the international OutPostChoir anthem You Make Me Proud, composed by Brighton resident and former singer with the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus, Howard Alexander
Paul Elgood, Chairman of the Rainbow Fund, said: “I'd like to thank everyone involved with this event for their tremendous support and such a large amount raised for the Rainbow Fund It was both a superb evening and also a remarkable way to mark World AIDS Day This money will go directly to support the local LGBT and HIV community sector and will make a big difference to its work ” The Rainbow Fund is administered for the LGBT community in Brighton & Hove by the Sussex Community Foundation and gives grants to LGBT and HIV organisations delivering front line services twice a year The grants are administered by an independent grants panel which is chaired by Paul Elgood For more information about the Sussex Community Foundation, view: www sussexgiving org uk
For more information about the Rainbow Fund, view: www rainbowfund co uk
ROUTLEDGE PUBLISHING HOUSE APOLOGISE TO PETER TATCHELL
▼ The UK publisher R outledge has issued a public apology to Peter Tatchell for 20 “misrepresentations and distortions” and “inaccurate allegations” made by the former Human Rights Watch programme director, Scott Long The full and unreserved apology to Peter Tatchell and the LGBT human rights group OutR age! has been made by R oger Hor ton, the CEO of Routledge’s parent company, Taylor & Francis Routledge acknowledges that “substantial inaccuracies” appeared in Mr Long’s essay on Iran which it published in its journal Contemporary Politics This follows an earlier apology by Human Rights Watch over Scott Long’s “inappropriate disparaging inaccurate condemnatory intemperate personal attacks” on Peter Tatchell It also follows revelations that appear to link Scott Long with the creation of a fake online Muslim identity that was used to make untrue claims and smear Peter Tatchell
To see the fake Muslim identity exposed view: http://bit ly/V2AlBb
Mr Long was Director of the LGBT programme at Human Rights Watch (HRW) He left HRW in 2010 soon after he was forced by them to apologise for his personal attacks on Peter Tatchell
CALENDAR TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE SUSSEX BEACON
▼ A Man For A ll Seasons is a charity calendar created to raise funds for the Sussex Beacon, the clinical care centre for men and women living with HIV/AIDS The calendar was created by Will Connolly with design par tner Julian Amaya. Each month represents a new theme and idea that both reflects the model’s personality and the month of the year The calendars are available to order via Facebook for just £6 To order your calendar, view: www facebook com/amanforalls easonscalendar
TRUST & CONFIDENCE SURVEY 2012
MARINE TAVERN RAISE £2,257 FOR FIVE ORGANISATIONS
▼ Christmas came early for five organisations following fundraising at the Marine Tavern over the last few months
A total of £2,257 was raised by the small pub with the big hear t
Sussex Air Ambulance received £1,000 from Miss Jason's Up Up & Away appeal to help him lose weight so he could fly in panto in Derby this Christmas
from
Scott Long apologised to Peter Tatchell in 2010 for similar slurs and untrue claims He wrote: “I respect Peter Tatchell’s contribution to human rights and apologise for any condemnatory and intemperate allegations made in haste and for any inaccurate statements ” Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, said: “These apologies reveal Scott Long to be a serial purveyor of false allegations and smears Sectarian smears against fellow human rights defenders are indefensible We should support each other in our shared commitment to universal human rights My gratitude to Roger Horton and Routledge for this apology Their willingness to acknowledge the wrong done is laudable ”
▼ The LGBT Community Safety Forum Trust & Confidence Survey has been live for a month and responses are encouraging The For um is an independent group of LGBT people whose aim is to ensure effective accountability between the LGBT communities of Brighton & Hove and the statutor y authorities, including Sussex Police and Brighton & Hove City Council. The sur vey hopes to establish base line data to establish the level of Tr ust & Confidence in the police and council regarding community safety and how it changes each year This questionnaire is confidentialand the 20 questions will take only a few minutes to complete Access the sur vey via www lgbt-safety-forumbrighton com/survey or www surveymonkey com/s/BHTC survey2012 For hard copies or large print call 01273 262220. The sur vey process has been independently suppor ted by The Tr ust for Developing Communities More info: www.lgbt-safetyforum-brighton.com/about-us-1 Contact the For um: info@lgbtsafety-forum-brighton com
Lunch Positive, the HIV charity who provide a healthy meal for positive people every Friday at the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church, received £354 from the Marine Tavern's bonus ball competition £235 was also raised for the Poppy Appeal and £117 for Terrence Higgins Trust from the sale of red ribbons
Steve and Nat want to thank everyone who suppor ts their fundraising every month and wish all their customers a Happy New Year
The Sussex Beacon received £551
the Marine Tavern's Xmas Lucky Dip
GOVERNMENT TO LEGISLATE ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE
▼ Maria Miller MP , The Culture Secretary, announced last month that the Government will be moving ahead with plans to legislate on same-sex marriage, however, due to opposition from the Church of England and Church of Wales, enshrined in the legislation it will be illegal for both those churches to perform same sex marriage ceremonies
Prior to her announcement the views of the Churches of England and Wales were well known but it still came as a surprise that the legislation will make it illegal for same-sex par tners to marry in those churches, rather than as expected, individual churches being given the oppor tunity to opt in or opt out of conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies Other religious groups including the Quakers, Unitarians and Liberal Judaism, favour the legislation and will be able to opt in to conduct marriage ceremonies in their churches
Plans are due to be introduced before the next election in 2015
The Culture Minister promised the following four safeguards:
• No religious organisation or individual minister would be compelled to marry same-sex couples or to permit this to happen on their premises
• To make it unlawful for religious organisations or their ministers to marry same-sex couples unless their organisation's governing body has expressly opted in to provisions for doing so
• To amend the 2010 Equality Act to ensure no discrimination claim can be brought against religious organisations or individual ministers for refusing to marry a same-sex couple
• The legislation would explicitly state that is would be illegal for the Church of England and the Church in Wales to marry same-sex couples and that Canon Law, which bans same-sex weddings, will continue to apply
Maria Miller MP said: “I am absolutely clear that no religious organisation will ever be forced to conduct marriages for samesex couples, and I would not bring in a bill which would allow that European law already puts religious freedoms beyond doubt, and we will go even further by bringing in an additional 'quadruple legal lock' But it is also a key aspect of religious freedom that those bodies who want to opt in should be able to do so ”
Last month the Prime Minister David Cameron, MP said that he believed samesex marriages should be allowed in churches - but only if there was a guarantee that no church, synagogue or mosque would be forced to hold one against their wishes He indicated he would be voting in suppor t Other senior Tories, including Education Secretary Michael Gove MP , London Mayor, Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister John Major and Nick Herber t MP have also publicly backed same-sex marriage by religious bodies to counter the vocal number of Tory back benchers who had recently made their opposition to the legislation clear
Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the LGB equality charity Stonewall, said: “ We’re delighted about the government’s statement today and welcome the promise to legislate for equal marriage as warmly as on the three previous occasions that this announcement has been made We’re particularly pleased that ministers have been persuaded to extend their original proposal in order to permit same-sex marriages for those religious denominations that wish to hold them This is an important matter of religious freedom While we fully respect the point of view of those who oppose the government’s plans, our advice to them remains that if you don’t approve of same-sex marriage, then just make sure you don’t get married to someone of the same sex ”
Tom French, Policy Co-ordinator for the Equality Network in Scotland, said: “ We welcome the decision to legalise same-sex marriage in England and Wales, which will give a boost to similar plans already announced in Scotland This is a simple matter of equality and religious freedom LGBT people deserve equal rights under the law including the right to get married to the person they love Equally religious bodies should have the freedom to choose for themselves whether or not they conduct same-sex marriages, currently all religious bodies are wrongly banned from doing so regardless of their beliefs The UK
Government’s proposals are fair, progressive, and backed by a majority of the public and parliament This is the right thing to do and the right time to do it ”
Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown & Peacehaven, said: “As a long standing supporter of equal marriage I am delighted that the Government has brought forward proposals to make this important institution open to everyone, regardless of their sexuality It sends out an important message about equality in 21st Century Britain, and I am proud of the fact that it is a Conservative Prime Minister making this historic change “There is overwhelming support for a change in the law to allow same sex marriage, with a recent Ipsos-MORI poll showing that 73% of voters support equal marriage It is right that religious institutions who want to conduct same sex marriages are permitted to do so, and at the same time churches that don’t want to conduct them will not be forced to do so The Government has struck the right balance between individual liberty and religious freedom and I look forward to the legislation being introduced to the House of Commons early next year ”
Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove and Por tslade, said: “I have been in favour of same-sex marriage from the beginning and am heartened that senior Conservatives like Sir John Major have now added their backing to the campaign There are certainly sensitivities to bear in mind if we are to bring as many people as possible with us on this Nevertheless, I do believe that we will look back one day and feel shocked that equal marriage was banned in the first place ”
Lynn Featherstone, MP , Former Minister for Equalities, concluded: "It’s been an amazing day for equality today as the Coalition Government announced it will introduce legislation to open marriage up to same-sex couples I am so proud of our Party because – don’t let anyone fool you – it’s because of Liberal Democrats that this is happening It’s been a proud day for me and you should feel proud too "
Adrian Trett, Chair of LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, said: “The Liberal Democrats were the first major party to adopt marriage equality as policy, and it's great to now see support across the political spectrum for the Government delivering this We are particularly pleased that the Government is allowing willing faith organisations to conduct same-sex marriages - this is a decision which should not be taken by Government "
LGBT+ Liberal Democrats have expressed concerns, however, over the lack of plans to extend civil par tnerships to mixed-sex couples The group point out this will lead to couples in civil par tnership being forced to dissolve the relationship if one par tner undergoes legal gender change, which will not be the case for married couples They have briefed the par ty's MPs and will be examining the full legislation carefully to see where it differs from the par ty's equal marriage policy, in order to consider legislative amendments
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion expressed her disappointment with the planned limitations She said: “As a long standing campaigner for LGBT equality, I welcome the Government's proposals as a positive step towards equal marriage, and am pleased that some faiths which wish to marry LGBT couples may choose to do so W ith MPs being given a free vote on the subject, I hope that the majority in Parliament will recognise that this is a clear human rights issue and use their vote to support the freedom to marry equally
“However, it's deeply disappointing that the proposals would ban Catholic Church and Church of England clergy from conducting marriage for same-sex couples, as well as preventing opposite-sex couples from accessing civil partnerships
“This is a question of equal love - it is not about asking for special treatment for gay couples or straight couples - it's about everyone enjoying the same rights regardless of their sexuality "
Cllr Phelim MacCaffer ty, deputy leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “Greens have historically argued that all couples, regardless of their gender or sexuality, should be allowed to marry We are proud of the role that Greens have played in pushing the issues forward, including Green London Assembly member Darren Johnson who asked the Mayor of London to trial civil partnerships in the London Assembly, which, of course, proved so popular that it was introduced as law
“However, we’re disappointed that all clergy from the Catholic Church and Church of England who wish to conduct marriage for same-sex couples are banned from doing so Greens argue that the proposals unfairly discriminate against Anglicans and Catholics wishing to have their love recognised in the same building as they worship in Ministers from, for example, Unitarian Churches, Liberal Synagogues and the Society of Friends (Quakers) will be permitted to conduct marriages which we welcome, but we are concerned that in the main faiths in the UK there will be, effectively, no change We don't think this is good enough at all In addition it is unfair and discriminatory to bar opposite-sex couples from civil partnerships
“Greens are appalled that many Members of Parliament have used the equal marriage debate to stir up bigotry - Bob Blackman MP has called for the reintroduction of the much-hated Section 28 We are disappointed too that Labour having stated that they would apply a three-line whip to the vote has now said that they will apply a free vote
“It is good that the consultation on marriage has been published and that the debate on meaningful equality will continue, but we believe that the only nondiscriminatory way to go forward is to offer all faiths and none the right to marry or to be civilly partnered Greens will carry on campaigning on this basis "
MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SUPPORT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
▼ A majority (55%) of the British public suppor t changing the law to allow same-sex marriage, but Conservative voters are divided on the issue with 46% in favour, 48% opposed and the rest who say they don’t know The poll comes amidst a declaration by Ukip leader Nigel Farage that the Prime Minister’s decision to legalise gay marriage would “rip apart” the Conservative Par ty Meanwhile, 60% of Labour voters suppor t same-sex marriage, and an overwhelming 77% of Liberal Democrats are in favour of the change
There was also a considerable divide between men and women on the issue, with only 48% of men in suppor t of same-sex marriage (43% are opposed) compared to 62% suppor t amongst women (28% are opposed)
The government recently announced a proposal to legalise same-sex marriage, but the Church of England and Church in Wales will be exempted from performing same-sex wedding ceremonies Other religious institutions will be able to “opt-in” to holding same-sex weddings if they so choose According to the poll, 45% of the public suppor t changing the law to allow same-sex couples to marry in registry offices and licenced venues, but keep religious weddings in churches to those between a man and a woman, while 41% oppose this approach and 14% say they don’t know Meanwhile, 53% say they suppor t giving churches the choice of whether or not to offer same-sex marriages, while 37% oppose this and 10% don’t know When asked what is more impor tant, the right of same-sex couples to get married or the right of churches to keep religious marriages to those between men and women, a plurality say that the right of churches should take priority, but a substantial propor tion are unsure
• 27% say the right of same-sex couples to get married is most impor tant
• 46% say the right of churches to keep religious marriages to those between men and women is most impor tant
• 27% say they are either unsure or don’t know
Joe Twyman, YouGov Director of Political and Social Research, commented: “All the recent polling we’ve done on this issue has found a majority of the British public support the right of same-sex couples to have full equal marriage However, dig a little deeper and we can see that Conservative voters remain more divided on this issue, with a slightly higher proportion opposed Ukip has already pledged to seek the votes of those who abandon the Conservatives over the issue, so the government’s decision to plough ahead with same-sex marriage legislation could intensif y divisions within the party over the coming weeks ”
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LGBT SWITCHBOARD LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
▼ Natalie Woods, the services and development manager at Brighton & Hove, LGBT Switchboard, presented the Annual Repor t at LGBT Switchboard's AGM at the end of November 2012 She said the last year saw significant successes and challenges for Switchboard, the LGBT counselling service, which in its 37th year needed to raise £20,000 to continue to deliver its telephone and face-to-face counseling services to those in Brighton and beyond Ten counsellors (later reduced to five due to lack of funds) received 61 requests for counseling, and counselled 45 people The service had an average waiting time of 8-12 weeks, and at the time of writing there are 21 people waiting for counselling with an average wait time of 5 months Twenty-one volunteers delivered the help-line service and a ring-back service was star ted where callers can now leave a message and receive a call back Despite the challenges, Switchboard have survived that turbulent year and have been able to continue providing high quality help-line and counselling services to meet LGBT people’s needs
Key achievements in 2011-2012:
• Provision of help-line services to over 900 callers
• Provision of 331 counselling sessions to 45 clients
• Grant funding secured from The Lloyds TSB foundation towards core costs
• Grant funding from The Cooperative Community Membership Fund to recruit and retain a trans identified counsellor for 12 months
• Significant funds raised from community fundraising activities
• Recruitment of a qualified trans identified counsellor
• Development and delivery of a training programme for local counsellors/ therapists to increase their knowledge and understanding of the issues that affect LGBT people
• Co-management of LGBT Health and Inclusion Project (HIP) in par tnership with Terrence Higgins Trust – the project achieved success in engaging with the LGBT community on a number of impor tant issues including: mental health experiences and needs, sexual health needs of bi and trans people
Whilst 2011-2012 was a financially challenging year by the end of the year Natalie repor ted they were on the road to recovery and had begun to identif y strategies to:
• Develop fundraising strategy and action plan to strengthen our sustainability
• Build a stronger, sustainable Trustee Board
• Aim to increase capacity within the counselling service
• Increase staff hours to increase organisational capacity
• Secure a comfor table appropriate dedicated space for counselling
• Develop existing par tnership work and explore new par tnership work to meet unmet needs of the LGBT community
• Increase community engagement activity and strengthen community connections
• Develop service user involvement initiatives
• Improve outcome based monitoring and evaluation systems
• Develop the website
• Develop the use of social media
The Helpline is operated weekdays 5-9pm and weekends 5-7pm For more information, view: www.switchboard.org.uk
SUSSEX BEACON CHARITY SHOPS GET RETAIL REVAMP
▼ Over the past few months the Sussex Beacon has been reviewing the retail operations in their Brighton & Hove shops and making plans for the future
The Sussex Beacon shops for m an impor tant par t of the Beacon's fundraising por tfolio and also ser ve as the public face of the organisation in Brighton & Hove
The Beacon benefit from a huge amount of suppor t both through donations and shoppers at their stores in St James’ Street, Brighton and George Street, Hove
Following the review a decision has been taken to expand into the world of fur niture sales When the lease on the present shop in George Street, Hove expires at the beginning of next month, the Beacon will be relocating to a new bigger and brighter shop at Preston Circus
The plan is to streamline operations, making the St James’ Street shop exclusively for clothing, books and audio visual items, and the new Preston Circus shop an outlet for fur niture and bric a brac
Craig Jewson, Retail Manager, has moved back to clothing retailers, GAP . He will be sorely missed but moves on with the best wishes of ever yone at the Beacon
In the new year the Beacon will be adver tising for fur niture donations to help launch the new store If you have fur niture to donate, call: 01273 694222 and talk to Ian Money www sussexbeacon org uk
QUEER COMMUNITY YOGA CL ASSES
▼ Sarah Shanti Yoga are running a Queer Community Yoga Class every Tuesday (excluding New Year's Day) in Brighton at the Garden Studio, 7a Ship Street from 8 15–9 45pm The class will offer likeminded people the chance to practice yoga, recharge their batteries and reconnect with the body, in a friendly, suppor tive and safe space There are no changing facilities, but a gender neutral toilet is available for those wishing to change Par ticipants should wear loose, comfor table clothes, needn't bring shoes as mats are provided, and pay what they like, on a sliding scale from £2-£10 Sarah Hebben, head yoga teacher, said: “If you are worried that you might not be able to follow the class due to physical restrictions, then I am very happy to meet you before the class starts to discuss adjustments and alternatives that work for you ” For more information, view: http://sarahshantiyoga.com/queer-yoga/
NEW! LESBIAN DATING IN SAFETY
▼ Wow Women, a new lesbian dating online community with a green commitment, was launched last month Run by lesbians,
for lesbians and bi women, the website aims to redefine Internet dating, making finding a par tner easier through member-created groups, social events, live chat, VIP dating, speed dating and Facebook connect It is equipped with software to weed out fake profiles and photographs, making online dating a safer experience Wow Women plans to be a green company by minimising the impact they have on the environment, and are members of 1010 Global and the Bike to Work scheme
Julianne Balai, Wow’s Founder, said: “I’ve been continually asked by my members to create an online dating platform for them to interact on a more personal level in a safer environment, run by gay women who understand their needs Af ter months of hard work, we’re ready to introduce the most comprehensive dating website ever for lesbians ” www wowwomen co uk
ALLSORTS HOST LGBT CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE & FAMILIES DAY IN BRIGHTON
▼ Young People’s Voice, the LGBT youth campaigning and engagement project at Allsor ts Youth Project, will be hosting an LGBT Children Young People and Families Day on Februar y 5 at the Hotel Du Vin in Brighton The event, which will coincide with LGBT Histor y Month, aims to celebrate LGBT youth identity and community, with the theme of togetherness
A Tea Par ty in the ballroom of Hotel Du Vin for community voluntary sector, statutory practitioners and commissioners will showcase the project, then there will be a prom for young people and a Champions Dinner for business people, head teachers, councillors and others to promote the project and encourage people to commit to making the changes they can in their environments to improve the experience of LGBT young people
Jess Wood MBE, Allsor ts Project Director, explained: “LGBT children and young people are of ten portrayed in the media as the victims of other people's negativity whether that’s bullying, exclusion or harm The LGBT young people we know at Allsorts have of ten faced enormous challenges So have their families and so do children with LGBT parents But that’s only one side of the story In fact, one page in a big book of strength, humour, fun, solidarity, extended generational support, complexity, diversity and above all, nurture and warmth
“The purpose of LGBT Children, Young and Families Day is to celebrate once a year all that’s wonderful about belonging to an LGBT family, whether you’re parents or carers or children or part of a LGBT youth friendship group We want the day to become an annual focal point for schools and youth projects to jump on the Allsorts bandwagon and shout: LGBT children, young people and families are great, let’s celebrate!”
For more information view: www.allsor tsyouth.org.uk/ or to ‘like’ their Facebook page and spread the word, view: www facebook com/LgbtChildrenYoungPeopleAndFamiliesDay?fref=ts
ASDA GIVES BACK TO COMMUNITY
▼ ASDA supermarket at Brighton Marina operate a Chosen By You Given By Us scheme to benefit local organisations Every two months, through their 'colleague vocal group', three similar charities are chosen for customers to decide who will receive cheques for £200 and two cheques for £50 each Nomination forms are available on the community board in all ASDA stores throughout the country Every time a customer shops at ASDA they are given a token to put it in the tower of their favourite charity After two months the charity with the most tokens receives a cheque for £200 and the other charities get a cheque for £50 each The money comes from the ASDA Foundation and the scheme runs countrywide and is a way that ASDA gives something back to the community
month Philip Derbyshire, ASDA GSM (centre) presented cheques to: (left to right): Gar y Pargeter from Lunch Positive the HIV charity who provide a healthy meal for those who have and are affected by HIV every Friday at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church £50, Helen Jones from MindOUT, the LGBT mental health project £200 and Maureen R atcliffe and Julie R awcliffe from Sussex Beacon £50 The Sussex Beacon also received boxes of mince pies for their Christmas Carol Service in December
Last
100,000 DEMAND PEPSI OPPOSE 'KILL THE GAYS' BILL IN UGANDA
▼ Petitioners are demanding that Pepsi’s Africa division release a statement opposing the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill and that their Uganda Director communicate that message directly to Ugandan Members of Parliament Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman, Executive Director of SumofUs.org, said:“ W ith tens of thousands of lives on the line, Pepsi’s silence is deafening We urge Pepsi to immediately and publicly denounce a Bill that would punish or kill people based on their sexual preference ”
Despite rumours that the death penalty was removed from the Bill, the latest version released to the public includes the death penalty clause The Bill’s author, David Bahati, has said publicly that he believes every single gay person in Uganda should be killed In addition to the proposed use of the death penalty, the legislation creates massive incentives for a person to claim to be a ‘victim of homosexuality’ in order to avoid prosecution if caught engaging in the overly broad definition of homosexual activity Included in that definition is holding hands or accidentally bumping into someone of the same gender Stinebrickner-Kauffman continued: “Pepsi is now silent on one of the most horrific pieces of legislation ever considered, and it won’t speak out against the ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill unless we make it This is an opportunity for Pepsi to stand up against homophobia and for human dignity on the right side of history ” This isn’t the first time Pepsi has had the chance to distance itself from homophobia in the wake of consumer concern After they were caught sponsoring a concer t in Kampala by Beenie Man, an ar tist who became wealthy spouting homophobic lyrics, Pepsi was forced to back away from the sponsorship To sign the petition, view: http://action sumofus org/a/uganda-bill/?sub=pr
CHARITY FOUNDER SHAUN DELLENTY IS 'PROUD2BE GAY'
▼ Shaun Dellenty, openly gay head teacher has lent his suppor t to a new LGBTQI video campaign by making a video letting the world know he is proud to be gay Shaun, who founded Inclusion For All, a charity that helps tackle homophobic bullying in schools, said: “ When I was young I felt like I was living on a different planet and I wasn't proud of who I was I'm standing here today to tell you to be proud of who you are I'm proud to be gay and I wouldn't change it ”
The video campaign star ted when identical twin brothers Mat and Jon Price recorded a shor t video to let the world know they were proud to be gay Various British public figures have followed in the brothers’ footsteps and recorded similar messages, including Stephen Fr y, Peter Tatchell, Christine Burns MBE, Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans MP , Michael Cashman MEP and Fox from Channel 4's My Transsexual Summer
The video campaign is par t of the Proud2Be Project, a new social enterprise that has already been nominated for a Prince’s Trust award Through the project, Mat and Jon will not only be running the video campaign but also facilitating social groups and workshops, creating documentaries, exhibitions and hosting their their own radio show every Monday at 6pm on www soundar tradio org uk/ Mat and Jon, said: “Like Shaun, we both grew up with lots of negative messages about being gay Recently we’ve seen increasing support for LGBTQI communities and we’ve also seen increasing resistance It's for this reason we feel it crucial to not only encourage LGBTQI youth to be proud of who they are but also the adults like us who grew up feeling like their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression was something to be ashamed of
The Proud2Be Project invites everyone to make a Proud2Be video! Whether LGBTQI, friend, family member, co-worker or educator, Proud2Be are looking for more stars for their video campaign
To find out more about the project and for details on how to make your own Proud2Be video, view: http://proud2beproject org/
POLICE APPEAL FOR HELP
▼ Police are appealing for help in identif ying two men who were at a protest at University of Sussex in November 2012 Just before 1 50pm on Wednesday November 14, police were called to the Silverstone Building in Ar ts Road on the University of Sussex campus at Falmer, af ter a repor t of a disturbance A large group of people were outside the building where Mike Weatherley, MP for Hove & Por tslade was present. Officers took Mr Weatherley to safety in a police van One of his team repor ted suffering a slight injur y by a stone which had been thrown Detective Constable Sophie Tullett of Brighton & Hove CID said: “We are appealing for these men to contact the police We w ould also like to hear from any one w ho recognises them ”
On Friday November 23, a 24year-old man from Brighton was ar rested on suspicion of affray in relation to the incident and has been released on bail until Januar y 18, 2013, pending fur ther enquiries Anyone with infor mation is asked to contact Sussex Police on 101 quoting Operation Pool or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111
AT RISK GROUPS SHOULD GET VACCINATED
▼ Latest figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) indicate that flu is now widely circulating in the community The Depar tment of Health has issued guidance for the use of antiviral dr ugs for the management of people presenting with flu like illness If you’re in an "at risk" group such as being HIV positive or diabetic there is still time to be vaccinated
NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR NATIONAL DIVERSITY AWARDS
▼ The National Diversity Awards 2013, an evening celebrating the outstanding achievements of positive role models and community organisations throughout the UK, will be accepting nominations from this month On September 20, 2013, The Queen’s Hotel in Leeds will play host to Britain’s most inspiring people who will come together to recognise the individuals and groups from grass roots communities who have contributed to creating a more diverse and inclusive society
An astonishing 8,000 nominations were made at the 2012 awards, with political campaigner Peter Tatchell scooping The Lifetime Achiever Award
Paul Sesay, Chief Executive of The National Diversity Awards, said: “ We received an overwhelming amount of nominations for last year’s ceremony If ever there was a time to celebrate and elevate the truly staggering diversity of talent the UK has to offer – it is now I know another fantastic spectacle of role models will be delivered and recognised in 2013”
Award categories including Positive Role Model, Community Organisation & Entrepreneur of Excellence Awards will be split into five categories including Age, Disability, Gender, LGBT and Race/ Faith/ Religion You can also nominate for a Diverse Company and Lifetime Achiever To nominate view: www nationaldiversityawards co uk Or for a nomination form email: emma@thediversitygroup.co.uk
HAMPSHIRE POLICE FORCE AIMS TO IMPROVE SERVICE TO LGBT COMMUNITIES
▼ Around 50 Lesbian & Gay Liaison Officers (LAGLOs) from across Hampshire Constabular y attended a development day in November last year to help improve the force's service to LGBT people The aim of the event was for the force’s LAGLOs to share ideas and best practice and find out more about current issues within LGBT communities in Hampshire It was held at police training headquar ters at Netley and speakers on the day included:
• Age UK on the issues of elderly people in LGBT communities
• Over The R ainbow, a suppor t service for LGBT people on issues of mental health
• Nick Hawkins, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex on hate crimes in spor ts grounds
Of par ticular interest to many LAGLOs was Nick Hawkins’s discussion on homophobic and racist abuse on Twitter and other social networking sites It generated a debate which explored what constitutes abuse and what is required to bring such incidents to a successful prosecution and conviction The day was also an oppor tunity to hear from two LAGLOs who run Education For All programmes
These are officers who go into local schools to talk to young people about homophobic and transphobic bullying and the effect abusive language can have They gave the group an update on their work to encourage others to extend the scheme You can talk to LAGLOs on Twitter @HantsPoliceLGBT
Inspector Julie Fr y, Chair of Hampshire Constabulary’s LGBT Resource Group which co-ordinates the LAGLOs network, said: “The content of the guests and presentations were really diverse Age UK was really useful especially to our L AGLOs who are trying to increase our engagement with older LGBT communities Nick Hawkins has been a really kind supporter of the work we’re doing in Hampshire Constabulary, not least in education, and I’d like to thank him for speaking It was good to hear him reinforce the need to change culture and awareness about the nature of abusive language and behaviour, change that starts at education level and particularly the work we do with football clubs
“I’d like to thank all the L AGLOs who were able to make the day The service they provide is an important one that offers trust and confidence to of ten less visible communities I want to show LGBT communities in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight that if you have any issues about policing, or being the victim or witness of a crime or incident, that we will take it seriously and respond actively ” If you would like to find out more about the work of LAGLOs in Hampshire Constabulary, email lgbt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk
If you've been the victim of homophobic or transphobic abuse, call the police on 101 In an emergency, always call 999 If you don’t want to speak to the police directly, you can call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or repor t hate crimes via True Vision website at: www repor t-it org uk/home
CHARITY LAUNCHES NEW LGBT SEX SURVEY
▼ Sussex-based charity Mankind have launched a new online survey to uncover the extent and effects of sexual violation on LGBT people Mankind is a specialist agency that provides counselling to men who have experienced sexual abuse and is concerned by the lack of research and knowledge around the experience of LGBT people
Mar tyn Sullivan, Mankind CEO, said: “ We are aware that individuals from LGBT communities face unique difficulties and challenges in disclosing sexual abuse We want to address this by giving them a safe way to tell us about their experiences ”
The survey is called W ith Consent? and aims to go beyond clearly defined instances of sexual abuse, assault and rape
Mar tyn added: “Sometimes, it is not that clear Sex can be used in many different ways and we sometimes find that we’ve been involved in something that later on we are not entirely happy or comfortable about ” This is especially true for people first becoming aware of their sexuality and beginning to experiment with different sexual experiences, or when sex is used as payment for shelter, food and drugs etc In these circumstances it can be very confusing about how consensual the sex was, and how much control the person actually felt they had This is why the survey is described as ‘Discovering how sex is abused, used and confused in LGBT communities ’
Mar tyn concluded: “ We want this survey to cover the whole spectrum of negative sexual experiences in order to give a true account of the sexual lives of LGBT people This is the first survey of its kind – we’ve put it online to make sure it’s 100% confidential and enables as many people as possible to take part ”
To par ticipate in the UK LGBT Survey, view: www uklgbtsur vey org
To find out more about Mankind, view: www mankindcounselling org uk
BBC PUBLISHES REPORT ON DEPICTION OF LGB IN THE MEDIA
▼ The BBC has published a new snapshot of the views of audiences and exper ts on the por trayal of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in UK programming, which will provide a robust benchmark to track future changes Split in two par ts, the repor t includes a survey of the opinions of around 3,500 people, including more than 500 people who identif y as LGB, as well as an in-depth consultation of individuals and members of exper t organisations including Stonewall, actors’ union Equity and the Lesbian & Gay Foundation
The repor t found that whilst the vast majority of audiences are comfor table of the depiction of LGB people within UK media, many LGB people felt they were stillunder-represented by all broadcasts, not just the BBC Exper ts urged for more mainstream inclusion in news and current affairs, and more creative and realistic depictions in factual and drama television
Tim Davie, acting director general and chair of the BBC Working Group, which commissioned the review, said: “The BBC has a fundamental obligation to serve all its audiences In fact, it’s one of the BBC’s public purposes to reflect the diversity of UK life I’m proud to have led this work for three years, and this review underlines our commitment and sets a direction for the work to continue ”
To see the full repor t, view: www bbc co uk/diversity/audiences/lgbconsultation.html
RUN FOR MINDOUT!
▼ Places are available to run the 2013 Brighton Marathon and raise money for MindOut, the award winning LGBT mental health project Running is great for your mental health and raising much needed funds for MindOut could be good for everyone's mental health! MindOut has funded places for the next Brighton Marathon, on April 14 Sign up now, join their marathon team and get lots of suppor t and fun in your preparations If you would like to know more email: info@mindout.org.uk For more information about MindOut view: www mindout org uk
SUICIDE PREVENTION PLEDGE - A CALL TO ACTION!
▼ The Grass R oots Suicide Prevention Project want you to take the Tell Me pledge
Sign up to have open, honest and direct conversations about suicide The pledge reads: I pledge that I will:
• Tell someone if I'm str uggling and need help;
• Reach out and tell you if I'm wor ried about you;
• Listen to you, without judgement if you need someone to talk to;
• Ask you, directly, if I think you're tr ying to tell me about suicide;
• help you get suppor t if you're str uggling and/or thinking about suicide
Follow this link to take the pledge - and share it with ever yone you know: bit ly/TellMepledge
When you take the pledge you will be signposted to resources for people in need of help, and also to their Facebook page where you can buy a pledge pack (badge/wallet card/suicide prevention resources)
Take the pledge today and share it far and wide! They need your help to reach their target of 3,000 local residents taking this pledge by September 2015, as par t of their Suicide Safer Brighton & Hove initiative
They hope to have many LGBTQ people take the pledge, as this community has a higher incidence of attempted and completed suicide
If you fill in the pledge, together we can strengthen our communities to prevent suicide bit ly/TellMepledge
NATIONAL HIV TESTING WEEK A GREAT SUCCESS
▼ Thousands more gay men have been tested for HIV after more than 55 sexual health clinics and organisations from across England par ticipated in the country's first every National HIV Testing Week last November The week, which was launched by Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) and coordinated through HIV Prevention England (HPE), saw over 800 additional hours of HIV testing events across England
Other successes, included: a home sampling service launched by London-based gay men's health charity GMFA which saw more than 200 home HIV sampling kits posted out to gay men in London; in Leeds, 111 additional HIV tests were given in the city compared with five tests during the same period last year, while the THT centre in Brighton extended its clinic opening hours throughout the week, testing an extra 51 local people for HIV
Paul Ward, Deputy Chief Executive at THT, said: “As a result of increased testing activities during the week, thousands more gay men across England now know their HIV status Whether you’re positive or negative, knowing your status is the first step in being able to protect yourself and your partners from infection National HIV Testing Week is a great annual reminder for gay men to test However, not everyone’s sex life is the same, and some men will need to test more regularly than others We hope the message of the week, of how important testing is to both individual and public health, will last all year round ” For more information view: www.tht.uk
THT SAYS THANK YOU
▼ THT Brighton say a massive thank you to all volunteers, venues and suppor ters for their effor ts and donations for World Aids Day 2012 A special thank you to goes to the Queens Arms, Subline and R evenge all raising over £400 each for HIV prevention and suppor t services in the City Pictured is Subline who raised a brilliant £494 38 which included a raffle with prizes donated by Legends, Prowler and Nice ‘N’ Naughty
RAINBOW FUND SUPPORTS LGBT ADVICE AND ADVOCACY PROJECTS
▼ Last month the R ainbow Fund announced financial suppor t for a range of organisations working in the local LGBT and HIV communities Amongst the grants announced, MindOut and Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard received suppor t This is the third time the Rainbow Fund has suppor ted MindOut, and the second time Switchboard has received a grant The Rainbow Fund provided MindOut with star t-up funding three years ago and the organisation has gone from strength to strength since then MindOut offers a mental health service run by and for LGBT people Based locally, it provides local services as well as a number of national initiatives
Welcoming the grant, Helen Jones, MindOut’s Director said: “MindOut are delighted that the Rainbow Fund will be funding part of our peer support group work service this year It’s vital in helping us keep our established services running in Brighton & Hove in this financial climate Our peer support service continues to be very well attended: this year we have focussed on women, people over 55 and people under 30 Our over 55s group has highlighted the need for more work on older people’s mental health and we asked the Rainbow Fund to support us to run an even in 2013 aimed at mental health in older age ”
Paul Elgood, Chairman of the Rainbow Fund said: “ We hope that the support we provide for these organisations will help them increase their financial sustainability and improve their reach with their beneficiaries These kinds of services provide a vital contact point for LGBT people when they need it most ’We feel that it is important to be clear how the money donated to the Rainbow Fund is being used, and these kinds of projects show how even small donations by individuals can collectively make a big difference ”
CAROLS AGAINST THE CUTS
▼ Local campaigning group, Brighton & Hove Women Against The Cuts, enter tained passers-by to Christmas carols with a difference outside Hove Town Hall on Saturday, December 15 Gathered round a giant Christmas wish-list, including the repeal of recent NHS legislation (opposed by the British Medical Association and vast majority of health service professional bodies), and the reinstatement of millions of pounds slashed from Brighton & Hove City Council’s budget at a far higher amount per head than in neighbouring areas, the group sang alternative words to familiar tunes to get their powerful festive message across Suppor ters and passers-by joined in to sing topical versions of traditional favourites such as A way in a Manger: A way in a Manger, No houses to rent, Our benefits capped, Should we live in a tent, We want a fair system And know this makes sense, No tax breaks for the richest, There is no defence
The women are sending Brighton and Hove's Conservative MPs Mike Weatherley and Simon Kirby a Christmas photo-card of the event, along with a special Christmas parcel containing dozens of postcards previously signed at the group’s stalls by local people opposed to the savage cuts Spokeswoman, Marie Atkinson, said: “Brighton & Hove Women Against The Cuts formed in February 2011 in response to the Coalition Government's austerity programme Our campaign is gaining rapid momentum across the city as more and more residents realise that these very severe cuts are significantly damaging their lives, jobs, aspirations and the well-being of their families and friends
“Especially at this time of year, when our local communities are feeling the dire effects of these Government cuts even more keenly, it’s essential that we let Brighton & Hove’s Tory MPs know that enough is enough
“Our festive event was popular with many locals who joined us in singing the specially adapted carols We're looking forward to our next public event, focusing on the impact of austerity on women, to be held at the Brighthelm Centre on 2nd February, 1-4pm ” More information, view: http://tinyurl com/BHWATC
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCE TOUGHER SENTENCES FOR VIOLENT CRIME
▼ The Gover nment introduced a draf t of new criminal offences and tougher sentences for violent crimes last month Anyone who commits two ver y serious sexual or violent offences will get a life sentence, those who tr y to destroy our communities by threatening and endangering people with knives will face a mandator y custodial sentence and those who devastate lives by dangerous driving will face the harshest penalties
Simon Kirby, MP for Kemptown & Peacehaven has welcomed the new tougher sentences
He said: “Criminals should be in no doubt they w ill be punished for their crimes, w ith those w ho commit the most serious offences receiv ing the most sev ere sentences
“I par ticularly w elcome the Gov ernment’s effor ts to tackle knife crime, w ith a new offence of ‘aggrav ated knife possession’ carr y ing a mandator y prison sentence of at least six months for adults, w hile 16 and 17 y ear olds w ill face a mandator y four month Detention and T raining Order K nife crime has blighted communities and destroy ed liv es for too long, and this Gov ernment is determined to get a grip on the problem
“I am pleased that the Gov ernment has taken action to set out how a tough but intelligent sentencing framew ork, coupled w ith more effectiv e rehabilitation, w ill enable us to break the cy cle of crime and re-offending ”
TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE
▼ Last year’s special event on Trans Day of R emembrance was organised by the Clare Project and drew a large crowd of friends and suppor ters to the Dorset Gardens Methodist Church on Sunday, November 25 Cllrs Phelim MacCaffer ty, Denise Cobb and Gill Mitchell represented the city's three main political par ties and
each said a few words of suppor t The Deputy Mayor Anne Norman was also present Joanna from R egard, Luc and Sabah from F TMB and the Reverend R obin Selmes from the Dorset Garden Methodist Church also spoke The event was hosted by Steph Scott from the Clare Project who read out a letter from a Brazilian trans women, then everyone was invited to write the name of a trans person who had been murdered and place it on the wall of remembrance
BROKEN RAINBOW MARKS HUMAN RIGHTS DAY IN BRIGHTON & HOVE
▼ To celebrate Human Rights Day on December 10 last month, Cllr Bill R andall, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove was joined by Cllr Gill Mitchell the leader of the Labour & Co-operative group to plant a tree in Dorset Gardens to remember victims of LGBT Domestic Violence The tree planting ceremony was organised by Broken R ainbow, the national LGBT helpline for those experiencing domestic violence Cllr Phelim MacCaffer ty, Deputy Leader of Brighton & Hove Council, said: “Domestic violence destroys too many lives in our city and among the LGBT community And this is why the work of Broken Rainbow is of incredible importance, and work that we take very seriously The planting of the ‘solidarity’ tree will help in whatever small way to raise public awareness of survivors of domestic violence and reduce social tolerance of domestic violence ” For more information, view: www brokenrainbow org uk
NEW AIRLINE STARTS TWICE DAILY FLIGHTS TO PARIS FROM BRIGHTON AIRPORT
▼ A new airline, Brighton City Air ways has been launched to fly twice-daily scheduled flights to Paris from Shoreham in Sussex Shoreham Airpor t has been renamed Brighton (Shoreham) Airpor t to celebrate the new service Tickets went on sale from December 1, 2012 with the first flights depar ting on March 6, 2013 The airline will fly into Paris Pontoise airpor t, which is close to central Paris, allowing passengers to reach the city centre within two hours of parking at Shoreham Tickets cost from £69 one way, including taxes and charges
Neil Laughton, one of the two Sussex-based aviation exper ts, who have founded the airline, said: “This has long-term benefits for the local community too as there are many businesses in Sussex who can use this service on a regular basis and holiday makers or Paris day trippers can also make the most of travelling to and from Shoreham’s charming airport, where parking is easy and check in to take off takes just minutes ”
Special features of the airline include a 15 minute check-in, no hidden fees, VIP lounge and service, easy local parking and the flight, which is in a 19-seat Let 410 commuter aircraft, takes one hour to reach Paris Pontoise Airpor t is also conveniently close to La Défense business district of Paris, which is just 22 miles away Ric Belfield, airpor t manager, said: “This is absolutely what we want to see at the airport, scheduled international travel bringing lots of people through our historic airport, which was the first licensed airfield in Britain This has prompted us to rename the airport Brighton (Shoreham) Airport, to link it properly to our neighbouring city ”
Flights to Paris in the spring can be booked straight away with a £20 deposit; the rest of the payment is only required two weeks before the flight date, with the oppor tunity to change names on the tickets for no charge Passengers are advised to book early to benefit from the best prices
To book flights, view: www brightoncityair ways com/cgi-bin/flightbooking
MIAMI BEACH AND REYKJAVIK COMPLETE TO HOST THE 2017 WORLDOUTGAMES
LESBIAN X-FACTOR FINALIST DRAWS MORE CLUBBERS TO REVENGE THAN KELIS AND ALEXANDRA BURKE
▼ Lucy Spraggan, one of last year's finalists in the X Factor has outsold for mer series winner Alexandra Burke and transatlantic r&b diva Kelis for their appearances at R evenge!
SING YOUR WAY INTO 2013 WITH BRIGHTON’S ONLY LGBT CHOIR
▼ The R ainbow Chorus, the South's only LGBT-mixed choir, is looking for new members to continue to develop their exciting and vibrant sound This diverse choir sings a range of music from contemporary melodies to choral classics No matter what your vocal range, there is a place for you within their four sections from soprano to bass
They are an active performing choir and under take two annual shows as well as par ticipating in a number of community events, such as Trans Memorial Day (November 25), World AIDS Day (December 1) and their successful Christmas show Beaux & Belles
The Rainbow Chorus is a non-auditioning choir, they only ask that their LGBT members are passionate about singing and enjoy having a go! To find out if the choir is the place for you, go along to the new members night on 7.15pm, Monday Januar y 14, a relaxed and informal evening where you can meet choir members, have a go and join in with the music
▼ The Gay & Lesbian International Spor t Association (GLISA), the governing body of the worldOutgames, have announced that Miami Beach in Florida, and R eykjavík in Iceland have been shor tlisted to host the four th worldOutgames in 2017 Daniel Vaudrin, GLISA co-president, made the announcement during a press conference for the 2013 Antwerp worldOutgames hosted jointly by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Elio Di R upo and Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament and former Prime Minister of Belgium A spokesperson for GLISA said:“ We have two amazing cities for our members to choose between at our selection meeting in Antwerp in February 2013 Both cities are very different from each other and each is equally exciting in its own way ” Unsuccessful bidding cities Denver, Rio de Janeiro and R ome were thanked for expressing interest in staging the event A site inspection team will now visit both cities and prepare a repor t that will be presented to the members of GLISA The final decision will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, in Februar y 2013 when each city will be invited to present its bid to the members at a selection meeting In order to be as inclusive as possible, members will be able to take par t and vote by video and teleconference The winning city will be announced at the conclusion of the meeting For more information, view: www glisa org
Lucy per for med a five song acoustic show at Club Revenge in Brighton last month, Thursday December 6, at the award-winning lesbian par ty, Girls On Top Interest in her appearance was so high in the lead up to the event, that the Revenge online ticketing agents broke the club's record for pre-sale tickets, making Spraggan more popular than for mer XFactor winner, Alexandra Burke, who upset her fans by not taking the stage at last year ’s Brighton Pride and US pop star Kelis
Speaking backstage af ter the gig, Spraggan heaped praise on her gay fan base She said: “I lov ed ev er y minute of it ” On the subject of who she thought would win the XFactor final? She said: “I just w ish Jahmene and James all the best " She declined to offer her suppor t to controversial contestant Christopher Maloney, af ter hesitating and refer ring to him instead as “the public's choice” For backstage inter view view: http://youtu be/jQ4 7uk4P70
The choir meets every Monday night at St George's Church, Kemptown, Brighton, BN2 1ED
New member, Nick, said: “I joined the choir just in time to prepare for the Christmas show I've never done anything quite like this before and I'm really looking forward to the thrill of performing live with accompanying musicians I never saw myself as a singer, but have always wanted to try The Rainbow Chorus has let me explore my voice in a safe and fun weekly group It's also been a great chance to make new friends through the choir's social activities"
For more information or to arrange to go along on January 14, contact David or Duncan at the membership team: members@rainbowchorus.org.uk
An income variable monthly membership fee applies For more information about the Rainbow Chorus, view: www rainbowchorus org uk
POLICE L AUNCH NEW WEBSITE TO ASSIST IN MICHAEL POLDING MURDER INVESTIGATION
▼ Detectives investigating the death of Michael Polding in Brighton last year have launched a website to assist in gathering information from the public regarding the whereabouts of Ricky, aka Ricardo Pisano, Brandon Victor Pillay and R ee, who is wanted in connection with Michael's murder It is the first website of its kind that has been created by Sussex Police Detective Chief Inspector Nick May of Surrey and Sussex Major Crime Team is leading the investigation, known as Operation Journal
He said: “It has been over five months since Michael's body was found in his flat in St George's Road but our investigation into his death continues We are determined to get justice for Michael and his family and this case will remain open until we do so During our enquiries we have become interested in tracing Ricky in connection with Michael's death, however we have been unable to trace him to date
“This new website is a part of our efforts to trace him I would urge everyone to take a look at the websiteparticularly at the pictures of Ricky - and contact Sussex Police with any information about his whereabouts We would also like to hear from anyone who has had contact with him in the past Any information, no matter how small you think it may be, could be the vital piece in the jigsaw to trace Ricky's whereabouts
“Ricky has links across the world, including New Zealand, South Africa, and also within the UK The last positive sighting of him was in the Marlands Shopping Centre in Southampton at the end of July He could now have travelled anywhere in the UK or the world He changes his appearance and his identity so it is important that people take a good look at the photographs and don't assume he will be introducing himself as one of the names currently known to police " Michael Polding was an openly gay man who moved from Scotland to Croydon with his par tner in the 1970s Michael's par tner died in 2001 and he moved to Brighton in 2011
Ricky has known links to South Africa, New Zealand, Brighton, Croydon, Crouch End in London and Southampton, although detectives believe he may have now travelled elsewhere Anyone with information that could help with the investigation is asked to contact Sussex Police on 101 Or view: www michaelpoldingmurder com for other ways of making contact
LOCAL POET WINS 2012 POL ARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE
▼ The Frost Fairs by local poet John McCullough has been named winner of the Polari First Book Prize 2012 For the first time the winner received a cheque for £1,000, cour tesy of Square Peg Media Paul Burston, Chair of the judges, said: “The judges were impressed with the polish and precision of the language, the confidence of the writing and the scope of the work ‘The Frost Fairs isn’t a onenote collection, but one that covers many themes and strikes many chords, from modern transatlantic relationships to hidden gay lives from the past It’s also surprisingly mature for a first book - a debut which doesn’t feel like a debut ” The Polari Prize is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English within the twelve months of the deadline for submissions Self-published works in both print and digital formats are eligible for submission
The five shor tlisted books were: The Frost Fairs by John McCullogh (Salt); Becoming Nancy by Terr y R onald (Transworld); Ex it Through The Wound by Nor th Morgan (Limehouse Books); Ey Up A nd A way by Vicky Ryder (Wandering Star Press); Modern L ove by Max Wallis (Flap) The judges for the 2012 prize were: Paul Burston (Chair of judges), author, journalist and host of Polari; R achel Holmes, author and former Head of Literature at the Southbank; Suzi Feay, literary critic; Joe Storey-Scott, books buyer; Bidisha, writer, critic and broadcaster
FOOTBALL THRILLER TO BENEFIT HILLSBOROUGH FAMILIES
▼ Dangerous Score, a football thriller written to help raise funds for the families of those killed and injured in the Hillsborough tragedy, is now available through the Hillsborough Family Support Group's website
The novel tells the stor y of a rising young footballer whose life and career are threatened when he is linked with the disappearance of a young woman Author, Mike Bearcroft, said: “T he book is a rollercoaster ride of football, my ster y, love, crime and even more football I’ve alw ay s had a deep admiration for the Hillsborough Family Suppor t Group and have forged strong links w ith them over the y ears so it seemed fitting that they benefit from the sale of the book ” Mike has launched the book in a timely manner to coincide with the weekend when football clubs are showing their solidarity with the Hillsborough Association by playing the celebrity-laden charity single, He A in't Heavy, He's My Brother at matches across the countr y The single features Sir Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Holly Johnson, Rebecca Ferguson, Gerry Marsden, Melanie C, Alan Hansen and John Bishop to mention just a few The physical edition of the single is available now
Dangerous Score is available for £8 99 from: www hfsg co uk and can also be purchased from Amazon and Tesco websites A percentage of the profits of the book will be donated to the Hillsborough Family Support Group
LESBIAN SOCIAL GROUP SHAKES UP THE SCENE
▼ Shake Up The Scene is a vibrant social networking group for women that had it's first event in April 2012
The organisers say they Identified that the women’s scene in Brighton was due an injection of fun, so a group of lags decided to organise a good night out
Inspired by a visit to London’s Southbank, they clinked a glass, picked a date, organised a Facebook page, and chose a sparkling Brighton venue
Take 1, The Virgin Social, attracted over 160 women, and Take 2, 3 and 4 attracted similar numbers The venues chosen to hold the events are thrilled with the business and atmosphere of the evenings; as are the women who have come from all over the country
Shake Up The Scene are currently planning their 2013 calendar of events They aim to organise a social evening every two to three months, with an eclectic mix of dance, cabaret, a comedy night and a picnic on the beach They intend to keep it free, simple and and welcoming to all women
Their vision is to inspire women to mix, socialise and have fun Simply go along and get to know some new women As word has spread Shake Up The Scene has attracted 'outta towners' and is getting bigger and more diverse
Their last event was held at The A Bar, on November 30, 2012 and what a blast! They secured discounts for the women at the bar, and the organisers say the staff were friendly and welcoming, creating all in all a great vibe
Their summer event was held at the Bandstand Café in September 2012
They will soon be returning to their original venue, the very popular Merkaba at Myhotel, to celebrate their anniversary over cocktails
Take 5 is on Januar y 11 at 7 30pm onwards at Merkaba a Myhotel, Brighton
To get a slice of the action, view: facebook.com/groups/shakeupthescene/
BULLDOG STAFF XMA S PARTY
The Bulldog staff Christmas party last month was ably hosted by Dame Edna, Madge and Marcia with DJ JP on the decks delivering his unique style of DJing The evening included the Bulldog Staff Awards
INCLUSION FOR ALL
Shaun Dellenty founds a charity to reduce homophobic bullying at his own school. He tells his stor y to Gscene.
It’s 2010 and I've been Deputy Headteacher of a large inner-city primary school in London for several years. There’s a knock on my office door and two children stand looking crestfallen, accompanied by a red-faced lunch time supervisor. “Can you sort this out please Shaun?” she asks, obviously annoyed. “Jason called David gay and now David is upset” “Okay, what have you done so far?” I ask the red-faced lunch time supervisor
“I told Billy off and told him it wasn't a very nice thing to say I brought them straight to you as I thought, well, that you could sort this one out,” comes the reply This anecdote conveys the sense of an adult working in a school who is either unwilling or unable to tackle homophobic bullying. This event proved to be a turning point for me, as that red-faced lunch time supervisor was one of many adults in my school who presented me, the single openly gay member of staff in the school with any and every incident that involved the use of homophobic bullying or language, particularly the use of ‘you're gay ’ and the use of ‘those (trainers/jeans etc) are gay ’ as a pejorative term
I started to ask questions What happens in schools where there are no gay staff - who deals with homophobic incidents in these schools? What happens with homophobic incidents in a faith school? Could opinions on homosexuality create barriers to dealing with homophobic bullying and language and result in children being damaged? After all, whether we approve or not, statistically some of those small children in faith schools will also grow up to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Would adults in schools always send incidents of racism to a black member or school leadership or bullying around disability to a disabled member of staff? How could pupils with gay family members or friends feel included if they were told that 'gay' was not a 'nice word to say'? What of those pupils, some of whom are already aware at primary school age that they are different, who only hear negative associations from certain sections of the media, family members, peers and adults in school?
I knew first hand how self-awareness at an early age (I first knew I was attracted to men around the age of four) can lead to the feeling that one is growing up in an alien world. I was also aware of the impact upon pupil attendance, attainment, mental and physically health of homophobic bullying. In recent years at my school we’d experienced several children openly questioning their identity and using the words ‘ gay ’ and ‘transgender’ which seemed to result in staff backing off or feeling uncomfortable in terms of how to reassure pupils Training was sorely needed, and it was needed by the whole staff, from school leaders to the premises manager and dinner supervisors.
I started by auditing pupils in Key Stage 2, using a questionnaire around the the different kinds of bullying and language they were experiencing. I used a similar questionnaire with all staff to see how confident they felt in tackling various forms of bullying and prejudice, dealing with same-sex parents and whether or not they thought the pejorative use of ‘you're so gay/those trainers are so gay ’ could actually cause emotional damage to a child with same sex parents, gay siblings or if they were actually themselves questioning their identity The questionnaires proved to be a very relevant starting point for the work that has now morphed into my charitable organisation, Inclusion For All. 75% of pupils were hearing ‘you're so gay/lesbian’ and ‘those trainers are so gay ’ on a daily basis. 65% of staff in the school didn’t see a link between the use of the use of ‘ gay ’ as a pejorative term and homophobic bullying. No one had any training on homophobia or LGBT issues
Through carefully planned training events and assemblies I fed this data back to pupils, parents and staff I knew I had to remain open to a range of views on the subject whilst ensuring that the rationale for the work was kept to the needs of the pupils to be successful, safe and happy. The training was well received and within a school year we had reduced incidents of homophobic bullying to zero. We also observed a shift in prejudicial
attitudes on a wider basis amongst pupils, parents and staff and as a result the school community has become more cohesive
The obvious next step was for me to take what we’d done and offer it to other schools locally, as a result of this work I began to get requests to speak at Stonewall and other antibullying conferences. We were also invited to become a founding member of the Stonewall School Champion Scheme. Over time it became apparent that I needed to keep a record of my work and that this in itself could encourage and support other school leaders to address homophobic bullying in their own schools; thus www.shaundellenty.com was born I was keen for the website to support teachers in tearing down some of the barriers that schools put up to this work, and to this end I wanted to interview school staff who’d been through the process already and were able to talk about their work and its positive impact on camera. These Inclusion For All 'videocasts' have proved to be a talking point and are being added to regularly.
I’m pleased to report that the website has been well received and despite it being early days, I’ve heard from teachers, parents and pupils from across the globe who feel that more should be done to educate and inform about LGBT people in our schools Only this week I heard from a teacher in Florida who is using my website as a teaching resource with her class of 11-year-olds.
This year I became the first openly gay school leader to lead a workshop on homophobic bullying at the National College for School Leadership annual conference, and this autumn I met with the Department of Education to see what more can be done on a strategic level nationally
Inclusion For All has grown from being an idea forged to address a problem in one school to being a small charitable organisation and as such I’m about to start fundraising November 15 saw our first 'inhouse' training day at my school, Alfred Salter Primary School, dedicated to tackling homophobic bullying, which we hope to run once a term. In the meantime I continue to offer training to schools and individuals and attempt to share positive messages of how tackling homophobic bullying in schools can raise standards for all children and empower schools to tackle all forms of prejudice based bullying
It’s my dream, having reduced incidents of homophobic bullying to practically zero within a year in my school, that within five years every school in this country will take a similar stance If not, it’s us, as school leaders that will have to face the shame that we let our pupils down.
More information: www.shaundellenty.com
WORLD AIDS DAY
World AIDS Day 2012 brought record numbers of people to the AIDS Memorial in New Steine Gardens to hear the reading of the names of those lost to HIV/AIDS. The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Bill Randall, the deputy leader of the council, Cllr Phelim McCaffery and Simon Kirby MP were among the politicians present
RAINBOW
BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS WE ALL LIVE TOGETHER WAD CONCERT
An innovative new research project shows the value of studying gay male culture’s relationship to por n. By Sharif Mowlabocus (University of Sussex) and Justin Harbottle (Ter rence Higgins Tr ust)
Porn! It seems to be everywhere in gay male culture Flick through the back pages of many scene magazines and you’ll find adverts for DVD offerings from Bel Ami, Triga and Falcon. Flyers for club nights regularly feature naked bodies in suggestive poses and even the advertising for sexual health services uses porn ‘styles’ to try and catch your eye. All this and we haven’t even mentioned what we look at, and what we do, online.
It has been suggested that porn means something more in gay male culture than it does in, for instance, mainstream culture Professor Richard Dyer has suggested that gay men use pornography as a way of learning about sex and that, in a society where to be gay is often to be considered ‘abnormal’, gay porn asserts that gay sex is normal – natural, even. Other commentators such as John Burger have suggested that porn can provide gay men living in isolated communities (and unable to access urban gay scenes) with a sense of identification with gay life. Porn shows us that there are other men out there who share similar desires to ourselves.
The internet has long been considered porn ’ s playground and until recently, ‘ sex ’ was the most searched for word online This has led to a rise in research that focuses on porn: its uses, its impact, and its representations of men, women and, yes, sex Of course the internet has been just one of the big stories within the world of gay porn over the last ten years. The rise of new forms of pornography, in particular bareback porn, has also been a cause of concern for many.
For anyone unfamiliar with the term, to ‘bareback’ means to have penetrative sex without a condom While the term is occasionally used in straight culture, it is more commonly found in gay male porn Given the continuing high prevalence of HIV infection amongst gay and bisexual men (with the highest number of HIV diagnoses ever amongst this group being reported in 2011), barebacking is an inflammatory subject It has polarised opinions and continues to be a difficult subject to talk calmly about. For many commentators and journalists,
barebacking represents a dangerous turn in gay male culture Some have called barebackers ‘murderers’ or suicidal Others have labelled the bareback porn industry exploitative, saying it peddles dangerous messages about the ‘highs’ of risking it raw.
Defenders of barebacking, and of its representations, have lambasted critics for being sex-negative ‘condom-nazis’ who want to dictate people’s sex lives and demand that we all conform They claim that it offers a more intimate sexual experience and if participants are aware of the risks, it is their choice to make
These arguments have raged on for over ten years now, with little change in anyone ’ s positions. Meanwhile, bareback pornography has moved from the position of being a niche ‘kink’ or fetish to occupy a more prominent position within the gay male porn industry. At the same time, organisations charged with promoting positive sexual health have found themselves caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Should they join the critics in disavowing bareback porn and risk alienating those who watch and enjoy it? Or should they acknowledge the popularity of bareback pornography in their campaigning and thereby risk accusations of validating such material? It is fair to say that for many organisations this has been a no-win situation. And the sales of bareback porn have continued to rise.
It is within this context that the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) decided to partner up in a research project with the University of Sussex to try and address the issue of bareback porn, and also to better understand how and why gay men are consuming pornography Much has been said about gay male porn over the years, yet very few scholars have actually spoken to the men who consume it Porn Laid Bare (as the research has come to be known) sought to remedy this by interviewing local gay and bisexual men about their use of porn, their views on bareback porn and their understandings of sexual risk, sexual pleasure and sexual health.
Over the course of three months we interviewed over 50 men in a set of focus groups and recorded tens of hours of conversations about pornography, gay culture, sexual health and sexual practice. We interviewed a diverse range of men in order to see how attitudes and opinions varied according to HIV status and age. The focus groups included questions, exercises and group discussions and they often involved a great deal of laughter and joking – sex really is a very funny thing to talk about
By the end of 2011 we had compiled our research and we spent the winter reading the transcripts and analysing the findings We then presented these findings at a workshop attended by health promotion experts, clinicians and policy makers from within the field of gay men ’ s health. Our goal was to make people aware of what we found, but more importantly we also wanted them to respond to these findings and come up with a set of recommendations that could help gay men and health organisations respond to issues that bareback porn raises for many.
What has been the outcome of all of this work? What did we find through our research? Well, you’ll have to visit us online to find out This month sees the launch of our new community website which offers details of our research, information on how it is being used by different organisations and (perhaps most importantly) evidence about what gay men think about pornography – whether bareback or not.
You can visit the new website at www.pornlaidbare.co.uk and we hope that you find the information available there useful. You can also get in touch if you’d like to talk to one of the researchers or learn about our publications The website and information is free to access and we hope to be able to add to it as more people use the research to support gay men ’ s sexual health
As researchers, we never set out to ‘ prove ’ whether bareback pornography was a good or a bad thing (good according to whom? Bad according to what criteria?), or whether it should or should not be banned. The latter issue is something of a moot point. The internet is impossible to police and the bareback genie long ago escaped his lamp. What we hope to have provided in this work are answers to the kinds of questions and issues that gay men face today as they consume different kinds of pornography, and continue to grapple with issues of safer sex and sexually transmitted infections (STI) transmission We have also tried to develop useful, practical suggestions for organisations that set out to support gay men in leading healthy, happy lives and, in the future, we hope to be able to chart some of the uses of this research in clinical and health promotion settings.
www.pornlaidbare.co.uk
PEERS IN ACTION
Keeping busy with Peer Action, the HIV social support group
Back in April 2010, Richard Jenerway, along with Paul Harrington and Steve A, discussed the lack of a HIV+ social support group, specifically for men in the 45-year-old and above age group Although there were the very successful groups run by THT South and other independent run groups like Lunch Positive and Outdoor Positive, whose aim has been to to break down the isolation and bring together all those affected by HIV, the team behind Peer Action were keen to find out if there was enough enthusiasm for a social peer-led group that could complement what was already being offered. By talking to existing service users of these groups, the message that came back loud and clear was yes, there was very much a need.
“I’ve used the other HIV groups, but was interested in what Peer Action had to offer, par ticularly through their social outings. Since then I’ve become ver y much involved; I now help r un their website and have organised some of the theatre outings. Along the way my par tner and I have made new friends and got a lot of suppor t from ever yone who uses Peer Action.” Jimmy, Peer Action
Another factor that became clear in the early stages of discussing the group ’ s needs was how those living with a HIV+ diagnosis, particularly older gay men, felt there was still an unwelcome stigma attached to their positive diagnoses which added to many feeling excluded or reluctant to participate in the gay scene This had led to many of those living with HIV to slip into routines that gradually isolated them from their peers to a degree that they weren’t sure how to reach out and to whom for help and support.
Further feedback found that many of those living with HIV in the older age bracket had moved away from the gay scene or found the idea of going to a pub or an event on their own a little depressing, but were keen to help establish a social group that would be supportive of their HIV+ status, but wasn’t the main focus
“I work full-time and sometimes I am exhausted either because of the effect living with HIV has on me or because of the day I have at work To have somewhere like Peer Action where you don’t have to explain the hows or whys takes away a lot of stress while allowing you to just be yourself within a social environment.” Paul, Peer Action
Since its conception, Peer Action’s social groups and services have been open to all those living with a HIV+ diagnosis and particularly welcome their partners and friends, while acknowledging the need for closed-talking support groups for specific age groups and genders
Over the last nineteen months, Peer Action has been actively listening to what people would like from the group and equally encouraging those who come to the various activities to get involved This in turn has encouraged more people to come forward and to utilise their skills cumulating in a number of diverse projects, including: trips to Leeds Castle in Kent, Sissinghurst Gardens, bingo nights at the Gala, a private viewing of the Biba & Beyond exhibition at the Brighton Museum, hosted by a Peer member, while two Peers screen alternate monthly film evenings in their homes.
Following on from some very popular trips to the theatre in 2012, a number of peers are also organising a variety of trips to the theatre, including The Rocky Horror Show (January 5) at the Theatre Royal; comedy night Bent Double (February 3) at the Komedia; and this year ’ s alternative panto, Jack & His Big Stalk, at The Brighton Dome (a trip not to be missed!), with further activities to be announced throughout the year.
“Peer
Action has gone from strength to strength, listening to what people want and
encouraging those who use its ser vices to get involved. It is ver y empowering, and I’d say it is this that lies at the hear t of Peer Action’s success.”
Dan, Peer Action.
Through activities offered at Peer Action, their aim is help all those affected by HIV; be it physically, mentally and emotionally. One of the ways they do this is via the weekly yoga sessions at St Mary’s Church Hall at the top of St James’ Street The sessions are run by yoga practitioner, Dan, for people of all abilities and are just £3 per session, making it affordable for everyone to get involved in improving their health and well-being
The project has become one of the staples of Peer Action’s repertoire and a signifier of what Peer Action had hoped to establish in the beginning: a group that brought people affected by HIV together, break down barriers, while empowering them to break away from negative routines. As one regular to the yoga workshop put it:
“ Through going to Peer Action yoga sessions, I feel fitter, I feel better, I feel far less isolated and a whole lot more connected to my community.”
With the success of the yoga classes, Peer Action hope to expand on these services with the support from local holistic practitioner’s Pathways, offering monthly free ear acupuncture at a drop in service on a
Saturday at THT’s building in Ship Street, alongside Brighton-based complementary therapies charity, Active Lightworks, who supply much of the holistic therapy equipment, as well as most of the qualified practitioners offering a wide range of holistic therapies at a reduced cost of £5 for a half hour treatment These include: deep tissue massage, reflexology, shiatsu, no hands massage, plus more to be confirmed which will be advertised on the website www.peeraction.co.uk
Holistic therapies have long been associated in helping those living with HIV and reduce stress, stimulate appetite and restore a feeling of well-being These factors are key in helping many people living with HIV to create a balance in their lives and to get on with living which is at the core of what Peer Action are continuing to strive to bring to those who use their services
Over the last year and a half, Peer Action secured valuable funding from the National Lottery, and continues to hold various fundraising nights at the Bedford Tavern, allowing them to expand on existing group activities within Peer Action, giving those who use the services an opportunity to come on board and start up new projects for the benefit of those who wants to get involved
“Since starting Peer Action we have found people with a great number of skills, but for any number of reasons have stopped using
them Together as a collective we can support and empower each other For example one of our peers has retrained as a massage therapist and is now involved with our therapy days, while another Peer has used his past training as a graphic designer and helps with our promotional posters ”
Richard
Jenerway, Peer Action
Although HIV has been around for the last 30 years, there’s still much to be done to break down the stigma that many people living with the virus face. It’s for this reason that many of Peer Action’s groups, including the monthly therapy sessions, weekly yoga sessions and social trips out are for everybody affected by HIV It’s hoped that in doing so Peer Action is changing people’s perception of what a person living with HIV in the 21st century is about As one Peer put it:
“Living with HIV is no longer about sur viving, but thriving; sharing ideas, skills and breaking down the stigma that many people living with HIV have to face through other people’s lack of knowledge about the vir us.”
For more information about Peer Action, to get involved or to access any of its groups, visit: www.peeraction.co.uk
IREL AND’S GREAT GREEN SECRET
Roger Wheeler visits Westport and explores County Mayo
Everything they say about Ireland is, probably, true. It’s very green, the people are very friendly, the Guinness is good, they love to play music and sing in bars There are a lot of sheep, not too many people and it used to be one of the most expensive destinations in Europe But it’s no longer pricey Like the Greeks the Irish have woken up to the fact that if they want tourists they have got to be a little more realistic about their prices Today, shop, pub and restaurant prices outside the main cities, Dublin, Cork etc, are about the same as here in the UK. You don’t even have to use Ryanair to get there either as Aer Lingus and BA both fly from Gatwick and if you book far enough ahead the prices are very reasonable. Also, you don’t need a passport as historically the British regard the Republic of Ireland as a domestic destination But it’s sensible to take your passport as it always makes passing through airports easier On your return to the UK you go through a special exit in the Border Control zone All you need show is your boarding card, no passport required Known as the Emerald Isle, there is no doubt that Ireland is a beautiful place and it is very green. We flew to Ireland West Airport or Knock as it is usually called, with Aer Lingus; it’s a great little airport on the west coast. We hired a car, essential as public transport whilst efficient is not very frequent and drove to Westport, a beautiful little town just 37 miles from the airport
Westport, situated on Clew Bay, is truly lovely In 1842, the novelist Thackeray visited and wrote, "The most beautiful view I ever saw in the world” There may be better but that was 1842 after all With just 5,600 inhabitants it is a prime tourist destination, although there weren’t many there when we
visited in July. This is a very Irish town, designed around the Carrowbeg River, with interesting Georgian architecture and all the shops have kept their original fronts It’s a fascinating place to wander round
We stayed in the Hotel Westport, a pleasant four star hotel with friendly, efficient staff
Our room was fine but on the ground floor with a wonderful view of the car park But we were only in it to sleep so it didn’t matter
The Hotel Westport is very proud of its gay credentials hosting two gay weekends in March and November plus having many civil partnership celebrations.
Westport has a great bar and restaurant scene, with Matt Molloy, of the Chieftains, owning a bar right in the middle of the town, which gets busy on a Saturday, particularly when the man himself is playing in the bar. We had dinner in Sol Rio, which they say is the best restaurant in town. Owned by husband and wife team, Sinead and her Portuguese chef husband José, they offer great food and a terrific atmosphere, at a very reasonable price, about 70€ (£56) for cocktails, three huge courses and wine and that’s for two!
All of Westport seems to typify everything that is good about Ireland; the friendly people, the charm and unique atmosphere of the place which is summed up by the famous
craic, which doesn’t translate into English, but when you ’ re there you know what it means.
This is a great area for touring; nearby Ballycroy National Park is 11,000 hectares of unspoilt wilderness and Croagh Patrick, the most famous hill in Ireland, 764 metres high, is just six miles away. But we went further west and headed to Achill Island. We could have cycled or walked along the famous Great Western Greenway which runs from Westport to Achill The Greenway is an amazing 42km cycle track that runs along a disused railway line and is completely separated from the road and goes though some lovely scenery In good weather this would make a fabulous walk, although all 42km would be more than an afternoon stroll, and so we decided that it might be easier by car.
Achill is Ireland’s largest island, connected to the mainland by a short bridge There have been people on Achill for almost 6,000 years, so there is loads of history. Despite some pretty awful new architecture it still has its own striking natural beauty. There are miles and miles of fantastic beaches with some quite stunning views of the mountains, huge sweeps of sandy bays, some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe and if that’s not enough lots of really interesting little villages, shops and craft galleries Of course there are pubs and good restaurants and despite its apparent isolation Achill Island is really easy to get to There is a fascinating deserted village, a result of Ireland’s Great Hunger (an Gorta Mór) of 1845 We drove along the Atlantic Drive, which is quite spectacular As a perfect holiday destination Achill has a lot going for it and it seems like you ’ re not actually abroad. This corner of County Mayo in the west of Ireland is a serious holiday destination.
Paul Elgood visits downtown L A , Hollywood and admires Gehr y ’s masterpiece, the Walt Disney Concer t Hall
A lot of people have a lot of views about LA; don’t go downtown, don’t spend more than an hour in Hollywood, don’t go on the public transport system, don’t go out into the suburbs, just drive through it... they say. If all taken together it doesn’t leave much to do except visit Disneyland and head for Las Vegas. However, it seems that if you dispense with the traditional ‘advice’ about LA and do the exact opposite, you’ll enjoy one of the best cities America has to offer
Parts of Downtown LA have undergone significant regeneration, mostly centred around the Walt Disney Concert Hall – an absolutely stunning Frank Gehry building at the heart of a cluster of new cultural and arts venues on Bunker Hill. The Concert Hall is one of the most exciting public buildings anywhere in the world and has helped to transform an otherwise neglected and rundown part of the city. A number of new cultural related buildings have sprung up around it, including the Museum of Contemporary Art and the LA Opera, with a new world class art gallery due to open next door to it next year
LA is very spread out and is heavily dominated by the car, though the public transport system is excellent and provides a cheap and fast way to navigate the conurbation, avoiding the city’s famous traffic jams. It seems fairly safe, although like any American city care needs to be taken at night.
The city’s extensive bus networks are all really good and easy, whereas the Metro system now covers the majority of places you’ll want to go. An all day TAPP pass for the Metro or bus is just $5 and takes you anywhere you like in the greater LA area or each individual journey is $1 50 What the Metro doesn’t do is connect up with Venice or Santa Monica Beaches, although these are a short hop from the up and coming Culver City
Beverley Hills is also isolated from the fixed public transport links. This high-end neighbourhood offers the ultimate experience in boutique shopping and star spotting. As well as the world famous Rodeo Drive, it also boasts a new Westfield shopping mall at Century City Beverley Hills is probably best enjoyed in the streets and shops around Rodeo Drive, with their more relaxed west coast feel The list of other places easily reachable from Beverley Hills is long and a good base for driving from Hollywood does what it says on the tin. It is less run down now than in previous years and is a good starting point to explore the city. It is perhaps a bit limited for an extended stay and you’ll encounter a steady flow of people dressed up as Superman or Charlie Chaplain trying to sell their tour bus rides. For the ultimate historic Hollywood experience try staying at the Roosevelt Hotel Marilyn Monroe still haunts the public areas they say From Hollywood you can easily access the gay area and nightlife of West Hollywood; the historic Downtown or the Farmer’s Market, which are all worth spending time in, if Hollywood Boulevard itself wears thin
Central LA offers one of the best art galleries in the US and perhaps the world. The LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) is a cluster of buildings holding more than 150,000 works spanning the history of art from ancient times to the present. Among the museum ’ s special strengths are its holdings of Asian art, housed
in part in the Bruce Goff designed Pavilion for Japanese Art; Latin American art, ranging from pre-Columbian masterpieces to works by leading modern and contemporary artists including Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and José Clemente Orozco; and Islamic art, of which LACMA hosts one of the most significant collections in the world. It is a must see. Another must see in central LA is the space shuttle, which docked there in October to spend its retirement. It is already a huge tourist attraction in its own right
Everyone seems to end up at the beach in LA; it is what the locals do Santa Monica and Venice Beach sit next to each other, offering different experiences Santa Monica offers good mainstream shopping, hotels and nightlife, whereas Venice Beach has an entirely different vibe dropping the chain stores and coffee shops and attracting a more cosmopolitan crowd. Experienced together, you can cherry pick the best of both worlds.
LA has done what Brighton & Hove should have started to do years ago and used development opportunities to regenerate its run down areas. Whatever the debate about the Frank Gehry plans for the King Alfred a few years back, the city council should have stepped in and stopped an architect of this quality being lost to the city altogether - recession or not. If you take one look at the beauty of the Walt Disney Concert Hall you’ll think that Brighton & Hove made an indescribable error of judgement in not developing an acceptable set of designs and affordable funding package for the King Alfred and so letting an architect of this calibre slip through its fingers Gehry isn’t just world class, he is beyond that and the impact of a Gehry designed King Alfred would have been felt for generations in the city – as it has in LA.
A good example of how this would have happened locally is the rapid transport networks which were planned for the seafront to link up the King Alfred and Marina sites with the station LA utilises rapid transport so effectively; Brighton & Hove missed this opportunity to provide fast and efficient public transport along the seafront, taking the pressure off the crowded city centre routes, such as Western Road and St James’s Street Brighton & Hove has paid a heavy price for missing out on Gehry
LA is getting it right. Give it a go, don’t just drive through it or change planes there. Stop off and enjoy the complete west coast experience.
BY MORHAM WHITE
DINING WITH MORHAM IN 2012
On reviewing my list of reports I have to admit that I struggled to find much new with just five venues reviewed in 2012 with trips to: The Artisan in the Floral Garden in Hove, already defunct; Kambi’s (107 Western Rd, Brighton, 01273 327934), a delightful alternative Lebanese offering, which for me was a real education; The Coalshed (8 Boyce’s St, Brighton, 01273 322998), a very busy and upmarket steak house; The Courtyard (20 New Rd, Brighton, 01273 819600), provided some traditional dishes for the weary tourist; The Shelleys Hotel (135-136 High St, Lewes, 01273 472361), 4 star hotel provided a stunning setting for a truly chic culinary experience; and a day trip to France, ending up in Boulogne, with the three courses at Le Ramparts being ridiculously reasonable, if not quite to the standard of our regular haunt, Le Swan
Other venues I visited included The Fisherman’s Rest (123-125 King's Rd, Brighton, 01273 323 888) who provided a substantial and lengthy Sunday repast and prelude to the Golden Handbags; Tottington Manor (Edburton Rd, Henfield, West Sussex, 01903 815757), a stylish escape to the country with Sara at the helm; The Rock ‘n’ Roller (95 Western Rd, Brighton, 01273 710 014), with the nicest rump steak I’ve had in an age, though if you ’ re not keen on loud music you may need earplugs!
For breakfast I’ve enjoyed Bill’s (100 North Rd, Brighton, 01273 692894), Billie’s (34 Hampton Place, Brighton, 01273 774 386), The Hub (118 Church Rd, Hove, 01273 721838), new find The Diner (11-13 Montefiore Rd, Hove, 01273 739 483) and local hospitality in the bay window of the Cavalaire Hotel (34 Upper Rock Gdns, Brighton, 01273 696899).
For an in-town lunch or ’lite bite’ I like to sit in the Pavilion Gardens Café with a rock bun and freshly prepared sandwich or The Garden Café in St Anne’s Wells Gardens with mackerel paté, leaves and toast. Excellent indoor options are at I Gigi (31a Western Rd, Hove, 01273 775257) and Treacle & Co (164 Church Rd, Hove, 01273 933695)
Meals with a sea view can be enjoyed at the A-Bar (11-12 Marine Parade, Brighton, 01273 696691), Charles Street (8 Marine Parade, Brighton, 01273 624091) and Legends (31-34 Marine Parade, Brighton, 01273 624462). In the Lanes I continue to frequent Browns (3-4 Duke St, Brighton, 01273 323501).
Out of town there’s variety galore: Wickwoods Country Club (Shaves Wood Lane, Albourne, 01273 857567), has had an impressive makeover and the excellent carvery, with musical accompaniment has really taken off; The Ginger Fox, (Muddleswood Rd, Albourne, 01273 857888) with an abundance of free parking; the Marco Pierre White makeover of The Rainbow, (Resting Oak Hill, Cooksbridge, 01273 400334) has to my
mind been less than successful with a disappointing menu; sample the eccentric simplicity of a summer platter in Litlington Tea Gardens, (Litlington, Alfriston) and further east The Café at East Dean next to the pub offers excellent cakes and coffee
For evening meals there’s Charles Street for grazing or full supper; a simple supper for a quiet moment in the New Steine Bistro (10-11 New Steine, Brighton, 01273 681546) or join their quarterly supper club (next one March, reservation@newsteinehotel com) with wines provided by Henry Butler from Butlers Wine Cellar (247 Queens Park Rd, Brighton, 01273 698724) In Kemptown there’s The Town House (81-82 St James’ St, 01273 693 216); The Ginger Dog (12-13 College Pl, 01273 620990), a good bet for a stylish meal; and The Swan (9 Rock St, 01273 606138) with a courtyard garden
In Hove I enjoy Topolino Duo (65-67 Church Rd, Hove, 01273 725726) with its excellent specialist fish menu and L’Eglise (196 Church Rd, Hove, 01273 220868) for traditional French cuisine.
A RETURN OF HIGH CAMP TO KEMPTOWN?
BETTY LA LA’S, 22 St James’ Street, Kemptown, 01273 693444
In fact, apart from the zebra print and mirrors, Betty’s was a bit of a dénouement as it was so low key So what was I expecting? Well, I’m not at all sure, but possibly not the delightful meal we were actually served The menu, although limited, was quite varied and very keenly priced, except for the 10oz Rump steak, all the mains were well under £10. Though the wines were in limited supply our Merlot was quite excellent and a mere £15.50, with the house wine priced at £11.95. Things started off unsteady with John pressured to order, then a sulk at his choice of duck egg and anchovy soldier starter going AWOL and then a hissy fit when his main, the grilled Salmon, also went missing Starters included tasty Parma ham wraps with sweet onion marmalade and a truly crunchy deep-fried calamari, both under £5 For mains we had a cottage pie with veg, chicken casserole with French bread for mopping and a stylish Boursin chicken with asparagus, the most expensive of these at just £8.45 and a side of crunchy sweet potato chips for a mere £1.65
With only two desserts available, sticky toffee or banoffee, we moved on to coffee and the bill came in at £65 for the three of us, for two courses, nice wine and coffees all round. Service, courtesy of Tomaz, was both friendly and slick, and somehow not at all the ‘ camp ’ experience that the name had suggested… so has Camp returned? Possibly not! But the food was simple, nicely prepared, extremely keenly priced, an excellent deal and just what St James' Street needs.
THE IRON DUKE, Hotel, Pub & Thai Dining, 3 Waterloo Street, Hove
Tel: 01273 734806
Many pubs and bars now serve Thai food but don't seem to get it quite right The Iron Duke, however, now offer an extensive selection of Thai dishes, and on our visit we found that they’ve pitched everything perfectly and were serving great Thai food. The prices are very competitive, the choices of traditional dishes are varied ranging from mild to very spicy and the quality of the food generally is top notch and certainly well worth checking out
The Iron Duke is a traditional local bar, nothing pretentious, just off the seafront in Hove, round the corner from Embassy Court It’s the bar the audience for concerts by both 'Actually' choirs patronise and boasts a mixed clientele ranging from builders to the classical music crowd
For our starters we tried the Tom Kha Gai sweet and sour soup (£5.50), cooked with chicken, galangal and coconut milk, not too spicy but delicious, followed by Khanom Jeep, steamed pork and prawn dumpling (£5.50) with water chestnut and soy sauce which were tasty and fat free. In fact, I think they were the nicest dumplings that have ever passed my lips! We finished our starters with Kung Sarong, king prawns wrapped in rice paper, (£5.50) with a sweet chilli dip, which were very acceptable. Most of the starters on the menu were priced at either £5.20 or £5.50 except the Iron Duke Platter (£9.95) which serves two people and includes prawn rolls, tempura vegetables, Kanom Pang Na Moo and Thai fish cakes served with sweet chilli sauce
For the main course we shared two dishes, Bet Ob Nam Peug, crispy duck in a homemade organic honey, ginger and tamarind sauce (£9.95), that was undoubtedly the finest duck dish I’ve been served in a bar. It was stunning and was served with rice and salad. The second dish was Pla Nueng Manow (£11.95), a whole steamed wild sea bass with chilli, coriander, lemon juice and salad The presentation of the fish was a work of art and the flavour was spot on Once again as good a dish as I have tasted in any restaurant My only little niggle was the fish was a little on the small side
All dishes at The Iron Duke are prepared without the use of MSG, which really makes a difference to the taste and I personally find, makes sleeping later in the evening much easier. Many of the standard dishes offered come with vegetarian options and are served with boiled rice or noodles. There are a large range of curries, noodle dishes and dishes cooked in the WOK at £7.95; too many to mention here, but I will be returning to sample them very soon.
Lunch is served Mon–Sat from noon–3pm and from 6–10.30pm in the evening A take away service is also available
Service was attentive and polite and all in all this was quite a find A quick visit, a lasting memory James Ledward
BY CHARLIE NYEREYEGONA
CHARLIE’S RECIPES OF THE MONTH
Here’s wishing you all a happy, safe and prosperous New Year! January is always a time for budgeting after the expense of the festive season, so here are some simple, delicious winter favourites of mine that won’t break the bank. Enjoy!
MACARONI CHEESE
Ingredients: (serves 4)
• 1 packet rigatoni (the tube like pasta)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp French mustard
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup white onion (finely diced)
• 8 vine-ripened tomatoes (roughly chopped)
• Handful of fresh basil (tear the leaves don’t cut them to prevent bruising) or rosemary
Method: Preheat oven to 180c. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta for about 20 minutes until firm but not soggy. Drain and set aside Meanwhile gently melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and whisk in the flour, mustard and paprika until you form a smooth paste Stir in the milk, onion and paprika and simmer for 10 minutes Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg Be careful not to scramble it If you do don’t panic it will just add extra texture to the finished dish! Stir in half the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Butter a large casserole or oven proof dish. Place a layer of pasta on the bottom of the dish, sprinkle over
tomatoes and basil and coat generously with cheese sauce Continue layering until all pasta, tomatoes, basil and cheese sauce is used Sprinkle over remaining cheese and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until cheese on top is golden brown. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then serve with your favourite bread.
ROASTED STUFFED PEPPER
Ingredients: (serves 4)
• 4 large bell peppers (mixed colours, seeded, halved lengthwise)
• 3 tomatoes, (peeled, coarsely chopped)
• 500g lean ground beef mince
• 4 slices smoked back bacon (roughly chopped)
• 1 large onion (finely diced)
• 150g cooked rice (or Tilda ready cooked)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Good shake of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp sunflower oil
• Handful fresh oregano
• Olive oil
• 200g fresh mozzarella (cut in large chunks)
• Salt & pepper to taste
Method: Preheat the oven to 200c In a large frying pan heat the sunflower oil over a medium heat, add the onions and brown. Meanwhile brush the peppers inside and out with the olive oil and place in a roasting dish in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the skins start to slightly blacken. Add the minced beef and brown. Stir in the tomato purée,
Worcestershire sauce and tomatoes, mix well and add the rice. When the peppers are ready, stuff with the mixture. Sprinkle over some oregano and top with chunks of mozzarella
cheese Return to the oven and bake for five minutes until cheese starts to melt Serve immediately (two halves per person) with a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc Enjoy!
PAN-FRIED MACKEREL WITH GOAT'S CHEESE, BEETROOT & WARM RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE
Ingredients (serves 2)
• 2 fresh whole beetroots
• 1 mackerel fillet per person
• Savoy cabbage
• 2 ready made potato rosti per person
• 1 creamy soft goat’s cheese per person
• Drizzle of acacia honey
• Tbsp sweet raspberry vinegar
• Good drizzle of smoked rapeseed oil
• 1/4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp Clover butter substitute
Method: Preheat the oven to 180c Place the beetroot in a small roasting dish and drizzle with the smoked rapeseed oil Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. 15 minutes before the beetroot are ready, turn the oven up to 200c and put the roesti in to cook. Meanwhile place the goat’s cheese on a baking dish lined with tin foil, drizzle with the honey. When the beetroot and rosti are ready, remove from the oven. Drizzle the beetroot generously with the raspberry vinegar and set aside Cover both with tin foil to keep warm Place the goat’s cheese in the oven to bake for 5 minutes, while you sauté the cabbage in half the butter Remove the goat’s cheese and set aside Heat a pan with the olive oil and the remaining butter and pan fry the mackerel fillets (skin side down) for a couple of minutes and then turn over and do the other side.
To serve: place sautéed cabbage on each plate. Place the goat’s cheese on top. Place the rosti on the side and the mackerel on top, drizzled with the oils from the pan. Finish with the beetroot and a good drizzle of the rapeseed oil/raspberry vinaigrette from the beetroot pan. Trust me the flavours in this meal are fantastic For a delicious vegetarian option use a vegetarian goat’s cheese and substitute a large grilled mushroom for the mackerel
MONDAY 31 DEC
■ A-BAR New Year’s Eve Par ty; bar food noon-7pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Girls on Top New Year’s Eve Par ty: DJs Kelly Lloyd, Smithy, Fifilicious & Alpha, free entry 8pm -6am; open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS New Year’s Eve Countdown to 2013: DJs Peter Castle, Ben Castle & Claire Fuller over 2 floors 9pm -5am; entry £5 from 8pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN New Year’s Eve Uniform Par ty: free entry 8 30pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG New Year’s Eve 42 Hours NonStop Par ty: DJ Marcia 10pm & Grant Knowles (tbc) 2am in bar; top bar karaoke 10pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS New Year’s Eve Par ty: free entry; open noon
■ CHARLES ST New Year’s Eve Girls Next Door v Boys In The Bar Masked Ball: 2 dance zones, DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up in the club & DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy in the bar till 5am; entry free b4 10pm/£6 b4 midnight/£8 after or £6 Qjumpers available from the bar; food noon8pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST New Year’s Eve Rocky Horror Fancy Dress Par ty: games, raffle, buffet & prizes 8pm-2am
■ DR BRIGHTONS The Great New Year’s
Eve Black & White Masquerade: DJ Tony B, black & white dresscode 9pm-4am; open 1pm
■ ENVY New Year’s Eve Girls Next Door v Boys In The Bar Masked Ball: 2 dance zones, DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up in the club; DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy in the bar till 5am; entry free b4 10pm/£6 b4 midnight/£8 after or £6 Qjumpers available from the bar
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB New Year’s Eve
Countdown Par ty: DJ Sean Quinn 10pm
■ LEGENDS BAR New Year’s Eve
Countdown to 2013: DJs Peter Castle, Ben Castle & Claire Fuller over 2 floors, entry £5 from 8pm; open 11-5am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon-2/3am
■ POISON IVY NYE Par ty: Spice & special guests, karaoke, free food, complimentary champers at midnight, free entry with name on guest list; open 11am-2am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS NYE cabaret: Drag With No Name & par ty with DJ Kamp Kevin & host Candi Rell + poppers & streamers 8pm3am; entry £7 50 b4 Dec 10, £10 after; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN New Year’s Eve: food
A-BAR
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Tue (1) is New Year ’s Day with light snacks, open from noon
■ Fri (25) is CABARET with Davina Sparkle at 10pm
■ REGULARS: Wed & Thur are cocktail nights from 9pm; buy one get the other half price ■ Thur is QUIZ NIGHT with a special menu during the quiz from 8pm ■ Fri & Sat is Pre- Club with drink promos, including shots from £2
■ FOOD: Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat noon–7pm; Tue noon–7pm & then curry & pint £8 50 7–9pm; Thur noon–10pm; Sun roasts served noon–5pm, book a table by calling 01273 696691
■ DRINK DEALS: Mon–Fri bottle house red or white wine £9; double up on your spirits (Smirnoff, Bells, Gordons Gin & Morgan’s Spice) for an extra £1 50, all day every day; Mon–Thur 5–9pm selected pints, single spirits & splash £2 50
■ OPEN: A-Bar offers unrivalled sea view, large heated smoking terrace and all big spor t events Sauna closed ■ www amsterdam co uk
noon-6pm; Bishops & Tar ts Par ty: free entry 8pm; open noon-late
■ REVENGE New Year’s Par ty: DJs King K, Alex Baker, Lee Harris, Trick, Fifilicious, Missy B, pyrotechnics & sparklers 9pm6am; free entry b4 10pm/£10 after
■ SUBLINE New Year’s Par ty: tickets available from the bar 9pm-4am
■ ZONE New Year’s Eve Par ty: hostess
Carrie O’Kay, raffle, glass of bubbles, free entry till 3am; open 10am
TUESDAY 1
■ A-BAR New Year’s Day Recovery: light snacks, no kitchen noon
■ BAR REVENGE New Year’s Karaoke
Unplugged: DJ Alpha & hostess AJ 8pm; open noon
BRIGHTON SAUNA
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS NYE Recovery Par ty: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Games Galore; open noon
■ BULLDOG 42 Hours Non-Stop Par ty: DJ Lee 10pm
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Hangover Par ty; open noon
■ CHARLES ST open 5pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS New Year’s Day Recovery; open 1pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ LEGENDS BAR New Year’s Day Bank
Holiday Cabaret: Lola Lasagne 3 30pm; open 11am
■ REGULARS: Wed (2) is BEARS NIGHT for bears, cubs and their admirers; drink offers, club music at 7pm ■ Wed (9) is NAKED all day, no towels to be worn
■ Wed (16) is mandatory UNDERWEAR NIGHT, thongs, briefs, speedos, at 7pm
■ Wed (23) is NAKED NIGHT, no towels to be worn, at 7pm
■ DRINK DEALS: The Brighton Sauna runs a licensed bar 7 days a week; Sun–Thur 11–1am and Fri & Sat 11–2am
■ OPEN: For future listings visit: www.thebrightonsauna.com
BULLDOG
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Fri CABARET is in the karaoke bar at midnight: R ose Garden (4), Drag With No Name (11), Sally Vate (18), Lizzy Drip (25); DJs Simon Blanch/Grant Knowles are downstairs at 10pm
■ REGULARS: Sat is with DJ V John at 10pm, DJ Lil Alex at 3am, and karaoke upstairs at 10pm ■ Sun is with DJ Grant Knowles at 6pm, KARAOKE is upstairs at 9pm ■ Mon is DJ Marcia’s GLIT TER BALl with 1970s/80s tunes at 10pm ■ Tue is with DJ Lee at 10pm ■ Wed is RED LIGHT RUSH with DJ Marcia and £1 50 drinks when music vid is played at 10pm ■ Thur is Release with DJ Grant Knowles at 10pm
■ DRINK DEALS: Mon–Thur 2–8pm & 10pm–midnight; Fri 2–8pm; Sat 8pm–midnight; Sun all day Drinks include: pints from £1 95, double spirit & mixer from £2 30, bottles from £1 85 (Terms & conditions apply)
■ OPEN: daily from 11am–ver y late ■ www bulldogbrighton com
■ MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Quiz 9pm; open noon
■ POISON IVY Bar 150, karaoke & Misty Lee’s Blind Date 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS New Year Hangover Karaoke Par ty 7pm-midnight
■ REVENGE Supersonic: DJs Trick & Picadilly Boy 11pm
■ REGENCY TAVERN New Year’s Day: food noon-2 30pm & 6-8 30pm; open noon-11pm
■ ZONE open 10am
WEDNESDAY 2
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; cocktail night; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Midweek Mash-Up: DJ Lee Harris 10pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BRIGHTON SAUNA Bears Night: bears, cubs & their admirers, licensed bar 7pm
■ BULLDOG Red Light Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm; open 11am
■ LEGENDS BAR Sandy Crack’s Big Balls Bingo 9.30pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY Barbara Fella’s Karaoke & In It To Win It: win £100 bar tab 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Candi’s Capers’ karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2.30pm & 6-8 30pm; open noon
■ SUBLINE closed
■ ZONE Sofa So Good: board games, Wii, films & more 7pm; open 11am
THURSDAY 3
■ A-BAR food noon-10pm; Quiz: special food menu 8pm; cocktail night; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Girls On Top Warm-Up: DJ Kelly L 9pm; open noon
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Thur Social; open noon
■ BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant Knowles 10pm; open 11am
JANUARY LISTINGS
CAMELFORD ARMS
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Tue (1) is the New Year ’s Hangover Par ty with bloody marys and meal deals
■ REGULARS: Sun (6 & 20) is the BEAR BASH at 5pm ■ Thur is the BIG CASH QUIZ at 9pm ■ The FRIDAY CLUB is at 6pm
■ FOOD: home-cooked menu served Mon–Wed noon–3pm & 6–9pm with selected meal & a drink £7.95; Thur & Fri noon–3pm & 6–9pm; Sat noon–7pm; Sunday roasts & selected menu served noon–till gone!
■ OPEN: daily from noon The Camelford is the most dog-friendly pub in town and has open fires, perfect for those cold winter nights ■ www camelfordarms com
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Big Cash Quiz Night 9pm; food noon-3pm & 6-9pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Mad Cow: 2 floors, hostess Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & LeeRoy in bar, DJ Ruby Roo in club 8pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Thirsty Thur; open 3pm
■ ENVY Mad Cow: 2 floors, hostess Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & LeeRoy in bar, DJ Ruby Roo in club 8pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ LEGENDS BAR food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY cabaret: Benji O 9pm; Misty Lee’s karaoke; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Pasty Cline’s karaoke par ty 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm & 6-8.30pm; open noon
■ REVENGE Girls On Top: DJs Smithy, Fifi, Missy B, Alpha, Cheeks Du Rhythm 10 30pm
■ SUBLINE Leathered 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE Rachel’s Thrifty Thur: karaoke, videos & Wii 8pm; open 10am
FRIDAY 4
■ A-BAR Pre-club music; food noon-7pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Shameless Warm-Up: DJ Alpha 9pm; open noon-6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, then DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Krazy Kamikaze Karaoke 8.30pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJs Simon Blanch/Grant Knowles 10pm; karaoke bar cabaret: Rose Garden midnight; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-3pm & 6-9pm; Friday Club 6pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Fruity Fri Fix: DJ Leeroy 9pm; food noon-7 45pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Funky Fri: DJs Nick Hirst or Wayne 9pm; open 1pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Thank Funk It’s Fri 10 30pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, promo boys, free champers for early birds, free bottle of champers for bir thdays 9pm; DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm; food noon7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY camp disco, video bar & Spice’s Karaoke 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Camp Attack: DJs Kamp
Kevin & Andy B + karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2.30pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE Shameless: DJs Alex Baker, Smithy & Missy B , win £50 bar tab 10 30pm
■ SUBLINE Bear Ball: DJ Screwpulous & dancing bears 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE cabaret: tba 9 30pm; open 10am
SATURDAY 5
■ A-BAR food noon-7pm; Pre-Club Music; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free Warm-Up: DJ Fifilicious 9pm; open noon6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Lee Harris 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ V John 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am; karaoke 10pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-7pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: allmale DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy on rotation 9pm; food noon-7.45pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Sat: DJ Tony B 9pm; open 1pm
■ ENVY Girls Next Door: DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up 10pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Old Skool Sat: DJ Sean Quinn 10pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Pre-Club DJs 7pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY afternoon karaoke & Betty
Swollocks’ karaoke till midnight; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Les Be Friends
4.30pm; guest host karaoke 6pm; Sissy & Kamp Kevin’s Sat Night Sin Bin: karaoke, tunes & games 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-6pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free: DJs Alex Baker, Trick, King K & guests 10 30pm
■ SUBLINE The Furnace 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 6pm
■ ZONE cabaret: Sally Vate 9 30pm; open 10am
SUNDAY 6
■ A-BAR Sun lunch: bookings 01273 696691 noon-5pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Open Mic 2pm; Unsigned & Fabulous 4pm; Karaoke Queens: LouBag & Smithy 8pm; open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Sun roasts noon5pm; Piano Bingo 5pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ Grant Knowles 6pm; karaoke 9pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Sun roasts & selected menu noon-till gone; Bear Bash 5pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST cabaret: Tammy Twinkle
7 30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate & roll over jackpot 8 30pm; Sun lunch noon7pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST Richard’s Sun Roast
noon-late; open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Hangover Therapy; open 1pm
■ FUN FAIR CLUB BodyShakers: tea dance with DJs Steven Geller, Steve B & guests 6pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Lucinda Lashes 3.15pm; open 11am
JANUARY LISTINGS
CHARLES STREET BAR
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Sun CABARET at 7 30pm: Tammy Twinkle (6), Davina Sparkle (13), Sandra (20), Mrs Moore (27); Tranny R ock & R oll Bingo with Sally Vate and a rolling jackpot follows at 8 30pm
■ REGULARS: Sat is THE BOYS IN THE BOY with an all-male DJ line-up including Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles & Leeroy on rotation at 9pm, free entry! ■ Thur is MAD COW over two-floors with hostess Miss Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & Leeroy in the bar playing commercial dance, DJ R uby R oo in the club playing char t & pop favourites at 8pm, drinks from £1, entry £1 b4 10pm, £2 after ■ Fruity Friday Fix is with DJ Leeroy spinning the best in dance & funky house at 9pm; plus discounted cocktails from 9pm–close, free entry
■ FOOD: Check out the brand new menu with a new range of small plates to share 2-4-1 deals: all homemade pizzas on Wed Served: Mon–Sat noon–8pm; Sunday Lunch: home roast beef, chicken or veggie served noon–7pm, £6.95
■ DRINK DEALS: All drinks half price Mon–Sat from 5–9pm, till 8pm on Thur, on Sun after the show till close All deals excl champers, cocktails & not in conjunction with other offers January sale: pint of Kronenbourg £1 95, double Smirnoff & gun mixer £2 75, bottle of house wine £7 95, classic burger & chips £2 99 all day every day
■ OPEN: daily from noon Tue (1), open from 5pm for New Year ’s Day, no food!
■ LEGENDS BAR Tammy’s Street Date 9.30pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY Spice’s £100 Cash Karaoke 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Kamp Kevin’s U Choose Youtube & karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm & 6-8.30pm; open noon
■ ZONE Manic Mon 7pm; open 10am
TUESDAY 8
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; curry & pint night 7-9pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Karaoke Unplugged: DJ
Alpha & hostess AJ 8pm; open noon
ENVY @ CHARLES ST
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Sat is GIRLS NEXT DOOR with DJ Dulcie Danger & an all-girl line-up at 10pm; £2 drinks all night, entry free b4 11 15pm/£3 b4 midnight/£5 b4 1am/£6 after or NUS £3 all night
■ REGULARS: Mon is the STUDIO 150 student night with singles or bottles for £1 50 all night, entry £1 50 ■ Thur is MAD COW over two-floors with hostess Miss Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & Leeroy in the bar playing commercial dance, DJ R uby R oo in the club playing char t & pop favourites at 8pm, drinks from £1, entry £1 b4 10pm, £2 after
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Pasty Cline’s karaoke par ty 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm & 6-8.30pm; open noon
■ REVENGE Girls On Top: DJs Smithy, Fifi, Missy B, Alpha, Cheeks Du Rhythm + win Rihanna tickets 10 30pm
■ SUBLINE Leathered 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE Rachel’s Thrifty Thur: karaoke, videos & Wii 8pm; open 10am
FRIDAY 11
■ A-BAR Pre-club music; food noon-7pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Shameless Warm-Up: DJ Alpha 9pm; open noon-6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, then DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Krazy Kamikaze Karaoke 8 30pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJs Simon Blanch/Grant Knowles 10pm; karaoke bar cabaret: Drag With No Name midnight; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-3pm &
6-9pm; Friday Club 6pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Fruity Fri Fix: DJ Leeroy 9pm; food noon-7.45pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST cabaret: Krissie DuCann 9pm; open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Funky Fri: DJs Nick Hirst or Wayne 9pm; open 1pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Thank Funk It’s Fri
10 30pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, promo boys, free champers for early birds, free bottle of champers for bir thdays 9pm; DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm; food noon7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY camp disco, video bar & Spice’s Karaoke 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Camp Attack: DJs Kamp
Kevin & Andy B + karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE Shameless: DJs Alex Baker, Smithy & Missy B , win £50 bar tab
10 30pm
■ SUBLINE Bear Ball: DJ Screwpulous & dancing bears 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE cabaret: Stone & Street 9pm; open 10am
SATURDAY 12
■ A-BAR food noon-7pm; Pre-Club Music; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free Warm-Up: DJ Fifilicious 9pm; open noon6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ V John 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am; karaoke 10pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-7pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: allmale DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy on rotation 9pm; food noon-7 45pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Sat Charles’ Bir thday Par ty: DJ Tony B 9pm; open 1pm
■ REGULARS: THANK FUNK IT’S FRIDAY with funk/soul/Motown & disco at 10 30pm, free entry ■ OLD SKOOL SATURDAY is with DJ Sean Quinn at 10pm, entry £5
■ OPEN: THE FUNKY FISH BAR is open from noon every day
■ www.funkyfishclub.co.uk
DR BRIGHTONS
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Tue (1) is New Year Hangover Therapy with all day happy hours, opens 1pm Sat (12) is CHARLES’ BIRTHDAY PARTY with DJ Tony B at 9pm
■ REGULARS: Funky Friday with DJs Nick Hirst or Wayne is at 9pm, free entry
■ SEXY SATURDAY with DJ Tony B, Nick Hirst (26), is at 9pm, free entry
■ DRINK DEALS: from Sun–Thur all day and Fri & Sat from 1–7pm: small Smirnoff & mixer £2 85, large £3 85, pints of Fosters £3 and large wine £4 Cocktails are two for £11 from Sun–Thur Free game of pool every day with every round of drinks during happy hour
■ OPEN: Mon–Thur 3pm–midnight; Fri & Sat 1pm–2am; Sun 1pm–midnight ■ www.doctorbrightons.co.uk
■ ENVY Girls Next Door: DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up 10pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Old Skool Sat: DJ Sean Quinn 10pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Pre-Club DJs 7pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY afternoon karaoke & Betty Swollocks’ karaoke till midnight; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Auntie Robbie
4 30pm; guest host karaoke 6pm; Sissy & Kamp Kevin’s Sat Night Sin Bin: karaoke, tunes & games 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-6pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free: DJs
Alex Baker, Trick, King K & guests 10.30pm
■ SUBLINE The Furnace 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 6pm
■ ZONE cabaret: Tammy Twinkle 9 30pm; open 10am
SUNDAY 13
■ A-BAR Sun lunch: bookings 01273 696691 noon-5pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Open Mic 2pm; Unsigned & Fabulous 4pm; Karaoke Queens: LouBag & Smithy 8pm; open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Sun roasts noon5pm; Piano Bingo 5pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ Grant Knowles 6pm; karaoke 9pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Sun roasts & selected menu noon-till gone; open noon
■ CHARLES ST cabaret: Davina Sparkle 7 30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate & roll over jackpot 8.30pm; Sun lunch noon-7pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST Richard’s Sun Roast noon-late; open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Hangover Therapy; open 1pm
■ LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Son of a Tutu 3 15pm; open 11am
JANUARY LISTINGS
LEGENDS BAR
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Tue (1) is New Year ’s Day Bank Holiday CABARET with Lola Lasagne at 3.30pm
■ REGULARS: Mon is Tammy’s STREET DATE at 9 30pm ■ Wed is Sandy Crack’s
BIG BALLS BINGO at 9 30pm ■ FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE with Lady La R ue over 2 floors, DJ Peter Castle, promo boys, £1 50 shots all night, a free bottle of champers if it’s your bir thday from 9pm ■ Pre- Club DJ sounds Sat at 7pm ■ Sun CABARET at 3 15pm:
Lucinda Lashes (6), Son of a Tutu (13), Lola Lasagne (20) and Lady Imelda (27)
■ FOOD: Enjoy a big homemade pie this winter, served noon–7pm Mon–Sat
■ POISON IVY Bar 150, karaoke & Misty Lee’s Blind Date 7pm; open 11am
LEGENDS BASEMENT CLUB
■ FREE ENTRY: to the Basement Club every day (excl New Year’s Eve)
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Tue (1) is The New Year ’s R ecover y Par ty with DJ Peter Castle playing recent/classic pop tracks
■ REGULARS: Wed is MIDWEEK MASH-UP with DJ Lee Harris spinning a mix of latest char t tracks and anthems, £2 drinks all night, £1 50 shots ■ FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE with Lady La R ue over 2 floors, DJ Peter Castle, promo boys, £1 50 shots all night and a free bottle of champers if it’s your bir thday from 9pm ■ Sat is FUSION with DJ Peter Castle’s house & char t sounds Sat (5) is with DJ Lee Harris ■ Sun is POP!CANDY with DJ Claire Fuller’s recent & classic pop tracks
■ REVENGE Shameless: DJs Alex Baker, Smithy & Missy B, win £50 bar tab 10.30pm
■ SUBLINE Bear Ball: DJ Screwpulous & dancing bears 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE cabaret: Gilly Bee 9 30pm; open 10am
JANUARY LISTINGS
SATURDAY 19
■ A-BAR food noon-7pm; Pre-Club Music; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free warm-up: DJ Fifilicious 9pm; open 12-6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ V John 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am; karaoke 10pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-7pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Boys In The Bar: all-male DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy on rotation 9pm; food 12-7 45pm; open 12
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Sat: DJ Tony B 9pm; open 1pm
■ ENVY Girls Next Door: DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up 10pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Old Skool Sat: DJ Sean Quinn 10pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Pre-Club DJs 7pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY afternoon karaoke & Betty Swollocks’ karaoke till midnight; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Marina Por t & guests 4 30pm; guest host karaoke 6pm; Sissy & Kamp Kevin’s Sat Night Sin Bin: karaoke, tunes & games 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-6pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free: DJs Alex Baker, Trick, King K & guests 10.30pm
■ SUBLINE The Furnace 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 6pm
■ ZONE cabaret: Sally Vate 9 30pm; open 10am
SUNDAY 20
■ A-BAR Sunday lunch: bookings 01273
696691 noon-5pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Open Mic 2pm; Unsigned & Fabulous 4pm; Karaoke Queens: LouBag & Smithy 8pm; open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Sun roasts noon5pm; Piano Bingo 5pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ Grant Knowles 6pm; karaoke 9pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Sunday roasts & selected menu noon-till gone; Bear Bash 5pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST cabaret: Sandra 7.30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate & roll over jackpot 8 30pm; Sunday lunch 12-7pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST Richard’s Sunday Roast noon-late; open noon
POISON IVY
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Thur CABARET at 9pm: Benji O (3), Vivienne Lyndsey (10), Wilma Fingadoo (17), Baga Chipz (24) and Scarlet Diamante (31)
■ REGULARS: KARAOKE & enter tainment 7 nights a week: ■ Sun is 12 Hour NonStop on; ■ Mon is Spice’s £100 Cash Karaoke; Tue is Bar 150 & Misty Lee’s BLIND DATE SHOW; Wed Barbara Fella & IN IT TO WIN IT £100 bar tab; ■ Thur is Misty Lee;
■ Fri is Spice & camp disco; ■ Sat afternoon karaoke then Betty Swollocks till midnight
■ DRINK DEALS: all day & night on Sun & Mon; £1 shots every day, including the new chocolate vodka shots (vodka Mars Bar, Crunchie, Galaxy & skittles)
■ OPEN: daily from 11am ■ www.thepoisonivy.co.uk
■ DR BRIGHTONS Hangover Therapy; open 1pm
■ FUN FAIR CLUB BodyShakers: tea dance with DJs Steven Geller, Steve B & guests 6pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Lola Lasagne
3 15pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open 1pm
■ POISON IVY 12 Hour Non-Stop Karaoke; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Mzz Kimberley 6pm; Banji Official 9.30pm; karaoke; open 12
■ REGENCY TAVERN Sunday roast noon5pm; Piano Bar 1 30pm; open noon
■ SUBLINE Come in Your Pants: DJ N U D E, underwear par ty 9pm
■ ZONE Carrie O’Kay’s karaoke 4pm; open 10am
MONDAY 21
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Quiz with Liz 8.30pm; DJ Picadilly till midnight; open noon
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Glitter Ball 10pm; open 11am
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: SUNDAY SESSIONS with Open Mic at 2pm, Unsigned & Fabulous with the best up-and-coming acts live at 4pm, to enter email harr y@revenge co uk, then it’s KARAOKE QUEENS with LouBag & Smithy at 8pm
■ REGULARS: Mon is QUIZ WITH LIZ with cash and boozy prizes at 8 30pm followed by DJ Piccadilly till midnight ■ Tue is KARAOKE UNPLUGGED with DJ Alpha & AJ at 8pm ■ Thur is the Girls on Top Official Warm-Up with DJ Kelly L at 9pm ■ Fri is the Shameless Warm-Up with DJ Alpha at 9pm ■ Sat is the F@#ck Me! It’s Still Free Warm-Up with DJ Fifilicious at 9pm
■ DRINK DEALS: 2-4-1 cocktails Thur/Fri/Sun 5–9pm; drinks £1 99 Mon–Wed; from £1 50 Thur after 7pm; from £2 49 Fri–Sun; Jagerbombs £1 99 on Sat
■ OPEN: daily from noon–2am & till 6am on Fri & Sat Revenge discount passes: Thur/Fri/Sat ■ www revenge co uk
■ MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Quiz 9pm; open noon
■ POISON IVY Bar 150, karaoke & Misty Lee’s Blind Date 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Skint: DJ & karaoke; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2.30pm & 6-8.30pm; open noon
■ REVENGE Supersonic: DJ Trick & Picadilly Boy 11pm
■ ZONE TransAction: a night for TV/CD/TS/TG people & their admirers, dressing rooms & discretion assured 7pm; open 10am
WEDNESDAY 23
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; cocktail night; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Midweek Mash-Up: DJ Lee Harris 10pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BRIGHTON SAUNA Naked Night: naked only, no towels, licensed bar 7pm
■ BULLDOG Red Light Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm; open 11am
■ LEGENDS BAR Sandy Crack’s Big Balls Bingo 9 30pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY Barbara Fella’s Karaoke & In It To Win It: win £100 bar tab 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Candi’s Capers’ karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm & 6-8.30pm; open noon
■ SUBLINE Backlash: retro night 9pm
■ ZONE Sofa So Good: board games, Wii, films & more 7pm; open 10am
THURSDAY 24
■ A-BAR food noon-10pm; Quiz: special food menu 8pm; cocktail night; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE Girls On Top Warm-Up: DJ Kelly L 9pm; open noon
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Thur Social; open noon
■ BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant Knowles 10pm; open 11am
REVENGE
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Fri (25) is SHAMELESS presents Booty Luv performing their new single Black W idow & all the anthems at 1am, club opens 10.30pm, entry £5
■ REGULARS: Fri is SHAMELESS with DJs Alex Baker, Smithy & Missy B playing attitude-free fresh pop v guilty pleasures, drinks £2 50 b4 midnight, Jagerbombs £2 50 all night, win £50 bar tab, entry free/£5 ■ Sat is F@#K ME! IT’S STILL FREE with DJs Alex Baker, Trick, King K & guests on rotation playing pop/urban/par ty/vocal house anthems, all drinks £2 50 b4 midnight, Jagerbombs £2 50 all night, double up for £1 all night, free entr y b4 1am, £5 after ■ Tue is SUPERSONIC student night with DJs Trick & Picadilly Boy, Brighton & Sussex Uni takeovers, drinks from £1 50, spirit & mixer £2 double up for £1, entry £3 or £2 NUS ■ Thur is GIRLS ON TOP lesbian night with allgirl DJs Smithy, Fifilicious, Missy B, Alpha & Cheeks Du Rhythm playing char t/urban/old school/house, drinks from £1 50, entry free with pass or £3/£4 Win Rihanna tickets (10)
■ OPEN: 10 30pm on Thur/Fri/Sat; 11pm on Tue Free entry passes available through the week from Bar Revenge or from www revenge co uk
■ CAMELFORD ARMS Big Cash Quiz Night 9pm; food noon-3pm & 6-9pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Mad Cow: 2 floors, hostess Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & LeeRoy in bar, DJ Ruby Roo in club 8pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Thirsty Thur; open 3pm
■ ENVY Mad Cow: 2 floors, hostess Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lil Alex & LeeRoy in bar, DJ Ruby Roo in club 8pm
■ BAR REVENGE Shameless Warm-Up: DJ Alpha 9pm; open noon-6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, then DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN Krazy Kamikaze Karaoke 8 30pm; open noon
■ BULLDOG DJs Simon Blanch/Grant Knowles 10pm; karaoke bar cabaret: Lizzy Drip midnight; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-3pm & 6-9pm; Friday Club 6pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST Fruity Fri Fix: DJ Leeroy 9pm; food noon-7 45pm
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Funky Fri: DJs Nick Hirst or Wayne 9pm; open 1pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Thank Funk It’s Fri 10 30pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Friday Night Live with LaRue: 2 floor par ty with Lady La Rue, promo boys, free champers for early birds, free bottle of champers for bir thdays 9pm; DJ Peter Castle in the club 11pm; food noon7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY camp disco, video bar & Spice’s Karaoke 7pm; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS Camp Attack: DJs Kamp Kevin & Andy B + karaoke 9pm; open noon
■ REGENCY TAVERN food noon-2 30pm & 6-8.30pm; open 11am
■ REVENGE Shameless presents Booty Luv: single release par ty & live PA from Booty Luv + DJs Alex Baker, Smithy & Missy B 10 30pm
■ SUBLINE Bear Ball: DJ Screwpulous & dancing bears 9pm
■ VAVAVOOM open 7pm
■ ZONE karaoke night 8pm; open 10am
SATURDAY 26
■ A-BAR food noon-7pm; Pre-Club Music; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE F@#k Me! It’s Still Free Warm-Up: DJ Fifilicious 9pm; open noon6am
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
■ BULLDOG DJ V John 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am; karaoke 10pm; open 11am
■ CAMELFORD ARMS food noon-7pm; open noon
■ CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: allmale DJs Jonesy, Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy on rotation 9pm; food noon-7.45pm; open noon
■ 112 CHURCH ST open noon
■ DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Sat: DJ Nick Hirst 9pm; open 1pm
■ ENVY Girls Next Door: DJ Dulcie Danger & all-girl line-up 10pm
■ FUNKYFISH BAR open noon
■ FUNKYFISH CLUB Old Skool Sat: DJ Sean Quinn 10pm
■ LEGENDS BAR Pre-Club DJs 7pm; food noon-7pm; open 11am
■ MARINE TAVERN open noon
■ POISON IVY afternoon karaoke & Betty Swollocks’ karaoke till midnight; open 11am
■ QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Richard Carney’s Bir thday Show 4 30pm; guest host karaoke 6pm; Sissy & Kamp Kevin’s Sat Night Sin Bin: karaoke, tunes & games 9pm; open noon
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; curry & pint night 7-9pm; open noon
JANUARY LISTINGS
SUBLINE
■ REGULARS: Wed is BACKLASH retro tunes and prices, including selected drinks £3 all night for members ■ Thur is LEATHERED with free lockers ■ Fri is BEAR BALL with DJ Screwpulous, dancing bears, £3 drinks, entry free for members till 11pm, £3 after ■ Sat is THE FURNACE with £3 drinks, free entry for members till 11pm, £3 after ■ Sun is COME IN YOUR PANTS underwear par ty with DJ N U D E
■ DRINK DEALS: selected drinks £3 all night for members Wed, £3 drinks Fri & Sat
■ OPEN: Fri & Sat from 9pm–4am, Sun from 8pm–2am, Wed & Thur from 9pm–1 30am Closed New Year ’s Day (2), Wed (2), Mon & Tue
■ www subline-brighton com
■ BAR REVENGE Karaoke Unplugged: DJ Alpha & hostess AJ 8pm; open noon
■ REVENGE Supersonic: DJ Trick & Picadilly Boy 11pm
■ ZONE U Say We Play 7pm; open 10am
WEDNESDAY 30
■ A-BAR bar food noon-7pm; cocktail night; open noon
■ BAR REVENGE open noon
■ BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Midweek
Mash-Up: DJ Lee Harris 10pm
■ BEDFORD TAVERN open noon
ZONE
■ ONE FOR THE DAIRY: Sun (13) is PAMPER POOCH PARTY with doggy treats, advice and doggy clothes swap at 3pm
■ REGULARS: Tue (1), open 10am Tue (15) is SCRATCH NIGHT comics/singers/drag musicians/writers try out material 7pm Tue (22) is TRANSACTION for TV/CD/TS/TG & admirers 7pm; friendly staff, drink deals, dressing rooms, discretion assured ■ Wed is SOFA SO GOOD with board games/Wii/films at 7pm Look out for future PJ par ties!
■ R achel’s THRIF TY THURSDAY drink promos, Wii, karaoke, videos at 8pm ■ Fri CABARET at 9.30pm: tba (4), Stone & Street (11) and Gilly Bee (18) Fri (25) is KARAOKE camp sing-alongs 8pm ■ Sat CABARET at 9.30pm: Sally Vate (5, 19), Tammy Twinkle (12) and Collusion (26) ■ Sun is Carrie O’Kay’s Karaoke at 4pm
■ OPEN: daily from 10am
■ BULLDOG Red Light Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm; open 11am
Open: Tue-Fri & Sun: 9pm-3am, Sat: 9pm5am Stylish club on 2 floors with 3 bars Par ty till 5am on a Saturday night - last entry at 3am
■ PINK BROADWAY SAUNA 797/80 East St
Tel: 02380 238804
www pink-broadway com/sauna html
Open: Sun-Thur: noon-10pm, Fri-Sat: noon2am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC karaoke 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Pure Pop!: DJ Neil Sackley 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Pat Cruise 9 30pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
FRIDAY 4
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; par ty till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Get Some: DJs Lady Bex, Lohands, Rob Davis 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: Davina Sparkle 10pm; food noon-3pm
SATURDAY 5
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE The Big One: DJs, 2 dancefloors, 3 bars 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: Jacquii Cann & DJ Tiny 10pm; open noon; food noon-3pm
SUNDAY 6
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: Sun Lunch 12 30-2 30pm & 7-9pm; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
SOLENT & BOURNEMOUTH
EDGE SOUTHAMPTON
■ ONE FOR THE DIARY: Sat is THE BIG ONE with resident/guest DJs, Lee Harris (19) & Phil Marriott (26), 2 dance floors & 3 bars; entry free–£6
■ REGULARS: Thur is PURE POP! with DJ Neil Sackley playing pop tunes & free sweets at 10pm, entry £1 ■ Fri is GET SOME with DJs Lady Bex, Lohands & R ob D, entry £1 b4 10 30pm, £3–£6 after ■ Sun is WE ARE 1 with DJs & £1 drinks, entry free b4 10 30pm, £2/£4 after ■ Tue is BOMB IT! with 3-4-2 Jagerbombs, free video jukebox & entry ■ Wed is BAR 150 with DJ Lady Bex & Cheeky Pete’s Karaoke, £1 50 drinks, entry free–£6
■ OPEN: Sun, Tue & Thur 10pm, Wed, Fri & Sat 9pm Closed Mon and New Year ’s Day ■ www theedgesouthampton com
■ OLD VIC Sun lunch 1-5pm; open noon SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE We Are 1: DJs 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Dolly Par tem’s Sunday Service 8pm; Lucinda Lashes 9 30pm; Sun lunch noon-3.30pm; open noon
MONDAY 7
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; open noon SOUTHAMPTON
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm; open noon
TUESDAY 8
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ OLD VIC Quiz 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bomb It!: video jukebox 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm
WEDNESDAY 9
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD open till 2am
■ OLD VIC NUS night 7pm; food noon-5pm SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bar 150: DJ Lady Bex & Cheeky Pete’s karaoke 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm; open 12
THURSDAY 10
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC karaoke 8pm; food noon-5pm SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Pure Pop!: DJ Neil Sackley 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Pat Cruise 9.30pm; food 12-3pm; open 12
FRIDAY 11
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; par ty till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Get Some: DJs Lady Bex, Lohands, Rob Davis 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: Fanny Dazzle 10pm; food noon-3pm
SATURDAY 12
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; DJs all night
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE The Big One: DJs, 2 dancefloors, 3 bars 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: DJ Ruby Roo 10pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
SUNDAY 13
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: Sun Lunch 12 30-2 30pm & 7-9pm; open 9am
■ DYMK open noon
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC Sun lunch 1-5pm; open noon
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE We Are 1: DJs 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Dolly Par tem’s Sunday Service 8pm; Miss Penny 9.30pm; Sun lunch
noon-3 30pm; open noon
MONDAY 14
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar &
Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
LONDON HOTEL SOUTHAMPTON
■ ONE FOR THE DIARY: Tue (1) is New Year ’s R ecover y, open 3–11pm
■ REGULARS: Wed (6) is monthly QUIZ Night with cash prizes at 8.30pm ■ Thur is Pat Cruise’s KARAOKE CRUISING at 9.30pm ■ Fri CABARET at 10pm: Davina Sparkle (4), Fanny Dazzle (11), Mitzi Macintosh (18) and R ose Garden (25) ■ Sat is PARTY time at 8 30pm with DJs & singers: Tiny & Jacquii Cann (5), R uby R oo (12), Tiny (19) and Pat Cruise (26) ■ Dolly Par tem’s SUNDAY SERVICE from 8pm, cabaret follows at 9 30pm: Lucinda Lashes (6), Miss Penny (13), A Night With Nan (20) and Lady La R ue (27) ■ Chill out in one of the
FOOD: traditional pub food served Mon–Sat noon–3pm; Sunday lunch served noon–3.30pm
■ OPEN: daily from noon ■ www.the-london.co.uk
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; open noon
SOUTHAMPTON
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm; open noon
TUESDAY 15
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ OLD VIC Quiz 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bomb It!: video jukebox 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm
WEDNESDAY 16
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Forces Night till 2am
■ OLD VIC NUS night 7pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bar 150: DJ Lady Bex & Cheeky Pete’s karaoke 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food 12-3pm; open 12
THURSDAY 17
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC karaoke 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Pure Pop!: DJ Neil Sackley 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Pat Cruise 9 30pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
FRIDAY 18
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; par ty till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Get Some: DJs Lady Bex, Lohands, Rob Davis 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: Mitzi Macintosh 10pm; food noon-3pm
SATURDAY 19
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; DJs all night
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE The Big One: DJ Lee Harris & regulars,, 2 dancefloors, 3 bars 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL DJ Tiny 10pm; food noon3pm; open noon
SUNDAY 20
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Sun Lunch 12 302 30pm & 7-9pm; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE We Are 1: DJs 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Dolly Par tem’s Sunday Service 8pm; A Night With Nan 9 30pm; Sun lunch noon-3 30pm; open noon
MONDAY 21
BOURNEMOUTH
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bar 150: DJ Lady Bex & Cheeky Pete’s karaoke 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm; open 12
THURSDAY 24
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; open noon
SOUTHAMPTON
■ LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm; open 12
TUESDAY 22
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ OLD VIC Quiz 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bomb It!: video jukebox 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm
WEDNESDAY 23
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD open till 2am
■ OLD VIC NUS night 7pm; food noon-5pm
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC karaoke 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Pure Pop!: DJ Neil Sackley 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Pat Cruise 9 30pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
FRIDAY 25
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; par ty till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Get Some: DJs Lady Bex, Lohands, Rob Davis 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL cabaret: Rose Garden 10pm; food noon-3pm
SATURDAY 26
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food/afternoon tea/drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; DJs all night
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE The Big One: DJ Phil Marriott & regulars, 2 dancefloors, 3 bars 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL DJ Pat Cruise 10pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
SUNDAY 27
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: Sun Lunch 12.30-2 30pm & 7-9pm; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC Sun lunch 1-5pm; open noon
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE We Are 1: DJs 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Dolly Par tem’s Sunday Service 8pm; Lady La Rue 9.30pm; Sun lunch noon-3 30pm; open noon
MONDAY 28
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
■ OLD VIC food noon-5pm; open noon
SOUTHAMPTON
■ LONDON HOTEL food noon-3pm; open 12
TUESDAY 29
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ OLD VIC Quiz 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bomb It!: video jukebox 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL chillout; food noon-3pm
WEDNESDAY 30
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD open till 2am
■ OLD VIC NUS night 7pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Bar 150: DJ Lady Bex & Cheeky Pete’s karaoke 9pm
■ LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm; open 12
THURSDAY 31
BOURNEMOUTH
■ CUMBERL AND HOTEL Ventana Bar & Brasserie: food, afternoon tea, drinks; open 9am
■ DYMK open 2pm
PORTSMOUTH
■ HAMPSHIRE BLVD Westie’s karaoke till 2am
■ OLD VIC karaoke 8pm; food noon-5pm
SOUTHAMPTON
■ EDGE Pure Pop!: DJ Neil Sackley 10pm
■ LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Pat Cruise 9 30pm; food noon-3pm; open noon
DANCE MUSIC
BY WILDBLOOD & QUEENIE
REVIEWS
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new year and we ’ re feeling good well okay maybe a little cold, skint and fed up but sod that, lets turn it up and bring the New Year in with some style, substance and sweet beats. Like you do.
■ First up to warm the cockles of your soul is the funk of Her Smiling Eye from Liberty Klaud on Cold Busted Gotta love those hot hand drums
■ Next is the glory glory that is Silicone Soul’ s Darkroom Dubs Vol 3 on the fittingly titled label Darkroom Dubs. Succumb to the caress of their dark and deep beats and your life will be better for it.
■ Speaking of life enhancing if you missed the December release of Thomas Franzmann, aka Zip’s compilation for Fabric Records
Fabric 67: Zip, now is the time to catch up Two decks, one bloke and enough warm beats to banish any amount of January
JANUARY 12 INCHES
blues. Excellence of the excellent kind.
As for those albums making us happier than a bunny sensing spring (well we have to hope!) this month?
■ First up it has to be Damian Lazarus’ Day Zero Sound Of The Mayan Spirit He’s been in our system as the tinsel went up and has kept us sane ever since with this A* Crosstown Rebel compilation. Never have so many artists gathered with such class intentions and on the button tunes. Deep, delicious and delighting the neighbours!
■ As is the fabulousness of Ian Pooley’ s What I Do on Pooled Music It’s analogue, it’s timeless, it’s house and a slice of bass line beauty with synthabilities you have to own. Glorious is an understatement. Enjoy!
Catch Queenie and Wildblood at DSD, on Mixcloud, Radio Reverb and studying in the library. www.katewildblood.wordpress.com
■ ARETHA FRANKLIN Rock-A-Lott (Hifi Sean Mix) White
The one Xmas leftover we can’t get enough of!
■ SPIRITCHASER Paradise Row (Horizon Dub) Guess Records
Some tunes are just too beautiful for words. This is one. We’ll stop now.
■ THE SPECIALISTS Gonna Funk - Pugs Are Not Drugs EP Komanchero
6am is gonna sound just fine with this dirty groove
■ PETER PRESTA & LITTLE CARLOS Naturally Apple Jaxx Recordings
What is life without a little disco sample?
■ SICK ELEKTRIK Got Your Picture State Records
Deep tech house that will keep you in the dancing frame
■ BUTCH feat HOHBERG Horus Visionquest Records
Fine stroke action worth growing a beard for
■ wAFF Ibiza Hot Creations
A sound reminder that nights of Balearic paradise are not far away.
■ SEAMUS HAJI pres BIG BANG THEORY Hold It Now! Soul Love
We love it when Mr Haji gets his groove on!
■ VANILLA ACE Hide (original mix) Maquina Music
Strangely addictive deep electronic that will jig up January.
■ SOUL HOLDER There’s Nothing Behind You Nocturnal Recordings
A DSD corker that will insist on a spin beneath those disco balls.
DJ PROFILE
Hell folks… it’s only bloody January! And once them New Year’s bells have stopped ringing in your ears it’s time to think of something far more tuneful to keep your shell-likes happy. So Queen Josephine has sought out a right little treasure to warm the cockles of your hearts and get you skipping merrily off to disco land Ladies and gentlemen, please raise a glass whilst shaking your arse to the simply fabulous Chris Barker – and if you give him a bevy he may even share a little secret with you, especially if you catch him DJing in another universe
Where do you DJ? All through the summer at the Dirty Sunset Disco parties, and at Dirty Disco Vaudeville – our winter special pop ups! Describe your DJing style? I love to play an eclectic set. I've always been inspired by DJs who play right across the board from current music to stuff from 20 years ago. I'm currently playing a lot of deep house, disco and nu disco.
Favourite song of all time? Always a tricky question. I'd have to go for an absolute classic like Raze's Break For Love or Shawn Christopher’s Don't Lose The Magic but don't make me commit!
What tune always fills up (or rescues) your dancefloor? I always have a rescuer to hand - last year it was Startraxx Step Into My Life People always come and ask who it's by
Ultimate dream gig? I've never been a fan of corporate clubs so it would have to be somewhere intimate, with an al fresco element where the crowd have a discerning ear Or in outer space, that would be cool Tune you wish you’d never played? This is a tough one as I have no shame whatsoever, but I remember being verbally abused by a DJ taking over from me when I played Love Tempo by Quando Quango as my last record. I can’t think why, though my friend Carl thinks it sounds like Bob The Builder.
Guilty pleasure? Tons, but probably one of the most absurd is Teach-in's Ding-a-Dong 1975 Eurovision Song Contest winner. It reminds me of Queenie!
Your best ever gig? Nothing beats OHSO on a summer ’ s evening when the doors are flung open and there is dancing on the beach as the sun sets beautifully over the pier Tell us a secret! Buy me a drink first
CURRENT TOP FIVE
■ SONNY FODERA & DANNY KANE You Made Me Do It (Dubby mix) Tommyboy
■ TENSNAKE FEAT. SYRON Mainline (Dub) Defected
■ APIENTO & CO The Orange Place (original) World Unknown
■ VICKY D This Beat is Mine (Soul Clap mix) Sam Records
■ SISTER S Living Ecstasy (Norinton remix) Boots R Us Music
THE VOICE OF GERMANY
Brighton bor n singer/songwriter Nick Howard, won the Ger man version of The Voice last month in Berlin.
The show was screened live on German TV. During the final which was broadcast live on German TV, Nick duetted with Emile Sande, his mentor Rea Garvey and he sang his own composition Unbreakable This came after opening the show singing with Robbie Williams and the three other finalists
Nick moved to New York six years ago with his guitar, suitcase and a lot of ambition. Now he has become something of a celebrity in Germany having won the final of the German version of the show The Voice, and he will now be doing the post-show tour of major German venues (including the O2 in Berlin) over Christmas and the New Year.
To achieve his dream, Nick spent four years balancing day jobs (think the Office) and night jobs (think worst waiter in New York) and squeezed in shows, writing and recording
when and wherever possible. Nick said: “I remember my first show in New York was at a venue even Google couldn't find… confirmed by the three people in attendance. Fortunately things got better ”
Nick managed to break free in late 2009 armed with his debut album, Something To Talk About, songs from which were featured in dozens of TV shows and films and received airplay across radio networks in the US and in Germany Since then, Nick has toured all over the world, playing 150 shows last year He has seen his songs break into the charts and has supported artists such as Lifehouse, Boyce Avenue, Gavin DeGraw, Counting Crows and Jack Johnson. “Hearing my song on the radio for the first time was amazing… watching Snooki and The Situation make out with my song playing in the background on Jersey Shore was even better ”
Nick's newest album, When The Lights Go Up includes several tracks produced by Marshall Altman (Natasha Bedingfield, Matt Nathanson) and was recorded in LA and Nashville The first singles from the album have broken into radio charts worldwide and MTV recently played the video for Falling For You for the first time.
To support the release of his new album, Nick supported Lifehouse, Boyce Avenue, Tyler Ward and Sunrise Avenue, playing sold out shows to
tens of thousands of new fans and he embarked on several headlining tours of his own in 2011 and 2012. He was recently the recipient of an ASCAP songwriting award for Days Like These, a single off the new album.
Nick has enjoyed particular success in Germany and its neighbouring countries and he has a special connection with his German fans who were some of the first to really support his music and come out to see him live on tours of his own As a result he has spent the last two years pond-hopping from New York to Europe, touring his second home about ten times and picking up thousands of new fans in the process.
This also led him to audition for The Voice of Germany, for which he had to learn to speak German in only four months.
“My first show in New York was at a venue even Google couldn't find…”
Described as “honest, emotional, thoughtful, melodic and catchy” and “music that will enter one ear with ease, but will have trouble leaving the other”, Nick cites a wide range of musical influences and life experiences when writing and performing He singles out The Beatles as a lifelong musical inspiration and John Mayer, Jason Mraz, The Script, Oasis and Coldplay as standards in his Top 25 most played iTunes playlist
Nick's music has been featured on Pretty Little Liars, Switched At Birth, The Hills, Jersey Shore, Next, True Life, Cougar Town, 90210, LA Ink, Greek, Army Wives and many other TV shows and films. He has performed multiple times on live television in the US and Europe, including appearances on NBC, Fox and the BBC. When The Lights Go Up was released worldwide in 2011, and all four singles from the album broke into the Top 50 radio airplay charts in Germany
BRIGHTON CENTRE
Kings Road, Brighton Box office: 0844 847 1515
www.brightoncentre.co.uk
■ STARLIGHT EXPRESS (Wed 2–Sat 12) Andrew Lloyd Webber’ s futuristic musical about love and hope in the face of adversity is the ride of a lifetime. It promises two hours of speed, spectacle, energy and turbo charged excitement, combined with an electrifying sound track, dazzling sets and costumes and roller-choreography by TV dance show judge Arlene Phillips. 'See it- and you still won’t believe it' Daily Telegraph.
■ GARY BARLOW (Thu 17). After 20 years in the business, over 50 million records sold, eight No 1 albums, 14 No 1 singles, seven million concert tickets sold and six Ivor Novello Awards, he is regarded as one of Britain’s most successful singer/songwriters
■ RONAN KEATING FIRES LIVE (Sun 20) Former Boyzone singer performs his hits and material from his new album, Fires
■ DONNY & MARIE LIVE (Mon 21), celebrating 50 years in showbiz
■ X FACTOR LIVE (Tue 29–Thu 31). The top seven finalists performing on the tour are James Arthur, Ella Henderson, Jahmene Douglas, Rylan Clark, Christopher Maloney and groups Union J and District3.
THE DOME Church Street, Brighton Box office: 01273 709709
www.brightondome.org
■ BALLETBOYZ (Tue 29), new show features ten exceptional young dancers and presents two bold new works by acclaimed choreographers Russell Maliphant and Liam Scarlett Led by former Royal Ballet lead dancers Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, BalletBoyz are famed for their thrilling brand of energetic and graceful dance fused with stunning music and imagery
‘This is dance at its most riveting and fearless Talent? I should say so ’ Independent on Sunday.
DUKEBOX THEATRE
The Iron Duke, 3 Waterloo Street, Hove, BN3 1AQ, Tickets: www.wegottickets.com/thedukeb oxtheatre
■ THE TRIALS OF HARVEY MATUSOW (Thu 10–Fri 11) Written and performed by Robert Cohen and directed by Ralf Higgins, the one man play is the strange yet true story of a man who, at the height of the Cold War, succeeded in uniting America’s left and right – in hatred for him. Once a keen communist, he became a McCarthyite supergrass, spent four years testifying whenever he could get paid to do so, then set the cat among the stoolpigeons by revealing that he had fabricated almost all of his evidence Told from the perspective of the late
1960s, in self-imposed English exile, Matusow reflects on his journey from post-war Manhattan to McCarthyite Washington to Lewisburg jail and struggle for redemption among the New York and London underground art world. Winner of the Fringe Review Outstanding Theatre Award.
‘The best one-hander I have seen all year ’ Plays International ‘The script is compelling chilling, informative, cuttingly funny’ FringeReview
■ BENT DOUBLE (Sun 6), an irreverent night of fun and frolics hosted by Zoe Lyons (Mock The Week and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow). Tonight's headliner is the Raymond & Mr Timpkins Revue.
Marilyn Monroe is finding Heaven a bore with no drinking, smoking or sex, and worst of all, no swinging music. She returns to Earth for one more night of fun, bringing Las Vegas legend Elvis Presley and Amy Winehouse with her. Join the superstars and the six-piece Burning Love band for plenty of swing, as they sing and dance away their final night on Earth 'A fabulous, fantastic, fun and feel-good show!' The Argus
THEATRE ROYAL
New Road, Brighton Box office: 08448 717 650
■ THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW 40th Anniversary Party Production (until Sat, 5 Jan 2013). Directed by Christopher Luscombe and starring Ben Forster (Jesus Christ Superstar), Rhydian (X Factor/We Will Rock You), Roxanne Pallett
(Emmerdale) and Oliver Thornton (Priscilla Queen Of The Desert).
Bursting at the seams with timeless classics, including Sweet Transvestite, Damn It Janet and Time Warp
■ Pop legends BLONDIE will be performing tracks spanning their 35-year career at Bedgebury Pinetum near Tunbridge Wells (Sat Jun 22). Since their days at the
CBGB club in New York, the band have sold over 40 million records and with pop ’ s most famous bottle blonde, the iconic Debbie Harry, at the helm, they will be running through all the hits from their eponymous debut in 1976 up to 2011’s Panic of Girls, including the classics Call Me, Atomic, Heart of Glass, Maria, and many more.
Special guests The Lighting Seeds will be supporting the band with their brand of perfect pop performed acoustically
The concert forms part of the Forestry Commission’s annual concert series Forest Live, with more dates announced in woodlands across the country
Tickets: £36 (subject to booking fee)
TOWNER
Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4JJ
Tel: 01323 434670, www.townereastbourne.org.uk
Sunday January 6 is your last opportunity to enter works for the EAST SUSSEX OPEN 2013, an open submission exhibition at Eastbourne’s Towner Gallery Returning for its fourth year (Sat Mar 9–Sun Apr 28), the exhibition is open to artists working in any media who live or work in East Sussex. The exhibition is designed to showcase the wealth of regional artistic talent on Eastbourne’s doorstep and also coincides with the sixth year of the Eastbourne Festival, (Sat Mar 30–Sun Apr 21). Previous exhibitions included large scale sculptures and a video installation showing iconic landmarks along the South coast from a swimmer’s perspective, as well as a toilet made of chocolate
Exhibitions Curator, Sanna Moore, will once again lead the judging panel, with guest selectors artists Alessandro Raho and Susan Diab both with a wealth of experience. Raho’s works have featured all round the world including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Berado Collection in Lisbon and a commission of Dame Judi Dench for the National Portrait Gallery, London. Susan Diab has worked as a freelance artist and collaborated on a number of projects including public commissions, artist-led initiatives, outreach projects and open studios. Her work has appeared in many galleries across the UK including Towner and Turner Contemporary in Margate
Interested artists have until 4pm, Sunday January 6 (arrival time in Eastbourne) to post an application form, images and details of up to five pieces of work and a CV and Artist’s Statement To download an application form visit the Towner website
On show in the same gallery all month (until Sun Mar 3), BON HIVER: A JOURNEY THROUGH A WINTER LANDSCAPE is a Towner Collection display which takes you on a journey through the winter landscape, featuring iconic works such as Eric Ravilious’ s Downs in Winter and The Forked Forest Path by Olafur Eliasson, whose artwork The Weather Project remains one of Tate’s most popular Turbine Hall installations Towner acquired The Forked Forest Path through the Contemporary Art Society in 2003 and this is the first time the forest installation has been shown in the new building The display also features works by Christopher Wood, William Gear, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Duncan Grant, Joachim
Koester, Edward Stott and Kelly Richardson, who is soon to solo exhibit in the upcoming show Legion (Sat Feb 2–Sun April 14) and has lent a series of photographs to the show Bon Hiver is a traditional French greeting, which when directly translated means “good winter” It is often used for the day the first snowfall sticks to the ground
AT THE LIBRARY OF MEMORIES
Local poet Maria Jastrzębska’ s new book, At the Library of Memories, leads the reader from the ghost of one room to another, via the senses and catching at fragments of stories This is an invitation to examine not only individual, arresting memories - at once familiar and disturbing - but the process of remembering itself How we come to terms with our own past and what collectively we make of it are questions running in and out of these vivid, exciting poems.
“In Maria Jastrzębska's new collection memory is a powerful and truthful tool, admitting fallibility and never exceeding its prerogative, yet evoking a whole world of tastes and smells, longings, anxieties and human needs This is vivid, thoughtprovoking poetry that takes us by stages to the heart of the immigrant experience and leaves us with urgent questions which imperceptibly have become our own ” Susan Wicks
“Maria Jastrzębska's epic new collection is fabulous, audacious and compelling; here are dazzling conjurings of lost times and places, tremendously moving elegies, and astonishing fragments of intricate stories recovered from lost worlds This exceptional collection is the work of a poet at the height of her imaginative powers. ” Nick Drake.
Maria Jastrzębska was born in Warsaw, Poland and came to England as a child. A founder of South Pole artist’s network and Queer Writing South she now lives in Brighton At the Library of Memories is her third full length collection She is cotranslator of Elsewhere by Iztok Osojnik with Ana Jelnikar (Pighog Press, 2011) and has co-edited several anthologies Her poems feature in the British Library project Between Two Worlds and are widely anthologised: from The Virago Book of Wicked Verse to This Line Is Not For Turning, Contemporary British Prose Poetry (Cinnamon Press 2011). Her drama Dementia Diaries toured nationally in 2011.
At the Library of Memories published by Waterloo Press, www.waterloopresshove.co.uk
More information: www.south-pole.org.uk www.mariajastrzebska@wordpress.com
Maria Jastrzębska will be reading from her new collection
At the Library of Memories at:
■ The Needlemakers Cafe, West St, Lewes (7 45pm, Thur Jan 24) with Christine Cohen Park and Andrea Samuelson, £5/£3 in advance from Skylark Bookshop, www.needlewriters.co.uk
■ LangeLees Café, 30 York Place, Brighton, BN1 4GU (7pm, Thurs Jan 31) At the Library of Memories launch party, with a short reading and opportunities to chat. www.langelees.com
■ Saltdean Library, Saltdean Lido, Saltdean BN2 8SP (7.30pm, Thur Feb 7) celebrating LGBT History Month 2013 with Evlynn Sharp of New Writing South. Tel: 01273 296921
■ Envy above Charles Street Bar, Brighton BN2 1TA (4pm, Sun Feb 17) I Must Have Wanton Poets as part of B.Right.On Festival with John McCullough, Vince Laws and Max Wallis, £7/5 (£1 from each ticket goes to Rainbow Fund For more info contact Vince on vincelaws@googlemail.com
THE NEW ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF BRIGHTON GOES DIGITAL
The NEW ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF BRIGHTON is now available in digital format for the first time. The e-version has been updated with many new sections and more listings than before. A vibrant guide to the city’s history and current scene, the work features people and places alongside quotes and anecdotes for a fascinating insight into Brighton The e-version makes the encyclopaedia far more portable than its predecessor The 2010 print version is A4 size, a coffee table favourite and weighs almost 1 5kg Now the 370 printed pages of A–Z listings have been transformed into a comprehensive digital reference source, as heavy to carry as the e-reader of choice. This new format gives people the opportunity to easily take a vast wealth of local information out and about around the city.
In 2010, local author and historian Rose Collis was commissioned to write the print version of New Encyclopaedia of Brighton for publication by Brighton & Hove City Libraries Rose has researched and written the new 2012 content for the expanded eversion Updated sections include the AMEX Community Stadium, Gay Brighton, seafront and the Old Steine Rose said: “I'm delighted with the launch of the Kindle edition of the New Encyclopaedia of Brighton. The book will be more accessible to readers throughout the UK and round the world, where there are many former Brightonians who retain a keen interest in this city and, in particular, to the many overseas visitors who come here every year. I’ve also updated a large number of sections, for instance the opening of the wonderful Amex stadium, and made corrections to other sections I'm particularly thrilled that the web links included in the 2010 edition are accessible 'live' on Kindle readers ”
The digital release is suitable for Kindle and other e-reading devices The e-version is available to buy online, providing access to more information than ever before at a lower cost than the print version. Amazon is selling the e-version for £8.04.
FROM THE BARSTOOL TO THE BOOK SHELF
For mer Gsc ene columnist, Hayley Sher man, on how to be unhappy then happy again, her Brighton jour ney and her debut novel, Diazepam for Sale.
In 2004, when I moved to Brighton from a small town where lesbianism hadn’t been invented yet, I was quite literally like a kid in a Candy Bar. I was wide-eyed and full of lofty ambitions to become more of an activist, get positively involved in my new community and have a damn good time into the bargain. I probably achieved 1½ of those things and wrote about them every month in my Gscene column (Leaping off the Barstool). In reality, I spent most of my column inches taking a pop at the frustrating and fascinating rituals of the lesbian breed, of which I had little experience, but this probably offered light relief and went down better (I did cunnilingus puns too) than labouring the inequality that we all know about anyway That’s not to say that these things aren’t important, but I had moved to Toy Town and was groovy and carefree, cute and awesome. I found amazing friends to play with and suddenly felt a lot more equal than it was healthy for me to feel.
Fast-forward to 2013 and if I was going to write a column now I might call it Inventing Lesbianism. You see, I’m back in my small town and bloody smiley about it too. I was like the little lad in The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, going on the big journey only to find that what he really wanted existed where he first put on his walking boots I had a great time in Brighton and learnt a lot, but the bosom (I did boob puns too) of my family was always where it was really at, and I don’t know how I was separated from my roots for so long I’m now more comfortable in my own skin and have discovered that I can be a great, gorgeous homo just about anywhere, so now I’m on a small-town tour to paint the beige people of this shithole a wonderful shade of pink.
I should be honest and confess that there were other factors involved in the move. I got pretty ill and lost my job. I started working from home, but was spending more time staring blankly at a TV screen or the sea or the bottom of a pint glass than was healthy I had taken a six-year journey into and out of a relationship
that had left me gasping for air and I’d stopped writing, which was a huge sign that things had to change I confess, I ran home with my tail between my legs, but when I got there I discovered a warmth that I can’t imagine being without now. This is my home again and Brighton is now my mistress. I love her every bit as much as I did when we were together, but now we have an understanding and when we ’ re together it’s better than it ever was. In fact, it is my love of Brighton that inspired my first novel, Diazepam for Sale Brighton isn’t merely the setting of the book; it’s one of the main characters in a story that couldn’t be told anywhere else in the world
I’m often asked how much of the book is autobiographical, to which I reply, ‘Are you thick? It’s a story about time travel as a cure for depression with a deranged sat-nav lady, a Frank Sinatra who’s stalked by seagulls and the Mods and Rockers on the West Pier. I then screw up my face and they regret having ever asked. I’m nice like that! However, there are elements that couldn’t have been written without my personal experiences of being crushed by depression, lonely and searching for answers with which to console myself (I think most of us can relate to that) The big difference is that Emma, Diazepam’s main character, looks for answers in all the wrong places and ends up on a surreal and damaging journey All she really had to do was look at her life and make good decisions, but that wouldn’t make for a very good read.
I’m now working on an equally bizarre and odd second novel, which will be out later in the year, The Applauding Coat Factory. It feels great to be writing, to be read and to know that people are enjoying my books. In fact, life feels pretty great, and not because I have everything I want (because I really don’t), but because I like what I have and don’t spend my time moping over and chasing what I don’t I’m a simple creature and I still have a lot to learn, but I try to save the big dramas and damaging decisions for the characters I’m writing now and spend most of my time smiling
DIAZEPAM FOR SALE (Whoosh Books) is available online at Amazon. For more info about Hayley and her books, visit www.hayleysherman.co.uk She can also be stalked at @WhooshWords.
THE B.RIGHT.ON FESTIVAL
Ar tist and poet, Vince Laws, explains how a request for a small galler y space for an exhibition grew into a festival!
So here’s how the B.Right.On Festival happened. I went into a café in Brighton where I used to clean the floors and asked if I could hold an art exhibition. The owner liked my work but said it was too political for his business. A friend knew someone who knew someone at the Jubilee Library and they offered me an exhibition in February 2013. I’m going to paint the word ‘BANNED’ across the main window in dripping blood In the foyer exhibition space there’ll be some of my Visual Poems, and giant speech bubbles from the OUT140 project, which tells coming-out stories in 140 characters: “Mother said I’d
rather you were a prostitute than a lesbian” or “I told my parents I was bisexual when I was 16 They said ‘ go to your room ‘ ”
Someone asked me, “Do you want to see the Brighton Town Hall – some lovely Old Police Cells, and a basement fitted with shelves, both ripe for exhibitions and performances?” I said “Yes!” to the Atrium, the perfect place to hang the Hankie Quilt, a memorial to those we ’ ve lost and those living with HIV. I’m going to represent the 482 HIV+ people who have
died in Brighton since 1982 with drops of red blood, and the 1,895 people living with HIV in Brighton today with fresh lime leaves A quarter of the people living with HIV don’t know it yet – early diagnosis = longer life
Then I asked if anyone else wanted to help me celebrate LGBT History Month in Brighton &
Hove in February First, National Co-Chairs Sue Sanders and Tony Fenwick said “Yes!”, then Gscene said “Yes!”, then the Brighton Council LGBT Worker’s Forum, Jubilee Library, Bear Patrol, Emmaus, Lunch Positive, Disability Arts Online, artists, poets, choirs and Barefoot Wine said “Yes!” and I Am A Poem turned into The B.Right.On Festival with Arts Council England support! Needless to say, I thanked the café owner for saying “No”!
The B Right On Festival and LGBT History Month official launch (3pm, Fri 1 Feb) is at Brighton Town Hall, followed by a VIP reception in the Mayor’s Parlour! Later that evening (7–9pm), is the launch of my show, I Am A Poem, at the Jubilee Library
We kick off in the Town Hall with a filmed happening, Adopt-A-Pansy, poetry, voices, artist Mandy Webb, the Hankie Quilt and Barefoot Wine. Later in the Jubilee Library you can see my Visual Poems, the OUT140 project
with Shelly Telly, a display of BANNED books and films (many with LGBT themes), poetry and Hullabaloo Community Quire (other choirs are also programming events during the month).
There’s a Human Library, Make Them Eat Cake and Rose Collis will guide you on the Queer Brighton Tour (11am, Sun 3), and perform her one-woman show, TrouserWearing Characters at Envy (5pm, Sun 3) Later in the month poets Maria Jastrzebska, John McCullough, Max Wallis, Trudy Howson, Jay Walker, and Dolly Sen will perform and host Open Mic spots. All that and How Gay is Your Pet?
I’d like to thank everyone who has agreed to take part so far, the response has been so enthusiastic. I’m calling it a celebration of Queer History Month. I don’t care what your sexuality is, or your preferred gender, it’s a celebration for everyone who realises everyone is worth celebrating As Oscar Wilde said, “You don’t have to bat for us to admire our balls!” If you have events planned for LGBT History Month, let me know so I can include it in the programme and let as many people know as possible
For more information, or if you want to get involved please contact Vince Laws: vincelaws@gmail.com
Also see: www.iamapoem.com
B.RIGHT.ON FESTIVAL
LISTINGS SO FAR...
FRIDAY 1 FEBRUARY
■ BRIGHTON TOWN HALL: 3pm, filmed happening, official launch of LGBT History Month in Brighton & Hove with Mayor and VIPs; unveiling of I’ll Take My Vows And Lie With You On A Bed Of Fresh Lime Leaves installation in the atrium by Vince Laws; Mandy Webb, the Hankie Quilt, Adopt-APansy, poetry, voices, Make Them Eat Cake and Barefoot Wine.
■ BRIGHTON JUBILEE LIBRARY: 7–9pm, filmed performance 8pm, artistic launch of Vince Laws’ I Am A Poem, text installation BANNED, display of banned books, films, Vince’s Visual Poems, spoken and visual poetry, Adopt-A-Pansy, Make Them Eat Cake, Barefoot Wine, the Hullabaloo Community Quire and the OUT140 project
S ATURDAY 2 FEBRUARY
■ JUBILEE LIBRARY: 10am–5pm, meet the Hankie Quilt team in the foyer; BANNED display of books/films/artwork by Vince Laws.
SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY
■ QUEER BRIGHTON TOUR: 11am, with the Brighton-based author and alternative historian Rose Collis as your guide; starts at Jubilee Library, £7/£5 concs, £1 from every ticket to the Rainbow Fund (1 hour aprox)
■ JUBILEE LIBRARY: 1pm, free LGBT Film show (and every Sun during Feb), 1st floor, for details call 01273 290800
■ ENVY: 5pm, Rose Collis’ musical cabaret show TROUSER-WEARING CHARACTERS, £7/£5 concs, £1 from every ticket to the Rainbow Fund ‘What a BRILLIANT show!’ Julie Burchill
I’ll Take My Vows And Lie With You On A Bed Of Fresh Lime Leaves installation at Brighton Town Hall (8.30am–5pm, Mon–Fri during Feb).
BANNED at the Jubilee Library is on display during opening hours, (Fri 1–Wed 13 Feb).
ROSE COLLIS AND HER TROUSER-WEARING CHARACTERS
One per for mer. Two banjoleles. Four ‘trouser-wearing characters’.
ROSE COLLIS returns to unbutton her critically-acclaimed TROUSER-WEARING CHARACTERS, (5pm, Sun Feb 3), with some additional new material, as part of the B.Right.On Festival at Envy, above Charles Street Bar
Trouser-Wearing Characters is the first original, one-woman cabaret-style musical show ever created and performed by a British author, and is a unique mixture of music, history and comedy. It combines stories, vignettes and songs (evergreens and originals) about some of her favourite, eclectic ‘trouser-wearing characters’, from 1950s media star Nancy Spain to masquerader ‘Colonel’ Victor Barker, cabaret legend Douglas Byng to the ‘f**king lady’ herself, actress Coral Browne, with cameo ‘ appearances ’ by the likes of Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Vincent Price
Trouser-Wearing Characters has a cast of many characters, including Rose’s veteran banjoleles, ‘Alvin’ and ‘Bud’.
Rose said: “Most people won’t know that, before I became an author and journalist, I was a performer and songwriter in fringe theatre, from 1979 until 1985.
“‘The show’s origins began with an appearance I made at Polari on the Southbank and, though it was a short set, the combination of comedy, history and song was a hit with the audience and it was one of the easiest and best ideas I’ve ever had to develop a full-length show for the Fringe “Trouser-Wearing Characters brings together everything I’ve done in my careers, from singing and writing original songs, to researching and relating stories of fascinating and quirky figures. I think the
show has something for everyone, whether they enjoy showbiz-type anecdotes, real-life scandals or even just songs performed with banjoleles! So, I hope audiences will not only think, “I really enjoyed that”, but also “I never knew that!”’
The show, which had its world premiere during the Brighton Fringe Festival 2012, and has since been performed at Manchester Pride, Littlehampton Arts Festival, Wotever World, Polari on the Southbank, Wigtown Book Festival and Brighton Pride, will be heading ‘Down Under’ in February, with performances at five major venues at Auckland International Fringe Festival and Auckland Pride, New Zealand Fringe Wellington, Sydney Mardi Gras Festival and Adelaide International Fringe Festival, the second largest Fringe festival in the world
‘Rose Collis has the air of someone moving to the next level: all the elements of her previous experience researching, writing and performing unite during this show in a natural and selfassured way. As an author of several books, this show is crammed full of facts and unexpected connections. It’s more than just a lecture, however: in a theatrical exploration of colourful characters who defied expectations in order to reinvent themselves, she also sings and presents the material with enough theatricality to bring her subjects to life‘ Lucy Nordberg, Fringe Review
‘ spiced with witty asides, knowing looks and a bright selection of songs on the banjolele Collis brought them to life colourfully and sympathetically.’ The Latest
This is a well-paced, fact filled one woman show about women who liked to wear trousers and men who did anyway… She has a charming voice and a delightful delivery…the show has just about all anyone can ask: interesting content, great energy and music that makes you beg for more ’ Lynn Ruth Miller, star of ‘Britain’s Got More Talent’
‘Collis’ genuine affection for her cross-dressing eccentrics is the heart of this show That makes it work, and creates something quirky and uplifting The themes of the show stayed with me as I left the Marlborough.’
Mathilda Gregory, Fringe Guru
TROUSER-WEARING CHARACTERS by Rose Collis, directed by Matt Thompson, is at Envy, upstairs at Charles Street, (5pm, Sun Feb 3). Tickets £7/£5 concs, with a £1 per ticket donated to the Rainbow Fund. More info: www.rosecollis.com
REVIEWS
■ Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey has recorded the Bach Cello Suites twice before - so why again? Well, he's reached his 50th birthday, and after exploring the works in depth with the help of eminent Bach scholars, he has more to say. Bach notoriously left very little instruction for how the suites should be played, not just in terms of tempi or articulation, but even the kind of instrument on which to play them So for this recording, Wispelwey has recorded them on a Baroque cello for the first five, and a Violoncello piccolo (with an additional fifth high string) for the sixth, but he also plays them a whole tone lower than modern pitch. This creates a remarkably different sound world, lighter and freer, yet with an earthy grittiness, produced by the gut strings under a lower tension than usual, making one listen afresh to these incredible masterpieces Wispelwey talks on the accompanying DVD about achieving the right tempi for the dance movements, some faster than we might be used to, making them really sing with a delightful spring. The rocking cross rhythms of the Prelude to the fourth suite is a highlight for me. Yet Wispelwey doesn’t see this as his definitive word, and talks of the possibility of further recordings in the future – his passion for the Suites, almost an obsession, is clearly not sated yet!
EPR Classic EPRC0012
The loss four years ago of the great conductor, Richard Hickox is still keenly felt. His recordings include many which amount to no less than a definitive catalogue of music by great English composers. I’ve been listening to two – a two disc set by Sir John Tavener (b.1944), and The Collector’s Edition 6 disc box set of Orchestral Works by Frank Bridge (1879-1941) The Tavener set opens with We Shall See Him As He Is, an extensive piece for soloists, choruses and an unusually
scored orchestra - just brass, strings, organ and timpani. Composed in 1990, it stems from his immersion in Greek Orthodoxy. He creates long periods of meditative calm, interspersed with outbursts from the brass and timpani Eis Thanaton, for two soloists and orchestra, was written shortly after the death of his mother in 1985, to whom he was very close Again, the orchestration involves just brass, strings and timpani An incredibly haunting work, soloists Patrica Rozario and Stephen Richardson excel as Mother and Son. Theophany, makes use of prerecorded tape (multi-tracked bass chant and Chinese wind-gong) with orchestra, and two soloists, creating an otherworldly effect Chandos CHAN241-42
without opus – meaning that it was only published after his death, and this is followed by Op 1 No 3, composed just four years later in 1795. Whilst they do not sound revolutionary to our ears, they were both more substantial endeavours than the domestic scale trios from other composers before, already giving notice of the expansive direction Beethoven would take from here on in Beethoven already uses the cello very differently in these works too, giving it a much more prominent role These two early works are joined on this disc by a later work from his middle period, Op.70 No.2. Despite his deafness and
CONCERTS
■ The Bridge set contains 43 works, performed variously by the BBC National Chorus & Orchestra of Wales, singers Sarah Connolly, Philip Langridge and Roderick Williams, Howard Shelley (piano) and Alban Gerhardt (cello). Many of these works are barely known and rarely performed – the only regularly performed being The Sea (composed by Brighton born Bridge in Eastbourne), the cello concerto Oration, and Phantasm for piano and orchestra Yet there are many delights to be found here, including the brief yet expressive Norse Legend and the ambitious early symphonic poem, Mid Of The Night. The songs for solo voice and orchestra, many of them premiere recordings, are beautifully performed by the three singers. I particularly liked the impressionist Day After Day, with highly sensitive singing from Connolly Chandos CHAN10729(6)X These two collections demonstrate how important Hickox was in bringing forgotten English repertoire to our attention
■ Hot on the heels of the success of the first volume of their live recordings of Beethoven Piano Trios, the Gould Piano Trio are back with the second set. Here we have two early works, the first of which is numbered WoO 38
uncertainty of income now dominating his existence, this work is still full of positivity, much more relaxed in feel to the first of the Op.70 set, the Ghost, which was on the Goulds’ first disc. The recordings are again live, from one concert at St George’s, Bristol, and are full of spirit and energy. The opening Allegro of Op.1 No.3 is especially full of drive, and the variations which follow this has a graceful and sensitive touch I’m very much looking forward to the next volume of what is proving to be an outstanding set Somm SOMMCD0120
For more reviews, comments and events: nicks-classicalnotes.blogspot.co.uk Email: nbclassical@hotmail.co.uk
BRIGHTON DOME
Box office: 01273 709709, www.brightondome.org
■ The Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Barry Wordsworth perform Verdi Prelude & Triumphal March from Aida, Saint-Saëns Third Symphony, and Poulenc’ s Concerto for Two Pianos (2.45pm, Sun 13), with pianists Rob Clark & Kate Shipway.
■ Later in the month (2.45pm, Sun 27), they return with Haydn Symphony No.98, Mozart Symphony No.39 and Bach’ s Concerto for Violin & Oboe with Daniel Bhattacharya (violin) and Alun Darbyshire (oboe).
ST LUKE’S CHURCH
CORN EXCHANGE
Church Road, Brighton, www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk
■ The Strings Attached season continues (11am, Sun 20) with the BRITTEN SINFONIA, joined by Mark Padmore (tenor) in music by Walton, Poulenc, Britten, Richard Rodney Bennett and Gerald Barry
Queens Park Road, Brighton, www.stlukesconcerts.webeden.co.uk
■ Sarah Stevens (cello) and Rachel Fryer (piano) perform (7.30pm, Fri 25) music by Britten, Bridge, Fauré and Franck.
■ The Sussex Symphony String Soloists conducted by Mark Andrew James perform Mozart’ s Sinfonia Concertante (7.30pm, Sat 26) with Nicola Bates (violin) and Rosalind Hanson (viola), Tchaikovsky, Britten, Kalinnikov and Peter Copley
S AFETY NOT GUARANTEED
Dir: Colin Trevorrow
Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson
Plot: Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel
Word on net: "Not only has dialogue that's about something, but characters who have some depth and dimension ” ■ “Touching, generous, sweet, this little slip of a movie puts you under some kind of spell.” ■ “Off-the-wall premise, snarky wit and heartfelt performances... an inspired original.” ■ “The filmmaker takes you on an audacious journey and makes you believe every moment of it.”
GRABBERS
Dir: Jon Wright
Stars: Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley, Russell Tovey
Plot: When an island off the coast of Ireland is invaded by bloodsucking aliens, the heroes discover that getting drunk is the only way to survive.
Word on net: "A polished, watchable genre entertainment that nonetheless lacks the inspired dialogue and situations needed to make a memorable impression ” ■ “Topping the list of great movie drunks is Ruth Bradley whose legless performance getting drunk as a skunk is paralytic perfection.” ■ “Is this the best alien invasion comedy ever... very possibly.”
THE IMPOSSIBLE
Dir: Juan Antonio Bayona
Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland
Plot: An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of 2004's tsunami in South East Asia.
Word on net: "The most harrowing disaster movie in many a moon, film marries a tremendous feat of physical filmmaking to an
emotional true story of family survival.” ■ “Bayona, like Spielberg before him, has the gumption of a master manipulator, and really doesn't hold back, holding off catharsis, scene by scene, with all the sheer chaos at his disposal.” ■
“One of those rare films that comes along once in a blue moon flawless in its delivery, from script through to production design to the remarkable performances from all the cast ”
QUARTET
Dir: Dustin Hoffman
Stars: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly
Plot: At a home for retired opera singers, the annual concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean, an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.
Word on net: "Hoffman has delivered a love letter to the elderly thesps of his adoptive country... we can forgive him its falsehoods.” ■ “Charming and well acted - especially by Maggie Smith.” ■ “Tugs confidently on the heart strings ” ■ “Hoffman has a gentle hand with his ancient cast and a doting eye for the English country house ”
HORS S ATAN
Dir: Bruno Dumont
Stars: David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Christophe Bon Plot: A miracle reveals an unseen
side of a village loner.
Word on net: "In the mismatch of its blankly naturalistic style and its unquestionably supernatural events, the film confronts us with the moral openness of our own secularism ” ■ “Film asks us if we'd know the difference between a saviour and the devil interesting enough to justify its unpleasantness ”
THE SESSIONS
Dir: Ben Lewin
Stars: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy
Plot: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex
surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.
Word on net: "The movie is so clammily sensitive and tame that it stifles any strong response. ” ■ “A touching, profoundly sex-positive film that equates sex with intimacy, tenderness and emotional connection instead of performance, competition and conquest ” ■ “A bit like My Left Foot only with a different appendage ”
Plot: A young man called Jacob has a very rare skin disorder which worsens, forcing him to drink
human blood for sustenanceleading to law enforcement suspecting him in a series of grizzly murders
Word on net: "A smart, intense, and unpredictable film that is tons of ghoulish fun from beginning to end ” ■ “Very well-acted, beautifully shot, and most of all: deftly directed.” ■ “The perfect quiet, slow-boil existential chiller to watch alone at night, quiet and in a contemplative mood."
ALSO OUT
■ Tom Cruise stars as action hero
Jack Reacher, a homicide investigator digging deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper who shot five random victims. Also stars Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall and art house film director Werner Herzog
■ Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei star in PARENTAL GUIDANCE Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their parents need to leave town for work Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behaviours collide with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.
■ Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone star in GANGSTER SQUAD, a chronicle of the LAPD's fight to keep the East Coast Mafia out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s.
■ Quentin Tarantino's latest, DJANGO UNCHAINED, stars Jamie Foxx, Don Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
■ Successful stage musical LES MISÉRABLES makes it onto the big screen with actors belting out the songs including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway To win two tickets to the Odeon Brighton send the answer to the following question to Gscene Competition, 111 Western Road, Hove, BN3 1DD: Who wrote the novel Les Misérables?
Feet.
COMICS
■ Last year was a fantastic time for Superhero films, with Marvel’s The Avengers (none of that silly assemble business here thank you!) becoming the third highest grossing film ever behind Titanic and Avatar respectively, and The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s final Batman film, amassing huge amounts of cash and brilliantly wrapping up the Dark Knight trilogy. Sadly there are two bad films for every good so in no particular order here are my least favourite comic book movies and why they should be avoided!
■ BATMAN & ROBIN (1997): Responsible for ruining the Bat franchise, Batman & Robin is a lesson in how not to make a film let alone a super hero one Bad dialogue, direction and acting, Batman & Robin is awful in every sense of the word The best things about it are Chris O Donnell’ s Robin, who brings a lot of energy to the film, and the ever reliable Michael Gough as Alfred, who is always marvellous, whilst Arnold Schwarzenegger’ s Mr Freeze and the bastardization of Bane are both unforgivable and embarrassing. If you ever get the chance to see it, drink a lot before you do!
GAMES
Usually I write separate articles for comics and gaming but this month I thought I’d mix the two and write about the best comic book games Most are fighting games (you’ve been warned) but I’ve tried to mix it up to give you a bit of choice and variety in what you should play
■ ANY MARVEL V CAPCOM GAME: Seriously, I mean any of the MARVEL V CAPCOM games as they are all that good Taking a tag team approach to things, MvC is over the top with balls to the wall action and stupidly awesome super moves. Being able to switch characters whenever you like brings up loads of possible combinations and attacks that help keep the games feeling fresh and exciting. The second MvC is maybe the pinnacle of 2D fighters let alone super hero games but try any of them out and you won’t be disappointed.
■ CATWOMAN (2004): Whilst it took Warner Bros four films to ruin Batman, they somehow managed to kill off and piss all over Catwoman in just one! Halle Berry is fantastically miscast as made up Catwoman Patience Phillips, an artist who gains cat like powers after a near death experience Having bad characterisation, no real story, a lack of strong characters and shite action sequences such as a badly CGI’d Halle Berry bouncing around like a cat. Even her whip, Catwoman’ s signature weapon, is CGI! Compare this to Michelle Pfeiffer, the previous Catwoman who learned how to use the whip like a pro. Avoid avoid avoid!
■ ELEKTRA (2005): A semi-sequel to the much superior Daredevil, the film finds the recently returned from the dead Elektra (Jennifer Garner) training to become a ninja Expelled from the order due to her rage, Elektra strives to cleanse her soul but also to save a young girl who has been discovered as a martial arts prodigy. The worst thing about Elektra is how much of a missed opportunity it is; Garner is as always fantastic and some of the characters are genuinely brilliant (such as the reimaging of Typhoid Mary). Sadly the story is rubbish and it all feels so boring and a massive let down. It is a crying shame as the pieces are all there; it just needed a better story and much more oomph to it.
■ X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009) Produced by Hugh Jackman, directed by Academy Award winning Gavin Hood and cowritten by David Benioff it had all of the right names and potential attached to it What we actually got was something we definitely didn’t see coming! It ruined already established continuity, has dreadful action scenes and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. Play the amazing video game instead!
■ X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE: Thankfully ignoring most of the storyline of the film, Wolverine sets out to be what we all wanted it to be; a Wolverine game that pulls no punches The 18 certificate allows the developers to really unleash Logan and let him go to hell on his enemies. It looks stunning as you cut a bloody swathe through the levels and the awesome damage model on Logan (depending on the damage, you can sometimes see his bones and guts) make this a game to remember!
■ THE WALKING DEAD: Probably the best adaptation of the comics, this takes place in the same universe but with all new characters and stories It features fantastic and emotional voice acting, an ingenious story line and so many different outcomes to every situation that it needs to be played more than twice to see a fraction of what it has to offer First being released as a download-only title, Telltale Games have really pushed the envelope on what downloadable titles could achieve
■ BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM & CITY: There really isn’t anything I can say about these two games that hasn’t already been said They are possibly the pinnacle of super hero gaming, so just buy them now and play the hell out of them It’s a choice you won’t ever regret
■ SCOTT PILGRIM V THE WORLD: Another downloadable title that sticks close to its comic roots, this is a scrolling beat em up where you destroy many bad guys before facing and defeating your lover
Ramona’s seven evil exes. Looking like it’s ripped straight from the page and having some awesome chip tune music, it isn’t a long game but more than worth a download just to play through once
Notable mentions: Spider-Man 2, X-Men Legends 1 and 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 and 2, Spider-Man (PS1) and Turtles In Time
Go forth and enjoy!
More reviews on Craig’s blog: www.redbarrels.net
MONTHLY SERIAL BY CARL OPREY
EPISODE 4
A prod to the shoulder woke Michael and his eyes focused on Sean Matthews’s business card swinging in front of his face. Within a few seconds he remembered fragments: the house, the old man, Alex’s face as he was marched down the driveway by the security men Everything else he’d forgotten, including how he’d made the journey home.
Summoning every reserve he had, Michael jumped up to his feet.
‘I’m late for work.’
He stumbled around the sofa looking for his shoes.
‘It’s Sunday,’ Tracy said.
Michael stood for a few moments in the centre of the living area of what was his first proper home. Sold to him as a part rental ‘Starter-partment’, it was to be his first step on the property ladder
Bracewell, the company he worked for, sanctioned the mortgage on a fixed deal he could barely afford, even back then The place lost a quarter of its equity within a few hours of signing the forms, and within a year the building had degenerated into a Po-Mo hovel The sash windows didn’t open properly because they’d stopped fitting when the building had settled. Michael was the
same; he didn’t fit either, or settle for that matter. The addition of Tracy only made the place significantly smaller.
‘Look, I fucked it up, okay? I drank,’ he said, before she could.
‘I know. You really did fuck it up. ’
Michael removed the towel they used as a muffler, yanked open the window and thrust his head into the roar of the A12. When he’d convinced himself he wasn’t going to throw up, he walked to the kitchen area, opened the fridge and drank milk straight from the carton. Tracy followed him
‘The one day I ask you not to screw things up… ’
She slapped a taxi receipt for £225 onto the fridge top, then counted out four cashpoint receipts from separate machines.
‘Took a little tour to pay the taxi, huh?’
Michael closed his eyes and drained the carton, placing it back empty. Then he watched Tracy waddle towards the makeshift computer table.
She’d said the weight she’d piled onto her already large frame was a result of the baby. Just as all the throwing up,
was a result of the baby. When he’d noticed the quadrupling food bills and the daily black plastic sacks, he knew otherwise He let it all go When he got in from work, he didn’t want the aggravation. It was calmer not to question
‘I don’t want to have to get rid of this, Michael.’
Here we go, he thought
‘Yes, I know Tracy.’
‘And you were the one who wanted a family, remember?’
Unconsciously, he waited for her to say this; it was always carefully placed in the conversation whenever he hadn’t done something, or had done something and screwed it up. It was used to force him to the wedding and then to punish him when he failed to deliver the goods.
And, whenever she said it, he felt the euphoria about what he thought he still wanted, slowly dwindle away. Because deep down he knew, what he wanted wasn’t just a child, what he wanted was belonging.
‘We’re not doing this without any money, Michael.’
‘I know, Tracy.’
He now sat on the sofa holding his head. Tracy tapped the spacebar on the keyboard, and woke up the computer.
‘Was there anyone there dressed as a bride?’ she said.
‘Oh god, not again. I’ve told you, there were two grooms… ’
‘Not, ‘two grooms ’ as in a double wedding?’
‘No, two grooms as in a gay wedding.’
Tracy exhaled and began typing ‘OK. On to plan B, then.’
She pulled up a map on the computer screen A large red arrow pointed to the centre of London.
‘UCH,’ she said, ‘University College Hospital Where he works ’
Michael rubbed his face with his hands. It was noon and already he wanted the day to end
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CRAIG’S THOUGHTS CRACKING ON
OR; THIS IS A MAN’S WORLD AND IT HAD BETTER STAY THAT WAY
BY CRAIG HANLON-SMITH
As the season to be jolly and its preceding year disappears behind a thick cloud of Channel 5’s 100 Worst Celebrity ****Ups and under the cover of darkness we guiltily borrow half a recycling box from the old dear next door to both simultaneously hide our festive drink problem from ourselves, and rather cruelly, cast our neighbour as an old soak to the bin men (I know that’s not particularly diverse but they are always men Always); we laughingly reach for the back of a soon to be shredded Christmas card and sketch out the life improving revolutions that we promise to keep until approximately January 4th
Let us not be too cynical about the tradition of self-improvement, setting goals is a great way to mark out a path of acceleration and change, but a trying one devoid of any meaningful point if we do not or cannot stick to it Statistics (yawn) teach us that by mid-January more than 50% of resolutions made will have been cast aside along with the dried up naked skeleton of a Christmas tree, and that by the following December less than 10% of us will have successfully steered along the path of self improvement and across the finish line. So why the failure? Well, it’s quite possibly not such a surprise.
“ Was there a concer n that ordination ceremonies if led by women would be littered with quips from Victoria Wood sketches?”
By enlarge the intention is a positive one, a new year, new beginnings and as the Magi leave their gifts in the stable at the foot of baby Jesus we simply try to have an epiphany of our own. But perhaps equally as inappropriate as the gift of gold to a child sleeping on bale of hay in the shadow of a donkey, the goals we set are a bridge of change too far. The trouble is that as a society at large we are not built for the easy acceptance of change, whether it be the coach potato’s introduction of a four times a week visit to the gym or a radical alteration of diet; and if our culture demands the process to be a difficult one, we are sure to follow suit; or the other way round –either/or it’s a stop-start cycle of accepting the status quo On the whole, when we are ready to embrace change, we would rather it was a slow gentle introduction of mild differences that will not frighten the horses than an earthquake flattening of our former selves To press home the point, let us look no further that at two mighty bedrocks of our green and pleasant land currently shivering at the possible onset of change; The Church of England and Marriage.
2012 drew to a close with The Church of England General Synod voting not to allow women to become bishops. In 2012? How shameful. Was there a concern that ordination ceremonies if led by women would be littered with quips from Victoria Wood sketches? Or perhaps that the local Anglican Cathedral would suddenly find its stained glass windows framed with floral drapes? Or perhaps more troubling that despite our protestations to the opposite we are still a patriarchal sexist bunch who would much rather have a man sitting in the pilot seat because that is how it was when we were children
It is now almost 25 years since we had a woman Prime Minister living in Downing Street and we have not even come close since When was
the last time a woman put herself forward for a leadership contest of the Conservative Party? 1975 and she won – we must not allow that again At the most recent leadership election for the Labour Party there was one female candidate, Diane Abbott She came sixth Last Are there really no suitable women for such a position or have the negative memories of Margaret Thatcher tainted the path less trodden for women forever?
In April last year I wrote an (other) article on the subject of gay marriage which I swore to be my last word on the subject. Ahem. But in the spirit of these thoughts, just what is it of which we [society at large] are so afeard that the voices of objection consider the possibility of success worth the effort There cannot really be a fear of two men or two women legally re-enforcing their relationship, the fear must be a real phobia for change and how it might impact ‘ me ’ As harsh as it may sound we are quite a self-centred lot, never really concerned with the behaviour of others unless there is a fear of ramifications upon the self, which during the festival of Epiphany when we remember the bringing of the gifts to the Christ child, is a tad ironic.
And whether it is the idea of gender equality or same-sex marriage or both that might affect you, and you continue to celebrate the possibility of social change for the greater good of your own community, it surely cannot be so difficult to plan and stick to a programme of self-improvement for more than three days should that be to ‘eat less chocolate’ or ‘swim more ’ Whether 2013 is our time or not, whether we believe it is now our right to be equal or not, it is still worth acknowledging that we are asking others to accept and support quite monumental changes to how the world has been for decades, centuries, nay millennia And whilst I do not for a second advocate the opposite argument to my own (for I am an Aries), we should live by the social codes we dictate Don’t judge a man until you ’ ve been standing in his shoes They may after all be flip-flops sold in Primark, and that’s never a good look.
****used as my mother tells me I swear too much in these f*cking articles and it’s not smart. New Year’s resolution 2013 to be a complete f*cking smart ass.
You can follow Craig on twitter @CHanlonSmith and listen to his occasional witterings on BBC Sussex& Surrey Drive-Time with Sarah Gorrell
TIME FLIES
DEL SHARP ON TIME, AND NEVER HAVING ENOUGH OF IT
Sharp Words is dismayed; the end of another year spent procrastinating over my endless lists of things to do which seem to get longer while all I do is change the ‘to do by’ date on them, which vaguely makes it all seem better until I realise nothing has actually happened and then my only sense of achievement is having more time to try and get the said things done.
I’ve been living in my flat for eight years and still not unpacked several boxes in the shed, the content I can’t even imagine, mostly because I put even that off. I seem to while away huge chunks of time with inexplicable flashbacks of T.J. Hooker episodes, occasionally scrubbing the bathroom grouting with a nailbrush and sometimes having a job to go to, then find with a real and frightening shock that another year has passed me by
I seem to be busy much of the time but can’t actually find the evidence of what I’ve done I think I may have a fear of time I know I can’t get things done in allotted spaces of it so often my immediate reaction is to lie under the duvet for a bit in order to consider my plan of action. Then I wake up and realise there’s less time. Then I waste time panicking and getting palpitations which requires a glass of wine and a sit down. Another x amount of hours gone.
I have experimented on days when I don’t have to be anywhere, see anyone or get to bed at a particular time and have just not looked at the clock. On those days I do lots of things: chores, send birthday cards, make petit fours, create elaborate vintage style soft furnishings, construct Shaker-style units for the kitchen and cook lavish meals; and all before I decide to go to bed Well maybe not the post box bit, that would be pushing the envelope But I get more done anyway
Maybe that’s the secret to huge amounts of productivity, just not looking at our watches all the time I try not to look at mine anyway mostly because it’s an hour ahead and I don’t know how to change it I do have the instructions but just haven’t got round to reading them yet. I rely on my phone to tell me what hours are left in the day but also have it close at all times to remind me how many, or few, friends want to contact me.
“I’ve only been on Facebook a handful of times. I didn’t understand it and as far as I can remember have left the settings as ‘leave me alone’”
I heard of FOMO recently, no doubt long after everyone else, which is the Fear of Missing Out and the phenomena of using social networking, Tweeting, Facebook and mobiles, to constantly update what anyone is doing at anytime, anywhere and being a part of a busy gaggle of a connected crowd Well I’m not one of them I’ve only been on Facebook a handful of times I didn’t understand it and as far as I can remember have left the settings as ‘leave me alone’ or some such, although I did use it to send a clumsy message to someone I liked who didn’t reply then realised it made me look like a weird, stalkerish,
lonely middle-aged lesbian, which I’m not at all So now I’m too terrified to use the thing again, apart from gazing at her picture now and again which is quite okay because I’m a netizen and reckon that it’s in the public domain so not too strange
If I want to talk to my friends I call them, talk for half an hour before meeting them in a café and then not saying much at all. If I want to talk to my friends abroad I can pick up the phone and sometimes we use Skype and compare our stomachs. That’s all much more normal interaction, isn’t it?
So I don’t have FOMO at all; I talk to and see people, sometimes in real life and have no need for Tweeting because I haven’t worked it out yet, but it’s on a list somewhere of something I possibly might have a moment for
“I have no need for Tweeting because I haven’t worked that out yet either but it’s on a list somewhere of something I possibly might have a moment for ”
But in the meantime I’m far too busy with a mobile and a landline I check them constantly, not to see if I’ve missed anything, but just if they’re working That takes up a great deal of my busy day I was greatly distressed recently to answer the phone to a deep male voice intoning, “You are running out of time!” I could only squeak in terror, something somewhere had found me out, knew I kept hiding under the duvet and was now in a mood to take its revenge and chastise me for my tardiness. Of course it continued on to be a recorded message about the PPI I never took out but it shook me up dreadfully, stopped me doing whatever I hadn’t started and I had to lie down. Practically another day gone and all through no fault of my own.
I have another year in my grasp, I resolve to stick to my lists, not let any 1980s cop show visions ruin my concentration, let alone any stray Cagney & Lacey theme tune humming ruin my next big project and I will show old mean nasty Mother Time what I’m really made of I have twelve months, but I might have to just check in around October to ask for a little longer in case something comes up But I’m sure the rest of you will have a very happy New Year, just make sure you have enough time for it
HOMELY HOMILY
BY GLENN STEVENS
A HELPING HAND
How was your Christmas? More like the John Lewis ad, rather than an episode of EastEnders I hope And as for presents, did you get everything you asked for from Santa? As for me, the one thing I wished for the most (along with a onesie, a selection box of Ferrero Rocher and the box set of Stephen King films) was A Round Tuit
You see, it is one of those gifts that promise to transform your life. As soon as I heard about this thing called A Round Tuit, I had the same feeling of excitement I had back when I was a kid, reading the ads in the back of my old comic collection that promised I could see the bones in my hands with their X-Ray specs, or watch prehistoric creatures called Amazing Sea-Monkeys come to life.
Although I was a little cautious about putting A Round Tuit on my Christmas list, having in my youth learnt to my (pocket money) cost that although those X-Ray specs just made your eyes go a bit funny, and the Amazing Sea-Monkeys were nothing more than water shrimps, A Round Tuit just might just be the miracle object my heart had always desired. You see, throughout 2012 I kept promising myself that I’d get all those odd jobs done; from being more proactive within the community, sending off my writing projects to potential publishers and the most daunting project of all, sorting out my desk and the oh so ironically labelled ‘tidy draw’; all I needed to do was to get ‘around to it’ (getit?)
Part of the problem many of us face is that sometimes projects seem either too easy to complete and so are put off until the next day, or the thought of getting to grips with the bigger challengers just feels so daunting that we end up shying away from them altogether.
“Part of the problem many of us face is that sometimes projects seem either too easy to complete and so are put off until the next day”
One of the easiest ways and at the same time perhaps one of the hardest things for many of us to do is to reach out and ask others for help in getting things done This has been recognised as particularly true for older gay men living with HIV. This could be down to any number of factors, from slipping into routines that have led to unintentional isolation, either through no longer finding the pub/club scene as attractive as it use to be, or not wanting to go to social events alone; or even wanting to get a pet project underway but have lost the confidence to even get it started.
Last year I joined up with the group Peer Action, who over the last 19 months have been reaching out to the HIV community and empowering this particular group to revaluate their lives, recognise their skill sets, and with the support of their peers get back into a social routine or undertake a new project
As much as I’m going to treasure my A Round Tuit, I know that reaching out and asking others for their support and help will be the most valuable gift I’ll embrace this year.
BEST INTENTIONS
As I write this, the winter solstice is almost upon us To paraphrase an old song - another year older and deeper in debt 2012 has been a tough, belt-tightening year for many of us, a year of spectacular change and disruption I’m sick and tired of hearing about austerity, surely one of the most over-used words in the English language right now. What, I wonder, will 2013 bring? More joys than woes, let’s hope.
So, as the old year wanes, it’s resolution time again and, as usual, I am positively brimming over with good intentions for the New Year. I will:
1. Become an early riser again. My sleep patterns have been somewhat erratic in recent months and – after a succession of broken nights – I often oversleep, resulting in much reduced energy levels Hence, I have lost the habit of setting aside mornings for ‘creative’ stuff By the time I’ve bathed and breakfasted, it’s well past what used to be my ‘start’ time for writing, and yet I feel like I’ve already done a day’s work
2 Keep a diary Apart from anything else, this is a good, constructive daily exercise, interesting to reflect on in the future, however trivial certain entries might seem in hindsight. Julia Cameron, in her inspirational book, The Artist’s Way, recommends writing three A4 morning pages, a daily discipline which she sees as a kind of imaginative ‘trigger’. And who could forget movie legend Mae West’s exhortation to ‘keep a diary – and it may end up keeping you’!
“I shall delay switching on my laptop until noon to try and cut back on one of the main forms of ‘displacement activity’: i.e. Googling, checking emails, responding to emails”
3. Stop being a computer slave. I shall delay switching on my laptop until noon at the earliest This is to try and cut back on one of the main forms of ‘displacement activity’ known to us scribes: i e Googling, checking emails, responding to emails A case of ‘delayed gratification’ instead? My world will not collapse if I do this My mind will feel all the clearer, less cluttered, for making mornings a technology-free zone I shall substitute my mouse for pen and paper, although I really must do something about improving my handwriting, which is atrocious. Even I myself cannot always decipher it.
4. Avoid negative people – the Jeremiahs of this world, who put a damper on our delights and enthusiasms. Being a glass-half-empty type myself, I have to be extra vigilant in order to stave off such folk. They act as drains on our energies and self-esteem – beware!
5. Make time for meditation. I have one CD containing “six inspiring tracks of calming ambient sounds and rhythms to soothe body and mind” And yes, it’s soothing enough But my favourite is a cassette, given to me by a kind friend who helped me through the breakup of a long relationship It consists of 20 minutes of guided meditation by a woman whose gentle, mellow voice in itself represents the perfect antidote to any tensions
These are long-term objectives of course, and it’s unlikely that I will have accomplished them all by 2014. But hey, just listing them as I’ve done here, is a start.
TRUE COLOURS
A
TRIUMPH FROM DISA STER?
BY DR KEITH SHARPE, CHANGING ATTITUDE SUSSEX
Tuesday, 20th November 2012 is a date which will go down as a fateful day in the history of Christianity in this country. The media headlines were all about the Church of England voting against women being allowed to become bishops But actually the ramifications of the no vote go far wider
I sat through the entire Synod debate in Church House, Westminster It was a sobering experience The whole day was given over to this one issue: should the proposed legislation to admit women to the episcopate by passed or rejected? Well over 100 speeches were made The motion was generally expected to be approved but as the afternoon wore on I became less and less certain that it would be. Just before lunch the incoming new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, had spoken powerfully and cogently in favour. And just after lunch the outgoing Archbishop, Rowan Williams, made a really moving and impassioned plea for Synod to support the legislation. But gradually the weight of opposition against it began to become clear as speaker after speaker got up to condemn it
Synod is divided into three ‘houses’ : bishops, clergy, and laity The House of Bishops were overwhelmingly for, but even there some argued against the measure, including our own Bishop of Chichester, Martin Warner The House of Clergy was also predominantly in favour but here too some spoke passionately against it. But in the House of Laity there seemed to be a surprisingly large number of people anxious to get to the podium to vent their fervent disapproval of the proposed change. The motion needed a two thirds majority in each house in order to pass. It got this easily in the House of Bishops, and by some margin in the House of Clergy. But in the House of Laity it only achieved 64% support and so fell short, just
How could this happen? Basically it came about because of an unholy alliance between extremely conservative Anglo Catholics and extremely conservative Evangelicals This alliance is cynical and unholy because the two groups hold diametrically opposed views of almost everything else They only agree that women cannot be ordained, and they agree on this for totally different reasons
The Anglo Catholics think that women cannot be priests (and therefore bishops) because Christ chose only males for his disciples. This is not the place to go into the labyrinthine argumentation which this premise entails. Suffice to say that the consequence is that it is for them impossible for a female to become a priest. So putting a woman through an ordination ceremony is merely a charade: the magic can’t ‘work’, it just doesn’t ‘take’, you end up with a female in fancy dress
The Conservative Evangelicals think that women should not be priests They don’t believe in the Catholic sacrament of ordination for men or women, but they do believe that women should never play leadership roles because of the God ordained ‘headship’ of males They think that in Genesis in the Old Testament, and in St Paul in the New Testament, God clearly sets men over women and so females should obey males and always be subject to male authority. Letting women be priests and bishops therefore represents a grave act of disobedience to the (supposedly) clear teaching of the Bible. It is abhorrent to God.
I imagine that some of you reading this might be open-mouthed at this point Even as I write this I shudder at how utterly alien all of this sounds to most modern ears But you need to know that significant numbers of your compatriots actually believe these things (Don’t forget this is also the position of the Roman Catholic Church and many nonChristian religions as well). These arguments have been rehearsed again and again over the past two decades. Until the 20th November, the Church of England had arrived at a point where essentially the Anglo Catholic/Conservative Evangelical opposition had accepted that women bishops were an inevitability, and what they wanted was ‘ proper provision’ for themselves to carry on with their anti-women’s ordination stance while remaining within the C of E The proposed legislation included provision for every diocese to set up a code of practice so that parishes which did not want to be subject to a woman bishop could request ‘alternative episcopal oversight’ i e be looked after by a male bishop
And this is where we get a cruel twist The unholy alliance did not think the provision in the proposed motion was sufficient But also, some supporters of women bishops felt it was far too generous, and if implemented would effectively relegate women to being second class bishops. So some of them voted against it as well.
The rest is history as they say. But the consequences are profound. Suddenly vast numbers of ordinary people who have little or nothing to do with the Church have become animated about this. They have realised that we have a national church, and that this national church which is actually part of our national life is completely out of step with contemporary values and standards of human decency
Many ordinary people who thought nothing of it before are now scandalised by the idea of the ‘stained-glass ceiling’ which means only men can be promoted within the C of E hierarchy
“Many ordinar y people who thought nothing of it before are now scandalised by the idea of the ‘stained-glass ceiling’ which means only men can be promoted within the C of E hierarchy”
The consequences are far-reaching The 26 seats in the House of Lords reserved for bishops are effectively reserved for males only, not now by tradition, but by deliberate vote. Many ordinary people who thought nothing of it before are now scandalised by the idea of the ‘stained-glass ceiling’ which means only men can be promoted within the C of E hierarchy. This is intolerable. Questions have been asked in Parliament. One wag said amusingly but correctly that our national ‘broad church’ had been destroyed by a few narrow minds.
And yet for those of us who are LGBT it may be good news Politicians are seriously reconsidering the exemptions given to the churches from equality legislation The driver will be gender equality but sexuality will be included with it The credibility of all our Christian enemies has been seriously weakened and they will find that in future when they spout their bile about the sinfulness of homosexuality nobody will listen to them Now that conservative Anglicans have overplayed their hand on the inferiority of women they have blown the cover of all conservative Christians. The general public now see them now for what they are, and mostly they don’t like what they see. Nor I believe does the Carpenter of Nazareth.
OPEN AND WELCOMING CHURCHES
Changing Attitude Sussex is committed to telling the truth about Christian teaching on homosexuality, and works for the full inclusion of LGBT people in every province of the Anglican Communion and more widely in all Christian Churches For more info please visit www.changingattitudesussex.com and www.thegaygospels.com
UP THE RESOLUTION
If it’s the first of January then I’m probably feeling hung-over, fat and furious It’s also roughly 364 days since I last gave a shit about resolutions
The trouble with resolutions in Brighton is that they fail miserably Brighton is a saucy tart; a Regency doxy lifting her skirts and waggling her rump in our helpless faces. Amid the myriad of temptation this city of vice thrusts at us on a daily basis, alcoholic revelry is the main offender all year round.
So, take alcohol. Mine’s a large red wine thank you very much. The best way to avoid a hangover is to stay in and drink tea. But ‘tis the season to be jolly… jolly off your trolley It’s all well and good to know how to drink on New Year’s Eve, but when you wake up and it’s New Year’s Day, it’s time to pay the piper with pain If you ’ re not entirely au fait with the demonology of drink, you need an expert to guide you through the evil hangover process Reader, I am she
On the subject of hangovers, or I as I call them ‘the wrath of grapes ’ , if there’s one word I can’t say often enough, it’s ‘water’ The brain literally shrivelling through dehydration causes most headaches associated with booze. Ensure you place a pint of water by your bed before you go out, that way you know whatever state you return in (if you return at all), you will be just an arm ’ s length from salvation.
“On the subject of hangovers, or I as I call them ‘the wrath of grapes’, if there’s one word I can’t say often enough, it’s ‘ water ’”
If you ’ ve had a particularly heavy session you may wake feeling surprisingly okay, on some occasions I’ve felt positively euphoric. This phenomenon is what is known in our house as a ‘false dawn’. You’re actually still drunk. Unless immediate action is taken to counteract last night’s shenanigans, within two hours you’ll be in a foetal position crying for your mum.
My advice is to eat whatever you fancy, drink a bath of tea, and reminisce with a good friend or lover about the fun you had growing your hangover Enjoy it, soon only millionaires will be able to afford to drink excessively If it’s not a school night, you could go to your favourite gay pub and order a large Bloody Mary. The tabasco will stimulate ‘pleasure from pain’ endorphins, and you can start all over again.
I’m a true believer in turning over new leaves, but come January the tree of my resolve is bare. The beginning of the year is so miserable it’s the one time we humans should be indulging in anything that cheers us up. That’s why I make my life-enhancing decisions in September, at the end of the summer madness with the Christmas stress still a distant threat on the horizon
In short, we can’t change the past so let it go We can change the future, but only by enjoying life right now So if you ’ re worrying about the evils of drink or the guilty pleasures you ’ ve indulged in over this festive season, you’ll know what you really should give up Worrying.
ENDURING JANUARY
Well, I’ve just done something I rarely do; I’ve looked back at January 2012’s Querying Queenie to see what the bloody buggery I blithered on about, and I discovered that whilst my New Year’s Resolutions were quite thin on the ground (I’d vowed to take up petty crime, join a Flock Of Seagulls tribute band and play badminton every day) they were also completely ridiculous and just a little bit sarcastic because that’s how I generally feel in January. Ridiculous and sarcastic. I’d thought of such stupid resolutions because they were just as likely to come true as the more traditional ones.
So no more feelings of failure to come this year as this old lady ain’t resolving to do anything. But to pour some light over this supposed month of doom I’m going to find some positives for January 2013…
1 Now for those of you like me who get paid on the ‘last working day of the month’, January seems like it lasts for at least two months This is usually due to getting the Xmas wages early (good on 24th December, bad a few days later) and to going out on NYE and spending the entire month’s food budget in a few crazy hours (none of which you can remember come 2nd January). But let this not be a terrible time of misery and self-loathing. Make it ‘creative cookery’ month by trying to create interesting and innovative meals from practically nothing with what’s left (festering) in the back of the cupboard/fridge/freezer Your self worth will soar as you lovingly present a pea risotto made entirely from escaped peas scraped out of the freezer ice and an Ainsley Harriot risotto-in-a-packet that you don’t even remember buying
2 Getting on the scales will become an exciting daily activity as you chalk up all the weight you ’ re losing due to the pea risotto diet
3. Not turning on the heating to save money gives you an opportunity to wear all your clothes at once. And the fact this means you can’t move doesn’t matter because you can’t afford to go out anyway. A double whammy of joy.
4. The days are getting longer. Honestly.
5 Having not made any resolutions you can bask in the glory of not feeling the crushing disappointment that most of your friends are feeling having failed miserably to keep theirs
6 February is coming and it’s a shorter month
“My predictions for 2013 are that Painting By Numbers will become the nation’s favourite pastime”
So there you are, January is not a depressing time, merely something of an endurance test. Last year I made three predictions and, amazingly, two of these came true. We won bucket loads of medals in the Olympics/Paralympics and West Ham got promoted. So my predictions for 2013 are that Painting By Numbers will become the nation’s favourite pastime as there will be a backlash against all computerised art, and I will get my own TV cookery show called Queenie Cooks Crap Ridiculous and sarcastic, moi? Happy New Year xxxxxx
CHARLIE SAYS RESOLUTIONS
CHARLIE BAUER PhD ON
WHAT HE WILL BE, AND WON’T BE, DOING IN 2013.
I never look back and I never look forward, so when I was asked for my New Year’s resolutions, I began by thinking what had to be resolved in the here and now Being an amateur etymologist, I came up the further definition of re-solving some of the bugbears of the last year. The implication being that if issues weren’t solved first time around they’ll unknowingly linger someplace in the background like a herpes zoster.
1. I’m going to have another try but we keep inching away from it - World Peace. There, I’ve said it. Just as I thought we were going to actually get through the year concentrating only on the important matters of global capitalism, Israel kicks off at Palestine I mean, don’t they know this stuff costs us all money? America, however, had their own weapon of mass distraction and sent over Hillary Clinton who slapped their wrists and sent them both home. This is why we need more women in high-end political roles. This, Daddy Santa, is my first wish and I resolve to use what vote or surplus cash that I have to get Hillary into the White House in 2016, with Michelle Obama as her VP. It has to be worth it for the glamour alone.
2. I won’t leave my good underwear in The Bushes any more
3 I’ll stop worrying about the global economy At a recent event in London, I was introduced as the world’s first preapocalyptic journalist WTF All’s I can say is that I’m very sorry I had no idea that my views on the corrupt, hateful, unjust, phobic, murdering and humiliating world that we live in was having such an evil effect on me. I also need to remind you that I’m doing all of this without medication. Prescribed medication.
4. The weather. I will prevent myself from snapping at people about the British weather. When we ’ ve reached the 28th successive day of gray skies and rain, and somebody turns to me, mystified, stating that ‘It was so nice this time last year ’ I won’t bark at them I won’t remind them that it was only that single week in September that the sun actually shone last year, and the same week the year before that I’ll remind them that they’ve mistakenly spread that one week out across their fu*king memories as an entire summer. I won’t tell them that to remember otherwise is only a method of getting by with our dire climate hanging above us like, well, a dark cloud.
5. I wont say ‘I told you so ’ as I have done with increasing regularity. So, when newspaper empires fall and their editors are impeached as a
result of gross misrepresentation, racism and gay hatred, I wont say ‘I told you so ’ I won’t say ‘I told you so ’ when catastrophes like Hillsborough are finally exposed in the favour of the victims and their families. When the people who carried away the dying were then accused of rifling through the pockets of the dead by the same tabloids. I won’t say ‘I told you so ’ when the Mayan calendar and Nostradamus predictions have come to nothing this month and that January is still going to be there, all gray and rainy as it always was I promise, I’ll never say ‘I told you so ’ ever again Honest
6 I promise that I wont sabotage my associates’ lectures if I think they’re irrelevant I won’t tamper with PowerPoint presentations on their memory sticks and fill up their lecture notes with what I think the students need to hear I won’t encourage the apathetic student body to riot, either. I will take their values into account. Even the lazy ones who are only doing a degree to get a job and nothing more. And I won’t question the religious extremists who for some reason have undertaken an English Literature degree without realising that they will have to deal with feminism, communism, ‘weird writing shit’ and sodomites. I won’t sit on academic board meetings secretly wishing that they were all dead, or that there could be a freak earthquake where only certain students and myself survive
“I won’t question the religious extremists who for some reason have under taken an English Literature degree without realising that they will have to deal with feminism, communism, ‘ weird writing shit’ and sodomites”
7. I’ll bring my Bender photograph up to date by another 25 years.
8. Next year I’ll prevent myself from schlepping hundreds of pounds worth of Christmas presents across the country to a gang of ungrateful relatives, most of whom have not paid me a visit for over 25 years (I’ve been saying I won’t do this for well over 25 years already Every year in fact ) Although this also applies to single people, I referred to it ‘Gay Tax’ in a previous article
9. I’ll limit my karaoke session at the Bulldog to only three songs per night with no Neil Diamond, no matter how drunk I am. Once my friends have gone, I’ll put down the microphone.
10. I’ll keep reminding myself that I’m getting poorer every year but richer in the things that matter. No, actually, I’ll refrain from any more Ersatz religious boloney to make anyone feel better. When anyone says this crap they’re only really talking to themselves anyhow. Humbug.
I hope you ’ ve made your resolutions too I want you to get back to me no later than Wednesday, January 2nd to tell me if you ’ ve actually kept any of them If I think of any more of my own I’ll scribble them down and post them over the holidays So, eat drink and for Hillary’s sake, be Mary
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
The last time I left the small village in Andalucia in which I spend a couple of weeks every year, the narrow streets were full of sombrely dressed villagers summoned by the church bell to a funeral The dead man had asked a friend to shoot a wild boar which was wrecking the vegetable patch at his finca a mile south of the village The friend agreed, even though shooting boar was illegal at this time of year, took up a hidden position with a view of the garden and fired when he saw movement, fatally wounding not a boar but his friend doing some weeding. This is a true tragedy as the hunter may go to prison and the deceased’s invalid wife and dependant 30-year-old daughter have lost a loving husband, father and carer.
Most of us do not die as a result of mistaken identity, we are most likely to succumb to cancer or arterial disease Our life expectancy, scheduled in our genes, is maximal on the day we take our first breath and most of us steadily squander it by our careless and noxious habits So what should we do to get the best value from all those pension premiums? Smoking increases your risk of dying from virtually every cause so, if a smoker, giving it up (which is not easy) must be your top priority There is a lot of very effective help available through GP surgeries and specialist clinics so don’t delay and if your partner smokes insist they join you. There seems to be a growing consensus that eating less red meat reduces your risk of bowel cancer and of course too much unprotected exposure to sunlight has well known dangers; less well known is that too little may make you more susceptible to infection as a result of low Vitamin D levels. Life is complicated.
Most of us, and I include myself, are overweight and unfit because we enjoy consuming too many calories and are too lazy to take adequate amounts of exercise; but if you can make a bit of an effort the benefits are surprisingly protective and at no cost Go to a gym if you like but why not simply walk a bit further and faster every day? Make time to get off the bus a couple of stops before your destination We are inundated by gorgeous recipes, offers of delicious instant food, and alcohol is thrust at you wherever you go so achieving your ideal weight is difficult and most diets are so boring you go back to your old ways immediately and all that misery was for nothing.
“Achieving your ideal weight is difficult and most diets are so boring you go back to your old ways immediately and all that misery was for nothing”
My advice is simply to eat smaller portions of the food you enjoy, cut out all sugar before the onset of diabetes forces you to do so, eat less of those fats that go hard in the fridge and have a glass of water with every meal. First however you must buy a tape measure and get someone to record your real girth and if you reduce this to a figure below 40 inches for a man and below 35 inches for a woman you will have got rid of much of the fat inside your abdomen which, unlike the fat under your skin, messes up your metabolism and raises your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. You might also buy and share the use of a blood pressure machine, get the type which fits around your upper arm
Simple? Yes But not easy Dr Johnson, that masterly definer of the meaning of words was once asked by an overweight acquaintance “Don’t you think I look well?”, to which the great man replied “You do indeed appear well but you look repulsive”, so there’s another reason to follow my advice!
STILL FIGHTING
From a personal point of view the one resolution I should make and keep is to look after myself better, to be aware of activist burn-out and to take steps to avoid it, but I doubt if it will last long with the Trans Scrutiny report going before full council in January Note to self, avoid talking to the Argus and all other right-wing gutter press who never let the truth get in the way of a good story!
My many wishes for the new year include Pride actually asking the communities what we want before deciding what they want to give us. This year ’ s Pride was said to be a success but was full of admin problems for community groups and actually the area outside the fences felt quite unsafe (I witnessed two nasty fights outside and saw the aftermath of one inside) Do we really need two days of people getting drunk in/outside the park and as someone who lives next to the park do I have to put up with two days of dance music booming out? I am more of an ageing rock ‘chick’ myself!
“Report hate crimes to the police, say no to hatred of any kind and stand up for those who cannot do so for themselves”
Other wishes include seeing the number of trans people killed go down This year we remembered the names of 265 people who were murdered for being trans, being a friend or lover of a trans person This was a rise of over 25% on last year! Over 80% of those killed were from Central & South American countries!
It is time for global action to face the challenges that LGBT communities face throughout the world, where countries like Uganda try to introduce bills to kill us; where Lithuania wants to ban help for trans people; to Kuwait where trans people are arrested for crossdressing; to Turkey and Indonesia who fail to protect trans people; in Russia where Pride is banned for the next 100 years; to countries like Brazil, where 124 trans people were murdered last year and to survive as a trans person you have to have money or be prepared to sell your body and/or drugs to live and so so many other countries where LGBT people are murdered, tortured, abused and discriminated against These are human rights issues that must be challenged globally and must not be forgotten Governments and dictatorships might seem like insurmountable obstacles but even they must eventually respond to the will of the masses. It will be a long struggle but if in the 21st century people cannot show their love or their true gender then what does that show for the human race?
We can all do our little bit, sign petitions, join Amnesty International, challenge your MPs and church leaders about what they are doing to stop this. Report hate crimes to the police, say no to hatred of any kind and stand up for those who cannot do so for themselves. Above all support each other to ‘fight’ intolerance across the world
Of course I recognise that not everyone is able to do this but if enough of us do then just maybe we can get change; to get the Pope to denounce bigotry, including his own, and the United Nations to consider imposing sanctions on countries that fail to respect basic human rights
Are ‘Resolutions’, New Year or other wise, good for our mental health?
The tradition of New Year resolutions has been around for ages; an imperative to get on and do all the things we know we ‘should’; a wake up call after the excesses of the xmas season; a chance to focus on selfimprovement techniques and the long-term ‘to do’ list For some, this may be a positive commitment to undertake practical, psychological and relationship housekeeping, a good fresh start
It’s a truism that loads of people take out gym membership in January, full of good intentions. This was certainly true for Martha. She had done her bit over the years to help gyms profit enormously from our tendency not to follow through on all those resolutions. There were lots of good reasons why Martha started well and gradually stopped going Getting fit is not that easy! And she knew deep down that she always hoped for a ‘quick fix' It just didn’t bring the reward of better health, better temper, better relationships and better self-image that she so wanted
“She had the feeling that making resolutions was buying into and confirming her low self-esteem”
Worse still, she had the feeling that making resolutions was buying into and confirming her low self-esteem. Depending on how depressed she felt at the time, the setting of unrealistic resolutions and then failing at them ended up reinforcing how awful she felt about herself when she made a resolution that she thought would make her feel better. For goals to work, they need to be achievable, for you
The year, though, Martha had resolved to try an alternative view of the resolutions. She realised that some of the problem was the inherent egotism of the resolution treadmill, and she wanted to challenge her tendency to see it as all about her One of the problems with resolutions is that they tend to be solely about your ‘self ’ , you as an individual, a separate, single being It can so easily become an ego-driven business of self improvement. Nothing wrong with that if it works for you, but for those of us like Martha who struggle with our mental health it can start to feel like a treadmill of failure.
So Martha set herself the task of seeking an alternative by thinking about how she could use the impetus of the New Year to improve life for everyone around her, including herself, but also her community By attending to the world around her, could she make life a little better for everyone? Could she resolve to make the world a better place, rather than just her life?
Martha started by talking to friends about what they thought of her world changing resolution. Some were sceptical, took the piss or just looked a bit blank and changed the subject, but a surprising number took her seriously. Interesting conversations came up about what people thought was missing, why they did not feel connected to their communities, how unfriendly some found the scene, how unsafe some felt going out, how worried some were about not fitting in, how lonely some of them were
Several of her friends talked about how they felt the need to put on a ‘front’ of some kind, to hide how they really felt in order to get by. Martha recognised this in herself, particularly at work where she tried hard to appear upbeat, happy, bright even though she was depressed and suffering inside.
In the end, five of them decided to adopt some group resolutions These included:
• Being more friendly when they were out, thereby making the scene (around them) a more friendly place to be
• Challenging themselves on their assumptions about other people, especially people who don’t immediately appear to be like them
• Being more aware of how kind or unkind they felt towards others
• Being more aware of how generously they felt towards others
• Being aware of when and why they put on a ‘front’ of being ok when they didn’t feel it
• Taking opportunities to be more honest about how they felt, when it felt safe to do so
• Supporting each other to do all of the above
• Supporting each other to do some personal, individual resolutions including being kind to each other if the resolutions were hard to keep to and congratulating each other on anything they managed, however small
• Supporting each other to undertake anything whatsoever that was good for their mental health and that of others
They also decided to support each other in getting a bit more involved in community events, especially those connected to causes that they cared about
Martha was hopeful that taking a collective approach to New Year resolutions would turn out to be a positive move for them all. There were no huge goals to try and reach, no ‘giving up ’ something you are not ready to, no fear of failure. Even after a couple of weeks she was surprised how her thinking had changed, how many prejudices she unconsciously had towards people, how interesting it was to challenge them, to think and behave more kindly, to share her discoveries with her friends
MindOut would love to hear from you about how you would make our communities more mentally healthy, welcoming and safe Please do email us your ideas: info@mindout.org.uk
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BY RACHEL WOOD (UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX)
WOMEN AND SEX SHOPPING
Sex shopping has gradually become more feminised over the past twenty years and this is due to a number of factors Partly it relates to regulation; a ‘ sex shop’ does not have to have a licence if less than 10% of its stock is explicitly designed for sexual use Unlike a licenced sex shop with its associations of blacked out windows, dodgy back streets and men in raincoats, Ann Summers is unlicensed and can sit on the high street opposite Marks & Spencers. So there has been a shift to a more feminine, open, couple or women oriented sex shop aesthetic.
There has also been a shift in retail culture towards selling aspirational ‘lifestyles’ to the consumer. This could explain why products such as upmarket vibrators and gold-plated dildos, have become so popular The rapid rise of anonymous online shopping has also had an impact In short, we ’ ve come a long way from 1992 when a group of women were so disappointed by a wine fuelled trip around Soho’s sex shops that they decided to open Sh!, the UK’s first women only sex store
All these cultural changes are observable, but what I am interested in is how women think and feel about sexual consumer culture. How does the way a shop is designed make you feel when you are shopping in it? Do you feel comfortable, confident, embarrassed, amused, or turned on? Do you shop alone, with friends or with partners? What kind of things do you consider buying, and what would you never buy? When you get the sex toys, lingerie or accessories home, how do they make you feel about yourself, about your body, your relationship? How important have sex shopping experiences been in forming your sexual identity and desires? Are these products a big part of your sex life, how important are they and what effects do they have?
“Along with the increased acceptability and feminisation of sex shopping has come a pressure to consume in order to become a particular kind of woman”
I am currently asking these questions to women during interviews and I’ve been amazed by the diversity of pleasures and tastes that women express when it comes to sex shopping. I’ve also been unsurprised to hear about the anxieties and pressures felt in relation to sexual consumer culture. Along with the increased acceptability and feminisation of sex shopping has come a pressure to consume in order to become a particular kind of woman The shop spaces and products re-produce particular gendered, classed and raced bodies and desires, and by doing so exclude others If you are over 18, live in the UK, identify as a woman, and have anything to say on the topic of sex shopping, I’d love to hear from you Please email me at r wood@sussex ac uk for more information Participants’ anonymity will, of course, be protected
Rachel Wood is a PhD student at the University of Sussex who is looking at women ’ s experiences of sex shops and the products they sell.
BRIGHTON & SUSSEX SEXUALITIES NETWORK (BSSN)
The BSSN is an inter-university research network aimed at supporting research/researchers who work on issues of human sexuality within the Universities of Brighton and Sussex and wider Sussex area. We consist of community members and academics who have an interest in current sexualities research. More info: bssn@brighton.ac.uk
S
C H I ’
LGBT IDENTITY AT HOME
There are three small and seemingly insignificant words that can put the fear of God into even the hardiest of us rough and tough campers And those three words are New Year Resolutions As I have said for many a year, the road to hell is paved with good intentions when it comes to the start of a brand new year I should know, I have a plethora of cracked tarmac pilled up on my balcony, and I suspect that 2013 won't be any different.
It is so not for the want of trying. I'm very trying, or so says ‘she who shall be obeyed’. I do try and keep to my resolutions, but the diet goes out the window when my sister cooks me a fantastic curry, and you can forget the ‘I shall do 10 minutes of writing every evening to help keep my brain cells active’ all I want do after I come in from work, is crawl into my bed and pull the duvet over my head!
“New Year resolutions, I have decided, are a form of cruel and unusual punishment, inflicted on us by ourselves”
New Year resolutions, I have decided, are a form of cruel and unusual punishment, inflicted on us by ourselves, supposedly for the greater good If we want to be truly honest with ourselves we need to look in the mirror, stop sucking in our bellies, exhale loudly and accept we are doomed to failure when it comes to turning over a new leaf in any New Year. Yes, fellow camper, it is true. We might succeed in taking a nibble out of our well intentioned resolutions but then what?
So this year I am having a ‘Not doing New Year Resolutions’ which you can read below at your leisure!
• Sod the diet, slap on more sweet cranberry sauce on the turkey left overs and eat the lot in one sitting
• Stuff my face with my sister’s fabulous cooking when I get the chance and bollocks to the double love handles in places only Custom Officers fear to tread
• Give up any idea of trying to write solidly for 10 minutes a day Instead, get into bed, get out the iPad, play my favourite game; do a bit of writing; browse the web a bit, swear when I lose a ‘Words with Friends’ match; write a bit more; make a sarky comment on the Daily Mail readers page; go onto eBay and sulk because someone has outbid me for the stuffed elephant that I want in my room; write some more; realise the battery is going flat on the iPad; sulk some more as I have to put it on charge; think about writing in a notebook but decide that is far too new age; plump up my pillow and have a snooze whilst waiting for iPad to recharge.
• Give up any idea of trying to win an argument with ‘she who shall be obeyed’ That resolution has been on my ‘to do‘ list since 1979 Time to accept the inevitable Mother rules, children drool
So fellow campers, follow me and sling your New Year resolutions down the metaphorical pan, have a stiff drink and get on 2013 as best as you jolly well can
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