Graham Robson, Sarah Green, Gus Gustafson, Simon Hart, Alice Blezard
ARTS EDITOR Michael Hootman
SUB EDITOR Graham Robson
DESIGN Michèle Allardyce
FRONT COVER
MODELS top left to bottom right; Nils Bjarne, Mysterry Drag-Queen, David Harvie, Neil Borrett & Matt Brooks
PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN Peter McEachern’ flickr.com/photos/petermceachern/ CREATIVES Graham Munday
CONTRIBUTORS
Jaq Bayles, Jo Bourne, Nick Boston, Suchi Chatterjee, Craig Hanlon Smith, Enzo Marra, Netty, Carl Oprey, Eric Page, Del Sharp, Keith Sharpe, Rory Smith, Gay Socrates, Syd Spencer, Brian Stacey, Glen Stevens, Craig Storrie, Duncan Stewart, Paul Thorn, Roger Wheeler, Mike Wall, Morham White, Kate Wildblood
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Revenge images Josh Hiatt, Ian Mager-Playford, Jack Lynn, Michael Hootman, James Ledward, Toms Udris
All work appearing in Gscene Ltd is copyright. It is to be assumed that the copyright for material rests with the magazine unless otherwise stated on the page concerned. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an electronic or other retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior knowledge and consent of the publishers. The appearance of any person or any organisation in Gscene is not to be construed as an implication of the sexual orientation or political persuasion of such persons or organisations.
Roger Wheeler takes in the sights of the Queen of the Adriatic
Sydney Spencer meets up with some adopters with a difference
BAR BROADWAY
CHARLES STREET
NEW ROUTE FOR 2015 BRIGHTON PRIDE PARADE
Brighton Pride LGBT+ Community Parade goes back to its Pride roots in an exciting new change to the Parade route in 2015. The Pride Parade will this year involve the entire city, acknowledging the Pride events taking place this year in Hove.
) Starting from Hove Lawns the Parade will make its way along King’s Road, passing the Peace Statue, where so many past Pride marches began and taking in the best of the city’s seafront, ensuring an amazing view for both participants and spectators. The Parade will then return to its traditional route, turning left up West Street, right along North Street and left into London Road before ending in Preston Park, home of the 2015 Pride Festival
The Parade this year includes entries from: Corporates: American Express, Domestic & General, Brighton & Hove Albion, Sainsbury’s, Barclays and Nando’s; Community Groups: Allsorts, MindOut, FTMB, THT, Kenric, BLAGSS, Raw Samba, Brighton School of Samba, Marta Scott Dance Company, Brighton Theatre Group, Scout Association, Brighton Rockers Roller Derby, Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, Cheek to Cheek and Brighton & Hove Labour Party. Blue Light Services: East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, South Coast Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust.
Pride Brighton & Hove 2015: LGBT Community Pride Parade will start from Hove Lawns on Saturday, August 1 at 11am
NEED A LORRY FOR A PRIDE PARADE FLOAT?
) To celebrate the new Parade route in 2015, Brighton Pride have teamed up with Brighton Carriers to facilitate flat-bed lorries in various sizes to make it easier for groups to enter the Parade and design an eye-popping float.
To make things simple and straightforward for groups with limited carnival experience, Pride have put together some basic packages that can take the stress out of organising a float. For a basic fee you will get the lorry, driver (and insurance), scaffolding,
banners along the two sides, full height across the back and on the front beneath the windscreen.
Banners can be co-branded with your group’s identity alongside Pride’s or can carry a supporting message and branding and colouring of your choice, and these banners are yours to keep and reuse.
For an additional fee Pride will decorate your float with 12 large flags, a fringed pelmet, central screen and fabric covered scaffold poles, you just need to then arrange your team in matching T-shirts or costumes to give it that final splash of colour.
If you are feeling more adventurous but not sure how to go about it, Pride can team you up with a designer/artist who will help you turn your vision into sparkling 3D.
Any organisations, companies or groups wishing to apply for these lorries should email: parade@brighton-pride.org to discuss their requirements, any support they need to produce their entry and of course the costs.
FIRST PRIDE AMBASSADOR FOR 2015 REVEALED
) David Raven, aka Maisie Trollette, has been chosen as Brighton Pride's first Ambassador for 2015 and will lead the Pride LGBT+ Community Parade in August. David received 420 nominations, 80% of the total nominations cast in the first round of voting.
All unsuccessful nominees in May will now be rolled over to June’s vote so there is plenty of time to get a campaign going for anyone you think should be at the front of the Parade representing everything that is fabulous about LGBT Brighton.
Over the next two months a further three Ambassadors will be named to join David.
David Raven, one of ‘Brighton's Stately Listed Buildings’, celebrated his 80th Birthday in 2013 with a star-studded tribute show at the Theatre Royal. Since moving to Brighton he has been a passionate supporter of the Sussex Beacon and over the years has raised many, many thousands of pounds for them.
David said: “What a wonderful honour to be chosen at my age as the first Pride Ambassador in 2015. I’ll be happy to represent the more mature people in the community as well as all our fabulous entertainers and of course the Sussex Beacon and all the wonderful work they do to help people with HIV. Thank you to everyone who took the trouble to nominate me, you’ve made an old lady very happy!”
If you want to nominate someone who you think goes the extra mile to help LGBT people and see them represent the LGBT community at the front of the Pride Parade, send an email to: info@gscene.com, give the name of the person you want to nominate and say why you have nominated them.
DAVID RAVEN
MAISIE TROLLETTE TRIBUTE SHOW
GOLDEN HANDBAG AWARDS - THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS
) As the clock ticks down towards the Golden Handbag Show on Sunday, June 21 at the Brighton Metropole Hotel, the outcome of this year’s awards promises to be the closest ever. This year, 3,000 people voted in the first four days of online voting, smashing last year’s early doors vote which was less than half that figure.
As we put this print edition of June Gscene to bed, the closest categories were Favourite Sunday Lunch, Favourite Hotel, Favourite Small Bar and Favourite Entertainer (singer). The new category of Favourite Cafe was too close to call with five venues being in with a shout of winning and separated by only 15 votes. In both the male and female bar staff categories, the votes cast this year are more than double those of last year with less than 100 votes between the top five bar staff in both categories.
James Ledward, editor of Gscene Magazine said: "If you want your favourite barman or barwoman to be recognised as the best, then get voting. Similarly if you work behind the bar, urge your customers to vote for you. Bar staff are the gateway to our community and are often the first point of contact when people come to live in or visit Gay Brighton. Their contribution is huge to community cohesion and should be recognised and celebrated."
If you have not registered your vote yet, view: www.gscene.com. Online voting this year closes on Friday, June 12 at midnight
Tickets are on sale for this year’s glittering awards ceremony, hosted by Lola Lasagne and featuring comediennes Zoe Lyons and Myra Dubois, powerhouse singer Jennie Castell and the brilliant Drag With No Name
The awards take place on Sunday, June 21 in the Oxford Suite at the Brighton Metropole Hilton Hotel. There is just one pre-booked VIP table left for sale which seats 12 people and costs £240. To book call 01273 749 947 or email: info@gscene.com
If you’re not on a VIP table, unreserved single tickets, costing £20 each, can be purchased from Prowler, 112 St James’s Street, Brighton. Prowler don’t charge a handling fee for this service and all payments must be settled in cash in person at Prowler. These seats are not reserved and are allocated on the public tables on a first come, first served basis on the night.
LOLA
LASAGNE ZOE
HOVE & PORTSLADE
ELECTS CITY'S FIRST OPENLY GAY MP
) Following a night of election shocks on May 7, the Conservative Party formed a majority government as the pre-election opinion polls got the outcome of the election wrong. Many senior politicians and household names lost their seats including former Lib Dem Leader Charles Kennedy, Leader of Labour in Scotland Jim Murphy, Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable, George Galloway from Respect, Conservative Minister Esther McVey, Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Secretary Danny Alexander and maybe the biggest scalp of the night, Labour's Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls.
Locally, the country's first Green candidate, Caroline Lucas, retained her Brighton Pavilion seat, increasing her majority from 1,252 to nearly 8,000 Simon Kirby, the popular Conservative candidate for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven, held the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 690 over Labour’s Nancy Platts while Peter Kyle bucked the national trend, taking Hoveand Portslade for Labour and becoming the city's first openly gay MP to be elected with a majority of 1,236 over former Hove Police Chief, Cllr Graham Cox
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall CEO, said: “We’re encouraged that people took to the polls and voted.
More than 25 openly lesbian, gay or bisexual MPs have been elected, making this the largest group of openly LGB MPs elected to date. Our Parliament is richer and stronger for the diversity of voices and experiences within it, however, it is certainly disappointing not to see any openly trans people represented amongst our MPs. Looking ahead, our MPs cannot forget the manifesto commitments they made to the LGBT community. We must see those words translated into tangible actions. The Conservatives, alongside the Liberal Democrats, have had an impressive track record at Westminster over the last five years, and we look forward to working closely with the new government towards achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people, here and abroad.”
LABOUR TAKE CONTROL OF CITY COUNCIL
) A clean sweep of Labour councillors, winning in troubled Queens Park Ward, pushed Labour three seats ahead of the Tories, and made them the largest party on the city council at the local election count, on May 9 at the Brighton Centre
In a spectacular reversal of the 2011 local election result when the Greens took control of the city with 23 seats (Conservative 18 seats and Labour 13 seats), Labour leap-frogged from third place to become the largest party with 23 seats, the Conservatives taking 20 seats and the Greens coming in a poor third place with 11 seats
Councillors holding important portfolios in the Green administration swept from power included: Sue Shanks, the Chair of the Children and Young People's Committee; Geoffrey Bowden, Chair of Economic Development & Culture Committee; and Stephanie Powell, the Chair of the Licensing Committee.
Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group, said: “I’m grateful to voters across Brighton & Hove for electing Labour councillors in large numbers, making us the biggest group on the city council. Labour candidates won 20,000 more votes than the Conservatives, and as many seats as the Greens won in 2011. We gained 12 seats from the Greens whilst the Conservatives gained just one, so Labour has a clear mandate in terms of seats gained and votes won to lead the city council.
“We will lead a Labour Council which will implement the sensible policies we put to voters having listened to them on the issues that matter to them: getting our basic refuse, recycling and street cleaning running properly, tackling the issues of housing and poverty, making our city's economy work for everyone, and getting the city's transport networks and roads working as they should.
“We’ll ask councillors of all parties to support these common goals that will benefit our city, and we’ll work constructively and cooperatively with them. The next elections are four years away. It’s time to put political rivalry and advantage to one side and put Brighton & Hove first.
“Our city and our residents face enormous challenges under very difficult circumstances, but we’ll lead with purpose and vision, based on our values of fairness and co-operation, to get the best for everyone in Brighton & Hove.”
Out
Gzunder Campbell the Official Monster Raving Loony candidate brought much needed colour to the campaign in Brunwick & Adelaide ward where the Greens held Brunwick & Adelaide by 65 votes from a tough Labour challenge.
with the old: Queens Park councillors Bowden and Powell lose their seats.
In with the new: Three new Labour Councillors Morris, Chapman and Barford give Labour minority control of the council.
Colleagues console Green, Sue Shanks after losing her Withdean seat.
Caroline Lucas MP pays a visit to the count.
Councillors Mo Marsh, Dan Yates and Anne Meadows see off a UKIP challenge in Moulsecoomb and Bevendean
Tellers await the arrival of ballot forms from Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven Polling Stations.
HAND
IN HAND
LGBT
CHOIR FESTIVAL CONCERT AT DOME
) Brighton Gay Men's Chorus and the Rainbow Chorus will be hosting the Hand in Hand UK & Ireland LGBT Choir Festival over the weekend of June 12-14. The festival will bring together LGBT choirs from all over the UK and Ireland to sing, socialise and celebrate, whilst helping raise funds for a number of local charities, including the Sussex Beacon and Lunch Positive
Highlight of the festival weekend will be the Hand in Hand LGBT Choir Festival Concert in the Brighton Dome Concert Hall at 7.30pmon Saturday, June 13, when a number of the choirs will be performing. Tickets cost £10/£14/£17. To purchase online, view: www.brightondome.org or call: 01273 709709
If you’re a member of an LGBT choir in the UK or Ireland, and would like to take part in the festival, view: www.handinhandbrighton.org
BED… AND BREAKFAST WITH THE BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS
) Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus continue their 10th anniversary celebrations with their contribution to this year’s Pride Arts Festival with Bed... & Breakfast Is it a holiday romance, or just a dirty weekend? High season or low rent? Check in with Brighton Gay Men's Chorus for a thoroughly musical probing of the ups and downs of the seaside minibreak. Whatever the weather, you’re promised a warm welcome, a varied menu and some unexpected encounters. Getting away from it all can be an adventure, and whether you end up in a single, a double, or get a king-size upgrade, the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus hopes you have a pleasant stay… and far too much fun to be bothered with a good night's sleep!
Chairman Paul Charlton, said: “After a very successful opening of the Brighton Fringe Festival, with two packed shows, we’re looking forward to entertaining our audience with our summer show ahead of the Brighton Pride celebrations. We have some exciting new additions to our repertoire, to which I’m sworn to secrecy by the Music Team, but with a title like Bed & Breakfast, it’s safe to say that there will be love in the air of Brighton & Hove this summer.”
Bed & Breakfast... with the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus will be at All Saints Church, The Drive, Hove, on July 24 and 25 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £12 (£10 conc). To book online (from June 1) view: www.brightongmc.org
SUSSEX BEACON FUNDRAISER AT PROUD CABARET
) Across The Pond, a fundraiser for the Sussex Beacon, will take place at Proud Cabaret, 83 St George’s Road, Brighton, at 8pm on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The show will be hosted by Mysterry Drag Queen and directed by renowned
West End Director and Choreographer Carole Todd, whose credits include productions of Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Dreamboats & Petticoats, to name a few.
Other performers will include West End Star Paul Hazel, plus Marianne Robinson, Miss Jason, Laura
Nixon and the legendary Maisie Trollette
Tickets are £10 with profits going to the Sussex Beacon. There will also be a raffle to raise funds for the Beacon. Tickets are available from both Sussex Beacon Shops (St James’s Street and London Road), or by emailing mysterry@email.com
The Sussex Beacon charity offers specialist care and support for men, women and families affected by HIV. Open 365 days a year, the Beacon helps people manage the everyday realities of living with this life-long condition that has no cure.
CALL FOR PERFORMERS FOR CONTROVERSIAL PLAY
) Edit Profile, a play being produced by the Very Awkward Company, will run at the Marlborough Theatre on July 2,3 & 4, 2015. The producers are still recruiting cast members and extras to participate in the production which is the story of a recently single gay man's journey into the world of Grindr-based chemical-fuelled sex parties. The producers aim to raise the profile of this phenomenon and to explore some of the safety issues surrounding these events.
The show is an amateur production and cast and crew members will be paid on a profit share basis. Performing experience is not all the producers are looking for in cast
members. Many of the scenes in the show will be depicting these parties and involve being semi-naked. As these parties are exclusively male they are only looking for male actors to cast. If you are interested, email: veryawkwardcompany@gmail.com
MYSTERRY CAROLE TODD
PAUL
CHARLTON
BRIGHTON BEAR WEEKENDER
) Brighton Bear Weekender from June 19-21 gets into the groove with a preweekend quiz at the Camelford Arms on June 18 from 7.30pm
Friday 19:Mysterry hosts a welcome to Brighton night with cabaret at the A-Bar from 8pm where you can pick up your pre-ordered wristbands and other pre-ordered merchandise. The party moves on to Envy at 10.30pm for Come to Daddy, (£5 with wristband, £7 without). When Come to Daddy finishes Subline is open for any last minute naughties.
Saturday 20: Meet for full English breakfast at Camelford Arms from 10.30am, last orders at noon. Moving on, the Picnic in Queens Park is one of the highlights of the weekend. Eat at Lunch Positive's pop-up cafe and support the amazing work this organisation does providing a regular nourishing meal to people with HIV at their Friday Lunch Club. Unfortunately park rules mean dogs are not allowed in the picnic area. Back to the Camelford at 4pm for drinks and social in preparation for Bear Shaft at Legends from 8-11pm (Free entry with wristband/£2 without).
To finish off a glorious day of bear chasing you have the choice of Grrr! at Latest Music Bar in Manchester Street from 10pm-2am with DJ Rob C and DJ Josh (£3 entry with wristband/£5 without) or get hot and sweaty at Grunt at Subline with Leathermen South (£3 with wristband/£5 without). This night is in association with Leathermen South (leather optional – there is no dress code, so go as you like). Lockers available if you want to get your kit on (or off)!
Sunday 21: After a short nap it’s off to the Camelford Arms at noon for a full roast dinner. Alternatively you can sample an Alternative Sunday Roasting at the Brighton Sauna; (£5 off entry price with wristband). Whatever takes your fancy! Personally I prefer a bit of meat in my mouth.
Then, off to Legends at 3pm for Ca-bear-et hosted by Drag With No Name and Mysterry. The grand raffle to raise money for the Rainbow Fund will be drawn which includes the chance to win among other things, 2 tickets for Michael McIntyre's stand-up comedy show at Brighton Centre on August 30; two Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure tickets at Brighton Racecourse (any time except August festival) and two dinner show tickets for Drag With No Name plus B&B accommodation in a standard room at Thistle Brighton on Friday, July 31. For full list of raffle prizes and events view: http://brightonbearweekender.co.uk
All profits from Brighton Bear Weekender go to the Rainbow Fund who give grants to local LGBT/HIV organisations in Brighton & Hove delivering effective front-line services to LGBT people in the city. Brighton Bear Weekender has raised close to £8,000 over the last few years for the Rainbow Fund to distribute through their grants programme. To round off the weekend it’s off to Subline at 8pm for a Bears Cruise night. Lockers available - bare as you dare!
THANK YOU FROM THT
) Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) Brighton send big thanks to the 15 volunteers who helped them clean up the Dukes Mound/Bushes area at the end of April
Ross Boseley, Community Engagement & Outreach at THT, said: "The area was in need of a thorough clean and we removed over 30 bags of rubbish, We hope this will encourage people to use the bins or take rubbish away with them. I would like to thank City Clean who provided the tools for day and all the volunteers for their hard work."
LUNCH POSITIVE BIG LUNCH
) Lunch Positive, the lunch club for those with HIV, celebrates its 6th birthday on Saturday, June 6 and invites everyone to a Big Lunch community celebration al-fresco from noon-3.30pm, in Dorset Gardens Peace Park, Dorset Gardens, BN2 1RL. Lunch Positive will be providing food at no charge, though donations are welcome, and people are also invited to bring along their own. The celebration is to recognise the fantastic efforts of volunteers and to thank everyone in the community for their support over the years.
COMMUNITY ACTIVIST SUPPORTS
YOUTH PROJECT AT HER BIRTHDAY PARTY
) Maria Baker will be celebrating her birthday with a Golden Ticket Birthday Party on Friday, June 12 at Envy above Charles Street Bar from 9pm. Friends old and new are invited to celebrate it with her and she asks rather than give her a birthday present to make a donation to the BluePrint 22 youth project, who she is the Patron of.
Blueprint 22 work with young people aged 16-25 living in Brighton and along the coast to Bognor Regis giving them the opportunity to shine by participating in projects that encourage them to take control of their lives.
Maria is the Black and Ethnic Minorities representative on the committee of the Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum and also sits on the grants committee of the Rainbow Fund. She is the former owner of the much missed Marilyn’s Bar in Providence Place and the Star Inn on Manchester Street, both in Brighton. Maria said: “Blueprint 22 do such wonderful work with young people, building their self-esteem and eventually giving them the confidence to move on with their lives.”
To make a donation to Blueprint 22 and hear Millers’ story, view: www.blueprint22.org.uk
VERA, A TRIBUTE TO BRIAN RALFE
) Friends and colleagues of Brian Ralfe, who died in March while on holiday in Egypt, are organising a tribute show to celebrate the life of the man who produced the annual Alternative Panto in Brighton. Vera,
A Tribute to Brian Ralfe is on Sunday, June 14 at 7.30pm at the Studio Theatre, New Road, Brighton.
Organisers have secured a fantastic line-up of entertainers for the evening, including: EastEnders actress June Brown, DCI Frank Burnside from The Bill, Chris Ellison, Miss Jason, Wezley Sebastian, Allan Jay, Jason Palmer, Lee Tracey, Phil Randall, Anita Ellison, Jason Prince, Simon Grant,Phil Harlequeen, Scott Virgo, Collin Day, Jason Lee, Mike Mendozza and David Raven
Tickets cost £20 from box office: 01273 709709 and all profits will be going to Sussex Heart Charity in Brian's memory.
MARIA BAKER
CHAMONIX ASPEN WINS BRIGHTON DRAG IDOL HEAT
) Chamonix Aspen, a name to remember, was the unanimous choice of the judges to go forward and represent Charles Street in the national final of Drag Idol La Voix and Sally Vate hosted Brighton's Heat of Drag Idol at Charles Street Bar, the best Drag Idol heat staged in Brighton for some years. Singer JP Christian came second, karaoke hostess Trifari third and Eve Angelical, despite experiencing technical problems with her backing track, was fourth.
La Voix, herself a former winner of Drag Idol, hosted the show with style and gave the contestants the support and respect they deserved for putting themselves out there, in front of a tanked up Brighton Bank Holiday audience. Judges for the evening were Stephen Richards, aka Lola Lasagne, Chris Marshall, manager of Charles Street, chef extraordinaire, James Brooks and James Ledward, editor of Gscene. Production, lighting and sound was organised by Rupert Ellick and Lola Holloran
James Ledward said: “These competitions can fall flat on their face through poor contestants. Not tonight and in Chamonix Aspen, Charles Street have found a unique contestant who ticks all the boxes. She’s very different, with unique material written by herself. Chamonix struts the stage like a constipated panther and her comic timing is spot on. Imagine a vulnerable Mrs Shufflewick, add a topping of Myra Dubois and you’ll get the taste of what Chamonix brings to the table. She is very, very funny!
“Most importantly it was like the good old days in Charles Street. The atmosphere was electric, the crowd was up for a party and La Voix handled the contestants brilliantly. More nights like this will get the locals out and keep the visitors coming back for more. Well done to everyone involved.”
For more details of Drag Idol heats, view: www.dragidoluk.com
LESBIAN & GAY PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING GROUP LAUNCHED
) Around 40 people passed through the doors of the Dome Room at Pub Du Vin on May 5 for the first Vocal Social, a new LGBT professional networking night.
The night consisted of networking over relaxed drinks followed by a talk from Ruth Chapman of the i360, detailing some of the milestones to come in the building of the seafront tower. After the talk the informal atmosphere continued with further drinks and networking.
The event drew a diverse crowd, including small business owners, publicans, event professionals, security consultants, accountants, personal trainers and coaches, journalists and publishers, insurance industry professionals and staff from some of the city’s major employers.
Trevor Edwards, one of the jointorganisers, said: “We are really pleased with the turnout for this first event, as groups of friends we had an idea for an event like this some years ago. However a few weeks back we said let’s do it. So in essence the night was planned and delivered in less than five weeks. We have had some
brilliant feedback which has given us the confidence to go ahead with a second event on Wednesday, July 1.”
Trevor added: “The second event will very much follow the format of the first. We’ll be announcing a venue and speaker soon. However we have already set the date for Wednesday, July 1 and it’s great to have so many who have already booked tickets so far in advance.”
Vocal Social are already adapting their plans to run the event bimonthly throughout the year. It is now planned to swap to monthly operation in the autumn.
Attendee
Craig Royle, Food & Beverage Manager of the Queens Hotel, said: “It’s great to have an alternative night to meet and chat in a relaxed atmosphere whilst catching up on things happening in the city. It’s something that has been missing from the city for a while.”
The second Vocal Social will take place on Wednesday, July 1 from 6.30–9.30pm and there is an extra special discount offer on tickets until the venue is announced.
Along with offer tickets, standard tickets are already available online at vocsoc.com (£8 in advance) or £10 on the night.
For more information on the event or to book tickets, view: www.vocsoc.com
TREVOR EDWARDS
VOIX
CRAIG ROYALE
TRIFARI, JP CHRISTIAN, SALLY VATE, LA VOIX, CHAMONIX ASPEN & EVE ANGELICAL
CO-OPERATIVE SUPPORTS RAINBOW FUND AT FOODIES FESTIVAL
) LGBT organisations in Brighton & Hove benefitted from a Co-operative food and drink promotion last month. They Co-op raised money for three local charitable organisations with their special food and drink promotion at the Foodies Festival on Hove Lawns over the Bank Holiday Weekend, May 2-4
Co-operative staff in Brighton & Hove chose the Rainbow Fund, the Starr Trust and the Martlets Hospice to benefit from their weekend fundraising.. All customers buying a special £4 promotion of pizza and a glass of prosecco were asked to put their empty glass into plastic sacks to benefit the charity of their choice. Each organisation received £4 from every glass deposited in the sacks. The Rainbow Fund received £900 which will be distributed in the September grants round to LGBT/HIV organisations in Brighton & Hove providing effective frontline services to LGBT people in the city.
The Starr Trust is a family-run charity who give grants of up to £5,000 to young people aged between 10-18 to support their dreams and aspirations in Education, Arts and Sport. The Martlets Hospice need to raise £9,000 every day to provide free care for people affected by life-limiting illness in and around Brighton & Hove.
OUT TO SWIM SOUTHIN THE MEDALS AT EASTBOURNE
) Eight Out To Swim South (OTSS) swimmers competed at Eastbourne last month in their annual Masters event, and came away with 12 medals (five golds, three silver and four bronze) in their first team event together. Even though some of the swimmers were competing for the first time, they achieved some great results. It was an excellent start to the season and more events are planned later in the year. A Masters swim meet is open to swimmers over 25 years old and swimmers compete against others in their own age group (25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-45, etc).
OTSS is a group of gay and gay-friendly swimmers of all ages. New members are always welcome. Sessions are held three times a week and cater for those who are starting out and gaining confidence with coaching available to improve their technique to those who enjoy competition, including triathletes. If you fancy dipping your toes in the water, check out the timetable by viewing: www.outtoswim.org/brighton. The first session is free and they don't just swim. Social events are also held giving everyone a great chance to socialise.
BEACON ANNOUNCE DATE FOR BRIGHTON HALF MARATHON, 2016
) The Brighton Half Marathon will be run on the morning of Sunday, February 28 in 2016. The date was revealed at a reception last month at the Grand Hotel, compered by David Hill from E3 Entertainment, and sponsored by the Grand Hotel.
2016 will see the 26th running of the half marathon, the first major road race of the year, which is very popular with beginner runners and used by serious runners as warm-up training for the much bigger spring marathons held in cities all over the world.
Vitality UK returns as the headline partner for the race in 2016 and charity partners to benefit from the event will be Sussex Beacon, Laureus, Scope, Chestnut Tree House, WaterAid and Rise
A new innovation next year will be the Sussex Beacon Corporate Relay, a perfect opportunity for companies to
encourage team building in the workplace, while giving something back to the local community. The Sussex Beacon Corporate Relay is a good old-fashioned relay race for teams of five runners. Whichever team gets the baton round the five fun-size chunks of the Brighton Half Marathon course in the fastest time wins!
The relay has been designed so that runners can enjoy the buzz of taking part in one of the biggest half marathons in the UK, with participants starting and finishing within the main race while most importantly raising money for the Sussex Beacon.
The Vitality Brighton Half Marathon is organised by the Sussex Beacon, a Brighton-based HIV charity who support men, woman and families affected by HIV, helping them to live independent and healthy lives. Their services are designed to meet the changing needs of people affected by this life-long condition. Each year they have to raise over one million pounds to keep these vital services running.
For more information and to register to run, view: www.brightonhalfmarathon.com
BEAR-PATROL RAISE NEARLY £16,000 FOR SUSSEX BEACON
) Bear-Patrol, the social networking group, raised £15,857.45 for the Sussex Beacon by running in the Vitality Brighton Half Marathon on Sunday, February 22, 2015. Twenty-nine members of BearPatrol took part in the race to raise money for the Sussex Beacon, with another 30 members volunteering on the day at the Mile 6 water station and in the Team Beacon runners’ marquee. The total is the largest amount BearPatrol have raised from a single event with their fundraising.
Danny Dwyer from Bear-Patrol, said: "Well done to all the runners and volunteers who took part in the race
and a massive thank you to everyone who supported and sponsored our team runners before and during the event, this is an amazing achievement for the team and for Bear-Patrol.”
The 2016 Vitality Brighton Half Marathon is on Sunday, February 28, 2016. Bear-Patrol are recruiting 40 runners plus volunteers to take part to try and top this year’s magnificent total. If you would like to be part of the running team or volunteer with BearPatrol on the day, view: www.facebook.com/BrightonHalfM arathon
DANNY DWYER
UNIVERSITY APPOINTS PROFESSOR OF
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
) The University of Brighton has appointed Katherine Browne as Professor of Human Geography, specialising in space, gender and sexuality. Professor Browne’s appointment is in recognition of her extensive work in the geographies of sexualities and LGBTQ lives, in the Global North and mainly the UK and North America. Professor Browne received the Gill Memorial Award in 2007 from the Royal Geographical Society/Institute of British Geographers in recognition of contributions to Geographies of Sexualities, and in 2012 she was presented with the Jan Monk Award from the Association of American Geographers to recognise her contributions to gender geographies.
She has chaired the Royal Geographical Society/ Institute of British Geographers’ Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group (2006-2009), an international agendasetting group leading research and debate into sexualities, gender and geographies. Professor Browne said: “This award says a lot to, and about, local LGBTQ communities and those working on LGBTQ issues in the public sector. It demonstrates that the University of Brighton values and respects the LGBTQ work that they have helped to create.
“Working with LGBTQ people, service providers and others in the Count Me In Too project will always be a highlight of my career. I have had the privilege of collaborating with amazing activists, who taught me more than I could ever have imagined. We saw things change because of the research, in terms of policy, service provision, and perhaps most importantly how consultations happen in meaningful ways with LGBTQ communities. This was something that I am immensely proud of, but also humbled and honoured to be a part of.
“Brighton’s mission to work in ways that are socially engaged, applicable to the real world and making a difference has been very important to me. The work that Community University Partnership Programme does and the ways this kind of research is not just supported but understood is central to the possibilities of working here. I really feel that the work I have done here wouldn’t have been possible elsewhere. I have been given time, space and freedom to explore with LGBTQ people what social change is needed, and to work with service providers and others to achieve this.”
Count Me In Too was an award-winning project that sought progress and social change for LGBTQ people in the South East Coastal area. The Universities of Brighton and Sussex worked together with Spectrum (an LGBT Community Forum that promoted partnership work, community engagement and community development) to ensure that the needs of the local LGBT people were met.
SINDERFELLA: THE ALTERNATIVE PANTO AT SALLIS BENNEY THEATRE
) Naughty adult entertainment returns to Brighton in February 2016 when Southern Entertainments will be producing 16 performances of the Alternative Panto, Sinderfella, at the Sallis Benney Theatre. Staged by Quintin Young, directed with an outrageous script written by Andrew Stark, and musical direction provided by Marc Yarrow, the musical director of the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus.
The following performers have signed on the dotted line and are confirmed to appear (Oh no they're not! Oh yes they are!): Miss Jason as Sinderfella; Lola Lasagne as the ugly sister; Davina Sparkle as The Fairy God Mother; Allan Jay as Buttocks; Wezley Sebastian as the Prince; Christopher Howard as Baron Hardon and Jason Lee as Dandini. Many more announcements are in the pipeline.
Tickets go on sale from June 15. Book tickets online at: www.brightonticketshop.com or call: 01273 709 709
BRIGHTON PRIDE DIVERSITY GAMES: BLAGSS FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
) BLAGSS (Brighton Lesbian & Gay Sports Society) are staging a six-a-side football tournament, supported by Sussex FA, on Saturday, July 18. The tournament is part of the Brighton Pride Diversity Games, which are sponsored by Domestic & General There are separate men’s and women’s competitions, whilst individuals or smaller groups can register to play in one of the scratch team(s). Registration is open to anyone wanting to support Pride and the spirit of LBGT diversity and inclusion.
On Saturday night (July 18) there will be a special Pride Football Party in town. The awards presentations will be made at the
Pride Fun Sports Day in Preston Park on Sunday, July 19, which will include loads of fun competitions such as a tug-of-war and egg-andspoon races, plus lots of sporting activities. Make sure you book accommodation early and stay for the weekend!
There are places for 15 teams, available on a first-come-firstserved basis, and five have already been reserved! All teams must reserve a place in advance by emailing football@blagss.org no later than June 18 2015
Provisional details, subject to confirmation nearer the time.
THT LAUNCHES BRIGHTON STI TESTING WEEK
) Residents in Brighton & Hove will be encouraged to take free STI tests from sexual health and HIV charity Terence Higgins Trust (THT) as part of the city’s STI Testing Week at the end of June. Following the success of National HIV Testing Week, THT will be running pop-up STI screening clinics offering chlamydia and gonorrhoea tests at a variety of community settings and venues across the city from June 29–July 5, 2015
Ben Tooke, Senior Engagement Officer at THT in Brighton, said: “STI screening methods are quick and easy and simply require a swab and urine sample. We hope Brighton STI Testing Week will encourage STI testing, promote awareness of the services that are currently available throughout the year, and increase public knowledge on how to prevent onward transmission of STIs. Many people are still unaware that STIs do not always display symptoms and that infection can occur through the mouth. Whatever the result we are here to provide advice and support.”
The majority of STI testing will take place at THT’s centre on Ship Street and the Claude Nicol Clinic, although other venues including the Brighton Sauna on Marine Parade will also provide STI testing.
Brighton & Hove has a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections with certain groups particularly affected including men who have sex with men (MSM), Black Minority Ethnic communities and young people.
Latest figures show 1,747 people in Brighton & Hove were diagnosed with STIs per 100,000 of the population, higher than the national average of 832, however this could be attributed to increased STI testing in Brighton & Hove.
Diagnosis rates for young people with chlamydia is also higher in the city compared to the national average, with 3,133 per 100,000 of the population diagnosed with chlamydia compared to a national average of 2,016. However, rates of chlamydia screening are again higher in Brighton & Hove, which may explain why the diagnosis rate for the city is higher than the national average.
BRIGHTON HOTEL A WINNER
) Miss Jason chose the Brighton Hotel on Brighton seafront to stage his latest Sunday Cabaret Lunch. The Brighton Hotel proved to be a huge success with diners and performers alike with guests welcomed by a rather handsome young man tinkling the ivories, and a glass of bubbly. Once dinner was finished, Miss Lynn and Miss Jason entertained Brighton’s glitterati and welcomed Robert Beveridge and his partner back from yet another holiday! Hmmm... The setting was wonderful with the sun streaming through the huge windows giving the room a real summer feel.
DANNY DWYER’S BIG 40!
) You’re only 40 once! Danny made his a night to remember last month at Brighton Race Course. Entertainers taking the stage included Jason Lee, Jennie Castell, Dave Lynn, Jason Sutton, Mysterry, Aaron Lawrence, Sam Nixon (Mary Poppins) Philip Lane, David Hill and David Raven Danny asked friends to donate to Canine Partner, a registered charity that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities in the UK, rather than bring a present. As we go to print, £2,700 has been donated to Canine Partner. There is still chance to donate at: www.justgiving.com/caninerun
PEER ACTION JUNE DIARY
SWIMMING: TUES2ND/9TH/16TH/23RD/30TH
12.30 at Kemptown Swimming Centre, Eastern Rd, Brighton
YOGA: TUES2ND/9TH/16TH/23RD/30TH
17.45 with Dan, Hampshire Lodge, Upper St James’ St, Brighton
LGBT CHOIR FESTIVAL FRI12TH -SUN14TH
Main event at the Brighton Dome, Church Street, Brighton
BEACON THERAPY DAY: SUN14TH
13.50 onwards at Sussex Beacon,10 Bevendean Rd, Brighton
GOLDEN HANDBAG AWARDS: SUN21ST
19.30 at the Brighton Metropole Hilton, Kings Rd, Brighton
SOCIAL & GAMES NIGHT: WED24TH
19.30 at the Barley Mo Pub, Kemptown, Brighton
THT THERAPY DAY: SAT27TH
13.50 onwards at Terrence Higgins Trust, 61 Ship St, Brighton
Peer Action is a group for all those affected by HIV and provides a range of holistic and social activities to help break down the isolation, build new friendships and share interesting experiences. We’re looking for volunteers to help trustees with some day-to-day tasks that keep Peer Action running. Help out as little or as much as you want, sharing your time with fellow peers is extremely rewarding, worthwhile and fun.
If you’re interested, please reply to: peeractionmail@gmail.com
For info about events see: www.peeraction.co.uk
Or our f Facebook page: www.facebook.com/peeraction
The LGBT Community Safety Forum is an independent group of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* (LGBT) volunteers in Brighton & Hove. For more info visit: lgbt-help.com
NOTE FOR YOUR DIARY
LGBT SAFETY FORUM PUBLIC
MEETING SUNDAY 15TH JULY 7PM • VENUE TBC Come along and meet your local COMMUNITY POLICE LIAISON OFFICERS from the LGBT, BME and Disability Liaison Teams at Sussex Police Discover our ACCESS PLANS for Brighton & Hove Pride 2015 For more information visit www.lgbt-help.com/events/publicmeeting
CHARLES STREET ARE TOP OF THE CLASS!
) The first Golden Handbag of the season went to Charles Street Bar when they were crowned the Brainiest Gays (LGBT) in the Village at the Golden Handbag Quiz. For the third year running Bear Patrol came second with the Gscene B team coming in third.
The Quiz was hosted by a sparkling slimline Lola Lasagne who described the event as her "favourite gig of the season." Lola took on hecklers, drunks and airline logo nerds alike in an entertaining community event, that brought together 22 teams from the LGBT and HIV voluntary sector, clubs, bars, social network groups, a gay choir, the police, local shops and for the first time at the Golden Handbag Quiz, a team from Rainbow Families and Transtastic!
£550 was raised from the entry fees paid by each team which will be distributed by the Rainbow Fund in their September 2015, post-Pride grants round. James Ledward, editor of Gscene, said: “Many thanks to Chris Marshall and the staff at Charles Street for hosting the event, James Brooks and his trolly dollies, Huw
Edward and Nicki Delmege, for creating the quiz and making it happen, Rupert Ellick for sound, Ian Andrew Mager-Playford for photographs and of course Lola Lasagne who was on top form. There was alot of love in the room.”
THE BRAINIEST GAYS (LGBT) IN THE VILLAGE: CHARLES STREET TEAM
GROUPS RECEIVING RAINBOW FUND GRANTS
QUEENS ARMS TEAM
TRANSTASTIC TEAM
MARINE TAVERN TEAM
BEAR PATROL RUNNERS UP
GSCENE B TEAM CAME 3RD
SUBLINE TEAM
PEER ACTION TEAM
JAMES BROOKS, HUW EDWARDS & NICKI DELMEGE
SAFETY FORUM TEAM
RAINBOW CHORUS TEAM
WILMA’S WONDERS
LEGENDS TEAM
AGENTS TEAM
RAINBOW FAMILIES
MERLIN & ELLIS TEAM
GSCENE
LOCAL POET CAPTIVATES AUDIENCE AT BRIGHTON & HOVE IDAHOBIT
) Brighton & Hove marked IDAHOBIT on May 17 with a community event in New Steine Gardens attended by more than 150 people. IDAHOBIT, was organised and staged by the Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum, a volunteer-led group whose role is to hold the police and council to account on safety issues affecting the LGBT communities in Brighton & Hove. No council officers or representatives from Sussex Police were present.
Speeches this year were replaced by performances from the Rainbow Chorus who were on top form, singer/guitarists Son Son and AJ Paterson and trans* poet, Alice Denny, who captivated the audience with her powerful hard-hitting poems.
Peter Kyle, the new Labour MP for Hove & Portslade, and Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, both showed support by attending. Cllr Warren Morgan, the new leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, was in attendance with Cllr Karen Barford and Cllr Adrian Morris, the newly elected Councillors for Queens Park, as well as Cllr Emma Daniel, new Lead Member for Neighbourhoods, Communities & Equalities. Phelim McCafferty, Green Cllr for Brunswick & Adelaide, was present along with Geoffrey Bowden, former Green Councillor for Queens Park.
A collection for the Rainbow Fund, who give grants to LGBT/HIV organisations delivering effective front line services to the LGBT/HIV communities in Brighton & Hove, raised over £200
IDAHOBIT marks the day in 1990 the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental diseases.
BRIGHTON STONEWALL EQUALITY WALK RAISES OVER £43,000
) Nearly 700 people took to the streets of Brighton & Hove on Sunday, May 8 to raise money for Stonewall, the LGBT equality charity, in their annual Brighton 10k Equality Walk
Musicians from the London Gay Big Band entertained the participants as they registered for the walk in Royal Pavilion Gardens. Speeches followed from soap stars Bethany Black, Alicya Eyo and Stonewall CEO Ruth Hunt, who spoke about the importance of Stonewall expanding their work into countries where LGBT people do not enjoy the same rights as we have in the UK. The Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch, and his wife, Nora the Mayoress, marshalled the crowd to the start position and cut the ribbon to get the walk started.
At the time of going to press the walk has raised £43,000 with more donations still to come, which Stonewall will use to help with “their work in schools, workplaces, health care providers, government agencies and many others, to build a world where every person is free to live without fear regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
For more information about Stonewall, view: www.stonewall.org.uk
MAYOR CUTS RIBBON TO START THE 10K EQUALITY WALK
LONDON GAY BIG BAND
STONEWALL CEO RUTH HUNT, BETHANY BLACK & ALICYA EYO
POLICE TEAM WITH SUSSEX POLICE LGBT CHAMPION, CHIEF INSPECTOR NEV KEMP
MARIA BAKER, BLACK & ETHNIC MINORITIES REP ON LGBT COMMUNITY SAFETY FORUM
TEAM GREEN
ARMY TEAM ROYAL AIR FORCE TEAM
TEAM LABOUR
RAINBOW CHORUS
ALICE DENNY
VENICE - LA SERENISSIMA
(Or me, my selfie stick and I.) By Roger Wheeler
) The British have had a love affair with Venice for well over 500 years, and with over 16 million tourists a year it can get quite busy. Our trip was a surprise present for my husband’s 40th birthday; needless to say he was overwhelmed. You run out of superlatives when describing Venice and none of the paintings or photos you’ll have seen do the city justice, it is quite simply breathtaking. There are 400 bridges, all with stunning views, which of course have to be photographed. Here you’ll meet some of the hundreds of the ‘selfie stick’ street sellers who wave them at you constantly and of course most of the weeks 500,000 tourists must take selfies, everywhere.
We flew to Venice with BA, which has four flights a day from Gatwick to Marco Polo Airport (the budget airlines fly to Treviso Airport 40km from the city). We took the Alilaguna water bus from the airport into the city, (€27 return) but the boats are crowded, the windows are so filthy you can’t see much and the drivers not particularly friendly. There is an excellent Aerobus service (€6), which takes you in comfort right to Piazzale Roma bus terminal in the city near Ferrovia train station. From there you can walk to your hotel or take one of the many water buses which go to every part of the city. Venice isn’t big, you can walk from one side to the other in less than 30 minutes. You will of course get briefly lost, but there are signs on almost every corner directing you to San Marco via the Rialto.
We stayed at the Ca’ Nigra, a stunning 22bedroom hotel right opposite the Ferrovia on the Grand Canal (€922/£645, for four nights
B&B through Booking.com). It’s a really lovely place, with friendly staff, particularly the two attractive young brothers in charge of breakfast and morning reception. The hotel, like all the others on the Grand Canal, is a beautifully restored 17C palace; small but very comfortable rooms, all red velvet with a huge Murano glass chandelier and balcony. Tell them it’s a special occasion on arrival and they give you a glass of prosecco in the garden right beside the Grand Canal. The only quibble was the shower, if you weigh more the 90kg you won’t fit in it. This hotel doesn’t have a restaurant, apart from the stylish breakfast room, but you can eat out at the local restaurants. Of course if you want to stay where the Clooneys got married, the Aman Canal Grande is €5,000 per night or at the new St Regis, a mere €9,000 per night.
Everyone has to see the Piazza San Marco (the most beautiful square in Europe according to Napoleon), St Mark’s Basilica (a truly aweinspiring building), the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto Bridge, as well as all the wellpublicised attractions. Don’t buy anything near these sites, not even a coffee, the entire area is full of tourist shops and selfie stick sellers. A drink at the famous Harry’s Bar in St Mark’s Square costs £20+ and a coffee £10; on the Grand Canal, just round the corner, a coffee is £6 but just three minutes away it’s down to £2.50. Like all major cities Venice can be expensive. Dinner at the Hotel Danielli is about £250 without wine, but if you wander into the back streets, where the restaurants
are still busy, a good meal with wine can be €100/£70 for two. Avoid any restaurant with an ‘all day’ menu, that’s strictly for tourists. The tiny narrow alleys that give Venice its charm can be just a shoulder-width wide, with the buildings going up to over six storeys.
By far the best value is a Venice Citypass, €30 for a two-day pass from the Tourist Office on the corner of St Mark’s Square. You can use them on every water bus. A single costs €7 per trip and over two days we took about ten trips so it’s a bargain. Before you go, log onto venetoinside.com and get some Skip The Line Passes which let you walk past the queues and straight into the famous places. They cost €2 each but must be bought in advance and only online. We avoided the clichéd gondola ride: €80 for 40 minutes and €100 after 7pm, with an additional €50 for an extra 20 minutes. You can see all of Venice either on foot or on the water buses; the gondolas are the oldest tourist rip-off in the world.
Worth seeing is the very atmospheric Ghetto, the oldest Jewish quarter in the world; Arsenale, a beautifully restored military area just off the Grand Canal and site of the annual Venice Biennale. The city is full of beautiful churches and museums all of which charge. The world famous Peggy Guggenheim Collection, on the Grand Canal (€15 entry), is the most visited attraction in Italy and houses a collection of modern art regarded as one of the most important in the western world, with Picasso, Miro, Mondria.
Of course you have to visit the islands in the lagoon. Murano, where they’ve made glass for over a thousand years, is a very popular destination and if you must buy a piece of glass buy it here. My advice is to take the next boat on to Burano, which is much prettier and quieter. Back in Venice, on the island of Guidecca, visit the Hilton Molina Stucky Hotel’s Skyline Bar, which has the best views in the city and it’s free, unless you have a drink. We had two G&Ts, which cost €56/£40, but they were large and the view is unbelievable. One of the interesting things we noticed was that hardly anyone smokes and if you prefer your men clean shaven and without ‘body art’ then Venice is the place for you, Conchita Wurst’s influence hasn’t reached hereyet. Go in spring, there are fewer tourists; you will leave Venice wanting to return.
) Over the years, Charles Street has built a solid reputation for good value dining attracting both the ‘ladies who lunch’ crowd during the afternoon and those who like to grab something to eat on their way home after work. The new summer menu has some new healthy options while retaining popular tried and tested deals including two (selected) meals for £6.95 every day, 2-4-1Pizzas on Tuesdays, 2-4-1Desserts all day every day and a Sandwich & Drink for £5.45
To help those watching their waistlines, there’s a new Topped Salad section. First, choose a salad base: either a Kitchen Salad of Mixed Leaves, Tomato, Cucumber and Spring Onion with a delicious Lime & Chilli Dressing (65 cal); or Summer Salad with Mixed Leaves, Apple, Pumpkin Seeds, Cabbage, Onion, Parsley & Lemon Dressing (145 cal). Then choose either Grilled Chicken Breast (£5.50, 160 cal), Chicken & Chorizo Skewers (£7, 450 cal), or the vegetarian option of Grilled Halloumi (£6, 310 cal). The lime & chilli dressing is particularly memorable and the freshly cooked chicken offers a tasty, healthy option for those counting the calories.
New on the Sandwich & Drink menu is the Chicken, Chorizo & Tomato Flatbread (£5.45), (chips are £1 extra). This delicious chicken, with a tasty blend of chorizo and tomato, is my favourite new dish and the price includes a pint of Guinness, cider, lager or soft drinks.
Charles Street Burgers are excellent value starting with a Classic Burger & Chips (£5.95). New is the Great Balls of Fire Burger (£8.25), a classic 6oz burger topped with crispy Chipotle Pork Balls, Extra Hot Sauce, Salad, Gherkin and Chips. The sauce is served on the side so taste it first - it’s very spicy! If you like spicy food you’ll love this.
The Pizza menu has been expanded with a good selection of 12” pizzas. For a healthier option try Pizzas Light, a half-size pizza with a Kitchen Salad and dressing on the side, available for all pizzas except the new top of the range Onion Ring Tower of Pizza (£7.75) with fresh Chicken, Red Pepper, Pepperoni, Jalapeños and a Six Onion Ring tower. It’s great value and the delicious house Tomato Sauce gives any Italian Pizza restaurant a run for its money. Pizzas start at £6.95 or £5.95 for Pizza Light and are 2-4-1 all day Tuesday.
New to the Chicken menu is Rooster-Booster (£8.45), a HUGE serving of half a BBQ Chicken, three Chicken Wings, three Buttermilk Fried
) The Marine Tavern is the latest venue in the village to offer Sunday Lunch. Small but perfectly formed, you can eat at the bar or at the tables to the rear where 16 people can be comfortably seated. Bee is the chef in the upstairs kitchen, ably assistedby Joe who cuts a fine figure in his chef’s whites.
All food is fresh and cooked to order with a choice of Lamb, Beef, Chicken or Nut Roast for the main (£5.95 or £10 for two people). You can choose two meats for an extra £1 per head. Amazing value!
I had thick slices of roast beef, tender and tasty, with Carrots, Broccoli, Leeks, Mashed Potatoes, wonderful crisp Roast Potatoes and Yorkshire Pudding. Make sure you try the Cheese Sauce which is served in a little pot on the side. I thought it was horseradish
Chicken Strips, Coleslaw, Chips and served with Cattlemen's Carolina Tangy Gold BBQ Sauce. The freshly cooked chicken is moist and tasty and the sauce is exclusive to the group who own Charles Street. Highly recommended. New on the Favourites menu is Chicken Katsu Curry (£5.75); Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips with Rice, Katsu Curry Sauce and a Summer Salad Garnish. If you like Katsu curry sauce it’s well worth trying. If you don't, best steer clear as Katsu is an acquired taste.
If you just want a quick snack, new on the Starter & Sides menu are the Crispy Chipotle Pork Balls (£3.75). They are moist, tasty with a lingering after kick. Make sure you try the Tabasco Sweet Chipotle and Cola Sauce which is served on the side.
Finally after tasting all the above I left a little room for the Salted Caramel Chocolate Slice (£4.15). In my humble opinion the best pudding Charles Street have ever offered on their dessert menu and most importantly it’s available daily on the 2-4-1 Desserts deal
and didn’t try it till my mistake was pointed out. It was lovely and perfectly complemented the vegetables. Everything was cooked to perfection,the beef wasn’t overcooked and the vegetables weren’t too soft, though personally I prefer my Yorkshire Puddings a little crisper.
The main course took just 10 minutes from placing my order, giving me time to try the Salmon & Haddock Fish Cakes which were moist and very fishy, just as they should be! All starters are £3.95, other choices on offer included Deep-fried Brie and Soup.
Desserts from £2.95 include Cheesecake, Fruit Salad, Pavlova and ice cream.
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Don't miss Stone & Street, a Brighton-based vocal and guitar duo, on Friday (12) from 9.30pm
Stone & Street say: “We create a fun party atmosphere by making people feel like they are on holiday. We play anything ranging from swing, soul, Motown, disco and current chart hits.
“The A-Bar is a great venue with a receptive audience that enjoys a fun night in a bar with a fabulous sea view and tasteful décor. Get your weekend off to a good start by visiting this great venue with one of the south coast’s most popular acts and staff that will make sure you leave with a smile on your face.”
Information is correct at the time of going to press. Gscene cannot be held responsible for any changes or alterations to the listings
MONDAY 1
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY After Work Showbiz Quiz 6.30pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Glitter Ball 10pm
l CHARLES STREET Studio 150 10pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Monday Madness 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Mon Madness 8pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
TUESDAY 2
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Trollied-Dollies
Airport Night: DJ Lewis Osborne 6pm
l BAR REVENGE RuPaul’s Drag Race
Screening with Lydia L’Scabies 8pm; Karaoke with Liz 9pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l GROSVENOR BAR Colin’s Quiz 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Retro Quiz 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Davina Sparkle’s Big Fat Quiz 9pm
l REVENGE Dropout: DJ Trick 11pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
WEDNESDAY 3
l A-BAR Piano Bar: Maria Dunn 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG Diva Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 23.30pm
l CHARLES STREET Drag With No Name hosts the Quiz With No Name 9pm
l LEGENDS BAR Lola & Dave’s Midweek Menopause 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Boudoir: trans* night 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS An Audience with Sally Vate 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Fag Machine: alt night 9pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
THURSDAY 4
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Chaos with Cozmo: games, tunes & karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Tabitha & friends 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Throwback Thur 9pm
BAR BROADWAY
) 10 Steine Street, BN2 1TE, Tel: 01273 609777, www.barbroadway.co.uk ) OPEN Sun-Thur 4pm-1am; Fri & Sat 4pm-3am
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Fancy a spot of stand-up? Then head upstairs to the Gods, Bar Broadway's theatre, for the new monthly comedy night, GIGGLE @ THE GODS, hosted by comedian Charmaine Davies on Sat (27) from 9.30pm. Charmaine is joined by some real talent, including: headline act Jim Grant and guests Ben Carter, Dan Fardell, James McDonnell, Jo Public and Ade Foiadelli (line-up subject to change). There’s a different line-up every month and it’s just £3 for this great night of fun and laughter. The show starts late which means you can go for dinner or drinks first then round off your evening with a great night of hilarious comedy!
Charmaine says: ‘I've been doing stand-up for about five years and fell into it quite by accident. I'd been mainly been acting before and had I'd done a few films and TV shows in America. When I came back to the UK someone told me to try stand up comedy which I thought was madness but I thought I'd give a shot. Shortly after I ended up opening for Jo Brand in the West End and I've never looked back.
“Giggle @ the Gods is set in a lovely theatre above a fabulous bar. I really can't wait for the first night - I'm super excited! There is a fantastic comedy scene in Brighton, it's very exciting and I love being part of it. There are a lot of excellent comedians from Brighton too, who will also be making appearances at Giggle @ the Gods over the coming months.
“If you want a great night out and love comedy, then don't miss Giggle @ the Gods at the Gods. And as it doesn't start until 9.30pm you don't have to rush your dinner! Come and support live comedy, as laughter after all is the best medicine.’
l BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST Mad Cow’s Tea Party: Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lee Jeffery & Ruby Roo 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback Thurs 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Fleur de Paris 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Don’t Miss Jason 9.30pm
l REVENGE FOMO: DJs 11pm
l SUBLINE Leathered 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Big Cash Quiz 7.30pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
FRIDAY 5
l A-BAR Gio’s Soul Sessions 9.30pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up: DJs 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Glitter:
DJs Claire Fuller & Peter Castle 11pm
l BOUTIQUE i-Candy: DJ Glitch 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Big Gay Disco 10pm; cabaret: Dave Lynn + DJ Grant 12am
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST Fruity Friday Fix: DJ Leeroy 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Funky Friday: DJ Nick Hirst 9.30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Sonia Marmite’s karaoke 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Jukebox Disco 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE DJ Havoxx 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Cabaret: Kara Van Park 6pm & 9.30pm
l REVENGE GOT pres Clique on level 2;
Pop Tartz on level 1 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Steam 9pm
l ZONE live music: Stone & Street 9.30pm
SATURDAY 6
l A-BAR Sanfrandisco: DJ Mick Fuller & guest DJ Seamus Haji 8.30pm
) OPEN Daily 10am–11pm Event details at www.theboilerroomsauna.com
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Don’t miss T-GIRLS, a discreet and friendly evening for trans girls and their admirers, on Fri (26) from 11.30pm. There’s a licensed bar until 3am with a good selection of wines, ciders, beers and spirit/mixers at £3 each and cider at £3.50. If you’re feeling peckish, the kitchen is open all night long. The door fee for girls is £15, and £18 for admirers. Admirers are encouraged to wear a towel and if they wish to remain dressed, that is an option.
Owner Adam Bailey says: “There is very little in Brighton at the moment for T-Girls, apart from the girls getting together and going out on the town, meeting at home, and Trans Pride, which, of course, is only once a year.
“We appreciate that T-Girls are diverse being gay, bi, or straight so we provide a venue that’s very open to whoever comes along. We also realise that some married men like to dress up and bring their wives along which is obviously fine with us. The spa, sauna and steam room are also still fully available, unlike other saunas that run similar evenings, as we appreciate that the men may wish to use them while here, in between other activities.
“T-Girls should be a huge hit and we’re looking forward to seeing how it goes, and keeping it going too!”
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion:
DJ Peter Castle 11pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l BOUTIQUE se-XXY: DJ Klipz 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ V John + karaoke 10pm;
DJ Lil Alex 3am
l CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: DJs
Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Saturday: DJ Tony
B 9pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Cabaret: Sally Vate
9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR pre-club DJs 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Marine Late: DJ Little
Rob, 80s/Hi-NRG night 11.30pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
) OPEN Sun, Tue & Wed 6pm–12.30am, Thur–Sat 6pm–2.30am
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Come fly with Bar 7 at TROLLIED-DOLLIES
TUESDAYS from 6pm. As the nearest town to Gatwick Airport, Crawley is the perfect place for cabin crew and trolly-dollies to let their hair down after a longhaul flight. Working the aisles are tarts with carts serving shots, while resident DJ Captain Lewis Osborne plays an in-flight musical menu of cheese/ pop/chart/r&b/ crowd pleasers/house and deep house. It’s free entry all night and drink offers include house spirits & mixers for £2.50 and pitchers for £7.50, so have your boarding cards ready please!
& Patch on level 1; R-Haus: DJs on level 2 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Holophonic
Sounds: DJ Bagpuss 7pm
l ZONE Cabaret: Vicky Vivacious 9.30pm
SUNDAY 7
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm; roasts 12-8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Karaoke 7.30pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions: Lascel Wood 8.30pm
) OPEN Mon–Wed 11–2am; Thur 11–3am; Fri 11–7am; Sat 11–8am; Sun 11–3am. Open for 87 hours non-stop over the two Bank Holiday weekends: from Fri (1)–Mon (4) and Fri (22)–Mon (25).
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Friday just got a bit sweeter with i-CANDY from 10pm, a night with DJ Glitch mixing up the hottest new hip-hop/house/dancehall & aphrobeat tracks, plus generous giveaways in one of the coolest atmospheres in town. Glitch, a producer/DJ from Brighton and based in London, was taught by his dad to DJ at 9 years old and has always loved music. Glitch is a versatile DJ used to playing to all types of crowds round the UK, and is a specialist in up to date hip-hop and r&b, and depending on the crowd he likes to mix it up a bit with other genres including chart/house/dancehall/afrobeat/drum & bass/indie. Well established on the urban music scene he has recently emerged from behind the decks to perform live with his main artist, Ceezlin, on various stages across the country, including Wireless Festival. Catch Glitch showing off his versatile DJ skills at i-Candy every Friday.
To really get that summer vibe going, Boutique have not one, but two roof terraces open seven days a week, 1pm–close. Bask in the sun with 2-4-1 cocktails flowing from the new Funky Freeze Cocktail Menu, served all day everyday, and pick up five jagerbombs for just £5! Becky, Boutique marketing manager, says: “Boutique's second new astro sun terrace is perfect for soaking up the sun whilst sipping on our 2 for 1 cocktails, listening to your favourite tracks played by the most sought over DJs in the country whilst being waited on hand and foot by our beautiful Boutique bunnies and hunks! Be BOUTIQUE!”
l BAR BROADWAY After Work Showbiz Quiz 6.30pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Glitter Ball 10pm
l CHARLES STREET Studio 150 10pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Monday Madness 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Mon Madness 8pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
TUESDAY 9
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Trollied-Dollies Airport Night: DJ Lewis Osborne 6pm
l BAR REVENGE RuPaul’s Drag Race
Screening with Lydia L’Scabies 8pm; Karaoke with Liz 9pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l GROSVENOR BAR Colin’s Quiz 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Retro Quiz 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Davina Sparkle’s Big Fat Quiz 9pm
l REVENGE Drop Out: DJ Trick 11pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
WEDNESDAY 10
l A-BAR Piano Bar: Maria Dunn 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG Diva Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 23.30pm
l CHARLES STREET Drag With No Name hosts the Quiz With No Name 9pm
l LEGENDS BAR Lola & Dave’s Midweek Menopause 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Boudoir: trans* night 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS An Audience with Sally Vate 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Fag Machine: alt night 9pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
THURSDAY 11
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Tabitha & friends 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Throwback Thur 9pm
l BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant 11pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Kick-start your weekend with powerhouse vocalist Jennie Castell who takes to the Bulldog’s cabaret stage on Fri (26) at midnight. The versatile singer, who wears her heart on her sleeve and has been working on stages across the country for the past 15 years, will perform an up-tempo set with great vocals, off the cuff humour and just a little bit of cheekiness! Jennie is just one of the acts in June performing upstairs alongside DJ Marcia in the Bulldog’s spacious cabaret bar, which hosts top-flight cabaret every Friday at midnight. Every drink is £1.99 from 9–11pm and following the glittering show, head downstairs to hear some cracking tunes from resident DJ Grant, who’ll keep you on your feet till 7am
Jennie says: “I got onto the circuit after being inspired by a soul singer who regularly worked the South East music scene. Essentially, I owned my PA system before I had a driving licence and relied on family and friends to drive me to gigs... Suddenly the pressure was on to pass the test!
“At the Bulldog I like to give an up-tempo performance with music from the likes of Avicii, David Guetta and perhaps Ella Henderson. But I'm equally at home belting out a power ballad or two! The Bulldog is a fun, lively gig with a friendly, appreciative crowd. The faces I see there smile easily which is a blessing in this job as you can imagine! I sincerely appreciate the gay community's support and enthusiasm shown to me on so many occasions. I've made some incredible friendships and I cherish them!”
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST Mad Cow’s Tea Party: Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lee Jeffery & Ruby Roo 9pm
) FOOD Mon–Fri 12–3pm & 6–9pm; Sat 12–9pm; Sunday roast & select menu 12pm–till gone; seniors' lunch Wed 2–3.30pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Celebrate this year’s Brighton Bear Weekender (BBWE) at the Camelford Arms, who have a full calendar of events to keep all you Bears happy! On Thur (18) get an early start to the BBWE with the Bear-themed fundraising QUIZ NIGHT with extra GRRR from 9pm with the bar open till midnight. Entry is £2 per person so team up for a chance to win a terrific prize and be sure to arrive early to get a table! 100% of the entry fee is donated to the Rainbow Fund via the BBWE as is 100% of the special raffle on the night. In addition, any prize that is won that night, including the £300 jackpot, is being donated by the Camelford Arms.
From Fri (19)–Sun (21) the Camelford are offering a 10% discount on selected drinks for those wearing the BBWE wristband.
For early risers, Sat (20) is Breakfast Bears from 10.30am-noon with Bear-sized full cooked English breakfasts for £9.90 each. Booking for this is advisable by contacting the pub directly.
On Sun (21) Bears then have the opportunity of sampling the Camelford’s awardwinning Sunday Lunch with all the trimmings after which the party will continue into the evening, including the drawing some of the BBWE raffle prizes.
Mark Flood, manager and host, says: “There’s always a great atmosphere for this quiz and early arrival is recommended to secure a table. BBWE has many events over the weekend and all venues, including the Camelford, will have a real party atmosphere. As the only recognised Bear venue in Brighton, the Camelford looks forward to welcoming all visitors and making sure their BBWE experience is a memorable one.”
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion:
DJ Little Rob 11pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l BOUTIQUE se-XXY Roof-Terrace Party: DJ Glitch 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ V John + karaoke 10pm;
DJ Lil Alex 3am
l CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: DJs
Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Saturday: DJ Tony
B 9.30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Cabaret: Krissie Du
Cann 9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJs 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Disco 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s
Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Cabaret: Baga Chipz 9.30pm
l REVENGE Sweet Revenge: DJs Missy B & Patch on level 1; R-Haus: DJs on level 2 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Holophonic Sounds: DJ Bagpuss 7pm
l ZONE Cabaret: Sally Vate 9.30pm
SUNDAY 14
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm; roasts 12-8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Karaoke 7.30pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions: Jason Lee 8.30pm
) OPEN daily from 12pm ) FOOD Mon–Sat 12–8pm; Sunday roasts served 12–7pm, £6.95.
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Wish Drag Idol winner Martha D’Arthur happy birthday at an extra special show on Sun (14) at 7.30pm with 50% off all drinks right after the cabaret! Instead of the usual Jukebox Drag, Martha is doing her story so far with songs that mean something to her, which will of course include plenty of show tunes!
Martha says: “I love singing with a passion and the songs I choose are the kind that get you on the dance floor at a wedding or heartily singing a long. My favourite crowds are the sing-along ones as then you know everyone is having a good time. Charles Street is always a joy. It's the closest thing to performing on a theatre stage that you can get in a cabaret bar. Chris and his team always look after us, and Rupert in the DJ box is a sweetheart. And Sundays at Charles Street wouldn't be the same without my fellow roast dinner eating sister and good chum Sally Vate. I'm roping her into a duet or two for my birthday show! I'm an old-fashioned good time girl, I like a tipple and a sing a long. You'll never catch me picking on anyone. Myra Dubois calls me easy listening hospital radio, and I quite like that. Sit back, hum along and enjoy... That's my style!’
) ONE FOR THE DIARY COME TO DADDY returns to Envy for the Brighton Bear Weekender 2015 on Fri (19) at 10.30pm for a fantastic evening of sexy guys, great tunes courtesy of DJ OhMG (10.30pm–12.30am) and BBWE legend
DJ Bozzybear till the wee hours! There’ll be nibbles and drinks from £2. Entry is £5 with a BBW wristband, £7 without, £1 from each entry goes to the Rainbow Fund
DJ Bozzybear says: “Come to Daddy grows bigger every year and creates a hairy beary atmosphere with a chance to catch up with familiar faces and to welcome new ones. I’ll be playing familiar tunes and some great remixes from the 1980s/90s. You can all ways rescue a dance floor with Robyn's Show Me Love or classic Erasure track Respect. If you haven't been to a Come To Daddy you can expect a great night out with the BBWE team plus you’ll have fun while raising money for the Rainbow Fund at the same time. T-Shirts and wristbands are still available at: brightonbearweekender.co.uk”
l BULLDOG DJ Grant 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, Free Food & Raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST Cabaret: Martha D’Arthur’s Birthday Show 7.30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate 8.30pm: roasts 12–7pm
l LEGENDS BAR Cabaret: TBC 3.30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 126pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Double Cabaret: Davina Sparkle 6pm & 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Guilty Pleasures: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS The Jazz Roast 3pm; Sunday roasts 1-6pm
) OPEN Mon–Thur 3pm–midnight; Fri & Sat 1pm–2am; Sun 1pm–midnight
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Dr Brighton’s use only the freshest of ingredients to mix up their great selection of cocktails, and the best thing is they’re BOGOF every Sun–Fri all day and Sat 1–7pm. Get into that summer spirit with a Tequila Sunrise, a juicy concoction of silver tequila and orange juice with a drizzle of grenadine, topped with a slice of orange and a cherry. Or why not take the heat off with a refreshing Long Island Iced Tea, a mix of vodka, tequila, gin, Bacardi rum, triple sec, sugar syrup, fresh lime and Pepsi.
Don’t let the night flag with a frisky Sex on the Beach, a heady mix of vodka, peach Schnapps, crème de cassis, orange and cranberry juice; then put your lips around a Black Russian, served with Kahlua, vodka and Pepsi.
Charles Child, Doctor Brighton’s owner, says: “With such a great selection of cocktails we guarantee you’ll find one you love. We always use the freshest ingredients so let us mix up a treat for you in our newly renovated bar!”
l MARINE TAVERN Mon Madness 8pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
TUESDAY 16
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Trollied-Dollies Airport Night: DJ Lewis Osborne 6pm
l BAR REVENGE RuPaul’s Drag Race Screening with Lydia L’Scabies 8pm; Karaoke with Liz 9pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l GROSVENOR BAR Colin’s Quiz 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Retro Quiz 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Davina Sparkle’s Big Fat Quiz 9pm
l REVENGE Drop Out: DJ Trick 11pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
WEDNESDAY 17
l A-BAR Piano Bar: Maria Dunn 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG Diva Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 23.30pm
l CHARLES STREET Drag With No Name hosts the Quiz With No Name 9pm
l LEGENDS BAR Lola & Dave’s Midweek
Menopause 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Boudoir: trans* night 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS An Audience with Sally
JUNE LISTINGS
GROSVENOR
) 16 Western Street, Hove, BN1 2PG, www.thegrosvenorbar.com
) OPEN daily from noon–late
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Raise the roof and shatter those windows at Sonia Marmite’s new KARAOKE SHOW every Fri from 9pm. Just like Marimite, you’ll either love or hate Sonia, the hostess with the mostess, encouraging even the most tone deaf of you to give it a go!
Sonia says: “My singing isn’t as good as my gowns, so you’ll hear me singing, or killing, many camp and cheesy songs. It's funny as people think ‘is Sonia really that bad?’ and the answer is ‘Yes’!
“I always encourage people to get up and give it a try and I think that’s why I'm a great host as I know I'm dreadful and it encourages people to get up and sing, good or bad! We also like people to join in the actions when we do The Old Camp Fire and The Court Of King Caractacus! So, come down and see the larger then life Sonia Marmite doing Marmite Karaoke. Don't be shy give us a try!”
Vate 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Fag Machine: alt night 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS TARTE: art, food & music 5pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
THURSDAY 18
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Tabitha & friends 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Throwback Thur 9pm
l BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Bear Weekender Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST Mad Cow’s Tea Party: Ms
Joan Bond, DJs Lee Jeffery & Ruby Roo 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback Thur 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Don’t Miss Jason 9.30pm
l REVENGE FOMO: DJs 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Leathered 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Big Cash Quiz 7.30pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
FRIDAY 19
l A-BAR BBWE cabaret: Miss Terry & guests 9.30pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Glitter: DJs Claire Fuller & Peter Castle 11pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY “Fun, flirtatious and delightfully silly”, The Independent, Topping and Butch are the outrageous comedy-duo known for their satirical parodies, naughty numbers and spot-on stand-up, and you can see them perform on the Legends cabaret stage on Sun (7) at 3.30pm. It all started in the 1990s when Joe (Butch) took Michael (Topping) round the leather scene and suggested a new act where they could wear a type of drag not being used on the cabaret circuit – highly risky as the drag scene back then, they say, ‘was all big frocks and sequins’!
Topping & Butch say: “The act itself is a mix of saucy and topical, intelligent and silly, older and younger, northern and southern humour. By rights it should just be a mess but it’s all tightly held together with rubber and leather.
“What do we both bring? Topping brings the tea and Butch brings the biscuits! Actually, comparative youth, energy and intellect, and good old-fashioned camp – you can work out which is which on that one – we don’t mind. We’ve fused together so much over the last five years, we’re not sure where one ends and the other begins. That is to say, Butch writes a lot of Topping’s lines and Topping will often try to make Butch say something too.
“Performing at Legends is stunning! There are various venues you look forward to playing and Legends is one of a handful along the south coast that we specifically write material for because the crowd aren’t just raucous – they have a sensibility that means you can do lots of types of comedy – whatever angle you take, they’ll get it –they’re looking for it – they WANT IT!”
l BOILER ROOM T-Girls & Admirers
11.30pm
l BOUTIQUE i-Candy: DJ Glitch 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Big Gay Disco 10pm; cabaret: Davina Sparkle + DJ Grant 12am
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST Fruity Friday Fix: DJ Leeroy 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Funky Fri: DJ Nick Hirst
9.30pm
l ENVY BBWE: Come to Daddy: DJs OhMG & Bozzybear, Rainbow Fund fundraiser 10.30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Sonia Marmite’s karaoke 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Jukebox Disco 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Cabaret: TBA 6pm & 9.30pm
l REVENGE The Powder Room pres RuPaul’s Drag Race star ‘Max’ + host Meth & support from HOGP on level 2 8pm; Pop Tartz on level 1
10.30pm
l SUBLINE BBWE: Fuzzy Warmup 9pm
l ZONE live music: Collusion 9.30pm
SATURDAY 20
l A-BAR Sanfrandisco: DJ Mick Fuller 8.30pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS BBWE: Bear Shaft 8pm
l BOUTIQUE se-XXY Summer Ball: DJ Klipz 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ V John + karaoke 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Weekender
Breakfast 10.30am; Bear Party 4pm
l CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: DJs Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy 9pm
) OPEN Wed & Fri–Sun from 11pm. Free entry to the club every day
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Head downstairs to the unique, sexy, gorgeous subterranean nightclub to sparkle up your Friday night with brand new club night GLITTER featuring superstar DJs Claire Fuller and Peter Castle spinning the best disco/dance/camp tunes till 4am. As with every club night ‘in the Basement’, Glitter features two of the scene’s best DJs including Golden Handbag Award-Winning DJ Claire, who has 20 years of experience behind the decks playing most genres of music, although she says her main love is ‘commercial dance/chart remixes and mash ups’. Not only does she know how to read a crowd and get that ‘hands in the air’ party vibe going, but she’s very approachable, fun and friendly.
Drinks promos at Glitter include £1.50 shots and as ever there’s free entry on the door.
DJ Claire says: “It's the perfect way to start your weekend with a mix of disco, dance and camp tunes being played until 4am with free entry. This night puts the fun into Friday and let’s be honest... everyone needs a sprinkle of GLITTER in their life!”
Legends Basement Club is situated beneath the tranquil settings of the bar and is full to the brim of gorgeous guys and ladies of all ages and scenes. Take shade from the sun terrace upstairs and saunter down to the nightclub on the floor below where the style and layout is perfect for any social circle. Soak up the hedonistic atmosphere without breaking the bank, as there are many fantastic drink deals to wrap your lips around!
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Cabaret: Miss Jason 9.30pm
l REVENGE Sweet Revenge: DJs Missy B & Patch on level 1; R-Haus: DJs on level 2 10.30pm
l SUBLINE BBWE: Grunt: DJ Bozzybear, Rainbow Fund fundraiser 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Holophonic Sounds: DJ Bagpuss 7pm
l ZONE Cabaret: Baga Chipz 9.30pm
SUNDAY 21
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm; roasts 12-8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Karaoke 7.30pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions: Voice of Broadway winner Jason Thorpe
8.30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Funday: Micklos
hosts giant board games & karaoke 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG DJ Grant 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Weekender
Bear Bash, Free Food & Raffle 5pm; Father’s
Day & Bear Weekender roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST Cabaret: Mrs Moore
7.30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate 8.30pm: roasts 12–7pm
l LEGENDS BAR BBWE Cabaret: Drag With No Name & Mysterry 3pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 12-6pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Double Cabaret: Kara Van Park 6pm; Miss Jason 9.30pm
l SUBLINE BBWE: Bare Bears underwear night, Rainbow Fund fundraiser 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS The Jazz Roast 3pm; Sunday roasts 1-6pm
) OPEN daily from 12pm–1am. Open till 3.30am on Sat (6).
) FOOD daily from 12-9pm; Sunday roasts served 12–6pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY First Saturday (6) of the month is the SATURDAY DISCO from 9pm MARINE LATE from 1am-3.30am. If you're looking for a bit of nostalgia on your next night out then give Marine Late, at the Marine Tavern a try. Remember those far off days when the windows in gay venues were blacked out and you had to knock on the front door to get into many bars? Well, on the first Saturday of every month the Marine Tavern takes you back to those fun times again. At 1am the windows are black out, the atmosphere changes and the mood becomes more relaxed. DJ Little Rob sets the tone with his set of carefully chosen 80s classics. Most importantly the music is not too loud and you can comfortably chat, unless, you have something in your mouth stopping you. Who’s on look out for the pigs!
TUESDAY 23
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Trollied-Dollies Airport Night: DJ Lewis Osborne 6pm
l BAR REVENGE RuPaul’s Drag Race screening with Lydia L’Scabies 8pm; Karaoke with Liz 9pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l GROSVENOR BAR Colin’s Quiz 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Retro Quiz 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Davina Sparkle’s Big Fat Quiz 9pm
l REVENGE Drop Out: DJ Trick 11pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
WEDNESDAY 24
l A-BAR Piano Bar: Maria Dunn 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG Diva Rush: DJ Marcia 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 23.30pm
l CHARLES STREET Drag With No Name hosts the Quiz With No Name 9pm
l LEGENDS BAR Lola & Dave’s Midweek
PARIS HOUSE
Menopause 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Boudoir: trans* night 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS An Audience with Sally Vate 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Fag Machine: alt night 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Acoustic Session 8pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
THURSDAY 25
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Tabitha & friends 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Throwback Thur 9pm
l BULLDOG Release: DJ Grant 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST Mad Cow’s Tea Party: Ms Joan Bond, DJs Lee Jeffery & Ruby Roo 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback Thur 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Don’t Miss Jason 9.30pm
l REVENGE FOMO: DJs 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Leathered 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Big Cash Quiz 7.30pm
) 21 Western Rd, BN3 1AF, Tel: 01273 724195, www.parishousebrighton.com
) OPEN daily from 12pm
) FOOD daily from 12pm–close
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Sun (7) live music from 6pm with Area Code 273 performing Tex-Mex, Cajun, blues & bluegrass, free entry.
) REGULARS Thur (4) live music at 8pm with Fleur de Paris (1930s-50s chansons) free. ) Fri DJs at 9pm (5) Havoxx (Motown/funk/r&b/Mento); (12 & 26) Funk Food (funk & soul). ) Sat live jazz at 4pm; TC's Joyful Noise with DJ Kenny at 9pm, free.
QUEENS ARMS
) 7 George St, BN2 1RH, Tel: 01273 696873, www.thequeensarms.wix.com/thequeensarms
) OPEN 4pm Tue–Fri; 2pmSat & Sun; Bank Holidays Mon (4 & 25). Closed Tue (5) & (26).
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Eyes down for the outrageous DAVINA SPARKLE’S BIG FAT QUIZ night every Tuesday at 9pm with lots of laughs, friendly atmosphere and a bit of cabaret thrown in for good measure! Get a team together (max of 6 people, £2 per person to enter) for five rounds of questions that will really test your grey matter! There’ll be fab prizes, including a crate of beer, bubbly for the runners up and even consolation prizes for the losing team. Anyone who has ever met her will know that Davina has 'show business' running through her veins and has been a professional drag queen comedian working on the cabaret circuit for over 15 years.
Davina's costumes can be outrageous or glamorous and she’s recently insured her legs for one million pounds! A professional comedic entertainer Davina, whose act is completely live with adult humour, patter and song, has experienced all forms of entertainment from a drag bingo host to being a drag performer for gay pubs, mixed cabaret and in Brighton’s Alternative Pantomime. Her different cabaret shows have taken her abroad entertaining in Thailand, the USA as well as Cyprus and Gran Canaria. She he has also entertained in the Bondi and Cafe Royale Hotels in Pattaya, Thailand and the fabulous Balcony night club in Bangkok, where she is an avid fundraiser for the Thais for Life Jing Jai Orphanage and appears on the main stage at Brighton Pride every year. Originally from Hertfordshire, Davina started out as the host and compare on a weekly quiz show, so you could say she’s come full circle!
Davina says: “There is fun and laughs, a bit of cabaret and great prizes! Plus, there’s seating for everyone, a special Jack, King, Queen round for extra bonus points and sandwiches too! I really want this to go BIG! Hope to see you there!”
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
FRIDAY 26
l A-BAR live music: Paul Diello 9.30pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Glitter: DJs Claire Fuller & Peter Castle 11pm
l BOILER ROOM T-Girls & Admirers 11.30pm
l BOUTIQUE i-Candy: DJ Glitch 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Big Gay Disco 10pm; cabaret: Jennie Castell, DJ Grant 12am
l REVENGE Fat Lip: DJ Fifi on level 2; Pop Tartz on level 1 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Big Scrum sportskit night 9pm
l ZONE Live music: J.J 9.30pm
SATURDAY 27
l A-BAR Sanfrandisco: DJ Mick Fuller 8.30pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJs 10pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm; Giggle
@ The Gods: comedy night 9.30pm
l BAR REVENGE Club warm-up 9.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am; Liberation Swingers private party 11.30pm
l BOUTIQUE se-XXY Ibiza Giveaway Party: DJ Klipz 10pm
l BULLDOG DJ V John + karaoke 10pm; DJ Lil Alex 3am
l CHARLES ST The Boys In The Bar: DJs
Lil Alex, Grant Knowles, Leeroy 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Sexy Saturday: DJ Tony
B 9.30pm
DAVINA SPARKLE
BAR REVENGE
) 32-34 Old Steine, BN1 1EL Tel: 01273 606064, www.revenge.co.uk
) OPEN Sun-Wed 12pm-1am; Thur 12pm-2am; Fri & Sat 12pm-6am
) ONE FOR THE DIARY It’s all fun and games at Bar Revenge at SUNDAY FUNDAY from 7.30pm with scene DJ and Games Master Micklos hosting karaoke and giant games including Twister (if you didn’t get your leg over the night before, you will now!), Snakes & Ladders, Jenga and more, all for completely free! There’ll be cash prizes and free shots & drinks for winners and BOGOF drinks 5–9pm for everyone - perfect Dutch Courage for those getting up and belting out a tune at Micklos’ karaoke.
Micklos says: ““I want people to feel like they’re coming over to my house. Instead of sitting at home on a Sunday, why not do something a bit different at a night of fun and games with BOGOF drinks 5–9pm. I promise that you will leave with a big smile on your face!”
REVENGE
) 32-34 Old Steine, BN1 1EL, Tel: 01273 606064, www.revenge.co.uk
) OPEN Tue from 11pm, Thur, Fri & Sat from 10.30pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY The unique, quirky and brilliant MAX from 7th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race graces the Revenge stage on Friday (19) at 8pm, in her 1st UK performance on tour. Hosted by Meth, Queen of surreal and The Meth Lab, with POWDER ROOM resident trio House Of Grand Parade, and Ellis D, this is one event to carve in your diary! Get tickets online or a limited number at Bar Revenge. Meet & greet tickets include entry to the show and a meet & greet
with MAX, plus a professional photo and glass of bubbly!
Lydia L’Scabies, HOGP, says: “Club Revenge welcomes glamour sensation MAX to the Powder Room stage with House Of Grand Parade, meet and greet the outbreak star! Keep an eye on the Powder Room on Facebook or any of the House Of Grand Parade girls for more updates and insights on what’s to come.”
JUNE LISTINGS
SUBLINE
) 129 St James' St, BN2 1TH, Tel: 01273 624100, www.sublinebrighton.co.uk ) OPEN Wed–Sun from 9pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Subline, BBWE and Leathermen South want to hear you GRUNT this BBWE with a brand new, edgy club night for all you bears on Sat (20) at 10.30pm. The real ‘Grunt’ of the evening will be brought courtesy of BBWE staple and legendary DJ Bozzy Bear, who will be spinning familiar tunes to get you moving, as well as some great remixes from the 1980s/90s till 6am. There’s no real dress code, but if you can, polish up those leathers as the event is with the guys from Leathermen South, who bring together the leathermen of Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Entry is £3 with a BBWE wristband or £5 without. 50% of the entry fee will be donated to the Rainbow Fund
DJ Bozzy Bear says: ‘I started DJing around 1986 with two old secondhand turntables and a Tandy mixer from Maplins. I created mix tapes for friends and did a few pub gigs and acid house rave parties. I later came out in 2009 and an opportunity to DJ in a gay bar in Brighton came up!
“I joined the Bear Weekender team in 2012 and started fundrasing throughout the year, DJing, doing quiz nights and selling our merchandise. What’s great working with BBWE is that we have a great team and we are having fun raising money for the Rainbow Fund at the same time. ‘
l GROSVENOR BAR Cabaret: Pooh La May 9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJs 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Disco 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Cabaret: Myra Dubois 9.30pm
l REVENGE Sweet Revenge: DJs Missy B & Patch on level 1; R-Haus: DJs on level 2 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Holophonic Sounds: DJ Bagpuss 7pm
l ZONE Cabaret: Nancy Clench 9.30pm
SUNDAY 28
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm; roasts 12-8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Karaoke 7.30pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions: Sophie Causbrook 8.30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Funday: Micklos hosts giant board games & karaoke 8.30pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l BULLDOG DJ Grant 10pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, Free Food & Raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu
12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST Cabaret: Lady Imelda
7.30pm; Tranny Rock & Roll Bingo: Sally Vate 8.30pm: roasts 12–7pm
) OPEN Mon–Sat from 12pm, Sun from 1pm. Private function room available.
) FOOD Mon–Fri 12–9pm; Sat 12–8pm; Sunday roasts 1–6pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Sat is HOLOPHONIC SOUNDS with DJ Bagpuss (electro/ exotica & beyond at 7pm, free entry.
) REGULARS Wed (17) monthly night TARTE at 5pm, with art, food and music;
(24) is Acoustic Session at 8pm, a free drink for performers. ) Thur is LET'S GET QUIZZY with £150 cash prize at 7.30pm ) Sun is Jazz Roast at 3pm, free entry.
) ONE FOR THE DIARY Resident drag artiste and ‘drag for all seasons’ Sally Vate brings you camp humour, witty banter and a large selection of songs on Saturday (13) from 9.30pm
Sally says: “The inspiration for Sally came from my mother, the best bricklayer in Yorkshire - a formidable woman indeed! Sally Vate is a good all-round (fat) Northern Girl with the liver of a house brick! Every show is a unique experience; it has to be as I’d get bored before the audience, and that’s why the Zone has been my Brighton home for eight years (Sharon keeps me locked in the cellar!) Don’t just sit there like you’re in church - you are alowed to laugh, clap, even interact, in all the relevant places! So clap, laugh, listen and just enjoy! If you love having a laugh then come and join me, sometimes you need to take a step back and not take life seriously. What better way then seeing a camp cabaret show!’
l LEGENDS BAR Cabaret: La Voix 3.30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 126pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Double Cabaret: Cassidy Connors 6pm & 9.30pm
l SUBLINE Underwear Party: DJ Nude 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS The Jazz Roast 3pm; Sunday roasts 1-6pm
l ZONE Stone & Street + karaoke 6.30pm
MONDAY 29
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY After Work Showbiz Quiz 6.30pm
l BULLDOG DJ Marcia’s Glitter Ball 10pm
l CHARLES STREET Studio 150 10pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Monday
Madness 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Mon Madness 8pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
TUESDAY 30
l A-BAR Karaoke 8pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Trollied-Dollies Airport Night: DJ Lewis Osborne 6pm
l BAR REVENGE RuPaul’s Drag Race Screening with Lydia L’Scabies 8pm; Karaoke with Liz 9pm
l BOILER ROOM Naked Day 10am
l GROSVENOR BAR Colin’s Quiz 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Nat’s Retro Quiz 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Davina Sparkle’s Big Fat Quiz 9pm
l REVENGE Drop Out: DJ Trick 11pm
l ZONE You Say, We Play 10am
SOLENT LISTINGS
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BOULEVARD
1 Hampshire Terrace, Southsea TEL: 2392 297509
l OLD VIC 104 St Paul’s Rd, Southsea TEL: 02392 297013,www.oldvicportsmouth.co.uk
) FOOD served Mon–Sat 12–3pm; Sunday lunch 12–3.30pm
) ONE FOR THE DIARY SUNDAY NIGHT ON THE LONDON PODIUM features Mary Mac at 8pm then cabaret at 9pm: Lucinda Lashes (7), Tanya Hyde guest hosts Miss Jason (14), Topping & Butch (21) and Drag With No Name's 40th Birthday (28).
) REGULARS Fri is FAIRYLEA with DJ Ruby Roo, high camp/pure cheese & cabaret at 9pm: Rose Garden & Miss Penny (5), Tanya Hyde (12), Mrs Moore (19) and the Boy George Experience (26).
) Sat is GUILTY PLEASURES with DJs and cabaret from 8.30pm: Neil Sackley (6), Lucinda Lashes & Eva Iglesias (13), Dazza (20) and Tiny (27).
) Thur is KARAOKE CRUISING with Sally Vate at 9pm
l EDGE Pop!: DJ 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Sally Vate 9pm; food 12-3pm;
FRIDAY 19
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Get Some: DJs 10pm
l LONDON HOTEL Fairylea: DJ Ruby Roo & Mrs Moore 9pm; food 12-3pm
SATURDAY 20
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
l OLD VIC DJs all night
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE The Big One: DJs 10pm
l LONDON HOTEL Guilty Pleasures: DJ Dazza 8.30pm; food 12-3pm
SUNDAY 21
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD karaoke till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Pounded: DJ 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL The London Podium: Mary Mac 8pm; Topping & Butch 9pm; roasts 123.30pm
MONDAY 22
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Pop!: DJ 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm
TUESDAY 23
PORTSMOUTH
l OLD VIC Quiz 8pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE video jukebox 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm
WEDNESDAY 24
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Bar 150: DJs & karaoke 10pm
l LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm
THURSDAY 25
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD karaoke till 2am
l OLD VIC karaoke 8pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Pop!: DJ 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL Karaoke Cruising: Sally Vate 9pm; food 12-3pm
FRIDAY 26
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Get Some: DJs 10pm
l LONDON HOTEL Fairylea: DJ Ruby Roo & Boy George Experience 9pm; food 12-3pm
SATURDAY 27
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 3am
l OLD VIC DJs all night
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE The Big One: DJs 10pm
l LONDON HOTEL Guilty Pleasures: DJ Tiny 8.30pm; food 12-3pm
SUNDAY 28
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD karaoke till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Pounded: DJ 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL The London Podium: Mary Mac 8pm; Drag With No Name’s 40th Birthday 9pm; roasts 12-3.30pm
MONDAY 29
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ till 2am
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Pop!: DJ 11pm l LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm
TUESDAY 30
PORTSMOUTH
l OLD VIC Quiz 8pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE video jukebox 11pm
l LONDON HOTEL food 12-3pm
DANCEMUSIC
BY QUEEN JOSEPHINE & KATE WILDBLOOD
ALBUMS
The beach is calling and Brighton is looking good in the sunshine. Yes June is here and we can’t wait to get our hot wiggle on.
) First up are the divine Balearic beats of José Padilla’s So Many Colours on International Feel. One listen and José delivers the bliss we all seek.
) Also blissfully enchanting are Bluey presents The Steve McQueens' Seamonster on Splash Blue and the amazing ambient pop of Thore Pfeiffer Im Blickfeld on Kompakt. Get acquainted.
) If you need some jazz, techno and Balearic in your life (who doesn’t?) then Man Power’s self-titled album on Correspondant will deliver.
) The diverse sounds of Jorge Savoretti’s Triskelion on Savour Music and the compilation Liste Noir # 2: Darker It Gets, Clearer
We See on La Dame Noir will keep you satisfied all summer.
) As for our wonders of the month? First is the epic Tiefschwarz’s Left on Watergate Records, proving yet again we are not worthy when it comes to these high priests of house.
) Also check out the brilliance of Life On Planets’ Curious Palace on Wolf + Lamb as they get a groove on so good it should illegal.
) Plus the dark but always enlightening beats of Balance presents Fur Coat on Balance and the achingly cool Art Department’s fabric 82 on fabric. With corkers like these in your sound system it’s going to be a glorious summer. Enjoy.
Catch Wildblood & Queenie at Brighton Pride 2015. So many parties, one great cause. perfectdistractions.com
WILDBLOOD & QUEENIE’S JUNE JUMPERS
) RONNIE SPITERI Can't Stop This Kenja Records Arse-moving bassline you won’t want to ever stop
) SEVERINO AND FABER Make Me (Original) Fetch Life is always finer with Seve in the mix
) GREGORY PORTER Liquid Spirit (Claptone Remix) Decca Has summer anthem stamped all over it
) SHAUN J. WRIGHT& Alinka Need Someone Twirl
Another must have sound venture from the Twirly ones
) SEB WILDBLOOD& Apes Noshi / Mortimer Road Skint Can’t think why this local wonder grabbed our attention...
) PBR STREETGANG Move On, Don’t Want Me Toy Tronics Quality grooves from the street gang you have to play with
) DJ JES Check It Out Karlovak
A simple groove that keeps you hooked till dawn
) THE GOLDEN BOY The Promise (Walker & Royce Remix) Eton Messy Oh the sunset fun this is gonna soundtrack
) CHRISTOPHE Tales From The Place Rainbow Socks Dance with Christophe and all will be gorgeous
) CHRISTIAN B& Lavvy Levan Stand Up (DJ Spen RMX) Friday Fox
Feel that bass – and pray for understanding neighbours
DJ PROFILE: JOSH THE BARBER
It’s the start of summer and that can only mean one thing - the bears are back in town. To celebrate all things fuzzy, Queenie catches up with one of the fabulous DJs who’ll be gracing the decks at the Brighton Bear Weekender. Take it away the wonderful Mr Josh Sharples.
DJ name? I’m Josh The Barber, although as I’m not a barber anymore I should be called Josh Was A Barber!!
Where can we catch you DJing? I’ve a massive weekend coming up at the Brighton Bear Weekender (Fri 19-Sun 21). I’ll be at Bearshaft, Legends Basement Club and later at GRRR!!, Latest Music Bar (both Sat 21). I also play lots of private parties like the Zanzibar Reunion at Neighbourhood in July.
DJ style? I love different genres of music, from disco and northern soul to club classics! I especially love dirty, deep and funky house though.
Favourite tune ever? There are so many! I love Shawn Christopher’s Make My Love. It reminds me of fun times and close friends and gives me goose-bumps. If a tune gives you goose-bumps it must be good.
Tune that always fills your dancefloor? Again there are lots, but I’ll settle for Insomnia by Faithless.
Ultimate dream gig? When everyone is really enjoying the music you can feel the energy and it’s electric whatever the venue size, huge or underground and tiny!
Tune you wish you’d never played? At a friend’s wedding I meant to play Stevie Wonder’s Once In Your Life as the first tune of the evening –the perfect start to a wedding disco. I’d had a late night and wasn’t firing on all cylinders and played Superstition instead. Not the best start to a couple’s happiest night of celebrations!
Guilty pleasure? Loads! But I’ll go for Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman (a real classic).
Best ever gig? My best ever gig is split between the early days of GBH at Storm, a small underground venue where the atmosphere, music and people made it fantastic and the Men’s Tent at Brighton Pride a few years ago. The atmosphere, the weather and everyone was up for a great time… (goose-bumps again!!)
Tell us a secret? I danced with Kylie at a club in the late-nineties (well it looked like her ha ha).
CURRENT TOP FIVE
) PHUNKUNIQUE This Is My House (Hot Steam mix) Red Eleven
) VICTOR PEREZ Yas Celeda Samba Baccanali (Ibiza Mix) Electroscene
) DJ PP Vlada Asanin Counter (Jerome Robins remix) Rockit
) MORSY Love Keeps Lifting Me Up (Bronx Underground Mix) AR/UK
) SNBRN feat Kaleena Zanders California (Chris Lake remix) Rising
ARTS
BY MICHAEL HOOTMAN
BRIGHTON CENTRE
Kings Rd, Brighton, Box office: 0844 847 1515
) THE BEACH BOYS (Wed 3). The legendary band plays hits such as Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Good Vibrations and Kokomo
) THE MOODY BLUES: TIMELESS FLIGHT TOUR (Mon 8). A legendary band with an enviable repertoire and reputation, The Moody Blues remain one of the top-grossing album and touring bands in existence.
BAR BROADWAY
10 Steine Street, Brighton
) GIGGLE @ THE GODS (9.30pm, Sat 27). Head upstairs at Bar Broadway for some hilarious late night stand-up comedy, hosted by Charmaine Davies with headliner Jim Grant plus Ben Carter, Dan Fardell, James McDonnell, Jo Public and Ade Foiadelli (line-up subject to change) £3.
BALLETBOYZ
Theatre Royal, New Rd, Brighton Box office: 08448 717650 ) BALLETBOYZ: THE TALENT (Mon 1). Under the direction of former Royal Ballet dancers, Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE, theTalent has become one of the hottest dance tickets. This show features two new commissions from leading British choreographers, The Murmuring by Alexander Whitley and Mesmerics by Christopher Wheeldon. Performed by the all-male cast of 10 dancers, theTalent promises an evening of style, excitement and muscular grace. ‘A wonderfully bonded ensemble who move with passion and presence’ The Times.
(Tue 9). Back to when we were told as queer youth that it was supposed to “get better”. What they forgot to tell us is that gay rights are often only for gay whites! Join DarkMatter for a night of poetry, polemic, and healing as we critique but also imagine new queer futures. DarkMatter is trans South Asian performance art duo Alok Vaid-Menon and Janani Balasubramanian who are based in New York City, known for their quirky aesthetic and political panache. Show followed by a Q&A.
DIABLO
Bee's Mouth, 10 Western Rd, Hove ) FROCKABILLYpresents DIABLO (9pm-2am, Sat 6). Join DJ Lonesome M (Frockabilly/Honey Hush/Dixie Fried) for a night of devilishly good rockabilly! Expect to hear throat-tearin', footstompin', rockabilly & rockin' blues
played at a pleasantly loud volume... Free entry, wear what you like, dance how you like, kiss who you like. You can also hear Lonesome M on Radio Reverb's weekly Frockabilly Radio Show.
EMPORIUM
88 London Road, Brighton thelittleboxoffice.com/emporium ) THE SPACE (Thu 4). This event welcomes James Bond film director and editor John Glen (Octopussy, A View to a Kill) and acclaimed singer/songwriter Badly Drawn Boy to chat with host, Lisa Holloway
) SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Tue 9–Sun 21). The classic MGM musical about Hollywood in the 1920s when silent pictures were giving way to the talkies. This lighthearted spoof of frantic Hollywood, as the advent of sound changes all the movie-making rules and Monumental Studios prepares its romantic epic The Dueling Cavalier, includes some of the best-loved comedy routines, dance numbers and ballads ever written including Good Morning, Make ‘em Laugh, Moses Supposes and classic title song.
FRIDA FRIDAYS
Bandstand, Brighton Seafront ) FRIDA FRIDAYS (7.30pm, Fri 19). Join Frida Fridays for a wonderful summer evening for queer women at the Bandstand on Brighton seafront where there will be lots of women to meet and mingle with, plus a performance from Hannah Rose Tristram with her accordion and folk full voice to serenade the slowly setting sun.
HAND IN HAND
The Dome, New Road, Brighton Box office: 01273 709709 ) HAND IN HAND 2015 (Sat 13). The Rainbow Chorus and Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus are delighted to be organising this unique concert – bringing together the best LGBT choirs from all over the UK and Ireland in musical harmony. Tickets are £10/£14/£17. The concert is part of the HAND IN HANDUK & Ireland LGBT Choir Festival, (Fri 12–Sun 14) bringing together LGBT choirs from all over the UK and Ireland to sing, socialise and celebrate, whilst helping raise funds for local charities, including Sussex Beacon and Lunch Positive.
HOUNDS OF LIVE
The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove Box office: 01273 201801 ) KATE BUSH’S HOUNDS OF LIVE (Sat 13–Sun 14). Singer Lisa Abbott and a 10-piece band perform Kate Bush’s magnum opus Hounds of Love in its entirety, and some other choice Kate faves too.
) TRANS ONLY writing workshop led by Dean Atta, no writing experience necessary (10.30am-12.30pm, Sat 6).
) OLDER LGBT writing workshop led by Sue Walker, no experience necessary (10.30am-12.30pm, Sat July 11). To book for either event, email: rachel.whitbread@brighton-hove.gov.uk
HAVE A WORD
Brighton & Hove Library Service is hosting HAVE A WORD as part of its pre-Pride celebrations. £5 tickets for both events available at Merlin & Ellis, 9 Manchester Street, Brighton.
) HAVE A WORD: TRANS SPECIAL EVENT (7.30-9.30pm, Thur 11) featuring Maeve Devine, Alice Denny, Fox Fisher plus other trans writers and performers.
) HAVE A WORD: (7.30-9.30pm, Thurs July 16). Line-up includes Peter Daniels, Sue Walker and Gerry Potter.
ZOE LYONS
Komedia, Gardner Street
) BENT DOUBLE (Sun 7). An irreverent night of fun and frolics hosted by Zoe Lyons (Mock The Week and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow). With RAYMOND AND MR TIMPKINS REVUE: 'A mad, anarchic triumph of stupidity over style. Not to be missed’ The Guardian; DAVID MILLS: 'The camp, sharply dressed American can tear apart any topic’ Time Out; and GRAINNE MAGUIRE: 'An engaging and natural performer with deep reserves of excitable energy’ Chortle.
OUT OF THE WOODS
St Andrew's Church, Waterloo Street, Hove, Tickets: www.resoundmalevoices.org
) OUT OF THE WOODS: MUSIC AT MIDSUMMER (7.30pm, Sat 20) Resound Male Voices and the
Rebelles present a magical evening of vocal music loosely set in a Scandinavian midsummer forest. The choirs, led by opera singer and vocal coach, Stefan Holmström, will perform a beautiful Swedish setting of the Shakespeare sonnet Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day by Nils Lindberg along with bossa nova, folk music from Sweden and Ireland and songs by Irving Berlin, Jobim, Pink Martini, Benjamin Britten and Gershwin among others. They will be accompanied by quartet of musicians Paul and Anne Whiteside, Angie Wilson and Tim Nail. The evening will be compered by the West End director and choreographer Alex McQuillen-Wright Andre Pienaar has created an extra special forest berry Pimms for the interval. Stefan Holmström said: “Resound look to present as many aspects as possible of vocal music and this time we’re experimenting with choral improvisation in a collaboration with Brighton composer Tim Nail.” Tickets: £12/£10 online or from members of the chorus.
TRAUMFRAU
Wagner Hall, Russell Pl, Brighton www.wegottickets.com/event/318077 ) TRAUMFRAU JARDIN DU DISCOTHEQUE (Sat 13). Traumfrau celebrate summer Tropicana-style with a swimwear, garden, disco, camp party. Expect a sweaty dance floor, garden dancing, outrageous drag on stage, food, art, performance and DJs.
COMING SOON...EDIT PROFILE
Marlborough Theatre, 4 Princes St, Brighton
) The Very Awkward Company presents EDIT PROFILE following one man’s journey deeper into dating apps and the seductive world of chemsex parties (Thur 2, Fri 3 with aftershow Q&A session with THT on Sat 4 July). What you into? Into Chemsex? BB? Groups? Up for joining us? Wherever, whenever, tap the app and you’re just a few metres and a few words away from a world of hot guys waiting for you, needs must when the devil drives, with you in the driving seat. An explicit and raunchy exploration of the escapades of a recently single, hard and horny gay man as he navigates the world of dating apps, chem sex and group play. With all this non-stop pleasure at his fingertips what could possibly go wrong? Tickets available via www.marlboroughtheatre.org.uk/event/edit-profile/
ART MATTERS
BY ENZO MARRA
This month I’ve sourced a trio of exhibitions from near and far, which will all equally inspire with their differing hung offerings.
TOWNER
Devonshire Park, College Road, Eastbourne, BN21 4JJ www.townereastbourne.org.uk
) Beginning a short journey away with A RADICAL VIEW: WILLIAM GEAR AS CURATOR 1958–64 amongst its contemporary display. Abstract painter, William Gear (1915–1997), was Towner’s curator from 1958 until 1964. During this time he added to the diversity and modernity of the permanent collection with acquisitions including paintings by major British abstract artists of the 1950s and 1960s, such as Sandra Blow, Alan Davie, Roger Hilton and Ceri Richards, and prints by both young and established printmakers. So successful was he in increasing the reputation of Towner, that in 1962 the Observer newspaper hailed it as the ‘most go-ahead municipal gallery of its size in the country’. This show celebrates Gear’s time at Towner and brings together some of the key purchases and acquisitions that demonstrate the important role he played in the gallery’s story.
PALLANT HOUSE
9 North Pallant, Chichester, PO19 1TJ http://pallant.org.uk
) In Chichester, ST IVES AND BRITISH MODERNISM: THE GEORGE AND ANN DANNATT COLLECTION (Jun 13–Sept 20) marks the centenary of George Dannatt’s birth in 1915. This exhibition explores one of the gallery’s most significant donations, the George and Ann Dannatt Gift, which includes a largely unseen and newly conserved group of paintings, drawings, sculptures and prints by key figures associated with the St Ives Group of Artists in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, including Terry Frost, Roger Hilton, Peter Lanyon, Ben Nicholson and John Tunnard. The collection was one of the most significant private collections of its type, not least because Dannatt was a friend of many of the artists, and was himself an abstract artist. A selection of his own works are included, as well as archival photographs of the Dannatts with their artist friends and rare artists’ books and illustrated volumes. In addition to the St Ives Group, the collection also includes works by artists including Paul Nash, David Jones, Prunella Clough and Keith Vaughan, plus interesting prints by international artists such as Jean Arp and Eduardo Chillida. The exhibition then tours to the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester in autumn 2015, and will be accompanied by a new fully-illustrated book with contributions by Prof Brandon Taylor, Trevor Dannatt RA, Jackie Sarafoupoulos, Adrian Dannatt and Simon Martin.
UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON GALLERY
Grand Parade, Brighton, arts.brighton.ac.uk
) Closer to home at the University of Brighton art gallery is MADE IT, the Arts & Humanities Graduate Show 2015 (Fri 5–Sun 14). The entire Grand Parade campus is open to the public, with a huge art gallery showing a range of work by students from art, design and architecture courses. The private view party is on Friday 5.
CLASSICAL NOTES
BY NICK BOSTON
REVIEWS
) Agostino Steffani’s (16541728) operatic output has been overshadowed by the more famous Handel, yet interest has been growing in recent years. So much so that two recordings of Niobe,
Regina di Tebe (Niobe, Queen of Thebes) have come out almost simultaneously, this one a live recording from the Royal Opera House’s production in 2010. It’s a complicated story of Greek mythology, with the usual themes of unrequited love, power, magic and tragedy. As is often the case with opera recordings, a good synopsis and text is crucial if you are to have any chance of following what’s happening, which the ROH give us – I would have liked to have seen a few more production pictures to get a sense of the design world (although there are pictures online). In terms of the performances, Véronique Gens as Niobe and Iestyn Davies as Creonte (the love interest) stand out as exceptional, both infusing their singing with strong characterisation without being overly mannered. The male soprano Jacek Lasczckowski as Anfione, the King of Thebes, certainly divides listeners. His incredibly high voice, and the vocal pyrotechnics he demonstrates are highly dramatic, and I suspect on stage this added power and presence to his role, but I found on disc his voice a little overlyharsh and extreme in comparison to the other voices. However, it is the instrumental forces of the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock that shine out of this recording. Steffani’s instrumentation is always striking and never dull, despite the steady flow of so many relatively short arias and duets. The appearance of
trumpets and drums straight away in the overture signposts Steffani’s daring and dramatic scoring to come. I look forward to catching a production of this or another of Steffani’s operas in the near future, as I am sure more will follow on the back of this.
Opus Arte OACD9008D
) Singing in Igor Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) Symphony of Psalms in last year’s festival reawakened my interest in perhaps one of the most individual and significant composers of the 20th century. So pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, performing his complete works for piano and orchestra, with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra under Yan Pascal Tortelier, promised much, and certainly did not disappoint. The first thing that stands out is the diversity of this one composer’s output, from the youthful exuberance of Pétrouchka, through the neoclassical Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, and the Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, right up to Movements. The Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments comes first, and in its neoclassical style, there are also nods to the Baroque and Bach in the middle slow movement in particular. Yet this is pure Stravinsky, and the driving final movement, as well as the challenging yet precise writing for piano throughout, is given a rousing performance from Bavouzet and the combined wind and brass players here. The Capriccio, composed some five years later, is less intense in style, and the presence of strings almost smoothes out the textures, although the dazzling piano part has plenty of life, and Bavouzet has great fun with this. We jump forward 30 or so years for Movements, a serialist work of five short movements, influenced by Webern, entirely based on a single tone row first heard on the solo piano before its serialist manipulation. Cerebral perhaps, but by no means inaccessible. The piano tends to lead small chamber groupings rather than taking a central solo role, and although the
piece goes by in just under 10 minutes, Bavouzet and the orchestra perform with intensity and tight ensemble. Stravinsky’s ballet score, Pétrouchka, completes the disc, not being technically a piano ‘concerto’, the piano being more a part of the orchestra than a solo instrument – and Bavouzet describes in the notes how much he enjoyed being part of the orchestra for a change. This lively ballet score from 1911 still sounds fresh and innovative, and the performance here is full of spirit, yet precise and sharp - a great conclusion to an exceptional disc.
Chandos CHSA5147
) Czech-born composer and violinist Johann Stamitz (17171757) is known predominantly for his influence on orchestral works and performance, and on the developing form of the symphony. Yet he also composed a fair amount of chamber works, concertos and some choral works, as well as his set of six Violin Sonatas, Op. 6, which violinist Stephan Schardt has recorded with harpsichordist Michael
CINEMA
Behringer. Schardt and Behringer combine characterful yet appropriate articulation from the violin, with tasteful and sympathetic accompaniment from the harpsichord. The structure of the six sonatas is the same – a slow movement, followed by a fast central allegro, and ending with a minuet – a standard approach at the time, as the conventions were still developing and becoming established. The allegros are perhaps where the most technically demanding music comes, although harmonically they are not necessarily very advanced. The adagios however contain some highly ornamental writing, and the fifth sonata has the violin playing two separate lines throughout. The minuets are elegant, with more adventurous harmonic interest in their central trio sections. The sound on this SACD recording is clear as a bell, and the performers prove strong advocates for these sonatas, and their pivotal position in the development of early classical style and form.
MDG 9031862-6
Reviews, comments and events: nicks-classical-notes.blogspot.co.uk Email: nbclassical@hotmail.co.uk
) Puccini’s La Boheme is being broadcast live from the Royal Opera House (Wed 10). Cast includes Anna Netrebko and Joseph Calleja
) You can also see a double-bill of Ravel – L’heure Espagnole and L’enfant Et Les Sortilèges, in live performances recorded in 2012 at Glyndebourne (Sun 21). In a range of local cinemas, including: Dukes at the Komedia and the Odeon Cinema, Brighton, Cineworld Eastbourne, and the Connaught Cinema, Worthing. Check for times and dates.
CONCERTS
ST LUKE'S CHURCH
Queens Park Road, Brighton www.stlukesconcerts.webeden.co.uk
) Pianist Zachary Deak performs Haydn, Prokofiev, Debussy and Schubert, ending with Liszt’s After A Reading of Dante (7.30pm, Fri 5). Then St Luke’s presents a Gala concert in aid of the Neighbourhood Care Scheme (7.30pm, Fri 1 July).
ST PAUL’S CHURCH
West Street, Brighton
) BREMF Consort of Voices (6pm, Sat 6) perform music by the Renaissance composer Cipriano de Rore, to mark the 500th anniversary of his birth, and the 450th anniversary of his death.
PAGE’S PAGES
BOOKS BY ERIC PAGE
) OUT OF ORANGE: A Memoir by Catherine Cleary Wolters (Kindle, £16.99). Wolters, the inspiration for Alex Vause from Orange Is the New Black (TV show based on Piper Kerman’s sensational #1 bestseller), tells her story in her own words for the first time. It’s a powerful, surprising memoir about crime and punishment, friendship and marriage, and a life caught in the ruinous drug trade and beyond. Piper’s ex-girlfriend, friend, and sometimes-romantic partner on the show, tells her true story, offering details and insights that fill in the blanks and set the record straight. But Wolters isn’t solely defined by her past, she also reflects on her life and the person she is today. Filled with colourful characters, fascinating tales, painful sobering lessons, and hard-earned wisdom.
) JIM FRENCH DAIRIES edited by Robert Mainardi (£65.05).This compact full-colour 352-page hardback book harks back to a golden age of gay erotica and porn as a polished product of photograph or film. From before the age of web and ubiquitous porn Jim French carved out a stylistic empire based on some of the sexiest and most formidably
attractive men in America - he was Colt Studios. One thing is for sure: The world of gay porn wouldn’t be what it is today without Jim French. The multi-faced styles of his movies and photo works influenced many directors and photographers. Beginning his professional life as an advertising artist, French soon started his own studio with wonderful drawings of beefy men. What followed is an impressive career that made him one of the most acknowledged names of the business. He talks about his life and times, about his work and his models. These models have been a perfect example of hunky maleness throughout the last five decades. French’s pictures of them are always stunning; no matter whether he shoots them in beefy porn style or in the classic vintage look of the 50s. These diaries illuminate the many faces of Colt Studios, not only with countless photos but also with a lot of informative interviews revealing the exciting history behind the label.
Produced by Bruno Gmünder, with their usual attention to quality and detail, this is a must-have book for anyone interested in the history or the classic men of Colt porn.
) NORMAL LIFE:Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, And The Limits of Law by Dean Spade (AbeBooks.co.uk, £30.55). Spade presents revelatory critiques of the legal equality framework for social change and points to examples of transformative grassroots trans* activism, raising demands that go beyond traditional civil rights reforms. It explores
assumptions about what legal rights can do for marginalised populations and describes transformative resistance processes and formations that address the root causes of harm and violence. Setting forth a politic that goes beyond the quest for mere legal inclusion, this is an urgent call for justice and trans* liberation and the radical transformations it requires.
Spade offers a compelling and convincing counter narrative which will alter and influence anyone with an interest in politics and the self. Although not an easy read, it takes time to lay out arguments with conviction and challenges accepted viewpoints of how to advance a progressive minority agenda.
) DAVID WOJNAROWICZ: BRUSH FIRES IN THE SOCIAL LANDSCAPE (£17). Wojnarowicz's use of photography, writing and painting was extraordinary. He addressed the AIDS crisis, censorship and homophobia. Brush Fires begun in collaboration with the artist before his death in 1992 and first published in 1994, engaged what Wojnarowicz would refer to as his ‘tribe’ or community. Contributors, from artist and writer friends such as Karen Finley, Kiki Smith, C Carr and to David Cole (the lawyer who represented him in his case against the American Family Association) together offer a compelling, provocative, understanding of the artist and his work. Now, on the twentieth anniversary of Brush Fires, when interest in the artist's work has increased, this redesigned edition puts the work in front of an audience again while maintaining the integrity of the original. Through the lens of various contributors, the book addresses Wojnarowicz's profound legacy: the relentless censorship and ethical issues, alongside his aesthetic brilliance, courage and influence. It’s as important and inspiration now as it was 20 years ago.
) SPARTACUS INTERNATIONAL GAY GUIDE 2015/16 (£19.99). Published by Bruno Gmünder this is, by far, the most successful travel guide for the gay traveller. A practical and easy guide with the important country information texts highlighted in colour. This is an up to date, accurate and scrupulously checked worldwide guide book. Distinct and colourful country and city maps assist rapid orientation, easy to find address listings for more than 160 countries worldwide in five different languages. Each country is introduced, describing the legal and social situation of gay men as well as notes on culture, attitudes and cities and places of gay interest. Contains over 21,000 addresses covering all aspects of gay life, from hotels to beaches.
) SPARTACUS INTERNATIONAL HOTEL GUIDE 2015 (£9.99) is also out, filled with up to date and well researched info on gay (and LGBT) run or friendly accommodation around the world. With the usual high attention to accuracy and detail this is the most up to date guide to anyone wanting to book hotels for their travels.
GEEK SCENE
COMICS & GAMES BY CRAIG STORRIE
COMICS
) Last month I looked at the latest DC Comics event and what it meant for the future of DC, so let’s take a look at the other side of the superherocomic’s coin and see what Marvel has in store. Their latest event promises to change the face of Marvel Comics for the foreseeable future by building a new universe out of remnants of previous stories and continuities - this event is Secret Wars. Not to be confused with the 1980s comic event, Secret Wars, this Secret Wars is a series that will run from May right the way through to December.
The event will spin out of the current New Avengers and Avengers storyline, Time Runs Out, and kicks off with an eight-issue mini-series with numerous tie-ins and ongoing series helping to flesh out the event. The basic premise is that for the last few years the New Avengers have been investigating the destruction of multiple universes which happens when two earths collide and destroy one another. What exactly caused these incursions is never discovered but slowly the Avengers of the main Marvel 616 universe realise that sooner or later their own Earth will experience its own event and be destroyed in the process. Whilst the Avengers have managed to force other universes to experience the event first, so that they can formulate a plan to save their Earth, time is running out and there is only one other Earth left.
Secret Wars kicks off with the destruction of the 616 universe as it collides with the Ultimate Marvel universe thereby annihilating them both. Somehow pieces of the two universes are saved and combined with parts of the other universes that have already been destroyed to create the Battleworld, an amalgamation of remains of various realities that are able to interact with one another. During the event, Battleworld is all that remains of the Marvel Universe and Marvel has stated all corners of the Marvel Universe will be involved.
All of these landmasses are pieces of previous Marvel events enabling Marvel to revisit fan favourite realities. Events such as Age of Apocalypse, Civil War, and X-Tinction Agenda will interact with storylines like Marvel 1602, Runaways and New X-Men to create new exciting stories. Only three areas are cornered off due to the fact that they all contain threats that would destroy the other domains.
There will be numerous tie-ins that will help flesh out the event with each tie-in to be aligned into one of three subtitles: Battleworld, Last Days and Warzones, which will deal with different areas of Battleworld both individually and as a whole. This all leads to September when the Marvel Universe will be reforged into a single universe combining elements from various realities, mostly the Ultimate Universe and the 616 universe which all leads to an exciting time to be a Marvel reader!
GAMES
) Batman videogames have sadly been hit and miss over the years with most games being pretty pants. That was until Rocksteady Studios released the hugely successful Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009 - finally we had a Batman game to be proud of! Now six years, a sequel and a prequel later, we have arrived at the final game in the series, Batman: Arkham Knight
Taking place one year after the events of Arkham City, Batman is struggling with the death of his nemesis the Joker and attempting to come to terms with his absence. Without the Clown Prince of Crime around, Gotham is enjoying a period of peace and safety with crime at an all-time low. This lull has given the rest of Batman’s enemies, like Two-Face and Penguin, the idea of uniting with the goal of finally killing the Dark Knight once and for all. On Halloween, the Scarecrow plants bombs throughout the city containing a new strain of fear toxin forcing the police to evacuate the city of its inhabitants. Leaving behind only criminals and the outnumbered Gotham City Police force, Batman must maintain his vigil over Gotham and take down all of his enemies once and for all. Unbeknownst to Batman a new enemy is awaiting in the shadows, the mysterious Arkham Knight: a militarised version of Batman who wants to be the one to finally take down the Dark Knight. Arkham Knight is a truly massive game with the action taking place in a Gotham that is approximately five times the size of the already huge Arkham City. The game takes place in the centre of the city which is split into three islands with various districts like Chinatown and the industrial area to explore. As Batman is cut off from his main Batcave, his friend and ally Oracle has made her communications outpost in Gotham’s clock tower into a makeshift Batcave and base for Batman.
Due to the size of the new map, this game introduces the Batmobile as a fully controllable vehicle in order to get around as quickly as possible. It has two modes: pursuit mode is for driving around the city, whereas battle mode turns the Batmobile into a powerful tank revealing the multiple weapons on board useful for taking down groups of enemies with ease.
Arkham Knight refines the controls from previous entries as well as tweaking some of the features of the whole series. Gadgets like the batarang, grapnel gun and line-launcher make a welcome return as well as a new Intel gathering batarang sensor. Changes to the combat system include disarming enemies and being able to utilise the acquired weapon against other foes. Arkham Knight also introduces the new Fear Takedown, where time slows down and Batman can subdue up to three enemies simultaneously as long as he remains undetected, and the ability to switch between Batman’s allies Nightwing, Robin and Catwoman on the fly.
Arkham Knight is out June 23 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
SHOPPING
WITH MICHAEL HOOTMAN
) PAPER MOON (Eureka blu-ray). Ryan O’Neal stars with daughter Tatum (who won an Oscar) in Peter Bogdanovich’s film, one of the great American movies of the 1970s. Set during the Depression a conman finds himself saddled with a young girl who becomes his partner in crime. As a child this was always one of my favourite films – even shown on a low-def cathode ray TV it looked good. In high-def it’s simply stunning. A moving, elegiac film which has a sort of hard-nosed nostalgia showing the harshly beautiful landscape of America in the 1920s. Two great performances from its stars, and a wonderful turn from Madeline Kahn as a good-time girl who has an uncompromisingly realistic view of what life holds for her.
) CHAPLIN: THE MUTUAL COMEDIES (BFI blu-ray). This two-disc set features 12 halfhour shorts with music by Carl Davis. All were shot in 12 months starting in 1916 and if they don’t have the sheer perfection and high production values of his later features there’s still a lot to enjoy. The collection shows the sparks of his genius which would be fully realised in works like The Circus or The Kid which were dramatically satisfying as well as being funny. These films have a number of great comic set-pieces and hair-raising stunts: Chaplin seemingly defying gravity on a stepladder in The Pawnshop had my palms sweating. A vital addition to any Chaplin fan’s collection.
) LIFE OF RILEY (Eureka blu-ray). Alain Resnais’ last movie is an adaptation of Alan Ayckbourn’s play about the effect that an (unseen) character’s impending death has on his friends. The action unfolds in a series of highly artificial stage sets, with characters occasionally becoming isolated against a comic book background. There’s also a comedy animatronic mole in the garden which, according to the critics, is a metaphorical representation of levity in the face of a sentence of death. Or a homage to Caddyshack. It’s lightly amusing but, apart from some spirited performances – particularly Michel Vuillermoz who is a commanding comedic force – it’s all rather inconsequential.
) These two posh-looking products popped into my box recently with an invitation to try them out! The Licx Deluxe Cream Lube is very soft and slick, no irritation or greasy residue, it’s easy to apply and use and didn’t leave marks on the linen. The Licx Gel Lube works well in and out of water, never losing its slickness or getting sticky or dry. They last for a long time without the need for re-application and there’s no perfume or gloopy deposit. Manufactured and tested in the UK, Licx products are water-based, pH-balanced with no harmful ingredients, not tested on animals and are paraben-free. They come in a range of pump action, sachets and tubes. See the full range for men and women and some of their novel ‘travel packs’ and arousal gels at: www.licx.co.uk
Gscene have a luxury gift box of Licx extra special lubricants to give away. Go to the Gscene website, www.gscene.com, and type Licx in the keyword search for full details on how to win.
TRANS ADOPTION
Sydney Spencer meets and shares stories of gay parenthood with some adopters with a difference
) A few months ago we met a couple who live in West Sussex through a small gay parent social group online.
The four of us met and over lashings of tea and mountains of cream cakes we shared stories of our journey into parenthood.
At face value our stories were pretty similar, like us, one was from a secure family and the other had experienced a childhood in the care system. But what was different, and what I want to share with you, with their permission, is that not only are they a homosexual male couple but that Rob, the youngest at 33, is transgender.
Rob, along with his partner Steve, were very open and in fact were keen to talk about this additional element to their journey.
Rob always knew that he wanted to be a parent, even before his transition, it was part of his life plan, to have a family. Like many trans people, Rob knew, as he puts it, something wasn’t right, from a very young age. As a female teenager called Alice, he had a few boyfriends and had even considered getting pregnant in one of the relationships that lasted a little over two years.
“Looking back I wasn’t in love with this guy but we were good friends and I enjoyed being with him, it was then that I seriously began to think about having a baby with him, although now I am very grateful it was only ever a thought.”
Rob told me how easy it would have been, as a female, to achieve his goal to become a parent, but he knew, and had always known, that he wanted to be a dad, not a mum. At 20 he made the decision to live as a male and took the first step on the very long
transitional road. By 25, with all the assessments, therapy and operations behind him, he was reborn and has never looked back.
“For me it was really important to not then rush into becoming a dad. I wanted to live my new life, with my new body and find out who I was and what I could achieve.”
Rob settled down in a new town and concentrated on his career, then three years later he met Steve while on a night out in London and they began to fall in love.
“It was about a year later that Rob mentioned wanting to have a family,” Steve told us, “He had been very open with me about his transition quite soon after we had met because he felt, as I did, that this was something more, not just a casual, physical fling.”
The weeks of talking about approaching an adoption agency turned to months as the anxiety and fear for Rob settled deep in the pit of his stomach; “I was convinced that there was no way a trans person would be considered.”
As he talked about the stress of making the first call it became apparent on his face that
he had been a difficult period for him as he turned a little pale.
I jumped up and did my best mother impersonation to ease the atmosphere and offered to pour everyone more tea as Rob continued; “But I was wrong, we rang two agencies and both of them were very welcoming and encouraged us to go to their information evenings.”
Three months later they found themselves in the thick of their initial assessment, the first step to parenthood had been well and truly trodden.
I asked Rob if he had experienced anything negative at all throughout the assessment regarding him being transgender but he just told me that the only thing he had gotten fed up with, but understood, was that he had a lot more questions to go through than Steve as his past had been a lot more varied.
Now, today, with the adoptions finalised, they are very proud parents of twin boys aged eight. “Being Dads is the best thing that has ever happened to us, the kids are amazing and we are all very happy.”
Rob’s face is now glowing, the paleness from a few minutes previously has completely dissolved. “We were honest with the boys throughout the meet-ups about Rob’s past life in an very age appropriate way and the kids were fine, they were more interested in the house they would be living in, who was going to have the biggest room and what colour it would be to be honest.”
Steve leans over and places a kiss on his husband’s beard, the love in this family is very clear to see.
So what’s next for this extraordinary family? Steve tells me about their plans to move to up to Cumbria in the next few weeks; “We’re going with work but have found a lovely home with plenty of outdoors space for the boys and are all very excited.”
“It will be good to go somewhere where we are just a family,” Rob jumps in, “Somewhere that nobody knows about my previous life and will just see us for what we are, which is a very strong loving family.”
I go on every month about how great it is being a father and a husband but what touched me about this family is their honesty, courage and resilience, and I can’t think of anything better to build a loving family on.
“We were honest with the boys throughout the meet ups about Rob’s past life and they were fine, they were more interested in the house they would be living in, who was going to have the biggest room and what colour it would be”
CRAIG’S THOUGHTS
IRRESPONSIBLY GAY
OR: WHY YOU SHOULD IGNORE CELEBRITIES. ESPECIALLY THE GAY ONES BY
CRAIG HANLON-SMITH @craigscontinuum
) Not content with last month’s lambasting of all things family by the multi-billion-dollar conglomerate that is Dolce and Gabbana (lampooned in May’s Gscene ‘Viva La Famiglia Tradizionale’), the international fashionista sisterhood kept it coming thanks to Giorgio Armani. In an interview he gave to The Sunday Times, Armani senior appeared to state that whilst it was fine to be gay, one should not look it. “A man has to be a man!” he has been recorded as saying, “A homosexual man is a man, 100 percent, he does not need to dress homosexual”.
Giorgio Armani has never made a secret of his own homosexual leanings, in fact quite the opposite, as a result of which his comments may come to some as a surprise. Unless of course he’s falling into that new community bracket adopted by some; I’m gay, but not that gay. It has always been so, that within the gay community, more of that later, there has been a masculine contingent battling against the horrors of camp. Growling as gruffly as possible whilst emulating the mannerisms of a heterosexual farmhand from Idaho, and yet referring to his friends with female pronouns or simply as ‘Shirley’, and after a whisky or two shaking a tail feather to anything recorded by Donna Summer, even her later stuff. Gay, but not that gay.
Should there have been any doubt as to Armani’s position he offers a nugget of clarity: “When homosexuality is exhibited to the extreme, to say: ‘ah, you know I’m homosexual,’ – that has nothing to do with me”. Gay, but not that gay.
Of course gay-idiocy is not reserved for the uber-rich Chief Executive of an international fashion house, working his pinking sheers around the pattern for a tight fitting V-neck T-shirt or white chino (don’t want to look too gay now), it appears the next generation of celebrity gays from the music world might also be a little, well, stupid.
Sam Smith opened up in an interview with The Sun last year about his experience of homophobic bullying: “I remember getting faggot shouted at me all the time. It was the most mortifying thing”. Remember that, it was the most m o r t i f y i n g thing! “I knew these people were stupid uneducated twats,” the Money On My Mind singer clarified, “but I hated the fact that my friends had to listen to that”
Less than a year later Mr Smith appears to have changed his tune. During an interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes broadcast on April 19 he appears to state that he would rather be called a ‘faggot’ than ‘fat’: “If someone called me fat, that affects me way more than someone calling me faggot.” he reveals alongside selfies of his latest gym regime through which he has shed 14lbs in 14 days: “I think just because I’ve accepted that, if someone calls me a faggot, it’s like I’m gay and I’m proud to be gay so there’s no issues there”.
We may wish to forgive our Sam, and consider that he is, after all, still young and naïve. Nope. He’s given it much consideration: “I can speak about this from a position of power, compared to two years ago where it would have been pissing in the wind. It wouldn’t have gone anywhere.” Whereas now; “I’ve sold loads of records and I have a voice.”
And unfortunately the ex-fat faggot (don’t judge me, he doesn’t mind remember) is going to use it.
“Gay celebrities should consider that whilst in their exhaulted messianic state, however temporary or internationally celebrated, that in addition to their day job, they also have a gay job and with that comes responsibility.”
Of course, if you’re at all like me and find yourself listening to this whilst beating yourself in the face with the palm of your hand, or screaming as though stricken with grief in the general direction of Snowdonia, you might ask yourself of Señor’s Smith and Armani, what are they thinking? I don’t know. I don’t. But I can tell you what they are not thinking.
They are not thinking about the 17-year-old lesbian from a remote part of these islands, who has not yet found the words to express herself through meaningful vocabulary within her heterosexual social circle, and so attempts to communicate her inner most personal feelings through her fashion choices.
They are not thinking about a 15-year-old overweight gay boy from a council estate in the North West of England, who hates and sometimes cuts himself because he feels as though he doesn’t have a friend in the world. They appear not to be thinking of the influence they may have upon real people in real situations, or perhaps, as is suggested in Sam Smith’s comments, truly remember what it felt like not to be a celebrity.
And yet are we too, the normal masses, partly responsible for their ignorant words?
There was a time when to simply be gay was enough of a binding to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow community members, but judging the words of our celebrity friends quoted herein, this may no longer be so. Our gay bars and clubs are, at times, as patchy or indeed empty as the forgotten local public house. Our ticketed Pride events rely heavily upon big-ish pop music names from yesteryear to encourage ticket sales amongst the marauding heterosexual hoards.
As our sense of community is slowly eroded, we perhaps do not feel the same need to be fiercely loyal of other gay people, simply because they just happen to be gay too.
But gay celebrities should consider that whilst in their exhaulted messianic state, however temporary or internationally celebrated, that in addition to their day job, they also have a gay job and with that comes responsibility. Of course, and Sam, Giorgio, I speak to you both directly: if you do not want the gay part of your social role and responsibility, shut the f**k up. You do way too much damage.
KEITH SHARPE NOT UNUSUAL?
ARE YOU QUEER? ASKSDR KEITH SHARPE
CHANGING ATTITUDE SUSSEX
) Are you queer? Do you ever call yourself queer? As distinct, I mean, from gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? If you do, what do you intend by it?
As some of you will know, I wrote a book a few years back called The Gay Gospels in the second part of which I argued that Jesus was probably gay, or at least had gay sensitivities, particularly in relation to his affection for the man only ever described in the Gospels as ‘the beloved disciple’.
As time has gone on I have reflected more and more on this question of being gay and being queer. I am increasingly thinking that in the Gospels the figure of Christ is more probably accurately described as queer. And I have concluded this is probably true of many of my friends and indeed of me too.
There’s an important history here. The word gay was adopted by homosexual men in the post-war period as a positive self-descriptor to replace the hateful and derogatory term ‘queer’. The negative connotations of ‘queer’ for homosexuals of course approximated to the despicable equivalent abusive words for black people and disabled people which were current and acceptable in the 1950s.
But, just as some black people have chosen to reclaim their historic term of abuse in order to neutralise its perniciousness, so some homosexual activists began from the 1980s onward to deploy ‘queer’ for the same purpose. Three decades on they have arguably succeeded. Many LGBT people do now self-identify as queer and even our most homophobic enemies rarely call us queer.
At the same time, somewhat ironically, the word ‘gay’ has become more negative, very sadly especially amongst the young. Children say ‘that’s so gay’ of things they dislike or disapprove of.
So there are good reasons to be wary of gaydom and to embrace queerdom. Also the latter has levels of meaning which I think better reflect the experience of being homosexual. It can be argued that there are four historically sequential meanings of ‘queer’:
1. ‘queer’ as odd
2. ’queer’ as homosexual exclusion
3. ‘queer’ as reclaimed liberation
4. ‘queer’ as intentionally transgressive
1. QUEER AS ODD
Queer entered the English language in the 16th century to signify something odd or peculiar. Well the truth is that we homosexuals are irredeemably strange to the heterosexual majority. Even the most righton, politically correct and queer-friendly straights do not in their heart
of hearts understand our desire for bodies of the same sex, any more than we can really see why they burn with lust for the opposite sex. In a heteronormative society we are not the norm, we are abnormal, we are in a literal sense queer.
There is a real and irreducible difference between straights and us that cannot just be wished away. Black people are often offended by the kind of colour blindness implicit in well meant statements about treating everybody equally which in practice mean ignoring the actual difference involved in living as a black person in a white majority society.
There is a comparable well-meaning ‘orientation blindness’ which claims to treat gay and straight equally but which ignores the actual difference living an openly gay life involves. Even now in the 21st century the wider society is still based on an assumedly normal incessant desire of straight men for carnal knowledge of women’s bodies, which I as a gay man in no way understand or share. And I experience same-sex desire which meets with blank incomprehension from the majority. Because I am male I am constantly confronted by heterosexist assumptions about me which do not reflect my inner self. If I were straight my life experience would have been utterly different. For these reasons queer as odd continues to be a live description of my life.
2. QUEER AS HOMOSEXUAL EXCLUSION
Our statistically abnormal desires came in the 19th century to be seen not just as queerly peculiar but as sick, perverted and disgusting. From then on the label ‘queer’ became a terrifying declaration of exclusion: you are not one of us. At its worst it was an exclusion from life itself: the death penalty for buggery was still applied in the 19th century. In the 20th century both fascist and communist states sent homosexuals for extermination. Even in so-called democratic states punishment for homosexual sex could and can still involve prison with hard labour sending our brothers to an early grave. Think of poor Oscar dead at 45. These are still realities around the world now. To be queer is to invite ridicule, contempt, hatred, rejection and ostracism. It incites verbal and physical attack. We queers are fair game for ‘bashing’ and deserve all we get. Even in Brighton in 2015.
3. QUEER AS RECLAIMED LIBERATION
Activist groups in the late 20th century began to challenge the idea of ‘gay’ or ‘LGBT’ as far too anodyne, failing to do justice to the real depth of suffering queers experienced. By adopting queer themselves they hoped to turn it round. One way in which this worked was by forcing society to see the homosexual person behind the queer, rather than allowing queer to stand for a demonised group of anonymous outsiders, ‘them’. Queer is me, queer is us. This was an in-your-face tactic. ‘We’re here and we’re queer, get over it, learn to live with it and move on’.
4. QUEER AS INTENTIONALLY TRANSGRESSIVE
Here now the term is used in a more avowedly socio-political context with much wider cultural implications. Transgression implies the refusal of all gender and sexual identities. It shows a preference for a profound ambiguity in which there are no rigid boundaries between categories of sexuality or gender, opening up therefore even the possibility of queer heterosexuality. Thus queer as intentionally transgressive is fully inclusive because there are no criteria against which anybody could be excluded.
The life and teaching of Jesus Christ was fully inclusive in this sense and he rejected nobody. Sadly his Church has reneged badly on this Gospel commitment. The Christ may have been queer but it may yet be a while before the same can be said of the Christian Church.
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.
WALL’S WORDS
BY MIKE WALL
MY WAY OR THE RIGHT WAY?
) I was absolutely horrified to hear about an Irish radio programme on Ocean FM on April 27. The programme was a debate relating to the same-sex marriage referendum, between Declan Meehan of Yes Equality Donegal and Isaac Burke of Mandate for Marriage. While Declan Meehan was attempting to talk about all of the good reasons why same-sex marriage should be introduced in Ireland, all that Mr Burke could ask about was how do gay men have sex. During the broadcast Burke said: “But what we’re not really so clear on is what two men do. Maybe Declan you could enlighten us on that, on what two men do when they enter into a sexual act?”
Meehan continued to try and return the debate to the actual issue being discussed but Burke continued to ask Meehan about the gay sexual act. Why are some ‘straight’ men obsessed with gay sex? Was this Burke’s way of trying to get some sort of kick from hearing about gay sex? Obviously Meehan came out of this interview looking the better, saner man.
“Why are some ‘straight’ men obsessed with gay sex?”
This show reminded me of an interview that Stephen Fry conducted in Uganda a few years ago as part of a television series looking at attitudes to homosexuality. Stephen went to Uganda as the government was considering, and in January 2014 implemented, a new law that would make homosexuality a capital crime. He was interviewing the Ugandan Minister of Ethics, Simon Lokodo. Even before the interview could properly begin Lokodo said: “Don't promote. Don't recruit. Don't encourage others to come into your social status”.
Stephen quickly responded to this by saying that he actually felt that he grew up in a world where he was subjected to the indoctrination of how to be heterosexual, and that it didn’t work on him. Stephen went on to try and tell Lokodo that homosexuality was more than just sex but about love. Lokodo retorted by saying: “I’ve got my dear brothers who have come here because their backs are oozing with puss.”
When Stephen tried to explain that most sodomy takes place in the heterosexual community and that young girls were raped in Africa, all that Lokodo could say was: “I say. Let. Them. Do. It.” And “But let them do it the right way.”
I was sickened when I saw that programme. How could a human being feel that heterosexual rape was alright just because it was being done the “right way”. In the same TV series Stephen met a pastor on a radio chat show who was obsessed with anal sex. It would seem that a lot of heterosexual men are obsessed with what gay men do in the privacy of their own bedrooms. I have to ask are these men truly straight? In a world with so many more pressing issues such as natural disasters, wars and struggling economies, these people are more concerned about gay sex. These attitudes say more about the people who say them, than the people they are supposed to be about.
GAY WISDOM
BY GAY SOCRATES
FROM DEATH AND DECAY EMERGES LIFE AND VITALITY!
) In my 55th year I’m finally granted the experience of orphanhood. Dad died last year then, almost to the day, mum went off her food and within six weeks was lying in a box in the ground just above him. After years of illness dad’s death had been a relief but mum had been fit and well all of her life so although she was 92 it is still shocking!
I had had that ‘special’ bond that sissy boys can have with their mums - when I was a kid it was me she got to blow-dry her hair and not my sister! Thankfully life moved us on and, whilst I grew up, came out and developed adult-to-adult emotional relationships she granted the space for this and committed to her relationship with that grumpy, patriarchal, emotionally wounded man: my difficult to love father.
After dad died there was the promise of rekindling our closeness. In that final year we spent weekends together doing crosswords, watching TV and just hanging out. We flew to Switzerland for a holiday. We spent last Christmas together. However the plans to get her down to Brighton and for shopping trips to London were all snatched away.
In what seemed like no time at all, she went from being a totally independent, intelligent and capable woman to an anaemic husk of a being, struggling to breathe. She’d been offered surgery to bypass the tumor in her stomach but she quickly made up her mind to reject this and opted to die at home in the company of her children. We watched helplessly as she rapidly slipped away.
“When I was a kid it was me she got to blow-dry her hair not my sister!”
As a solitary Pagan Taoist Ex-Catholic Faerie I’d felt extremely unsupported spiritually when my father had died. To me, the Roman Catholic funeral ceremony seemed stuffed with empty, meaningless, liturgical mumbo-jumbo. When I heard that mum had gone off her food, I instinctively ordered Starhawk’s book The Pagan Book of Living and Dying anticipating developing my own closing ritual. Sadly, things moved too quickly and, once again the default ritual clicked into place.
This time however I had the support of a special Faerie friend (Flute) who offered to help my mother’s spirit to pass. At the moment of my mother’s death I texted Flute who did the necessary.
I now have a ball of soil from my mother’s grave (Earth), a lock of her hair (Air) and the paper tissue I used to dry the tears I wept at her funeral (Water). I’m going to plant these items in the roots of a Flowering Cherry Tree. My ritual will celebrate the life and vitality which is now occasioned by my parents’ death.
As a pot plant may feel both contained yet restrained by its pot I too have been contained yet restrained by my loving parents. Now the pot is broken. It is time for my roots to feed on the abundant richness of the Earth. Thank you and RIP Kath and Harry.
CHARLIE SAYS NO FUTURE
THE LAST OF ENGLAND
BY CHARLIE BAUER PhD
http://charliebauerphd.blogspot.co.uk
) No coalition, no opposition, no gin in the cupboard and no future. All in one day. Now it’s just them and they had a landside. And we deserve it. Long have we lolled around in our mortgage drag instead of taking to the streets for the slightest change in any government policy.
The giveaway is the media’s unreported reaction to the election riots outside Downing Street. Civil unrest which will soon be voided with more surveillance. A colonial tactic, a blackout of information to the nations and regions, keeping the capital and seat of power, safe.
The USA, Australia, Paraguay, Spain, France, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Canada… just some of the countries whose media covered the riots while none of the British media even bothered. Why? More importantly, what power decided to black out these media reports? You guessed it, in the issues of public safety, the dissent will not be reported, the revolution will not be televised - in case more people come and join in. Which is exactly what would have happened. Not that Miliband or anyone else would have made it any different. It’s his political complacency that brought the rioters onto the tarmac as well. We’ve just witnessed the last of England as we once knew it. Rotten from the top down, for all to see. The Scots, finally able to rid themselves of the malice of Downing Street. Remember – the Scots were the only nation to stand up to the Romans and pissed them off so much that Emperor Adrian built a wall marking the northernmost section of the Empire. And at this election the Scots did the same to the vilest version of a UK government we have witnessed for 30 years. Fare-theewell fellow fighters above the border, our hearts go with you. (Leaving us to wonder who the hell are the government going to bully with the Scots out of the equation.)
Next will be Wales, so that eventually we will be left with grandmother England run by Etonians. And everyone will still bite the humble pie that England is the envy of the world ( I mean look at those house prices! Everyone wants to live here.) Actually no they don’t. Just like Cameron’s dad with his tax dodges, the upper classes are handing their spoilt grandchildren chunks of non-interest change to buy up what property is left, raising the price for every other successive generation. Eventually begging on the streets with the landowners in their drawing rooms - and me not thin enough to fit up a chimney.
What we’ve just witnessed is the great voiceless having one last go while they can. I say while they can because now the Home Secretary, whose name I find I cannot bring myself to write, will now implement
plan B or whatever she calls it - the charter for GCHQ and a host of private companies to access your data. All of your data. If you’re reading this online then that data too, making a lovely incomplete profile of you just incase you might be a potential terrorist or rioter. Because these condemning laws have passed without notice, there will be no use taking to the streets because the government are controlling social media. You’ll be arrested at the bus stop on your way to Whitehall. I’d stay home and watch it online if I were you. Order a pizza!
What happens these days is that social media spreads the word. By the same token, what makes you think that the government aren’t trolling yours? Right now?
But nothing has actually changed. England has the ability to do this more than any other country. Look at the obsession with Bond and other espionage fodder we cream over. While England holds the moral high-ground liberating countries who lack basic human rights (by whose charter?) it also defecates on its own people. Never has a government been a bigger danger to a populace during peace time than this one. Like every Tory Government, papers are rushed though while no one is watching (Like the day of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, or the Falklands War). All for our own good, always stating that it’s something external, like the sinking of the Belgrano, that is the biggest threat.
This isn’t a sour grapes election. This is the end. Or the beginning, depending on what part of the vector you sit. The end of what we knew of democracy, yes, the end of the freedom of the press, the beginning of mass-monitoring of all subjects, we think so, while cyber courtrooms compile the evidence against you. (See it’s here in black and white!)
The face recognition is all ours, the voice codings from EVERY institution that you talk to by phone, even selection options before the operators have a chance to record you for ‘Quality and Assurance’ reasons. Your voice stored. The fingerprints on your phones and computer trackpads. The endless lies of the major search engines and computer hardware companies as they pass (or sell) your mappings to central government. We know this is going on, we didn’t need Ed Snowden to tell us. But we still did nothing about it. We deserve what we get because this will never be reversed. You cant unmake a nuclear bomb.
“Because these condemning laws have passed without notice, there will be no use taking to the streets because the government are controlling social media. You’ll be arrested at the bus stop on your way to Whitehall”
Why not ask the average Joe Schmoe to part with his ‘eyephone’ with all the fancy apps in favour of his anonymity, and I think you can guess the answer.
So, off you go England, into the void. Holding onto the belief that the world is looking to you for everything. Well, they’re not, they’re actually too busy scrambling for their own human rights issues to pay attention - Royal ba-bay or not. And we deserve it. We never stepped out of our colonial closet far enough to see that the modernist social reform, which gave us the NHS, was unique in the world. The world. But we’ve handed over the people’s Crown Jewels, the BBC and the NHS. What missus Prime Minister didn’t have time to do, Cameron will. (Sorry I cant write her name either - I’ll give myself proper nightmares).
So, the riots will eventually stop and when we realise there is to be no redemption, like there was as a result of the poll tax riots as they toppled a regime, we’ll just get on with it all over again.
GILDED GHETTO
BY ERIC PAGE
BEAR-FACED CHEEK
) I’m rarely more objectified than when in a bear bar; this honest, open, self-congratulating man’s man culture of acceptance is built on a strict hierarchy of hotness, which is just as cheap, shallow and dependant on a fixed set of physical characteristics as the previous gay culture was, and the one before that. So to question if bear culture is becoming too mainstream is to miss the point, bears have always been mainstream. They are more conservative, inward looking, less experimental, more gender bound and conforming than any previous gay group. Any form of performance taken to an extreme is camp, Susan Sontag identified this when most bears were still boys sneaking admiring glances at Burt Reynolds and wishing they were old enough to buy Colt magazines.
Kicking off as a reaction against the over-polished, primped and plucked gym queen then huffing off as they weren’t invited to the party, this group of overweight hairy men caught the tide and found themselves being lifted up into popular culture at the same time as other forms of seemingly more authentic models of masculinity were pervading gay life. Like all forms of gay male stereotypes, clichés and sub-cultures, bears are just as selfdeluded, self-indulgent, infantilised and selfish as any other self identifying tribe of queens, although bears take it a step further and feel smug both about their lack of apparent consideration for fitness or health - those bellies ain’t being built on hunting and camping but on propping up the chi-chi bear bars that flood most gay scenes, smoking and endlessly bitching about all the other gay clans.
“Those bellies ain’t being built on hunting and camping but on propping up the chi-chi bear bars”
I’ve often wondered why there are so few women in bear bars; the music is camp, the drinks as silly and often on promotion to encourage abandoned drinking, the furnishings are of the usual carefully chosen gay man’s style and the toilets often of a higher standard than your normal gay bar. If there’s one thing a bear likes then it’s quality tiling and an attention to grout. One wonders if perhaps bear culture is misogynistic and unfriendly to women. To have women around breaks the chimera of illusionary maleness and reduces folk down to fatties in lumberjack shirts.
In this splintered, fractured gay world when we need real fraternities, real acceptance, complete unconditional love for each other and an honest appraisal of what is means to be men, masculine, lovers and friends, what does ‘bear’ offer us? A retarded retro recreation of some simplistic golden years: not even of our own culture but of Dakota 100 years ago. Our simple-minded straight brethren have now latched on to the bearded hunk look and the metro-sexual is rampant, oh brave new world that has such things in it. Whatever happened to Goldilocks and the three gender terrorist queers? They got ousted out by the tut-tut’ing bears and their monoculture of white, fat, hairy, lazy men. F**k that for a laugh, I’m off to the trans bar to be exquisite and never explain.
POLICE LGBT LIAISON TEAM
BY PC SARAH LAKER & RORY SMITH
BEAR IDENTITY
) I have no idea whether being a ‘bear’ is going mainstream and, if it is, how that might affect the men who feel part of that identity. What I can tell you though, is the wide-eyed excitement I felt when a pal illuminated about the secret tribe known as Bear. I was much smaller and certainly less hairy than I am now (yes, this is Rory writing!) when my friend educated me about bears, cubs, otters, wolves and the rest.
How awesome, I thought, and an antidote to the twinky youthorientated scene I felt a stranger in. That being furry and/or rounded would be embraced and celebrated. It certainly gave me hope that there would be a place for me as I grew up into a man and made me wonder just what kind of bear I might become.
So, if bears are becoming mainstream, then I think that’s something to be celebrated, as it means more people can be included and made to feel part of the family, regardless of their shape and size.
Recently I’ve been having conversations with colleagues about bears and other LGBT subcultures. So when it popped up on our intranet that the Brighton Bear Weekender was happening, one colleague beamed gleefully over to me, “is that what I think it is?”
Educating friends, colleagues and wider society about our subcultures is key to breaking down some of the existing prejudices that sadly still lurk. I don’t know about you, but I have had many a facepalm to jaw-dropping moments in the last few months by some of the absurd ideas coming from some political quarters. Lest we forget we’re still struggling for equality. I believe as resistance to these ideas, visibility is important. It’s the old fashioned principle of Pride.
I wish Brighton Bear Weekender every success. I hope to make it down to the picnic and join in the fun and can be counted as at least an ally if not more (pending beard appearance!)
On a completely unrelated note. At time of writing, and despite me cracking out the winter socks again this week, the weather is getting warmer again. Brighton is beginning to blossom! So here’s a gentle reminder for the summer. There has been an increase in daytime reports of sexual behaviour occurring in Dukes Mound and other places around the city. This is something we simply cannot ignore, and anyone found in such circumstances is likely to find themselves in trouble. Patrols will increase in response to where reports are coming from.
THIS MONTH’S STATISTICS
) In April we had 18 LGBT hate crimes and incidents. Several public order offences; 2 homophobic 2 transphobic. There was an assault between neighbours, criminal damage, malicious text messages, harassment and common assault. There were several reports of anti-LGBT political messages; websites and posters.
One incident of verbal abuse in the street was dealt with immediately by community resolution following the wishes of the victims. Other investigations are ongoing.
CONTACT INFORMATION
) We both have Facebook profiles and a page – our usernames are: PC Sarah Laker and LGBT Caseworker Rory Smith, and Brighton and Hove LGBT Police Team. We tweet @PoliceLGBT. Social media should not be used for reporting incidents – please call us on 101, or if it’s an emergency, 999.
DAD & DADDY
GAY? BEAR? OR DAD?
LABELS CAN BE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE BYSYD SPENCER
) Recently a young friend of ours said to me, “What’s it like being a different kind of gay dad these days?”
I stared at him, coffee in hand, wondering what he could possibly mean...
Did he mean I was a good dad? Bad dad? Modern dad? Or something else? A dumbfounded look crept across my face. I asked him what he meant.
“You know, before you and Kevin became parents you were a gay daddy Bear but now you are just a gay dad”, he laughed.
I thought about the question for a few seconds and to be honest I felt a little uncomfortable with it.
Is it positive or negative to put people into groups or stick a label on them? I’ve often wondered if putting people into boxes, communities or groups can then sometimes be a little restricting, cause stigma or even sometimes hold some people back.
Being part of a group or community can of course be a good thing, it can be a source of comfort, security and simply just good fun. Groups for the elderly that encourage them to meet others and get out are a good thing; groups for parents with disabled children are a source of great comfort; and so the list goes on. However, still I can’t quite shift the uncomfortable feeling that some labels, some community labelling, can be negative, even if that wasn’t the intention.
For example, gay parent? What does that mean? Why is it so important that I am labelled as a gay parent? Yes, obviously it’s a very positive thing that LGBT people are now able to foster and adopt, equality is a good thing but why am I labelled a gay dad?
My sexuality is the least important and interesting part of who I am. I can’t change it, I was born like it, but I don’t think it makes me the person that I am today, or the parent that I am today either.
Being known as a gay parent can at times be a negative and indeed has caused some awkward moments - professionals have immediately assumed that we have no experience with kids, teachers have been extremely patronising to us, even mentioning that ‘well because you are gay parents you wouldn’t know this or that or something else’.
The experiences in my life and the choices that I make are what make me the person I am and the parent I am. Thinking about my actions, exploring my ideas and views, exploring other people’s ideas and views, changing my views sometimes, accepting others and educating myself are what make me, me.
Some of you might be thinking: ‘But he writes a column about being a gay dad?’ I would disagree. I write the column to share our experiences so that other people, whoever they are, can see and hopefully be inspired to take that step to also be a parent to a child that has had a difficult start in life.
I write it to show people how much a child from that sort of background can blossom and thrive and that it doesn’t matter who their parent loves or what clothes they wear or how they style their hair, being a parent is about being loving, honest, caring, nonjudgemental and trying your best for the children you are fortunate to have.
“Being known as a gay parent can be a negative and has caused some awkward moments - professionals have immediately assumed that we have no experience with kids”
Those that know me will know that I am a large hairy guy with a beard and these facts have automatically thrust a label on to me and made me a part of a community, the Bear community.
I had never really ever considered myself to be a Bear, in fact until about five or six years ago I wasn’t even aware of the term ‘Bear’ for a gay guy of my build. Having always struggled with my weight and having been on the receiving end of a lot of negative comments from the gay community in general I did seek solace within the Bear community.
It was probably the most comfortable I had ever felt while out. People accepted me and as a result of that I felt stronger. Being able to be yourself without worrying about what you look like or what others will say is really important and that is why I acknowledged earlier that I can see the comfort that labelling can be too.
So I am a hypocrite because on one hand I am moaning about being labelled a gay dad and yet more often than not I seek out Bear pubs when I go out as I feel more confident in them.
It’s a depressing thought that, in society as a whole, social groups for particular people and labels do happen. We should all just accept each other and mix freely with each other, I shouldn’t be labelled as a gay dad by the other parents at the school, because I am just a dad. I shouldn’t feel more comfortable in a particular pub because of my weight or the amount of facial and body hair I have - but I do.
But also maybe I shouldn’t be quite so hung up on those two things either. The facts speak for themselves, I am gay, I am a dad, I am hairy, and I am of a large build so really what I am is a big gay daddy bear!
SAM TRANS MAN
ME BEING ME
THE BEAUTY OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY BY
DR SAMUEL JAMES HALL
) This issue of Gscene looks at whether bears are being mainstreamed. I really don’t know enough about this to comment with any authority, but I do have some thoughts on the issue from a wider perspective. I will expand on the theme of diversity within the LGBT community and what it truly means to me to be a part of the whole.
As a transperson, the nuances and intricacies of the gay community are as much a mystery to me as the minutiae of trans lives and identities are to those who don’t live it. The LGBT umbrella is positively gigantic. There are definitely times when I feel incredible solidarity with the whole community, such as when I’m performing with the lovely Rainbow Chorus, but there are also times when I simply cannot, no matter how hard I try, grasp the finer points of another LGBT person’s experience. I love this - the diversity. I love that the LGBT community is one of the places I have encountered people who truly want to eradicate any prejudice in their outlook and life because they have seen and felt what it means to be different.
You can’t ever truly understand another’s experience until you have lived it yourself. If your leg gets blown off in a minefield in Afghanistan,or you’re born deaf, or your child dies of leukaemia, the only people who are really and truly going to understand you, are those who’ve suffered the same insult. Even then, their experience will be unique, different from yours, sometimes in subtle ways. This is why we need support groups. I’ll never forget the relief that washed over me the first time I walked into the Clare Project, Brighton’s weekly drop-in support space for those questioning their gender identity. For a few brief hours, I felt completely ‘normal’ for want of a better word. Finding support amongst ‘people like me’, whether it’s a shared sorrow, experience, identity, habit or hobby, gives me a sense of belonging that’s deeply reassuring.
But at some point I’ll need to reintegrate into the wider community. My support space should be exactly that - support. A safe place where I can drop shoulders and truly be myself without fear of judgement or misunderstanding. Thereafter, whether it’s weekly or something that happens less frequently, my hope is that I’ll feel refuelled in a way that allows me to get on with other aspects of my life without feeling so isolated. If we allow our support or social groups to become silos, if we permit ghettoisation by fooling ourselves into thinking we don’t need the ‘outside’ world, we’re not doing ourselves any favours. There are times when I just want to curl up in a little ball and roll around my ‘safe space’, with people like me around me for protection, avoiding facing
Based in central Brighton, the CLARE PROJECT WEEKLY DROP-IN is a safe and confidential space to explore issues around gender identity. Facilitated peer support is an important element, as well as providing access to low-cost psychotherapy and speech therapy.
the big wide world out there where people don’t like me, understand me, or worse, are disgusted by me. But unless I rise above those feelings, that sense of shame at being different, I’ll never truly hold my head high or 0/take my rightful place in the world, which is that of a human being. Valued, valid, and with a dignity all of my very own just because I exist.
To be ‘mainstreamed’ suggests to me an integration with the whole. This might necessitate some loss of identity or of an important personal statement, the letting go of something that I hold dear because it sets me apart. And yet the evolution of that identity or statement probably stems from being ostracised in the first instance. From having to find a place where there wasn’t one. Being or feeling different and therefore needing to find people like me, the search for solidarity leads to the formation of a community. Or a community within a community, as with bears. Eventually though, if we all remain open to the possibility that equality is really a thing, and that diversity is also a thing, we desire to know and understand all there is to know and understand about those whose communities are different to ours. In that understanding we seek to become more connected, and in connection we begin to grasp the concept of unity. We are all one, ultimately. The human experience is rich and varied, but the universal claim to dignity and respect is one that underpins all human rights laws, and rightly so.
“The human experience is rich and varied, but the universal claim to dignity and respect is one that underpins all human rights laws”
It’s ironic then that when something that was niche and isolated, whether it’s a group of people or community, a way of living, dressing or eating, becomes mainstream, it grows in popularity and desirability. This in turn may stir up feelings of resistance - something along the lines of “hang on a minute - you weren’t so bothered about who I am or my way of living 20 years ago, why so interested now?” This is a fascinating development when we consider that the desire 20 years ago was probably to be accepted by the mainstream. What happened along the way? Did I become proud of who I am? Did I start celebrating my difference and at some point no longer want or need to be accepted?
As a transperson I can really relate to this. Before transition I wanted to be accepted so very badly that I hid in the closet. When that became intolerable I came out, which inevitably lead to marginalisation. I now frequent and inhabit the fringes of our society. For a long time initially I longed to be accepted as a transguy in all sorts of places. But it didn’t happen everywhere. Of course it didn’t. Now I’m comfortable with myself, I’ve done the hardest part of this journey. Believe me. And recently I’ve started to feel a little pride, even sometimes pleasure. I like me. I like who I am and I’m proud of the battles I’ve won. Which means that any attempt to draw me back into the mainstream is going to have to come with an extremely hefty bribe. I wouldn’t change me for the world.
CLARE PROJECT meets every TUESDAY 2.30– 5.30PM at
DORSET GARDENS
METHODIST CHURCH
Dorset Gardens (off St James Street) Brighton BN2 1RL
Except 1st Tues when there’s an optional meal out preceded by the drop-in from 5–7.30PM
WEEKLY MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING SUPPORT GROUP for transmen/masculine identified people starting May 2015
Please see website for further details www.clareproject.org.uk f Clare Project clareprojectinfo@gmail.com
SURVIVAL, RESILIENCE, RECOVERY
What makes some of us more resilient than others? How can we create resilient communities?
) We know well that mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and suicidal distress are higher in LGBTQ communities than for heterosexual and cisgender people.
We also know well why this is: bullying, discrimination, violence, rejection by family and friends, isolation and loneliness - all of these remain all too common experiences.
Despite this, many of us manage trauma, difficult circumstances, loss and bereavement well, whilst some of us may find adversity leads to breakdown, illness and collapse. What makes the difference, what makes some of us more resilient than others? And how can we create resilient communities?
Resilience is a term for the ability to cope with adversity and failure without repressing how you feel and importantly the ability to learn from your responses and become stronger as a result. Often characterised as being able to ‘bounce back’ it is more accurately defined as being able to develop and grow.
Psychologists have identified several characteristics of resilient people, including:
Awareness
Resilient people are aware of their own emotional reactions and the behaviour of those around them, standing back a little in order not to become overwhelmed. In order to manage feelings, it is essential to understand what is causing them and why. By remaining
aware, resilient people can maintain in control of their own behaviour and are able to consider new ways to tackle problems.
Understanding that challenges are part of life
Resilience is the understanding that life will always present problems we can’t avoid. Even so, we can remain open, flexible, and willing to adapt to change.
Taking control where you can
Resisting the pull to blame others for problems and thinking of yourself as having control over your life is characteristic of the most resilient people.
Resiliency means believing that your behaviour will affect the result of any event, other than those you can’t control. It helps to feel as if we have power to make choices and change our situation, our ability to cope and our future.
Use your problem solving skills
Being able to keep calm in a crisis means that you are more likely to be able to solve problems, take control of the outcome, keep yourself safe and come out of it as successfully as possible. Advanced resilience includes seeing problems as opportunities, as ways to learn and develop.
Strong social connections
Coping with problems, setbacks and trauma can be helped no end by having plenty of
“Resilience is a term for the ability to cope with adversity and failure without repressing how you feel”
people to talk to. We get support and help from friends, family, colleagues, support groups and other support services. Talking things through means we can learn from others’ similar experiences, find new solutions, express how we feel and get perspective.
Identifying as a Survivor
There’s a world of difference in thinking of yourself as a survivor of adversity rather than a victim. We are all the ‘victims’ of circumstance, but being able to see ways to survive that victimisation and make choices makes us survivors, a more positive identification..
Being able to ask for help
Most of this is about developing skills and resources of our own in order to enhance our resilience, but it’s just as important to know when we need help and support. We need to overcome our internal barriers to asking for help, any shame or reluctance we have to accept when we are in need. It may also mean overcoming external barriers, such as negative reactions of mainstream service providers, real or perceived.
This may mean asking those strong social connections for support, and/or using more formal sources of support, such as MindOut’s services.
MindOut works to improve resilience in our communities through a range of interventions and opportunities, including:
• Advice and information about all mental health issues
• Out of hours online chat
• Advocacy to help you find the support you want and need
• Peer support groups to meet others
• Peer mentoring to help you participate in the world
• Workshops and courses to improve well-being
• Anti-stigma events and campaigning
• Opportunities to get involved, volunteer and learn new skills
MINDOUT SERVICES
All MindOut’s services are run by and for LGB&T people who have experience of mental health issues. All our services are free, confidential, non-judgemental and independent.
LGBT disabled people’s forum. Safe, welcoming, support, activities, awareness. Tel: 07981 170071 or email stevenwithn@talktalk.net
) ALLSORTS YOUTH PROJECT
Drop-in for LGBT or unsure young people under 26, Tues 5.30-8.30pm. Tel: 01273 721211 or email info@allsortsyouth.org.uk, www.allsortsyouth.org.uk
) BRIGHTON & HOVE POLICE
Report all homophobic and transphobic incidents to:
• The Sussex Police 101 (for emergencies 999) email: LGBT@sussex.pnn.police.uk
tweet: @policeLGBT
• LGBT Officer PC Sarah Laker on 101 ext 550727
• LGBT Caseworker Rory Smith on 101 ext 550727 or 07775 546548
• Facebook: Brighton LGBT Police
) BRIGHTON & HOVE LGBT SAFETY FORUM
Independent LGBT forum working with the community to address and improve safety issues in Brighton & Hove. info@lgbt-safety-forum-brighton.com www.lgbt-safety-forum-brighton.com
) BRIGHTON & HOVE LGBT SWITCHBOARD
Phone helpline, hate crime reporting, counselling service, Proud2connect (relationship counselling in partnership with Brighton Relate). www.switchboard.org.uk/brighton
• Helpline from 5pm daily: 01273 204050
• Services info: 01273 234009
• email: brighton.manager@switchboard.org.uk
• or brighton.admin@switchboard.org.uk
) BRIGHTON WOMEN’S CENTRE
Info, counselling, drop-in space, support groups. Tel: 01273 698036 or visit www.womenscentre.org.uk
) FTM BRIGHTON
Social/peer support group for FTM, transmasculine & gender-queer people. Every 3rd Fri of month, 7-9pm at Space for Change, Windlesham Venue, BN1 3AH. For info email info@ftmbrighton.org.uk or visit www.ftmbrighton.org.uk
) BRIGHTON GEMS (GAY ELDERLY MEN’S SOCIETY)
Social group for mature gay men, meet 7–10pm every last Fri of month at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church Hall. Tel: 01273 385000 or info@gems-bh.org.uk www.brightongems.com
) LESBIAN LINK BRIGHTON
Local social group offers friendship, social events, meets 1st Thurs at Regency Tavern, 7.30pm. Tel: 07594 578035 www.lesbianlinkbrighton.co.uk
) LESBIAN & GAY AA
12-step self-help programme for alcohol addictions. Sun 7.30pm, Chapel Royal, North St, Btn (side entrance). Tel: 01273 203343 (general AA line)
) LGBT NA GROUP
Brighton-based LGBT (welcomes others) Narcotics Anonymous group every Tue 6.30–8pm, Millwood Centre, Nelson Row, Kingswood St. Tel: 0300 999 1212
) LGBT MEDITATION GROUP
Meditation & discussion, every 2nd & 4th Thur, 5.30–7pm, Anahata Clinic, 119 Edward St, Brighton. Tel: 07789 861367 or www.bodhitreebrighton.org.uk
) LUNCH POSITIVE
Lunch club for people with HIV to meet/make friends, find peer support in a safe environment. Every Fri,
noon–2.30pm, Community Room, Dorset Gdns Methodist Church, Dorset Gardens, Brighton. Lunch £1.50. Tel: 07846 464384 or www.lunchpositive.org
) MINDOUT
Independent, impartial info, guidance for LGBT people with mental health problems. 24 hr confidential answerphone: 01273 234839 or info@mindout.org.uk www.mindout.org.uk
) PEER ACTION
Regular low cost yoga, therapies, swimming, meditation & social groups for people with HIV. peeractionemail@gmail.com or www.peeraction.co.uk
) RAINBOW FAMILIES
Support group for lesbian and/or gay parents. Tel: 07951 082013 or info@rainbowfamilies.org.uk www.rainbowfamilies.org.uk
) SOME PEOPLE
Social/support group for LGB or questioning aged 14-19, Tue, 6-8pm, Hastings. Call/text Nicola Tel: 07974 579865 or email Neil or Nicola: somepeople@eastsussex.gov.uk
) VICTIM SUPPORT
Practical, emotional support for victims of crime. Tel: 08453 899 528
) THE VILLAGE MCC
Christian church serving the LGBTQ community. Sundays 6pm, Somerset Day Centre, Kemptown Tel: 07476 667353, www.thevillagemcc.org
HIV PREVENTION, CARE & TREATMENT SERVICES
) AVERT
Sussex HIV & AIDS info service, available by phone Tel: 01403 210202 or email confidential@avert.org
Free confidential testing & treatment for STIs including HIV, plus Hep A & B vaccinations. Claude Nicol Centre, Sussex County Hospital, on Weds from 5-8pm. Tel: 01273 664721 or www.brightonsexualhealth.com
) LAWSON UNIT
Medical advice, treatment for HIV+, specialist clinics, diet & welfare advice, drug trials. Tel: 01273 664722
) SUBSTANCE MISUSE SERVICE
CRI / Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust. Open access drop-in, assessment, support, advice, info on drug & alcohol issues. Tel 01273 607575
LGB&T worker provides confidential, non-judgemental outreach service. Support for people over 18 wishing to address substance misuse. Tel 07717 774 658
) SUSSEX BEACON
24 hour nursing & medical care, day care. Tel: 01273 694222 or www.sussexbeacon.org.uk
) TERRENCE HIGGINS TRUST SERVICES
For more info about these free services go to the THT office, 61 Ship St, Brighton, Mon–Fri, 9.30am–5.30pm. Tel:01273 764200 or info.brighton@tht.org.uk
• Venue Outreach: info on HIV, sexual health, personal safety, safer drug/alcohol use, free condoms/lubricant for men who have sex with men.
• The Bushes Outreach Service @ Dukes Mound: advice, support, info on HIV, sexual health, personal safety. Free condoms, lube, tea/coffee from Outreach van parked next to ‘The Patio’ at the Bushes.
• Netreach (online Outreach in Brighton & Hove): info/advice on HIV/sexual health/local services. THT Brighton Outreach workers online @ Gaydar:
Thur 7–10pm, Sat 6pm-12am, chatroom HEALTH INFO THT.
• Condom Male: discreet, confidential service posts free condoms/lube/sexual health info to men who have sex with men without access to commercial gay scene in East Sussex.
• Positive Voices: volunteers who go to organisations to talk about personal experiences of living with HIV.
• Fastest (HIV Testing): walk-in, (no appointment) rapid HIV testing service for men who have sex with men. Pre & post test discussion with clinical staff. Results in an hour. 10 men max tested per session. Mon: 6–8pm. (Full sexual health screen available)
• Sauna Fastest at The Brighton Sauna (HIV Testing): walk-in, (no appointment) rapid HIV testing service for men who have sex with men. Pre & post test discussion with clinical staff. Results in 30 minutes. Wed: 6–8pm. (STI Testing available).
• Face2Face: confidential info & advice on sexual health & HIV for men who have sex with men. Face-2-face or phone. Up to 3 one hour appointments.
• Specialist Training: wide range of courses for groups/ individuals. Specific courses to suit needs.
• Counselling: from qualified counsellors for up to 12 sessions for people living with/affected by HIV.
• Informed Passions: Expert Volunteers project to identify & support sexual health needs of local men who have sex with men and carry out field research in B&H on issues affecting men’s sexual health. Extensive training provided.
• Lounge (Group for Gay Men Living with HIV): fortnightly peer support group for gay men.
• What Next? Thurs eve, 6 week peer support group work programme for newly diagnosed HIV+ gay men.
• HIV Support Services: info, support & practical advice for people living with/affected by HIV.
• Volunteer Support Services: 1-2-1 community support for people living with or affected by HIV.
• HIV Welfare Rights Advice: Find out about benefits or benefit changes. Advice line: Mon–Thur 1:30-2:30pm. 1-2-1 appts for advice & workshops on key benefits.
) TERRENCE HIGGINS EASTBOURNE
Dyke House, 110 South St, Eastbourne, BN21 4LZ, Tel: 01323 649927 or info.eastbourne@tht.org.uk
• HIV Services support for HIV diagnosis, managing side effects, sex and relationships, understanding medication, talking to your doctor, finding healthier lifestyle. Assessment of support needs and signposting on to relevant services. Support in person, by phone or email.
• Support for people at risk of HIV confidential info and advice on sexual health and HIV for men who have sex with men. Up to 3 one hour appointments depending on need. Sessions in person or on phone.
• Web support & info on HIV, sexual health & local services via netreach and myhiv.org.uk
• Positive Voices: volunteers who go to organisations to talk about personal experiences of living with HIV.
• Positively Social Informal peer support groups for people living with HIV, monthly meets in Eastbourne & Hastings.
) WARREN BROWNE UNIT
Free confidential tests & treatment for STIs inc HIV. Hep A & B vaccinations. Shoreham based. Tel: 01273 461453
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A NEW PREMISES LICENSE LICENSING ACT 2003
NOTICE is hereby given that DIVA ESPRESSO BAR has applied to the Brighton & Hove City Council for a new premises license to permit: 1) to permit the exhibition of pre recorded films on film nights from Saturday & Sunday from 010.00 to 22.00.
The address of the licensing authority where the register is kept and the application may be inspected during normal business hours is licensing section, environmental health, Brighton & Hove City Council, Bartholomew Square, Brighton, BN1 1JP or on the council's website: www.brightonhove.gov.ukany representations by any other person or responsible authority must be received in writing by the licensing authority by 6th June 2015stating the nature and grounds for making such representation.
It is an offence under section 158 of the licensing act 2003 to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. The maximum fine on summary conviction for this offence is £5000. GT Licensing consultants.
