Community News Simon Webster Hair launches Pay It Forward campaign to support Brighton Women’s Centre Simon Webster Hair on Gardner Street in Brighton has launched a Pay It Forward campaign to support Brighton Women’s Centre. The initiative is very simple; people can donate £10 by adding it to their bill or purchasing a Pay it Forward voucher online, Simon Webster Hair matches it, and donates a blow By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Fundraising News Reality TV star, James ‘Arg’ Argent, joins Team Beacon for Brighton Half Marathon 2024 Having recently taken on one of the most gruelling challenges imaginable, when he joined the cast of Channel 4’s celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, reality TV star James ‘Arg’ Argent will now be taking on the challenge of the Brighton Half Marathon as part of Team Beacon, in support of the Sussex Beacon By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Transgender News Trans Secret Santa UK – bringing joy to trans youth across the UK Think2Speak, the LGBTQ+ youth organisation, has teamed up with trans campaigner Jude Guaitamacchi in collaboration with trans artist Mister Samo and their patron Octavian Starr to spread Christmas cheer to trans youth across the country. Inspired by Trans Santa in the US, this heart-warming campaign By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Music New drag song from Vanity von Glow gives nod to Mariah this Christmas Drag star of hit shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and in London’s West End, Vanity von Glow, is set to release her first song for Christmas. The song, Everlasting, will be released on Sunday, December 10 on all streaming platforms. Vanity von Glow, who has appeared on hit TV and Streaming shows such as By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Politics Green Party councillor urges Brighton & Hove City Council to support local communities affected by Israel and Gaza conflict and take a stance against hate in all its forms The Green Party in Brighton & Hove are calling on the council to offer more support to those affected by violent events in Israel and in Palestine, ahead of a meeting of all councillors next week. In a series of proposals, Greens say councillors of all parties can and must come together to reassu By Graham Robson • 2 min read
In The South Brighton & Hove City Council to recommend appointment of Jess Gibbons as its new Chief Executive Brighton & Hove City Council has announced today (Wednesday, December 6) it will be recommending to a meeting of Full Council the appointment of Jess Gibbons as its new Chief Executive. Ms Gibbons has been Chief Operations Officer of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council since December 2 By Graham Robson • 2 min read
LGBTQ+ News Learn to swim in 2024 with Out to Swim Brighton & Hove As part of Out to Swim Brighton & Hove‘s plan to encourage a wider range of swimmers, the swimming group is re-introducing swimming lessons in 2024. Lessons will be held at the King Alfred Swimming Pool on Saturdays between 5 – 6pm, commencing Saturday, January 6, 2024. A dedicated lane will be rese By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Community News Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ Switchboard invites LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic abuse to reflect on 2023 at free December Survivor Space event Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ Switchboard is inviting LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic abuse to reflect on 2023 at its free December Survivor Space event, hosted by the Domestic Abuse team from 11am – 2pm on Monday, December 18 at Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XG. The charity will invite grou By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Community News No place like home – Martlets celebrates return to revamped Hospice with Christmas concert featuring local choirs including Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus Home is at the heart of Martlets’ forthcoming Christmas concert, taking place at All Saints Church in Hove on Tuesday, December 12 and featuring local choirs including Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus. As the Sussex charity prepares to return all staff and patients to its redeveloped Hospice site in Wayfie By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Community News Sussex adventurer takes on Antarctic challenge for two children’s charities Josh Braid from Hurstpierpoint is following in the footsteps of his Great Uncle by taking on a South Pole challenge this December in aid of Rockinghorse Children’s Charity and Kidscape. By Graham Robson • 3 min read
Transgender News Trans and non-binary people needed for Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth installation Teresa Margolles is an internationally renowned artist and will be casting 850 plaster casts from the faces of trans and non-binary people between Mexico and the UK. These casts will be placed on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2024 as a show of resilience and humanity from trans and non- b By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Community News Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ Switchboard to launch new service with Conversation Over Borders for LGBTQ+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ Switchboard has teamed up with fellow Brighton-based charity Conversation Over Borders (COB) to start a new service for LGBTQ+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants – and are inviting people to its free first event on Monday, December 11. The new service called IRIS, which sta By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Sport Stonewall FC wins Historic GOLD at Guadalajara Gay Games 2023 Stonewall FC embarked on an exceptional challenge in Latin America, travelling to Guadalajara, Mexico in November for the Guadalajara Gay Games 2023. Their goal? To win a fifth Gay Games title and become the first team in the world to win the Football 11’s gold for a fifth time. With temperatures u By Graham Robson • 3 min read
Pride Brighton & Hove city councillors set to agree plans to deliver annual Brighton & Hove Pride for the next five years Brighton & Hove city councillors are set to agree plans to deliver the annual Brighton & Hove Pride festival and events for the next five years. A report is going to the council’s Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism & Economic Development Committee next week to agree the running of the Community Parad By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Community News Sussex Police Community Support Officer sacked for “inappropriate and sexual communication through Grindr with a 16-year-old boy” and “discriminatory language” against various LGBTQ+ groups A Sussex Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) who formed inappropriate relationships with a man and a teenage boy has been dismissed without notice after gross misconduct was proven following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation. The investigation began in February 2021 a By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Health New polling data show almost nine out of ten Tory voters want to see compensation paid in Infected Blood scandal New polling, commissioned by leading HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, shows that 87% of the British electorate believe that people infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal should be entitled to compensation. In advance of a key vote in the House of Commons which would establish a n By Graham Robson • 3 min read
Community News Sussex Cricket Foundation invites LGBTQ+ community for coffee and cake! The Sussex Cricket Foundation is inviting everyone from the local LGBTQ+ community for coffee and cake at its County Ground in Hove today from 11.30am – 3pm. This is a free event, offering the chance to sit and socialise in a safe and relaxed environment, at the home of Sussex Cricket. The fascinati By Graham Robson • 1 min read
HIV Continued decline in HIV transmission but progress slow among heterosexual populations, latest update reveals There has been a continued decline in HIV transmission but progress has slowed particularly among women and ethnic minorities, the latest evaluation report into the Government’s progress towards reducing transmission by 80% by 2025 has shown. The number of new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual me By Graham Robson • 5 min read
News Brighton & Hove City Council left with an “effective budget gap of £31 million for next year’s budget” Bella Sankey (Labour), Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, has today issued a stark warning on the financial situation faced by the council. It follows an Autumn Statement and local government settlement for next year that falls ‘disastrously short’ of meeting the huge inflationary costs and inc By Graham Robson • 2 min read
International News Amnesty condemns Russia’s Supreme Court’s ‘extremist’ label for LGBTQ+ groups, effectively outlawing the LGBTQ+ movement In response to yesterdays’ ruling by Russia’s Supreme Court which designates the “international public LGBT movement” extremist and effectively outlaws any public activity related to LGBTQ+ issues, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said: “This shamefu By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Community News UK’s AIDS Memorial Quilt digitised by Google Arts & Culture to mark World AIDS Day and ensure those lost to the AIDS epidemic are never forgotten The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt celebrates the lives of those tragically lost to the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and ’90s. To mark World AIDS Day (1 December), the quilt is available online for the very first time as it launches on Google Arts & Culture to ensure those who died are never forgotten. The [… By Graham Robson • 6 min read
LGBTQ+ News Young Albion fan’s colourful support for Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign Jason Steele, Norman Cook and Bart Verbruggen model Livs Cook’s designs Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation (BHAFC Foundation) recently launched a competition inviting local kids to send in their most colourful, inclusive, and supportive shirt designs to promote Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign and By Graham Robson • 3 min read
Fundraising News Brighton loneliness charity Together Co to celebrate community and connection with celebrity guests at Winter Warmer Celebrity ambassadors TV presenter Gail Porter and vet Dr Marc Abraham OBE will greet the people the charity supports and their befriending matches at an afternoon tea the Brighton-based charity is hosting at the Doubletree by Hilton Brighton Metropole on Tuesday, December 5. By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Clare Project Community News The Clare Project accuses senior leadership at MindOut of “transphobia and ableism”; MindOut responds Brighton trans charity the Clare Project has released a statement, accusing senior leadership at LGBTQ+ mental health charity MindOut of “a persistent disregard of both systemic and direct acts of transphobia and ableism”. In a statement, the Clare Project said: “Over the past 18 months we have been By Graham Robson • 2 min read
