edited by David G Taylor with Jon Keay, Email news, listings and product info to us at eye@positivenation.co.uk
CONSTANT CONSPIRACY
Ralph
Fiennes turns in a much-lauded performance as reserved English diplomat
Justin Quayle in THE CONSTANT GARDENER, a film based on the
John Le Carré novel. Quayle falls in love and marries feisty human
rights activist Tessa (Rachel Weisz) and they move to Kenya,
where pregnant Tessa teams up with a local doctor to help Africans affected
by Aids and TB. When she uncovers research that implicates a corporate crime
by a drug company, Tessa turns up dead. Everything points to a cover-up, and
haunted by grief and rumours of infidelities, Quayle risks his life to uncover
the truth.
The Constant Gardener (15) is out now, www.theconstantgardener.com
DON’T BE A XMAS PUD
Pigging out over the festive season usually leaves us feeling rather bloated,
so why not lose those excess pounds with a spot of rambling. THE RAMBLERS
ASSOCIATION’S FESTIVAL OF WINTER WALKS kicks off nationwide
on Boxing Day and runs to 3 January, with
upwards of 15,000 people expected to take part. It’s an opportunity
to get fit without the joint-grinding excess of the gym and hundreds of walks
are planned throughout England, Scotland and Wales, including many that are
relatively short, and at an easy-going pace. So make the most of the crisp
winter air and enjoy some energy-boosting walks with good company, away from
the Christmas puds and TV repeats.
Taking part is free and also gets you a 20 per cent discount off a Ramblers Association membership. Log onto
www.ramblers.org.uk/winterwalks
EDINBURGH ROCKS
Scottish indie/rock club CABARET VOLTAIRE will stage a riotous
WORLD AIDS DAY BENEFIT on 1 December featuring live music
from bands Mother And The Addicts (left), The Rushes
, Viva Melodica, Womb, Comonechi and Snow White, alongside DJs White Heat
(London) and those Goulag Beat DJs (Edinburgh). There’ll be World Aids
Day collections throughout the night, plus a fundraising raffle where you
can win cool music memorabilia.
Cabaret Voltaire, 36-38 Blair Street, Edinburgh, 7pm-3am,
£8/£5. Call 0131 220 6176 or
visit www.myspace.com/
thecabaretvoltaire
LIFE CLASSES
On
WORLD AIDS DAY an estimated 15 million children around the
world will take part in the GLOBAL
MOVEMENT FOR CHILDREN’S LESSON FOR LIFE. It’s a time
when kids all over the world try to influence the Aids crisis by taking part
in writing campaigns, staging a dress-up or dress-down day, sponsored games,
balloon releases, educational events, performance and political lobbying.
Last year 4.3 million kids took part in 67 countries around the globe including
those from schools, youth centres and sports clubs.
For details on how to get involved, check out www.gmfc.org
TIME TO REFLECT
POSITIVE REFLECTIONS: 10 YEARS OF LIVING WITH HIV is a unique photographic
exhibition to mark the ten-year anniversary of Southampton’s RIBBONS
HIV RESOURCE CENTRE. View the show at Southampton City Art Gallery,
6.30-9pm, on 1 December. Admission is free, but you need to book by 28 November.
Call the Ribbons Centre on 023 8022 5511 or email info@ribbons-centre.co.uk,
FACE THEWORLD
The search is on for the faces of EUROPRIDE LONDON
2006. Organisers are looking for a diverse range of guys and girls
from the LGBT community who fancy seeing themselves on posters, magazines
and leaflets to promote EuroPride London around the UK. Volunteers won’t
be paid, but each selected person will receive a Pride Privilege Card for
club admission and other great discounts. EuroPride are looking for a cross-section
of ages and ethnics groups. Send a recent photo along with your phone number
to info@pridelondon.org.
UNITE FOR 15 MILLION
Every minute of every day, one child dies and four lose a parent because of
Aids-related illness. Already 15 million children have been orphaned by Aids.
Without a parent’s care, many poorer kids are missing out on basic education
and support. UNICEF has launched UNITE FOR CHILDREN,
a five-year global campaign to assist children affected by Aids.
Find out more about the campaign and sign up at www.unicef.org.uk
TAKING THE RAP
The
AFRICAN HIV POLICY NETWORK is launching a new awareness campaign
with support from UK rapper Swiss (right). CHANGING
PERSPECTIVES is about breaking the stigma around HIV and Aids and
raising awareness of its impact on Africans in the UK. The campaign officially
launches on 30 Nov with a special party at South Africa House
in London’s Trafalgar Square with a performance from Swiss, plus support
from poet Kwaku and surprise guests.
The African HIV Policy Network is an alliance of African community-based organisations working for fair policies for people living with HIV in the UK. To book launch party tickets, call 0870 116 2660 or email magali@richvisions.co.uk.
Visit www.ahpn.org
READING ROOM
HIV
positive writer and activist Michael McColly explores global Aids activism
in his new book THE AFTER-DEATH ROOM: JOURNEY INTO SPIRITUAL ACTIVISM.
The title refers to a room at a Thai Buddhist temple clinic where the bodies
of eight people who died from Aids-related illness are supposedly on view
to shock local people into protecting themselves. The book boasts a cover
by acclaimed Nigerian
photojournalist Jide Adeniyi-Jones, 
best
known for a poignant series of images documenting Nigeria’s Aids crisis
(right).
See more of Jide Adeniyi-Jones’ photography at www.allafrica.com/photoessay/nigeriaaids
JK’S XMAS HOT TIPS & MUST-HAVES
This year BOOTS has produced a fantastic range of hot broaches
and bejewelled hair pieces at affordable prices. TURQUOISE BROACH,
£8, and RED BUTTERFLY GRIPS, £4, available from
Boots stores or www.boots.com. Or try car boot sales and market stalls for
vintage jewellery that doesn’t cost the earth.
For sore necks and limbs, you can’t beat THE BODY SHOP’s
RELAXING LAVENDER HEATABLE BODY WRAP, £15. The sack is filled
with lavender and flaxseed to ease aches and pains. Just take out the pouch
and heat in the microwave for a minute then place back into the cover. Read
our interview with Body Shop founder Anita Roddick click here.
Our companion of choice this winter is this KNITTED RAINBOW HOTWATER
BOTTLE. It won’t get a headache or roll over and start snoring,
just keep us warm all night long. Priced £12 from OLIVER BONAS stores or at www.oliverbonas.com.
We came across our next hot tip during a visit (dare we say it) to the IDEAL
HOME SHOW. The PUREAIRE REVITALISER is a state-of-the-art
air purifying system that uses ordinary tap water and essential oils to literally
wash the air clean, leaving it fresh and bacteria-free. You can choose from
a range of essences to put in this stylish kit. Pureaire Revitaliser, £39.99;
optional light attachment, £25.99; aroma essence, £6.99 (plus
p&p). Call 0845 370 2010 or visit www.pure-aire.biz.
WORLD AIDS DAY DIARY 
On WAD, Manchester holds its annual HIV CANDLELIGHT VIGIL (below) at the city’s Beacon of Hope. Join the throng in Sackville Park
from 8pm. Meanwhile, MANCHESTER’S WAD BIG RED
BALL rocks the city’s Palace Hotel on 2 Dec.
Call 0161 235 8012.
