edited by David G Taylor with Jon Keay, Email news, listings and product info to us at eye@positivenation.co.uk
HONOURS
FOR ORTON
The late, incorrigible gay playwright Joe Orton will be honoured in Queen’s
Favourite, an exhibition as part of LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER
HISTORY MONTH 2006. The exhibition will cover Orton’s time
living in Islington and includes a rare opportunity to see the ‘infamous’
defaced library book jackets for which he was jailed. Runs now until 6 May,
Finsbury Library, 245 St John Street, London EC1.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History Month, www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
PRICK GETS PICKED
And
in a further celebration of the playwright, London’s queer cult cinema
club, the Sunday Society, is screening the Joe Orton biopic PRICK
UP YOUR EARS this month. Orton’s success and notoriety in 60s
theatreland was cut short when he was murdered by his long-term partner, Kenneth
Halliwell. Both had longed to be famous writers, but only Orton achieved success
with cult comedies such as Entertaining Mr Sloane and Loot. This, coupled
with Orton’s infidelities in public toilets, which he graphically documented
in his carelessly concealed diaries, drove Halliwell to bludgeon his lover
to death in 1967, before committing suicide himself. Directed by Stephen
Frears, the film stars Gary Oldman as Orton and
Alfred Molina as Halliwell (both right).
Tickets £6.50. Box office: 0870 756 4620,
www.curzoncinemas.com
CAST YOUR VOTE.
The
hunt is on for your 100 BLACK SCREEN ICONS. This month Every
Generation Media and BFI Black World launch the world’s first online
poll celebrating black screen talent. From Dorothy Dandridge
(pictured left in an Island In The Sun advert) to Halle Berry, and Oscar Micheaux
to Ashley Walters (So Solid Crew), the list focuses on those who have revolutionised
the creative, political and social landscape of film and TV. Categories include:
Black Screen Icon of All Time; Favourite Black British Film/TV Personality
of the Century, and Favourite Actor and Actress.
For more information, visit http://blackworld.bfi.org.uk.
You can email your nominations to info@everygeneration.co.uk
ALL SHOOK UP
Blackwood Distillers has launched a range of fundraising cocktails
in aid of Terrence Higgins Trust. The divine drinks include a modern take
on the classic gin Martini, the Gin Fresh (above right);
a refreshing summer cocktail, the Minty Bitch, and a new
innovation in Martinis, the High Martini (above left). A
series of bars across the country will be stocking them; order one and you’ll
be raising money for THT.
Outlets include: London’s The Green (74 Upper Street, N1), Kudos (10
Adelaide Street, WC2), and Escape (8 Brewer Street, W1); Brighton’s
Dr Brightons (16 Kings Road, BN1) and The Office (8 Sydney St, BN1); and Oxford’s
Raouls (32 Walton Street, OX2) and Escape Bar
(9a High Street, Covered Market, OX1)
WIN A TRIP TO MYKONOS
NATIONAL AIDS TRUST (NAT) has extended its fundraising competition
to win a trip for two to the Greek island of Mykonos. To enter the competition,
supporters now have until the end of March to raise money for HIV and Aids
and send the proceeds to NAT along with their contact details. The £1,000
holiday is for seven nights for two, compliments of RESPECT HOLIDAYS.
The supporter that raises the most wins the trip.
To enter, download a fundraising form from
www.worldaidsday.org/respect.asp
and start collecting
CINEMA PARADISO
Visual
artist Del LaGrace Volcano (below left), US film-maker Kyle
Stephan, and black gay activist Topher Campbell
are among the programmers for the British Film Institute’s 20TH
LONDON LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL (29 March – 12
April). Tim Kirkman’s 
Loggerheads,
Todd Ahlberg’s Meth, and Jeff Lovett’s documentary Gay
Sex In The Seventies (right) will be among this year’s screenings.
As well as the opening and closing gala nights in Leicester Square, there’ll
be lots of extra special events to mark the festival’s 20th anniversary.
www.llgff.org.uk
SPRING SALE
Fancy
a swim with British champion Mark Foster (right)? An absolutely
fabulous Harvey Nicks shopping expedition with Joanna Lumley? Or a luxurious
Las Vegas holiday, original Tracey Emin artwork, thrilling helicopter trip
to Paris, or a walk-on part in TV drama Nip/Tuck (above)?
Then get yourself a ticket for the annual fundraising LIGHTHOUSE GALA
AUCTION, 
where
you’ll find these unique lots, and many more, going under the hammer.
Over the last decade, the auction has raised nearly £1.5 million for
people living with, and affected by, HIV. This star-studded auction takes
place at Christie’s in London on 15 March. Tickets
£125. For details and bookings, contact Rachel Pearson at Terrence Higgins
Trust on 020 7816 4613 or email rachel.pearson@tht.org.uk
BURNING ISSUES
Bristol’s first annual GLOBAL LIVING FILM FESTIVAL on 18 March
is an exciting opportunity to see works by
student and professional filmmakers on global issues like HIV, refugees, conflicts
and disasters. Among the screenings will be Dionis Escorsa’s Room
Service For Bombed Out Buildings (left), Peter Linneman’s Nyumbani,
Paul O’Connor’s The Only Clown In The Village
and Martin Orton and Greg Villalobos’ Stacked. The
film festival, which also provides a platform for debate and an opportunity
for people to find out about occupational therapy, takes place at Bristol’s
Cube Cinema, Kingsdown, Bristol. The Cube Cinema: 0117 907 4190, www.gots.co.uk
FOODIE FUNDRAISER
Sir Ian McKellen and a host of other celebrities take part
in the 8TH ANNUAL STONEWALL EQUALITY DINNER on 29 March.
The evening, which takes place at London’s swanky Dorchester Hotel,
includes an auction with fabulous prizes donated by stars and supporters.
Celebrities, politicians, business leaders and members of the lesbian and
gay community will be among the guests at the prestigious fundraising dinner.
www.stonewall.org.uk
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Gay men with HIV who catch another STI, such as hepatitis, risk reducing their
treatment options and even their life expectancy. The presence of some STIs
can also make HIV positive men more infectious and therefore more likely to
pass on HIV. This is the theme of DOUBLE TROUBLE, the latest
campaign from gay men’s health charity, GMFA. The campaign
will run in the gay and positive press over the next eight months, and can
be viewed online at www.metromate.org.uk/doubletrouble
ON THE RUN
The
FLORA LONDON MARATHON on 23 April finds
UKC trade union development officer Andy Harvey (right) running
a gruelling 26 miles to raise money for both the UKC’s Disclosure in
the Family project and South Africa’s MADAboutART project that uses
art to help children learn about HIV and how to keep themselves safe. The
project also provides a haven for children to get together, study and get
a basic but decent meal. “I am proud to run for the UKC to support these
two projects,” says Andy. “Please give as generously as you can,”
he adds, “and be certain that in doing so you are improving the lives
of
children and young people in South Africa and here in the UK.”
Donate online at www.justgiving.com/andyharvey.
Please remember to tick the Gift Aid box so your donation is topped up by
22 per cent by the
Inland Revenue
VISION ON
Cameras
at the ready: ‘Life begins today’ is the theme of this year’s
ONE VISION EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION, sponsored by
Bristol-Myers Squibb. You have until 15 March to get your
entries in for the competition that challenges stigma and discrimination felt
by those affected by HIV and Aids. In the UK, One Vision is backed by National
Aids Trust (NAT) and the UK Coaltion of People Living With
HIV and Aids (UKC). Funds collected will be allocated to these two
charities. “We are proud to continue our support for an initiative in
which people can use their creativity to fight the stigmaassociated with HIV,”
said Stephen Bitti, UKC chief executive. There are four European prizes (€5,000
first prize and €2,000 second prize for amateur and professional photographers)
and several national prizes (€1,000). PN has a giftbox featuring 22 of
last year’s winning entries in postcard form, including French winner
Fabrice Vallon’s Rendez-vouz privé (above) and Italian winner
Paolo Robazza, with Jump (below). Each gift box costs £3.50 (including
P&P) with all proceeds to UKC. Call 020 7564 2121 to order. Calvin
Holbrook 
To enter, visit www.onevision2006.org,
fill in an entry form
and start snapping
HOME HELP
READER OFFER
If you’re addicted to property, makeover and gardening programmes, a
visit to the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show (8 March – 2 April,
Earls Court) will quench your thirst for all things DIY and design.
The focus of this year’s show is ‘recycling in the home’
and design guru Oliver Heath will be on hand to give expert advice on how
to go green. Pick up hot tips on design and housing advice from Naomi Cleaver
and Sarah Beeny, and if you’re a foodie, celeb chefs Antony Worrall
Thompson and James Martin will be in the ‘sizzling kitchen’. 
Other highlights include a show village with 16m tall waterfall set among
an authentic rainforest, and stunning gardens courtesy of city gardener Matt
James (right). There is also an Indulgence Zone were you can book
in for a beauty treatment courtesy of the London College of Beauty Therapy
(book early to avoid disappointment).
DIARY
• QUEEN’S JEWELS is Europe’s first dedicated
exhibition looking at what has helped define black LGBT culture in the UK.
Displaying magazines, flyers, posters and other club memorabilia, the RUKUS!
project runs until 28 Feb. Carnegie Library, 188 Herne Hill
Road, London SE24. Email info@rukus.co.uk for more info.
• OVER THE RAINBOW: CONSIDERING CIVIL PARTNERSHIP is
a series of one-day workshops for couples, taking place from 5 March
in London & Brighton, £95 per couple. Call 01424 719 123.
• HIV/AIDS AND LAW on 10 March is a seminar exploring
HIV-related stigma and discrimination, prosecutions for sexual transmission,
immigration/asylum law, and access to treatment. It’s free, but booking
is essential. Runs 9.30am-5pm at Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet
Street, London. Email d.monk@bbk.ac.uk
• On 18 March there’s a free British Sign Language
tour for deaf visitors of the Theatre Museum’s latest exhibition UNLEASHING
BRITAIN in Covent Garden, London. tmbookings@vam.ac.uk
• London’s PACE run Black Connection, a monthly group for black
men who have sex with men on 19 March, 6-9pm. Positive Hub,
its group for all HIV positive men, runs 26 March. 020 7700
7323.
• A COMING OUT AND SPIRITUALITY workshop for African/Caribbean
gay men and women takes place 25 March at BLUK, the Meeting
Room, 9 Archer Street, London. 07951 909 858/www.bluk.org.uk.
• 31 March sees North Yorkshire’s LGBT community
getting in a FRENZI. This new monthly club night takes place
10pm till 2am at The Albion, 136 Castle Road, Scarborough. Call 07810 001
069.
• THT has opened a new Wellington office to provide
HIV and sexual health prevention and support across Shropshire, Telford and
Wrekin. Open Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm. Call 01952 257 312 or email info.shropshire@tht.org.uk
• THE NATIONAL DISABILITY ARTS FORUM is researching
issues affecting disabled people from culturally diverse backgrounds involved
in the arts. Comments and experiences are welcomed. Write to: CD Research,
c/o Reality Productions, the Diorama Arts Centre, 34 Osnaburgh Street, London
NW1 3ND. Call 020 7681 7160 or email cdresearch@ndaf.org.
• Recently launched, the Dyn Wales/Dyn Cymru Helpline
offers a confidential listening and signposting service, providing advocacy
for heterosexual, gay, bisexual, and transgender men who have experienced
domestic abuse in Wales. The helpline is open Monday, 9am-12noon; Wednesday,
1-4pm and Thursday, 6-9pm and the number is 0808 801 0321. It’s free
and confidential. www.dynproject.org.
•
The double CD album BUSKAID LIVE! is out now. It’s
a compilation of live performances by the Soweto-based Buskaid Ensemble.
Buskaid is a charitable trust founded in 1992 by British viola player Rosemary
Nalden to raise money to benefit young musicians in the South African township.
The CD costs £20. For details, call 07958 790 173 or check out www.buskaid.org.za.
.jpg---rename.jpg)
• Disabled people have brought a wealth of talent to UK arts, so why
are they still excluded from the mainstream? This is the question asked by
theatre director, playwright and disability rights campaigner Paddy
Masefield in his new book, STRENGTH: BROADSIDES FROM DISABILITY
ON THE ARTS (£17.99, Trentham Books). It takes a touching look
at the last three decades of the Disability Arts Movement and the lives of
disabled artists. www.piecesofpaddy.co.uk.
