edited by David G Taylor with Jon Keay, Email news, listings and product info to us at eye@positivenation.co.uk
TOPIC OF CANCER
Ricky
Gervais, Goldfrapp (left), Bloc Party, Razorlight
and 80s band The Cure are all headliners
at the 6TH TEENAGE CANCER TRUST CONCERTS at London’s
Albert Hall. The six-day fundraiser runs from
27 March to 1 April and includes music, comedy and a Tommy
Vance Tribute Night featuring heavy rock stars Judas Priest,
The Scorpions, Boned and Ian Gillan March. Each
day in the UK, six teenagers are diagnosed with cancer and the numbers are
rising. Funds raised from these concerts, organised by The Who’s
Roger Daltry, will enable the Trust to help more young people. “There
is no doubt in my mind these shows really are making a difference to the lives
of thousands of teenagers with cancer,” says Daltry. We agree.
Ricky Gervais: 27 March; Goldfrapp: 28 March; Bloc Party: 29 March; Razorlight:
30 March; The Cure: 1 April. Visit
www.teenagecancertrust.org. Tickets from Royal Albert Hall on 0207 589
8212, Ticket Master on 0871 230 5447, or online at www.aloud.com
CARMEN ELEKTRA
U-CARMEN
E-KHAYELITSHA is the film version of Georges Bizet’s
opera Carmen, set in a modern-day South African township. All the
words are sung and spoken in Xhosa, one of South Africa’s 11 official
languages. U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha was shot during April and May 2004 in the
township of Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, and went on to scoop the Golden Bear
award at the Berlin International Film Festival 2005.
In cinemas 21 April
A CHILD DISPLACED
The WEEDING CANE is the latest play at London’s Oval
House Theatre. Written by Sonia Hughes, it tells
the haunting story of Joy, a child left behind with her grandma in her native
Caribbean, when her mother migrates to England. Communication between mother
and child is restricted to the odd letter or gift. However, when Joy’s
grandma dies suddenly, the child is unceremoniously torn away from the life
she knows to join her estranged mother, stepfather and half-siblings in England.
Tickets: £12, £6 concessions. Runs 4-8 April, The Oval House,
52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11. Tel: 020 7582 0080, www.ovalhouse.com
LONG LIVE THE WEEKENDER
Sometimes
living with HIV can grind you down. For those moments, getting away from it
all with others in the same boat can help. From 19 to 21
May, MANCHESTER’S GEORGE HOUSE TRUST &
LESBIAN AND GAY FOUNDATION are holding a weekend away for HIV positive
gay men, providing a space for them to discuss strategies for coping with
being HIV positive. The group will stay in the beautiful Pennine town of Hebden
Bridge (right). For more information or to book a place, call Colin
on 0161 274 4499 or email colin@ght.org.uk.
Later on in the year, from 3 to 10 June, PACE embarks on
its fourth residential week for gay and bisexual men. The workshop explores
intimacy in friendship and relationships in the beautiful setting of Laurieston
Hall, near Castle Douglas, Scotland. So if fireside chats, swimming and volleyball
are your thing, call PACE on 020 7700 1323 or email groupwork@pace.dircon.co.uk.
Cost: £435.
If you’ve been living with HIV for five or more years, the NATIONAL
LONG-TERM SURVIVORS’ LIVING PROOF weekend retreats may be for
you. They provide an opportunity to take part in activities including group
workshops, one-to-one counselling and complementary therapies. April’s
weekend is already booked out, but there are more running 7-9 July/15-17 September/15-17
December. Check out www.nltsg.org
or contact mail@nltsg.org. JK
MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM
MARGATE
Sexual
abuse, teenage sexuality and unwanted pregnancy are issues explored in TOP
SPOT, British artist Tracey Emin’s controversial
feature film. Set in the sleepy seaside town of Margate in the 80s, the film
uses amateur teenage actors to play out a montage of fiction and fact, invented,
overheard or remembered from Emin’s own teens. All this is set against
a kaleidoscopic backdrop of tacky funfairs and
discotheques. Arthouse or outhouse, it has certainly stirred up debate on
young women and their sexuality.
Top Spot is released by Tartan Video on 24 April (£19.99), with extras
including a Tracey Emin commentary, deleted scenes and even an alternate ending.
www.tartanvideo.com
SPRING CLEAN FOR CHARITY
If
you consider Positive Nation an invaluable tool in your HIV
survival kit, or want to support UKC to
provide better services and give a bigger voice to people living with HIV
and Aids in the UK, click onto eBay.
We are now a registered eBay charity and have joined forces
with the site’s registered power seller, AuctionAssist,
to sell items on our behalf. So when you start the spring cleaning this year,
think again before throwing away any unwanted items.
The site can sell working electrical goods, mobile phones/accessories, cameras,
books, records/DVDs, vintage/designer clothing or homewares. New and hardly-used
items get best results and vintage stuff is really popular. JK
Call AuctionAssist on 0845 257 0348 and they will collect donated items for
free, or use one of
hundreds
of its UK drop-off points. Check out www.auctionassist.co.uk
for tips on selling, but remember to say you are donating the item to UKC
If you’d like AuctionAssist to sell an item for you, instead of UKC,
they will handle every aspect of the sale, from taking pictures to answering
emails. They charge 33 per cent of the final sale price
HIV LIFE THRU A LENS
Since
its inception in 1993, the Positive Lives exhibition has uniquely photographed
and documented the impact of the global HIV pandemic. A new book, POSITIVE
LIVES: INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES TO HIV AND AIDS, sponsored by Concern,
contains over 120 exhibtion images. It offers extraordinary insights into
the lives of those affected by the virus, including Ma Shen Yi (above right,
with HIV positive son) 
and
Mozambique’s Muleid theatre group (left). Calvin Holbrook
Concern are asking for a donation of £7.50 per book. Order online at
www.concern.net/positivelives/
or call 020 7960 4629
QUEER AS A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
The BFI’s 20TH LONDON LESBIAN & GAY FILM FESTIVAL
is underway (29 March – 12 April). HIV-related highlights
include VIDEO REMAINS (below, 30 March and 3 April),
moving home footage of the director’s friend who died of Aids in 1993
along with interviews of survivors; GAY SEX IN THE 70s (6-7 April),
a look at pre-Aids experimentation and consequences of the HIV epidemic; METH
(6 April) a documentary about crystal meth use is followed
by an on-stage discussion with drugs and HIV professionals on the UK experience,
PICK UP THE MIC (7 April), a documentary about the growing
underground queer hip-hop movement featuring rapper Qboy (See Last Word, pg
64). Booking is highly recommended.
To book, call 020 7928 3232 or visit www.llgff.org.uk
HOCKNEY GEEZER
Estorick
Collection of Modern Italian Art, 39a Canonbury Square, London N1.
5 April to 18 June, 020 7704 9522, www.estorickcollection.com
Artwork by gay Yorkshireman David Hockney features in a new
exhibition looking at the influence of Italian artists on British modern art.
The grand sounding MORANDI’S LEGACY: INFLUENCES ON BRITISH ART
is in reality just a look at some great British landscapes and still-life
paintings. The twist is these paintings are thought to be inspired by Italian
artist Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964). Works by Tony Cragg,
Patrick Caulfield, Euan Uglow and Ben Nicholson also feature.
FASHIONS CHANGE STYLE STICKS
Those
of us with HIV-related mobility problems severe enough to require a cane can
now add a dash of colour to our daily constitutionals. SWITCH STICKS
are a funky yet functional range of walking stick made of lightweight aluminium.
They fold up in four sections to an easily portable 25cm and even come with
their own bag. There are four different designs in a wild array of colours
including hot pink, bright blue, emerald green, pillar-box red and chic black.
It’s the ideal accessory for anyone who likes to make a bold style statement.
Switch Sticks, £19.99 each. Buy online at www.switchsticks.com
or choose your design and call 08451 114 114
READER OFFER
HOT BHANGRA DANCE
Those
kind World Music people are offering five Positive Nation readers the chance
to win a free copy.
All you have to do is send your name and address on a postcard to: Bhangra
Dance Competition, Positive Nation, 250 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5RD
Just released, THE ROUGH GUIDE TO BHANGRA DANCE (World Music
Network) is an essential collection for those who love bhangra beats, or the
perfect introduction for the musically-curious. Compiled by radio presenter
and club promoter DJ Ritu, the album features some of the
hottest bhangra tracks from some of the funkiest artists to hit the British-Asian
music scene, including Four Of A Kind, Juggy D, Punjabi By Nature,
Taz and Malkit Singh.
DIARY APRIL
2ND / ST ALBANS / THE CRESCENT SUPPORT GROUP are relaunching
its Sunday lunch meeting. It will now be held on the first Sunday of each
month and is a great opportunity to meet other people
living with or affected by HIV in a relaxed and friendly environment. For
more details, call 01727 842 532.
4TH / UK / PN’s TREATMENTS EDITOR ROBERT FIELDHOUSE
starts his latest tour of the UK. He’ll be speaking on the latest developments
in HIV therapy, new treatment options, managing side effects, and switching/stopping
therapy. 4th, Uxbridge/London, tel: 01895 813874; 5th, Belfast, tel: 028 9024
9268; 6th, Leeds, tel: 0113 236 4720; 11th, Southampton, tel: 023 8022 5511;
12th, Newcastle, tel: 0191 232 2855; 21st, Manchester,
tel: 0161 873 8100; 26th, Sheffield, tel: 0114 278 7916 and 28th Thornton
Heath/ London, tel: 020 8694 9988.
6TH / ISLINGTON / POSITIVELY WOMEN are relaunching its support
groups. Sessions will now be held on the first and third Thursday of every
month. First Thursday provides a mix of social,
information, therapeutic and one-to-one support activities. Runs 4pm-8.30pm.
Third Thursday sees the launch of a series of exciting new workshops addressing
health and personal development. Starts 6pm. Call the casework team on 020
7713 0222.
16TH / LONDON / LESBIAN & GAY CATHOLICS’ MASS for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered Catholics, their parents, families and
friends. From 5pm, St Anne’s Church, 55 Dean Street, London W1. Call
020 8986 0807.
16TH / LONDON / THE BLACK CONNECTION is a monthly group from
PACE for men who have sex with men to meet, talk and socialise. 6-9pm. To
book, call
020 7700 7323.
24TH / LONDON / NAM’s monthly forum is on the side
effects of HIV meds: when and why they happen and how you can manage them.
NAM’s Michael Carter will be the speaker at University London Union,
3rd Floor, Rooms 3C & D, Malet Street, London WC1. Call 020 7840 0050
or visit www.aidsmap.com
for further details.
30TH / LONDON / LONDON GAY MEN’S CHORUS celebrate its
15th anniversary with a concert. Details are yet to be confirmed, so visit
www.lgmc.org.uk nearer
the time for information.
30TH / LONDON / POSITIVE HUB is a monthly evening at PACE
for positive men. A place for connection, honesty, laughter and exploration.
Call 020 770 7323 to book.
UPDATE
BRIXTON / THE POSITIVE PLACE have opened a new peer support
and living well centre offering group space, therapy rooms and crèche
facilities. Unit 16, Eurolink Business Centre, 49 Effra Rd, SW2. Tel: 020
8694 9988.
READING / THAMES VALLEY POSITIVE SUPPORT offers a new evening
drop-in every Wed, 6-9pm. This evening, in addition to TVPS’s usual
services, offers peer support, therapies, counselling, benefits and immigration
advice, careers guidance and much more. Call 01628 603 400.
LAMBETH / THT has launched a new drug and alcohol support
service for young lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the London borough of
Lambeth. The scheme will support under 25s that need information on drugs
and alcohol. Call Dan on 020 7803 1684 or 07771 858057.
KENTISH TOWN / OASIS NORTH LONDON run Learndirect courses
for people living with HIV every Thu, 10am-4.30pm. If you’re in London
and want to learn or brush up your computer skills, or you need help with
writing, reading, speaking or listening, this could help you. Call Pauline
on 020 7485 2466 to book.
UK / 3 NEEDLES is a new film featuring three different stories
around the Aids epidemic. Starring Lucy Liu and Chlöe Sevigny, catch
it playing at: 6 April, Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge; 9 April, Sheffield Showroom;
1 & 2 May, Bristol Arnolfini; 3 & 5 May, Manchester Commonwealth Festival.
