edited by John Clarkson with Jon Keay, Email news, listings and product info to us at eye@positivenation.co.uk
A picture speaks a thousands words and this is particularly true of Positive
Lives, a touring exhibition, now in its fifteenth year, that depicts
the lives of people with HIV.
Taken by professional photographers, the portraits are displayed with people’s
stories in a way that inspires action and challenges preconceptions. A selection
of these images assembled by Concern Worldwide are on display
at Homerton Hospital, London, till the end of April.
www.positivelives.org
Unheard Voices, Hidden Lives is an online collection of photos by
people affected by HIV. The camera turns on men who have sex with men, sex
workers and people living with HIV in India, Ecuador and Cambodia. Participants
were given cameras and photographic training and asked to photograph their
lives and those of their communities. The results are a moving and vibrant
testament to lives often shrouded in silence and invisibility.
See the people
and read their stories at
www.aidsalliance.org/unheardvoices
Regular
readers can’t have failed to have been bowled over by the wonderful
and insightful cartoons of David Shenton who illustrates
PN’s columns. His cartoons lend a lighter feel to the often difficult
personal experiences faced by columnists. Quite how he has sustained their
originality for the ten years he has been with us is a mystery. His hilarious
‘drag psycho drama’, Get Her, is the story of
Des, a Barnsley boy with musical leanings, if you know what I mean. Log on
every Wednesday for the latest instalment, and sob with joy as Des overcomes
one impossible obstacle after another.
www.dscomics.co.uk
TOUCHY FEELY
Terrence
Higgins Trust’s new booklets are full of sound advice on looking
after ourselves and improving our quality of life. Your Feelings
suggests simple, everyday care for emotional well-being and coping with difficult
times. Your Body gives practical advice on exercise, diet
and steps you can take to stay well and feeling good.
One thousand, two hundred and forty six people with the blood clotting disease
haemophilia were infected with HIV through treatment with blood products in
the UK in the early 1980s. Around 400 are still alive and at www.livingstories.org.uk
you can hear them discuss (the website has audio testimonies) how they dealt
with being told they had HIV, the stigma and the battle for compensation.
Hepatitis
C is sometimes called the silent killer because people can live for years
with the virus without being aware of the damage it is doing to their liver.
The government estimates some 250,000 people in the UK are in this situation.
Untreated chronic hep C in people with HIV can be particularly problematic
and hasten ill-health from HIV.
Following Anita Roddick’s disclosure (see full interview page 18) that
she has unknowingly had the hep virus for some 30 years, the UK Department
of Health has launched its own hep C campaign urging
people to test.
Those in their sights include people who had blood transfusion pre-1991; shared
needles for injecting drugs; had medical or dental treatment in a country
with poor infection control, had unprotected with someone with hep C or had
piercing, tattoos or acupuncture with non- sterile equipment.
Look out for the campaign in
newspapers and on radio in coming weeks or visit www.hepc.nhs.uk
Avoid
lining supermarket shareholders’ pockets this Easter
by buying charity or fair-trade gifts. Waverley Care has
teamed up with Scotland’s most luxurious chocolatier, Plaisir
du Chocolat, to create Tartan Ribbon Chocolate
(£3.80). Neatly packaged, they are a perfect Easter gift and
raise funds for Waverley Care’s vital work with people living with HIV
in Scotland. Office favourite Green & Black’s has
a good record on using organic ingredients and supporting fair trade farmers.
Buying the Maya Gold Egg (110ml, £2.99) guarantees
the price paid for organic cocoa beans to Belize farmers is sufficient for
them to invest in their farms and build sustainable futures.
Green & Black’s are available at www.greenandblacksdirect.com
Fresh & Wild and Selfridges.
Tartan Ribbon Chocolate available at Harvey Nichols, Edinburgh and www.plaisirduchocolat.com
or www.waverleycare.org
People travel, infections travel, and ensuring transport workers are aware
of HIV is vital in halting its spread. As part of its long-term campaign to
ensure unions, their members and families are informed about HIV, the International
Transport Workers’ Federation has launched a new magazine,
Agenda. The first issue has an article by UKC volunteer Jeff Ackers on why
it’s important for unions to develop strong HIV policies.
www.itfglobal.org
Since
its first production, Elegies for Angels, Punk Rockers and Raging
Queens has proved a hit with many theatre companies around the world
and raised awareness of HIV. This dramatic show is best described as a play
with songs in the modern musical vein. The libretto is by Tony Award-winning
author Bill Russell and the music by Janet Hood.
Award-winning Cassio Operatics Society are the songsters
who will give the play its latest outing in May.
The show celebrates the lives, and tells the stories, of 30 people who lost
their lives to the virus in free-verse monologues and song. It may make you
cry but there is also much humour as the souls of the deceased tell their
stories often without anger or irony. JK
8 -12 May • Pump House Theatre, Local Board Road, Watford. Tickets:
01923 225001 • £11/£12
More cartoon fun in the fourth issue of Cock Tales, Healthy Gay Scotland’s
irreverant safe sex comic. Liam and Bilal ponder civil partnerships; country
boy Oz gets a whirlwind tour of the big city scene courtesy of his fairly
godmother, and Crabs gets evicted from the Bug Brother house. Sounds nuts,
but Cock Tales is a fun and inventive way of addressing the HIV and sexual
health needs of younger Scottish gay and bisexual men.
www.healthygayscotland.com
DIARYAPRIL
02 LONDON Positive Place, Brixton. Four-week consultation
on what providers need to do to make NHS and voluntary sector services more
accessible to African Caribbean people. 5-9pm • 020 8694 9988
07 LONDON 2007 Black LGBT Community Awards - a stylish occasion
for black LGBT people and friends to meet, mingle and show appreciation for
those breaking down barriers and inspiring the community. £10 including
champagne reception three-course meal and after-party • www.blgbt.com
17 HARROGATE UKC host a seminar on nursing and HIV at Royal
College of Nursing annual congress with HIV positive nurses talking
about their experiences. International Conference Centre, Harrogate •
020 7564 2180 • mlaffan@ukcoalition.org
17 LONDON Positive Place, Deptford. Open group discussion
with guest speaker Judith Pearce from the Department of Work and Pensions
on DLA and return to work opportunities. 5-8pm • 020 8694 9988
18 GLASGOW THT team up with Red Ruby Events for
Battle of the Bands. Ten of Glasgow’s coolest new bands battle it out
and raise funds for HIV. Box Bar, Glasgow • 8-12pm • 0141 332
5431 • £4 entry donation
18 MANCHESTER George House Trust. Course for gay men diagnosed
within the last 12 months. Five evening sessions cover essentials of surviving
and prospering with HIV. Call Colin on 0161 274 4499 • colin@ght.org.uk
22 EDINBURGH Waverley Care has organised the ultimate abseil
from the historic Forth rail bridge. Limited places • 0131 226 2206
22 BRIGHTON Six brave souls will run the Flora London Marathon
in aid of the Sussex Beacon. Donate at www.justgiving.com/beaconrunners
30 LONDON NAM's information Forum. University of London Union,
third floor, Rooms 3 C & D, Malet Street, London. Free • No registration
required • 020 7840 0050 • www.aidsmap.com
UPDATE
FEEDBACK SOUTH LONDON’S website is now fully operational
with news on local services and what FSL is doing to safeguard them. Check
out the website for the next open meeting • www.feedbacksl.org.uk
THT Scotland is starting a new peer support group for people
living with HIV in Aberdeen; an opportunity to meet others affected in a relaxed
and friendly place. info@tht.org.uk • 0845 241 2151
George House Trust is taking bookings for the first of two
African residential weekends in the beautiful countryside around Mellor on
the edge of the Peak District. This will be for a small group of HIV positive
Africans and their children to spend time together in a relaxed and safe environment
with mutual support. Free including transport, food and accommodation •
Places are limited and only for people living in the north-west of
England • 25-28 May • Call Lynda on 0161 274 4499 or
email lynda@ght.org.uk
The Cara Trust is moving to 240 Lancaster Road, London, W11
4AH
Begin (Learning and Living with HIV) has teamed up with Yorkshire
MESMAC to launch a peer support and social group for gay men affected
by HIV and a walking group which meets regularly to enjoy healthy exercise,
fresh air and good company. Both groups are for people who live in the Wakefield
district. 01924 211 117 for meeting dates and times.
The Global Strong Trust is auctioning two fabulous Brit Awards
2007 fleece jackets to raise funds for UKC’s Midweek
peer support group. The Ebay auction takes place over ten days from 27 April-6
May. www.theglobalstrongtrust.com
• http://stores.ebay.co.uk/thestrongtrust
GMFA, the gay men’s sexual health charity, has gone
all modern with their very own MySpace page. Members can become friends of
GMFA, assist in developing campaigns and keep up to date with all the GMFA
news. www.myspace.com/gmfa_uk
