Introduction

22 August 2007

Dear Friends,

We are very happy to send you our programme for September and October 2007. There are lots of new activities and services(1). We hope that you will find some that suit you and look forward to welcoming you at these events. Let us take a closer look.

The program has two sections: social gatherings and sexual health.

Social gatherings:

Each month we have a lunch or social drop in for LGBT youth and LGBT people in general.
Each month there is a social gathering around a movie that we watch together at THT. We have programmed a movie for LGBT Youth, for Transgender people, for Lesbians and for Gay men.
At the end of October we also start a reading group. Again themes of the book will vary according to the different strands of the LGBT community. The first one centres on gay relationships.
The T group has been very active and will continue to do so as you can see in the programme.
In October we will have our first Gay Parenting meeting. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents are welcome.
Walking is promoted via the Rainbow@THT network.

Sexual health:

Terrence Higgins Trust promotes good sexual health for all. Therefore we create opportunities for people to have access to sexual health information and free and confidential testing: test clinic on Tuesdays from 5-7pm, the NHS Highland free needle exchange scheme on Tuesdays and Thursdays and a drop-in for sex workers on Mondays.

Put the programme on your fridge, on your desk, above your bed….. We look forward to meeting you!!

Take care

Best wishes


Agnes Boes
Health Promotion Specialist – Highland

(1) A big thank you to all of you who filled in the THT questionnaire. We appreciated your input very much.

Film and Book Info

Film

Beautiful Thing (1996, Great Britain, Hettie MacDonald) September

Two boys, Jamie and Ste, are neighbours on a South London housing estate. One is dealing with his emerging homosexuality, the other with a brutal alcoholic bully of a father. But in spite of this, a sweet, tender love kindles between them. Their relationship forms the core of the film, but the quirky characters that surround around them, not least the Mama Cass-obsessed Leah and Jamie's tough and sexy mum, are equally enticing. This film is a celebration of first love that shines through the graffiti and grime.

Ma vie en Rose (1998, Alain Berliner) October

When seven-year-old Ludovic (Du Fresne) shows a penchant for lipstick and skirts, he unwittingly uncorks a gush of suburban prejudice. It's not that he wants to be a pint-sized transvestite, or even that he's gay, but rather an utter conviction that he should be a girl. His parents (well played by Laroque and Ecoffey) can't understand it or cope with the social stigma that's blackening their name in the tight-arsed, tight-knit community. Crippled by a mixture of liberalism, love and deep embarrassment, they end up in a comic stand-off with their son. Seasoned with spicy humour, the film never preaches. Instead, through Du Fresne's remarkable performance, it deals with a child's innocent exploration of identity and an adult perception that is tainted by sexual insecurity.

Reading Group

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill October

Set in Dublin and its near surrounds AT SWIM, TWO BOYS follows the turbulent year to Easter 1916. At its core it tells the love of two boys, Jim, a naïve and reticent scholar, the younger son of foolish, aspirant shopkeeper Mr. Mack, and Doyler, the dark rough diamond son of Mr. Mack’s old army pal.

Out at the Forty Foot, that great jut of rock where gentlemen bathe in the scandalous nude, the two boys meet day after day. There they make a pact: that Dyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, they will swim the bay to the distant beacon of the Muglins rock, to raise the Green and claim it for themselves. As Ireland sets forth towards her uncertain glory there unfolds a love storyof the utmost tenderness, carrying the reader through the turbulence of the times like a full blown sail.

AT SWIM, TWO BOYS is written with great verve and mastery. It shares those elements that are the marks of all great books – the breadth of its canvas, the skill of its brush, the intensity of its subjects and, above all, the shining light of its humanity

Walking

Walking

Dear friends,

Do you remember the Terrence Higgins Trust Questionnaire? The results showed that many of you were interested in hill walking. We were very pleased with that. Walking keeps you fit and happy and it is a great opportunity to socialise and to meet new friends.

Would you like other LGBT people to join you in your walks? Let us know when you plan to go for a walk. E-mail, phone or write us with all the details: when, where, distance, grade… Give us this information at least two weeks in advance.

We will forward this information to all the LGBT people who showed an interest in walking.

We are sure that people will join you.

Happy walking!!


Best wishes,

Agnes Boes
Health Promotion Specialist – Highland

Highland Programme October 2007

Social gatherings

Wednesday 03 4-6pm at THT LGBT youth: social drop-in

Wednesday 10 7-9pm at THT T group (1) Film : Ma Vie en Rose

Thursday 11 7-9pm at THT Gay parenting: a meeting for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender parents.

Tuesday 16 12-2pm at THT LGBT lunch drop-in. Come and have your lunch at THT with your friends or meet some new ones. Browse through the brochures, ask us questions. Tea, coffee and soup provided by THT.

Saturday 27 10-12am at THT Gay Reading Group: At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O’Neill

Sexual Health

Monday 01 12-2pm at THT Drop-in for sex workers

Tuesday 02 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange (2)
5-7pm at THT Test clinic (3)

Thursday 04 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Tuesday 09 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 11 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Monday 15 12-2pm at THT Drop-in for sex workers (4)

Tuesday 16 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 18 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Tuesday 23 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 25 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Tuesday 30 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

(1) T group: for those who identify as Transgender - in all its variety
(2) Needle exchange: Intravenous drug users can come in and exchange needles, find information about sexual health and be tested.
(3) Test clinic: free and confidential testing, HIV, HepatitisB, HepatitisC and Chlamydia
(4) Drop-in for sex workers: Off or on street sex workers can come to THT for a chat, to relax and talk with other sex workers, to get information concerning sexual health (including testing and needle exchange). Tea, coffee and soup provided by THT.

THT: Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, 34 Waterloo Place, Inverness IV1 1NB Tel: 01463 711 585

Highland Programme September 2007

Social gatherings

Saturday 08 2-4pm at THT T group(1) workshop: Style and Body shape. Workshop led by Margaret Basley, a ‘Colour me beautiful consultant’. Remember to bring two jackets: one you feel very comfortable in and one you are not so sure about.

Tuesday 11 12-2 pm at THT LGBT lunch drop-in. Come and have your lunch at THT with your friends or meet some new ones. Browse through the brochures, ask us questions. Tea, coffee and soup provided by THT

Tuesday 25 7.30pm-.… Snow Goose T group goes out and has a meal together
at the Snow Goose, Stoney Field in Inverness. T-people and partners welcome.

Wednesday 26 4-6pm at THT LGBT youth Film: Beautiful thing


Sexual Health

Tuesday 04 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange (2)
5-7pm at THT Test clinic (3)

Thursday 06 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Tuesday 11 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 13 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Monday 17 12-2pm at THT Drop-in for sex workers (4)

Tuesday 18 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 20 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

Tuesday 25 5-7pm at THT Needle exchange
5-7pm at THT Test clinic

Thursday 27 9.30-11.30am at THT Needle exchange

(1) T group: for those who identify as Transgender - in all its variety
(2) Needle exchange: Intravenous drug users can come in and exchange needles, find information about sexual health and be tested.
(3) Test clinic: free and confidential testing, HIV, HepatitisB, HepatitisC and Chlamydia
(4) Drop-in for sex workers: Off or on street sex workers can come to THT for a chat, to relax and talk with other sex workers, to get information concerning sexual health (including testing and needle exchange). Tea, coffee and soup provided by THT.THT: Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, 34 Waterloo Place, Inverness IV1 1NB Tel: 01463 711 585