More to Me Than HIV

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More to Me Than HIV

First published in Gscene July 2020 For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library.For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library. For the project I spoke openly about my journey having being           Read more

More to Me Than HIV: GScene post Aug 2020

More to Me Than HIV is a project that aims to breakdown the stigma that has historically been attached to this virus.  When I saw my piece in last months Gscene to promote the More to Me Than HIV project, I was extremely proud, but a small part of me was filled with anxiety; but why should I feel this way? I have been on effective antiretroviral therapy since the Read more

More to Me Than HIV: first published in GScene July 2020

For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library. For the project I spoke openly about my journey having being             diagnosed HIV+ 32 years previous. Back then there was no treatment and a lot of fear and misinformation concerning how HIV was transmitted. As such stigma was rife, Read more

fun

In Need of an Answer

In a world where there seems no time to sit and contemplate the answer to life’s big, medium or small questions, Carol Bolt’s, The Book of Answers is an ideal companion for a quick fix problem solver. Taking the concept of the Magic Ball 8 to the next level, the popularity of this book and its wide appeal comes down to its simplistic but at the same time genius concept. Encased within the hardback cover, lay a host of possible answers to any ‘yes, no’ type question that may take your whim; ‘Will I receive a pay rise?’ ‘Does ‘XXX’ love me?’ Is purple really the new black?

Like all good fortune tellers, Bolt’s instruction on the back cover help add to the showmanship that is needed to build up the tension.

Hold the closed book in your hand; concentrate on your question; stroke the edge of the pages; sense the time is right; open the book and there will be your answer…

“It will create a stir.”, “Don’t be ridiculous.” “Of course.”

Carol Bolt’s, The Book of Answers, was first devised in 1998, where a 130 artist editions were printed. The following year Bolt’s book went into major publication, and has been in print ever since. From its humble beginnings, The Book of Answers has been translated into seventeen different languages, including Japanese, Italian, and Icelandic. There is even a version available to upload as an app for your i-phone.

For the majority of people who have the original Book of Answers in their possession, the book is simple a piece of fun. However, it has also been used as a useful tool for warm up exercises in team building and a way to gently break down barriers for people working with children. These and other examples go to show how a simple idea can be transformed into an interesting communication tool.

Bolt has gone on to release a further six book in this series, including Love’s Book of Answers, Soul’s Book of Answers and The Literary Book of Answers, where peals of wisdom are this time delivered from the likes of Shakespeare, “To thine own self be true,” Jane Austin, “Tread lightly” and Dickens, “Keep up appearances whatever you do,”

As well as her successful collection of ‘fortune telling’ books, Bolt is also an established artist whose work explores the world around her through words, humour and repetition. Having graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts, in 1986, Bolt returned to education in 1994 where she gained a Master’s Degree for Fine Arts at the University of Washington. Since then she has won numerous awards for her artistic ventures, as well as exhibiting many of her works in Seattle were she now resides.

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Fiction & Books, Flash Blogs, Leisure, Literature 2 Comments

It’s Christmas Time, There’s No Need To Be Afraid…(Scrap that, Be Afraid, be Very Afraid).

On the television ads, there are hordes of people who still manage not to bump into each other as they find just what they want for Christmas; and if not, there is always a handsome/beautiful/pretty/homely (delete as you wish) sales person who acts as if they were modelled on the film set of the Stepford Wives. As many of you will by this time will know, this is the world of the ad-(wo)man’s fantasy. In fact, a trip to the shops has been compared more like that to a 1990’s club nights at Trade,as you tried to push past all those sweaty bulked up men who were too butch (or stoned on steroids) to move out of your way as you squeeze along “Muscle Alley.”

The savvier shopper of course does all their shopping on-line, ticks the optional “Would you like your purchase gift wrapped” and has the presents delivered to their work, making their colleges, all the more envious as you cry out “Another present? I never knew I was so popular.” This may have the effect of getting you laid at the Christmas party, or totally ignored for being too smug. Of course the way out of the latter situation is once everybody is plied with booze, is to take them to the nearest gay club and pull out a bottle of poppers. As the advert (the one I made up in my head anyway) goes “You’re never alone with a bottle poppers.” There will be the cry of “Ohh, it smells of old socks” but once they get past the first hit and Y.M.C.A booms from the speakers, everyone, including that stuffy woman from accounts and that miserable bloke who no one knows quite what he does at the office, will be begging for a second, third, fourth and fifth sniff. Who knew that for £5.99 you could bond the whole staff group in one night, that a week in North Wales trying to create a raft from a thousand plastic straws and twenty-eight empty yogurt pots never could.

The next day you will wake up with a taste resembling dog deodorant (imagine) in your mouth and images crawling around the peripheral of your soggy, aching mind from the night before. Believe me, you want to bury all those images in that dark part of your head and throw away the key, because if you don’t you’ll end up by the nearest seashore, stripping off Reggie Perrin style and just keep on walking into the sea

With one nightmare out of the way, you then have Christmas Day to face, with Little Mix from  X-factor being at the number one spot, but at least that will stop Cliff Richard trying to compete. There are those who use the day to keep the world at bay, wrap up in loads of blankets, have a truck of chocolates, mince pies and er…more chocolate by their side, happy to have full control of the remote control and sit back and enjoy THEIR day as THEY see fit….they are the lucky ones. For others there is the trip to the in-laws. All year it has been ringed round the calendar, a promise sealed from the year before when you dared to have the special day together on your own, only to be pounded with guilt when your partner spent four hours on the phone persuading his mother not to overdose on Emva Cream.

So, you’ve packed enough outfits for every event, knowing full well there will never be an occasion in Ipswich to wear those hot pants and matching vest, but hey, it’s good to be an optimist. Once settled in, you may be under the illusion that your help in the kitchen is needed; but only the brave would offer to cook the Christmas dinner for the in-laws. For many mother’s this is the one time they can remind their offspring that no one cooks like them, and only the insane would try to prove otherwise. keep reminding yourself, you may think a sprinkling of edible glitter on the roast potatoes and sprouts, would be the best thing ever, but the reality is this could well be the proverbial straw that sends your mother in law marching towards WW3. In most cases it’s always best to offer to either peel the mountain of spuds, sprouts and carrots needed the night before or better still, say you’ll do the washing up, particularly if all you need do is load the dishwasher.

Parlour games can be fun, but stay away from anything competitive, particularly if that ‘must-win-at-all-cost’ gene is hardwired into you. No one likes to see you punching the air when you have beaten your partner’s eight year old niece at Tennis Wii, and no one will forgive you for frying grandad’s pacemaker just because you thought wiring Operation to the mains would make things a little more interesting.

In the words of Aretha Franklin, r.e.s.p.e.c.t is the name of the game, so when it comes to bed time, leave the full on kinky sex for when you get back home, no one wants to have to take a hockey stick to the sheets to get them in the washing machine.

And so you come to the end of the holiday, and hopefully you’ll look back on it more like the last few pages of a Charles Dickens novel and less like the middle bit of a Christmas episode of East Enders. Either way, congratulate yourself for surviving this once a year celebration, safe in the knowledge that you have the next twelve months before you have to do it all againMerry Christmas Everyone!

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Zhoosh 1 Comment

Zombies invade Brighton (again)

Vacant stares, feet shuffling aimlessly as you following the crowd, low moans filling the air. No I’m not talking about the Saturday night pub crowd stumbling up St James Street at 3am, but the rather brilliant Beach of the Dead invasion, that will be hitting the streets of Brighton on Saturday 22nd October.

Judging by the hoards of zombies that took to the street last year, it is safe to say that the Zombie fest, Beach of the Dead will now be an annual fixture in Brighton’s “must do” calendar. For those who missed it, what a treat you missed! Last year the streets were awash with every conservable members of the un-dead as you could possible imagine, from the stereotypical Dawn of the Dead, white faced, torn shirt brigaded, to some extremely imaginative creations; including a bride and groom zombie fighting over a severed hand, a Where’s Wally, and even a Hunter S. Thompson/Jonny Depp ala Fear and loathing in Las Vegas Zombie.

As we slouched through the daylight streets, people cheered rather than ran off with screams of fear…well except for one woman who was caught up in a gang of zombies banging on the side of the bus as she called out, “I’m not a zombie, I really do want to get the 26 to Fiveways.” Read more

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Brighton & Hove, film, Gothic horror, Zhoosh 2 Comments

World Book Night: Part One

I’m quite chuffed to be one of the 20,000 people chosen by World Book Night  to give away 1,000,000 copies of one of 25 carefully chosen titles. Check out the website for more details on what titles are going to out there. The book I have chosen to give away is, Mark Haddon’s Brilliant. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a story about a young boy called Christopher. Christopher is brilliant at maths and has a keen eye for detail, just as well when he finds his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, stabbed to death with a garden folk.

 Taking inspiration from his favourite detective, Sherlock Homes, Christopher sets out on a road of adventure…oh; he also lives with the condition, Asperger Syndrome. In Haddon’s hands TCIOTDITNT, is a book that will have you laughing out loud, but the next page have you in tears, but you’ll be rooting for Christopher in his quest to find out them real truth behind Welligton’s Death every step of the way.

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Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Fiction & Books, Literature Leave a comment

In need of an answer?

In a world where there seems no time to sit and contemplate the answer to life’s big, medium or small questions, Carol Bolt’s, The Book of Answers is an ideal companion for a quick fix problem solver. Taking the concept of the Magic Ball 8 to the next level. The popularity of this book and its wide appeal comes down to its simplistic but at the same time genius concept. Encased within the hardback cover, lay a host of possible answers to any ‘yes, no’ type question that may take your whim; ‘Will I receive a pay rise?’ ‘Does ‘XXX’ love me?’ ‘Will the blog comminity like this artical?’ Read more

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Fiction & Books, Leisure, Literature Leave a comment