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FILL IN AN ONLINE SURVEY FOR A CHANCE TO WIN £50!!!

Solutions are conducting some research in association with Q:alliance and could really do with your input. Results from this survey will help improve the services young LGBT people get from a variety of agencies and help us all to get a better understanding of what life is like for young LGBT people in the city.

Complete our short online survey to be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win £50 of CMK shopping vouchers.

http://www.survey.gabba.net/people_mk_survey
OR
http://tinyurl.com/YoungLGBT

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THIS POSTER AND DISPLAY IT IN APPROPRIATE PLACES TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD

Over the next few weeks theres a wide range of events, including social opportunities, walking groups, HIV Quicktesting, pub nights, counselling, meals out, the LGBT General Assembly (which is going to be HUGE – click here for details), International Day Against Homophobia in Football and a fantastic event looking at the life of Alan Turing at Bletchley Park in honour of LGBT History Month – check the calendar for details. If you have, or know of, an event that should be listed here, please email us at website {at} qalliance.org(.)uk.

Please note that try to provide accurate listings, but always get in contact with the event organiser to double check. Not all social groups are listed on the calendar, for a full list of groups that we know of in the area click here. Unless otherwise noted, the events are not run by Q:alliance.

In addition to the events listed, Pink Punters, the local LGBT club, is open Thurs-Sun from 9pm. For more details on Pink Punters visit www.pinkpunters.com.

Pink Punters have come up with a great way to celebrate Guy Fawkes AND Gay Folks on Friday the 6th of November as well as raising some much needed money for Q:alliance! More info below and at the PP’s site.

Remember Remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason & Plot.

Discover what Guy Fawkes & Gay Folks have in common?
4 centuries ago, Catholics were treated as unequal citizens, they were persecuted, beaten, tortured and killed simply because of their religion.

4 decades ago. LGBT people were treated as unequal citizens, they too were persecuted, beaten, tortured and killed but in this case because of their sexuality.

Guy Fawkes was fighting for equal rights, tolerance and an end to catholic persecution. Unable to change the English laws, he and his co conspirators set about an ambitious plot to blow up parliament and kill King James 1st.

The Stonewall riots in New York 1969 were the result of an uprising in the LGBT communities fed up with constant harassment, abuse and persecution by New York police officers. The riots were the catalyst for a series of riots and afterwards protests, demonstrations that continued for many years. Thankfully these days we can now all enjoy the peaceful, fun filled Pride celebrations that are held up and down the UK every year.

On 6th November 2009, Pink Punters will mark Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night with a new and unique celebration of how much the equality laws have improved – Gay Folks Night – 40 years after the Stonewall Riots.

Gay Folks Night will draw comparisons between Guy Fawkes and The Gunpowder Plot of 4 centuries ago with Gay Folks and The Stonewall Riots of 4 decades ago. We will remember the past, celebrate the present and look forward with hope for the future.

Write & Light – Bonfires, Lanterns and Fireworks – Angels & Demons
Burning your Demons – Get rid of your demons forever by writing them down then throwing them into the bonfire.

Message the Angels – Write your dreams and messages of hope on a Sky Lantern, light the candle and release them into the night sky.

Sky Laterns can be purchased for £5 each with all profits going to the Q:alliance charity.

7.00pm – Gather together for ‘Bonfire soup’ at Pink Punters

7.15pm – Address by John Goss / Live Band

7.30pm – Demon destruction

7.45pm – Lantern messages

7.55pm – Light your lanterns (individual, couples, families or groups)

8.00pm – Release your lanterns, the angels await. Fireworks

Courage MK

A Christian lesbian couple are exploring the possibilities of holding fellowship meetings in Milton Keynes for LGBT Christians.  The group would be for  LGBT Christians who are seeking a safe place of friendship in which to reconcile their faith and sexuality and grow towards Christian maturity as well as their partners and friends, parents and other family members. There would also be resources for churches and for LGBT people without a faith who are seeking answers to life’s questions.

The group will hold two initial monthly meetings as social events to meet LGBT Christians who would be interested in attending MK Courage. These meetings are to be held on Wednesday 4th November and Wednesday 2nd December 2009 in Milton Keynes. In addition, they will be holding a Sunday worship meeting on 22nd November 2009.

For further information on the time and venue, you can email Jane at info {at} just-church.org(.)uk.

Courage MK is affiliated to the national organisation Courage, an evangelical Christian organisation, founded in 1988. Further details of the national organisation can be found at www.courage.org.uk.

The Planet

Meets on the second Sunday of the month at The Stables Bar, The Bull Hotel, 64 High Street, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1AQ From 7 -10.30pm. £3 admission on the door. For further information please email gezzigirl {at} aol(.)com, alternatively call or text on 07889 179596. The evening is all about meeting people, relaxing and listening to good music from Heartbeat Disco. There will be a licensed bar with the option of coffee, cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails.

Vibe@The Springfield

A friendly, welcoming and relaxed LGBT social gathering based in Milton Keynes and serving MK and the surrounding areas and meeting every Wednesday from 8pm at The Springfield pub. They have a Facebook page here, or you can email vibemk {at} sky(.)com or call Bex on 07596 702160 for more information.

Please note that these groups are not run by Q:alliance, but we fully support them! A complete list of groups we know about, including The Gay Outdoor Club, The Lesbian Social Groups and the Secklow 100 group, can be found in our Information Section.

If you run a group, or know of a group, that would like to be listed on our site, email us at website {at} qalliance.org(.)uk. If you want some advice on how to set up and run a group you can email info {at} qalliance.org(.)uk.

Pink Punters have come up with a great way to celebrate Guy Fawkes AND Gay Folks on Friday the 6th of November as well as raising some much needed money for Q:alliance! More info below and at the PP’s site.

Remember Remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason & Plot.

Discover what Guy Fawkes & Gay Folks have in common?
4 centuries ago, Catholics were treated as unequal citizens, they were persecuted, beaten, tortured and killed simply because of their religion.

4 decades ago. LGBT people were treated as unequal citizens, they too were persecuted, beaten, tortured and killed but in this case because of their sexuality.

Guy Fawkes was fighting for equal rights, tolerance and an end to catholic persecution. Unable to change the English laws, he and his co conspirators set about an ambitious plot to blow up parliament and kill King James 1st.

The Stonewall riots in New York 1969 were the result of an uprising in the LGBT communities fed up with constant harassment, abuse and persecution by New York police officers. The riots were the catalyst for a series of riots and afterwards protests, demonstrations that continued for many years. Thankfully these days we can now all enjoy the peaceful, fun filled Pride celebrations that are held up and down the UK every year.

On 6th November 2009, Pink Punters will mark Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night with a new and unique celebration of how much the equality laws have improved – Gay Folks Night – 40 years after the Stonewall Riots.

Gay Folks Night will draw comparisons between Guy Fawkes and The Gunpowder Plot of 4 centuries ago with Gay Folks and The Stonewall Riots of 4 decades ago. We will remember the past, celebrate the present and look forward with hope for the future.

Write & Light – Bonfires, Lanterns and Fireworks – Angels & Demons
Burning your Demons – Get rid of your demons forever by writing them down then throwing them into the bonfire.

Message the Angels – Write your dreams and messages of hope on a Sky Lantern, light the candle and release them into the night sky.

Sky Laterns can be purchased for £5 each with all profits going to the Q:alliance charity.

7.00pm – Gather together for ‘Bonfire soup’ at Pink Punters

7.15pm – Address by John Goss / Live Band

7.30pm – Demon destruction

7.45pm – Lantern messages

7.55pm – Light your lanterns (individual, couples, families or groups)

8.00pm – Release your lanterns, the angels await. Fireworks

The video above is a lovely montage of yesterday’s fantastic Celebr8 Diversity Parade in Milton Keynes! (for a full set of pictures see our Facebook page – you don’t need to be a member to see the album). What an amazing, fun and well organised day – congratulations to all involved. Roll on next year!!!

THE PLANET – A new event to be held on the second Sunday of the month, starts on the 13th September at The Stables Bar, The Bull Hotel, 64 High Street, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes, MK11 1AQ, 7 -10.30pm. £3 admission on the door. For further information please email gezzigirl {at} aol(.)com, alternatively call or text on 07889 179596. The evening is all about meeting people, relaxing and listening to good music from Heartbeat disco. There will be a licensed bar with the option of coffee, cocktails and non-alcoholic cocktails.

ABSOLUTE LADS – A new males-only night at Pink Punters with Resident DJ Jamie Bond, open from 9pm to 2am with no dress code. It starts on Thursday 17th of December at Pink Punters.

CELEBR8 – The 2009 Celebr8 parade will take place on World Peace Day to celebrate the diversity of our community, past, present and future and looking outwards towards the issues of global poverty. The parade at its core celebrates the seven strands of diversity. Diversity is about ‘difference’ – difference across race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, faith, age and economic circumstance. The parade starts at Campbell Park at 4:30 on Monday the 21st of September. For more info visit Fringe MK.

In addition there’s still lots of LGBT social groups meeting in Milton Keynes and Buckingham – visit our Groups Section for more details, or if you are a young LGBT Person who can get to Milton Keynes there’s our HQMK youth group.

Want a cosy new venue to relax, meet or celebrate in MK?

A place where you can eat, drink and just be…

There’s a new group on Facebook where you can share your views on a NEW venue for Milton Keynes. To join the group, click here (you may need to be a Facebook member to view and partake in the group).

In addition, the conversations about starting up new social opportunites for LGBT people in Milton Keynes are still going on at Gay MK.

Now what about Aylesbury? Do you live in, or near, Aylesbury? Are you happy with the social scene? Looking for more to do? Looking to start something up? There’s a Facebook group which is a bit quiet, but could be a good place to start a discussion.

Let us know at info {at} qalliance.org(.)uk if you know of other places on the web or around town where LGBT people in the Aylesbury Vale area meet up, we’d love to help promote them.

A list of LGBT groups that meet in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire can be found at www.qalliance.org.uk/information/ – do let us know if we are mising any! ]]> http://www.qalliance.org.uk/places-to-socialise-in-mk-and-aylesbury/feed/ 0 http://www.qalliance.org.uk/new-social-opportunities-in-mk/ http://www.qalliance.org.uk/new-social-opportunities-in-mk/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:51:19 +0000 Admin http://www.qalliance.org.uk/?p=754 There are some really good discussions going on at the Gay MK Yahoo! Group about starting up some new social opportunites for LGBT people in Milton Keynes. To join the discussion and get something going you can sign up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gaymk/.

If you know of any LGBT social groups in Milton Keynes or Buckinghamshire, do let us know, we’d love to tell people about them!