BLAGSS

Out & About

Whatever your sport, the Brighton LGBTQ+ Sports Society (BLAGSS) has you covered!

Sport and social group BLAGSS aims to encourage LGBTQ+ people to play sport. Walking, running and cycling have been the main forms of exercise it has been able to continue throughout the pandemic. Viv Woodcock-Downey, BLAGSS’ publicity officer, asked the organisers of these sports what is so great about outdoor-based activities.

Conor Sheehan of BLAGSS Running group: What does the concept of the great outdoors mean to runners?

The weekly training sessions are opportunities to improve fitness, make friends and enjoy the parklands and green spaces of Brighton and Sussex. The Saturday meetings combine camaraderie and healthy competition in a diverse and inclusive environment.

While Preston Park acts as a base, activities take place on the South Downs, from Hollingbury Fort to Devil’s Dyke. For some, running in the countryside offers a sense of freedom and escape from work or domestic routine. New routes discovered by members running alone are shared and kept in the ‘treasure trove’ of new places the group can visit in the future

What has it meant to runners during the pandemic?

While the pandemic has necessitated many curtailments to everyone’s freedom, the beautiful countryside has continued to beckon to us, offering a welcome space to run, relax and reflect.

What have you done to try to keep your sport going and people interested?

The spirit of support continues and they have found ways to continue connecting. Running routes, times, photos and videos are shared on social media and individual achievements are celebrated.

What are you planning to do to ‘relaunch’?

Keeping in touch during lockdown is important to encourage each other to remain active. When the lifting of restrictions appears imminent, a ‘back to the track’ training scheme will be provided so members can prepare further for returning to our sessions. It is likely only smaller exercise clusters will be permitted initially, so more convenors will be needed to support training within each of these groups, but this should not be an issue.

Dee Lewis and Patrick James of BLAGSS Cycling group: What does the concept of the great outdoors mean to cyclists?

It is many things, but an important one is exploration and discovery. Actually, we could talk about the little outdoors, because on a bicycle even small trips around areas that you thought you knew can bring discoveries. You are engaged with the environment and your senses are alive so you see things you never saw before, have experiences that you’d never have in a car. If, for example, you are passing some cows in a field you can stop and they will come over to ‘talk’ with you. It is a small but lovely experience.

What has it meant to cyclists during the pandemic?

The pandemic has been a mixture of good and bad for BLAGSS cyclists. The stricter lockdowns stopped cycling in groups, but then in the summer of 2020 there was a more relaxed period and cyclists were able to ride in groups of up to six. Those were great because there was so much less traffic on the roads.

What have you done to try to keep your sport going and people interested?

WhatsApp has become essential for keeping the group going. It is good for information and updates about rides but also for maintaining a sense of community and keeping people engaged. They still go out riding on their own and they send pics to the WhatsApp group, which is fun and motivating. We are still a cycling group even when we are not cycling as a group.

What are you planning to do to ‘relaunch’?

The space created by the pandemic has given “Embracing the elements and connecting with nature is great for our wellbeing, and one of the simplest ways to do that is by walking”

the cycling leaders the opportunity to think up new rides. Overall the pandemic has, in fact, been good for cycling in Brighton & Hove in various ways and this might bring about some growth in the group on the other side.

Alison Field, organiser of the BLAGSS Walking group: What does the concept of the great outdoors mean to walkers?

Embracing the elements and connecting with nature is great for our wellbeing, and one of the simplest ways to do that is by walking: it’s free and requires no special equipment or training. You can walk almost anywhere and at any time, so it’s easy to fit into your everyday life. Even in or near the city you can enjoy the outdoors by walking on the Downs, in woodland or along the coast.

What has it meant to walkers during the pandemic?

Recreational walking is a relatively low-risk activity when it comes to Covid-19, so finding time to walk outside, even on the greyest days, is a great way to be active while getting some fresh air. And because we must stay local, we have the chance to slow down and take interest in the small details.

What have you done to try to keep your sport going and people interested?

At times of fewer restrictions we’ve been permitted to offer walks for groups of up to six. Even during lockdowns, our members have been able to meet up for a local walk with one person from another household. We’ve also been sharing walk photos, links and route suggestions with each other on our WhatsApp and Facebook groups.

What are you planning to do to ‘relaunch’?

We offer a wide range of group walks and we’ll start them up again as soon as allowed. We’ve introduced some extra precautions to ensure group walks are both Covid-safe and enjoyable. Maybe we’ll be able to organise one of our walking weekends this year – fingers crossed. Anyone interested in getting involved in BLAGSS can try a sport for free with a one-day membership (court fees may apply). D To take part, visit the relevant sport page on the website (www.blagss.org) and message the organiser.

Gardener’s Delight

Laurie Lavender recommends some of Sussex’s outdoor spaces to lift the spirits when lockdown ends

) I was thinking recently of places I would like to go when we are able to get out and about safely again and one of them, even though I have been before, is Great Dixter, the garden designed by Christopher Lloyd, which is just off the A28 at Northiam just inside East Sussex.

I first heard about this wonderful garden when I was working at Leonardslee back in the 1970s. I was reminded about Leonardslee while watching the original film version of Black Narcissus that was on over Christmas. It’s hard to believe that West Sussex could stand in for the road to the Palace of Mopu in the Himalayas! I worked there for a short time on the gardening team. We opened for six weeks a year, four in spring for the camelias, rhododendrons, azaleas and bluebells, and two weeks in the autumn for the colours when the trees turned.

Anyway, back to Great Dixter and Christopher Lloyd. I was given his book, The Well-Tempered Gardener (without irony I might add), and was blown away by his use of colour when planting his beds. He was quite happy to break ‘the rules’ and create vibrant clashes and textures that are still the inspiration for the garden today, maintaining a wonderful freshness. Christopher had grown up at Great Dixter, the house had been renovated and extended by Edwin Lutyens, an architect from the Arts & Crafts movement responsible for the Cenotaph in London, Lindisfarne Castle renovations and also many buildings in New Delhi. Christopher’s mother, Daisy, was a keen gardener and had introduced him to Gertrude Jekyll, a British horticulturalist who had created gardens all over the UK, Europe and America. Her own house, Munstead Wood near Godalming (designed by Lutyens), is privately owned, but there are open days when the public can visit the garden she designed. In the opposite direction, the village of Winchelsea has open days in the spring and the summer but I don’t know if any dates have been provisionally allocated this year. I was chatting with a friend of mine who works

at Charleston Farmhouse and Garden and they are hoping to open the gardens at least in the spring, hopefully around Easter. Their website is www.charleston.org.uk, so all information will be on there (see also p40 of this issue for more about Charleston and the Bloomsbury Set). I also hear there is a new exhibition that is being prepared. Of course, after learning all about the Bloomsbury Set you can travel the short distance to St Michael’s and All Angels Church at Berwick to see the paintings by Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Quentin Bell. “[Christopher Lloyd was] quite happy to break ‘the rules’ and create vibrant clashes and textures that are still the inspiration for the garden today, maintaining a wonderful freshness”

The other place I find I am looking forward to going back to when the weather is more clement is the walk from Patcham across the Downs to the Ditchling Post. This walk takes you past the Chattri and affords great vistas northward over the Weald. The Chattri is where the bodies of Hindu and Sikh soldiers who had died fighting in World War One were taken to be cremated. Their ashes were then scattered in the English Channel. The monument was actually built in 1920 from Sicilian marble and ‘officially’ unveiled in February 1921 by Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). I normally take a packed lunch to eat before I return back. NB: if it is a hot day take plenty of sunscreen and plenty of water as there is little shade on this walk.

HAZELPITS REGULARS - SUE, PETER & JOHN. IN 1979/80 PIC: PETER M