Words: Oli Spleen, B&W Images: Estate of Fred W. McDarrah Ten years ago this June, a gunman walked into Pulse, an LGBT+ venue in Orlando Florida and opened fire. Forty nine people died as a result. Deeply shaken by the news of this tragedy I was honoured to be asked to write a poem for…
Merlin Betts My mind goes back to Winter last year, the wind and the rain along the seafront, making my way from St Leonards, the lights in Bottle Alley, the waves shifting between the shadows. The storm whipping my coat as I turn to head up Robertson Street and then scamper over and around the…
Merlin Betts I read this and I immediately thought of the biblical Eve. I bet a lot of you did too. Eve, or an archetypal woman. I didn’t know that “All About Eve” also refers to a band, and that their name comes from a 1950s film, “All About Eve”, which is about women lecherously…
Text: Oli Spleen. Photo: Oli with long-time friend and trans activist Fox Fisher. By Proud Parkers Photography. When Hastings Independent Press first launched over eleven years ago, its founding mission was to offer a unique community-led alternative to the mainstream fearmongering, scapegoating and divisive rhetoric that is the fodder of the daily tabloids. For many…