Maurice's
Happy New Year!
I hope you had a pleasant festive season. I was happy to spend Christmas Day with my mum and my late sister’s family, tucking into a fabulous traditional Christmas lunch, made even more enjoyable because I didn’t do any cooking and my brother-in-law has a dish washer so I didn’t have to do the washing up. New Year’s Day was also a great day. Having recovered from a series of falls, mum decided to treat my brother, my sister-in-law and myself to a meal out at a country pub. Another enjoyable family occasion.

World AIDS Day
Since1995 World AIDS Day (WAD) has held special personal significance. It was a year after my AIDS diagnosis. Organising a concert of classical music in Stoke for WAD seemed a worthwhile way to celebrate being still alive. That concert inspired the birth of MUSICAID, which has grown year by year. Last year the 1999 WAD events left me exhausted after promoting and performing in mega concerts at St. Peter’s Stoke and Lichfield Cathedral.

World AIDS Day 2000 marked the beginning of a new era for both MUSICAID and myself. It started early in the year when I participated in the WAD group set up by Staffordshire Buddies. In October I attended a Cheshire Health Promotion WAD briefing in Crewe. This was a useful experience. Not only did I have a chance to get an overview of the work being done around WAD and this year’s theme but it also gave me an opportunity to see the support materials and learn about the small grants scheme they operate. Being able to network and exchange ideas and information was another valuable benefit - in short, I thought it an hour well spent and an idea that others might find worth considering.

My principle contribution for WAD 2000, however, was to exchange the stressful job of concert promoter for the more amenable post of working alongside an incredibly gifted and patient webmaster (Bob Lishman) to create: www.musicaid-online.co.uk
Last year the MUSICAID World AIDS Day effort reached hundreds of people. This year we could reach millions. It is staggering thought.

Time for change? Month by month, the Positive Lives postbag has increasingly bulged with letters, faxes, emails, press releases and articles cut out of magazines and newspapers. It is for heartening to see that people view the newsletter as an important method of communication. Perhaps the new year at the start of the 21st Century is an appropriate time for change. Especially as Staffordshire Buddies is entering a fresh era in its history.

Looking back on the year
2000 was a busy year for me. My voluntary work included being Service User Rep to Staffordshire Buddies Exec Committee and the HIV Forum; secretary for BP Staffs and joint editor of the Newsletter. To keep myself up to speed with HIV/AIDS issues I attended a lot of conferences, seminars and workshops.

In November I made a trip to London to take part in a couple of seminars run by Terrence Higgins Trust (THT). The morning session began with an inspiring presentation on Mental Health, Depression and Gay Men by Pepe Catalán the author of ‘Mental Health and HIV Infection’.

I was less impressed with the afternoon seminar ’HIV Prevention for People with HIV - Developing Strategic Directions’. Given the title, it seemed ridiculous to me that THT had made no effort to involve positive people in the seminar. The only openly ‘out’ HIV+ person there seemed to be myself. ‘Keeping It To Ourselves’ (KITO) the name given to the project struck me as negative and secretive, suggesting that HIV was something to be ashamed of and to be kept hidden. Instead of ‘KITO’ why not ‘PPPP’ (Positive People Promoting Prevention) and invite the entire HIV positive community to become involved?

The best conference of the year, after our own HIV 2000, was the Agenda for Changing Times at Manchester Town Hall. The day was organised by George House Trust. Full coverage can be seen on their website: www.ght.org.uk
The conference was memorable for its choice of key speakers and facilitators that included well known figures like Neil Gerrard, Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS, Derek Bodell, Director National AIDS Trust, Peter Tatchell, as well as HIV+ people. It also provided the chance to meet up with other positive people from all parts of the country and to enjoy the festive Christmas decorations in Town Hall Square afterwards.

Success!
At the end of November I got the good news that my application for a MIND Real Lives Real People Award has been successful. The project of community benefit that will result from a year’s work is to be a gay, lesbian & bisexual mental health website initially named: ‘GLB Mind Matters.’ If you can think of a better title or would like to become involved in its creation please get in touch by email: mozg@cwcom.net or via the Hanley Centre.

Take care

Maurice