February Meeting

Firstly, this Saturday, 5th February, sees our group meeting in Kirkcaldy.

Assuming there are no last minute hitches we will be at our new venue, “The Hive”. This is situated on Whytescauseway, right in the town centre, and is intended as our permanent base going forward.

Full directions are included in this Eventbrite post, and we ask that if you will be joining us then PLEASE book your free tickets via that link so that we know to expect you and how many to cater for. (Yes, this includes all you “regulars”).

The theme for this meeting is “Fundraising Ideas (and Fife Pride preparations)”. This is an area where we know many of you have the ability to assist, and we’ll be presenting a couple of ideas and looking for more of them from yourselves. There’s no pressure to participate yourself, but even just coming up with an idea could be of great use to us.

Hopefully, now that restrictions are being eased, we’ll also be able to hold a Cupar area meeting later in the month.

Victim Support

Have you been the victim of a crime (any crime)?

Whether that be as the victim, a witness, or as a family member of one of those, the effects can be traumatic and Victim Support Scotland are there to help. Even if you don’t need them right now make a note of the link “just in case”.

DCMS research into online anonymity and abuse

Revealing Reality, a leading UK independent social research agency, are currently working on a research project about online abuse and anonymity for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which will directly impact government policy around the regulation of online spaces. 

As part of this research project, they are conducting interviews with

• Individuals who have experienced online abuse, particularly from anonymous accounts
• Individuals who have perpetrated online abuse, particularly from anonymous accounts
• Individuals who benefit from online anonymity

If you think you may be able to assist them with their research then use this Google form where people can tell them a little bit about their online experiences and leave their contact details. They will then contact you for a short phone call, and potentially book in a longer interview. They give each respondent £100 as a thank you for the longer interviews.

LEAP Sports Scotland launch Trans Active Edinburgh

It may be a bit far for some of you to travel, but we do have readers from outside Fife who may be interested.

LEAP Sports Scotland are in the process of setting up a new group in Edinburgh focused on improving the health and well being of trans and non-binary people through increasing their participation in sport.

The group follows on from the successful project in Glasgow and aims to support people who have felt excluded from sport because of their trans status or gender, and to facilitate their participation in a variety of sports as requested by participants, and will be organised in and around the Edinburgh area.

Activities will be open to all trans and non-binary people aged 18 and over and will be aimed at a variety of knowledge, ability, and fitness levels, and supported by qualified instructors where appropriate.

Further information can be found on the LEAP website here: https://leapsports.org/activities/TransActive

Changes to group management

And finally …

It is with regret that Tish will need to stand back from her position within the group in order to concentrate on her own, declining health.

Tish is the last remaining member of the “gang of four” who took over the running of the group back in 2017, just prior to the first Fife Pride.

Along the way she has received a tremendous amount of support from certain members in regard to the day to day activities, but it is now time for a fresh approach and new ideas.

In the interim, Tish and Fiona will ensure that things are kept running and that such finances as exist will be placed in an appropriate account ready for use in the future.

Nearer the time we will detail all that the work involves and ask for those who are interested to apply for positions as future “Co-ordinators” so that the important work that the group does can continue.

So that’s it for this month

Hopefully we’ll see you on Saturday!

Stay safe.