24/07/2019
St Paul's is an area with a proud history of making its own media. Back in 1989, its own radio station began broadcasting, St Paul's and Easton Community Radio – a pirate station broadcasting daily on 101.25 FM, which lasted until 1992. Today, one of our sister community stations, Ujima, is tasked with serving the needs of the diverse district. St Paul's also boasts a free quarterly magazine, Vocalise, which is distributed on glossy recycled paper to households throughout the area. In recognition that the district has a strong LGBT population, the current issue of Vocalise includes several articles of direct interest. Firstly, Councillor Mike Davies writes on the necessity of Pride and how things are currently challenging, with a whopping one hundred and forty four per cent increase in hate crimes against our community. The Black British paper The Voice has reported on similar spikes in racist crimes, whilst human rights activist Peter Tatchell has named and shamed movements like Brexit for giving an inadvertent green light to people with extremist ideas to push against contemporary modern Britain. On a lighter note, Vocalise also meets up with Rita Lynch, rock and roll star since the punk era, local feminist icon and musician with a large gay following. Rita has played Pride events for decades and has even appeared on the ShoutOut programme in the past. If you have missed your copy of Vocalise, you can download one online or visit community meeting places throughout St Pauls and neighbouring parishes for your copy.
