| PSNI launch dissident operation The PSNI are to launch a major security operation against dissident republicans over the next number of days, a senior officer has announced. bbc.co.uk |
Lip Service is groundbreaking – whatever its star says | Claudia Cahalane BBC3's new drama, Lip Service, at last shows that lesbians can be just as cool, sexy, funny – and normal – as straight womenAfter watching the first episode of the hot new lesbian drama Lip Service last night, I think the star of the show, Ruta Gedmintas, has underestimated what a programme like this means for gay and bisexual women.The actor, who plays bad girl Frankie, said in Saturday's Guardian that the programme is not groundbreaking.Queer As Folk had a groundbreaking status because there hadn't been a show like that before. But we're not trying to do anything that hasn't been done before. We're just making a relationship drama," said Gedmintas.But the fact that it's "just a relationship drama" is exactly the point – our lives being normalised and turned into one of these twenty/thirtysomething dramas is hugely significant.Lesbians make up a significant proportion of the female population but it is still pretty rare to see ourselves as regular characters onscreen.Tipping the Velvet was lovely as a historical fantasy, and the wonderful Sugar Rush or Corrie's coming-out storyline are important, too, but this is a whole series dedicated to the day-to-day lives of grownup lesbians in the UK. And, judging by the first episode, it's as good as the straight versions of itself, such as This Life, which is the series it's drawing comparisons with.I know that a lot of gay women will say this is gay life with a gloss on it, that the women are too glam. But that's TV and you probably wouldn't see many Mileses or Annas down your local Wetherspoon either.In truth, there are plenty of Lip Service-esque girls on the gay scene if you hang out in the right places. And I, for one, am pleased that this is the side of our scene that the British viewing public is now seeing.For too long, lesbians have been perceived as unfashionable, miserable and ugly. Those types do exist, of course, just as they do in the straight world, but they should no more define us than they do straight girls.If I were to make one criticism based on the first episode, it's that perhaps the most frequently seen type of woman on the gay scene, the sexy butch – think Rhona Cameron – is not represented at all. I know Lip Service's lady-loving writer Harriet Braun has said she wasn't trying to represent all lesbians, but modern butches like this are very popular in the lesbian world and if we don't see any in the first series it will show a lack of guts. It will also annoy lots of gay girls.In the meantime, it's important to recognise Lip Service for the great service it's doing to British lesbians. As brilliant as Queer As Folk was, it was about gay men, who in recent history have had more representation in the media. The latest study of BBC programming showed that lesbians were given only two minutes of airtime in a random selection of 39 hours of programming.So, well done to the BBC for giving us Lip Service, we've waited long enough. And here's to a new era of appreciating that lesbians are normal and, yes, can be very cool, sexy and funny, too.Gay rightsBBC3TelevisionBBCWomenClaudia Cahalaneguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Police funding to fall by 20% Funding from central government for the police will fall by 20% over four years, as part of the government's Spending Review plan. bbc.co.uk |
Cameron 'sticking to benefit cut' David Cameron insists the government is sticking to planned housing benefit cuts after Labour claims the policy is in disarray. bbc.co.uk |
Rescue launched for crew on burning ship Thirteen people who remained aboard factory fishing vessel Athena manage to bring fire under controlNearly 100 people were rescued from lifeboats today after the ship they were on caught fire 230 miles south-west of the Isles of Scilly.The Athena, a 105-metre (345ft) fish factory ship, caught fire in the early hours of this morning, forcing 98 crew members to take to rescue boats while the rest of the crew brought the blaze under control.Coastguards were alerted to the fire just after 6am, and a Royal Navy helicopter was on put standby, but coastguards said the ship was too far out to sea for an airborne rescue.There were no reports of injuries among the crew, which includes Chinese, Russian, Peruvian and Scandinavian personnel.The coastguard said the 13 crew remaining aboard brought the blaze under control after a passing container ship, the Vega, rescued the 98 people from lifeboats.A spokesman for Falmouth coastguard, which co-ordinated the rescue, said: "At the moment 13 crew members remain on board the Athena, with 98 on the Vega."We've been very fortunate in this case that no one was injured in the initial fire, or moving the crew to and from the life rafts."The 13 members on board continue to fight the fire as it is still ongoing, but they have it contained in a compartment and are able to operate the rest of the ship.The coastguard said that just after 6am they had been alerted to a major fire on board the Faroese-registered fish factory ship Athena, 230 miles south-west of the Isles of Scilly and 270 nautical miles west of the Pointe Du Penmarche at Brittany.The coastguard said a Falcon 50 fixed-wing aircraft had been scrambled from a French airfield this morning to provide a communications link with the Athena, and a Royal Navy helicopter from RNAS Culdrose had been scrambled to the Scillies to refuel.The Athena is owned by the shipping company Thor, which is based in the Faroe Islands. It was built in 1992 but needed refitting in China earlier this year after suffering another fire, according to a report in Lloyd's List. The ship, which flies under the Faroese flag, has a maximum capacity of 125 crew and a top speed of 14.5 knots.Falmouth coastguard relayed the stricken vessel's mayday signal into the area, and five ships responded to the emergency call.A spokeswoman for Thor Offshore and Fisheries said the fire appeared to have started in a packing-material storage area.Coastguards said the vessel had 50% power and was sailing towards Britain at a speed of 10 knots, where it was expected later tomorrow.Adam Gabbattguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |