Our Patron James Wharton Awarded Freedom of the City of London

Dear all,

I’m sure you will join us in congratulating our wonderful patron James Wharton who has announced he will be awarded the Freedom of the City of London on Monday 3rd February.

James works tirelessly for LGBT causes, including Stonewall, and is author of Out In The Army. He is also Patron of the Crescent alongside the equally fabulous CJ de Mooi.

Great work James, and well deserved! Congratulations !

The Crescent Team

Out in the Army Book Reading Event Barclays St Albans, 19/07/2013 at 6.45pm

Hello all,

As promised, our next event will be next Friday 17th July 2013 at Barclays 18 St Peter’s St
St Albans Herts from 6.45pm.

Our Patron, James Wharton, will be reading from his new book “Out In The Army” There will be books available to purchase at the event from which the publisher, Biteback publishing ( https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/) will make a donation to us from each book sold.

Alternatively you can purchase via the website using promo code THECRESCENT for which we will also receive a donation. You can also purchase the book at any good bookshop, or other similar retailer.

Entry is free to the event, but a donation is always welcome which can be made to any of the Crescent staff or volunteers who will be there.

More on the book is available on the Biteback website https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/out-in-the-army-hardback

Some feedback about the book here;

Stephen Fry
“ A wonderful, stirring and thrilling read. I laughed, wept and winced…”

Matthew Todd, ATTITUDE
“An inspiring read from start to finish…”

Ben Summerskill OBE
“A highly readable and distinctly twenty-first-century boy’s own tale…”

Matthew Cain, Culture Editor, Channel 4 News
“A fascinating and charming insight…”

We hope to see you at the event! we would like to thank Barclays St Albans for their wonderful help in providing the venue for us, and for their support for the evening.

Thank you for your support too, as ever !

The Crescent Team

Our Patron, James Wharton, In The Mail on Sunday

Hi all,

A great feature this weekend about our Patron, James Wharton, and his new book “out in the Army” which is also being serialised by the newspaper. This week he talks about how Prince Harry saved him from a homophobic attack during training together in Canada.

You can get a discounted copy of the book from the publisher, BiteBack Publishing, here http://www.bitebackpublishing.com/promotions using discount code THECRESCENT. Every order using this code will bring a donation to the Crescent, so it is a great way to help us, and get a thrilling read too.

Link to the article is here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2337882/Harry-saved-gay-hate-attack-Prince-extraordinary-showdown-troops-threatened-gunner.html

Thanks as ever for your ongoing support, with your help we can keep our services available for those who need it so much.

The Crescent Team

Another way to help the Crescent and get a good read !

Hi all,

Have just been informed of another way you can help raise money for the Crescent and save money yourself if you want a copy of James Wharton’s book “Out in The Army”

If you visit https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/promotions and enter promo code THE CRESCENT you will receive the book at a discounted rate and a percentage of the sale will go to The Crescent as a donation.

For those ordering before release on the 24th you will receive a signed copy too.

Here is the publisher’s outline of the book;

“Seeking escape from the quiet countryside of North Wales, the young James Wharton joined the British Army with adventure on his mind – and he found it. At basic training, boozing and brawling accompany the daily trials of army life but all the while James faces a battle of his own: he is gay and finding the courage to tell not only his family and friends but his fellow soldiers will be the biggest challenge of all.

Written with searing honesty, James charts his incredible journey from punch bag to poster boy, along the way describing the troubles and trials of coming to terms with his sexuality. Late nights in the clubs of Soho to early mornings guarding the Queen; rocket attacks in the deserts of Iraq to tank rides with Prince Harry on the plains of Canada – this is James’s life out in the army.”

Promises to be an exciting read so get your copy now and help the Crescent at the same time!

Thanks for your support as ever,

The Crescent Team

Outstanding Support For Our Quiz Night Fundraiser Last Week.

Hi All,

A HUGE thank you to all those who participated, donated or otherwise supported our Quiz Night on Friday last week. The event was a resounding success with far more people arriving than expected ! We had to put out more tables and rearrange seating to get people in!

The quiz was compiled, and hosted with great skill by our patron CJ de Mooi who is donating a percentage of the sales of his book, “How to Win TV Quiz Shows”, to us. A link to the book can be found here http://www.demooi.co.uk/book.html

Amazing to have so much local support, we raised thousands on the night itself, with more donations coming in this week too. This will help us keep providing essential services for the people living with HIV in Hertfordshire and beyond.

Keep watching this space for more information on our next event, which will feature a book launch by another of our patrons, James Wharton, whose excellent book “out in the Army” is released next month (June). Here is an extract from Amazon describing the book..

“Out in the Army follows the extraordinary career journey of James Wharton, one of the first ‘out’ soldiers in the armed forces as he becomes a man, joins the Army and learns to deal with his sexuality in a sometimes hostile environment prior to coming to terms with it and, in turn, helping the army itself come to terms with homosexuality. Wharton’s experiences in the army form the bedrock to this astonishing tale, from serving in Southern Iraq and with Prince Harry in Canada, to being hospitalized in a homophobic beating, to helping at the 7/7 bombings and serving at the Royal Wedding. His story is told right up until the point where he leaves the army in 2013 after a ten year commitment. The Army is certainly a different place now to when James signed up and there s no question that he s helped change opinions and make life easier for gay service people in the future. James was the first openly gay person to appear on the front cover of Soldier magazine, the British Army’s official publication. By being one of the first highly visible out soldier James has helped the armed services to begin to address its institutionalized homophobia.”

Link here to the publisher https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/search/james%20wharton

Thanks again for your wonderful support, look forward to seeing you at the next event,

With best wishes

The Crescent team