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Is Kent a homophobic county?

American pastor Dr. Jim Reynolds visited St. John's church in Tunbridge Wells at the weekend claiming he could help cure people of their homosexuality.

American pastor Dr. Jim Reynolds visited St. John's church in Tunbridge Wells at the weekend claiming he could help cure people of their homosexuality.

It preceded the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Three documentary on the topic of gay footballers and the news that councillor Lesley Pilkington carried out a therapy session with an undercover journalist who said he wanted to be cured of his homosexuality.

Is Kent a homophobic county? What is it like to live in Kent if you are gay? Maybe a member of your family has come out and encountered difficulties? Is Dr. Reynolds' belief outdated and old-fashioned?

We hear from Patrick Gillan, who was present for Dr. Reynolds' visit, and Mike Davidson, co-director of the Core Issues Trust, who recently organised events to "help believers who struggle with gender identity issues".

Also in the programme, should Medway become a city? It has a population of more than 250,000, a dockyard, a cathedral, a football club, and it is the backing to Charles Dickens' famous novels.

Medway Council has bid to become a city, but is believed to be behind Reading in the pecking order to be awarded city status.

Would you like to see Medway made a city? Do you live in Rainham, Chatham, Gillingham, Strood or Rochester? Would it be an honour or just a fancy title?

And a radical overhaul of vocational courses in England will see thousands of them effectively downgraded to encourage schools to teach more academically rigorous subjects.

This means courses like fish husbandry and nail technology will be worth less against their more traditional counterparts such as classics, languages, and humanities.

Have too many soft subjects been introduced into the curriculum? Did you study hairdressing, construction or plumbing?

Or do vocational GCSEs offer less academic students the opportunity to get qualifications they would not otherwise get?

We hear your views and opinions.

3 hours

Broadcast

  • Tue 31 Jan 2012 09:00