The Festival is coming upon us said... The Lady of Patcham

Sorry folks! I couldn’t resist a bit of art and culture in today’s blog and being a bit of a Tennyson fan who loves The Lady of Shalott (to quote Charlotte “aren't the best jokes the ones that have to be explained?!”) I thought I’d remind you all that The Brighton Festival and Festival Fringe will be up and running from this Saturday 3 May.

To be honest, if you travel into Brighton by road today you can’t miss the fact. Passing Preston Park this morning on my way from our lovely Patcham village I noticed the posters for the Moscow State Circus which will be setting up shortly for their visit 8-20 May.

When you reach St Peter’s Church you’ll see that the Spiegeltent is well on the way to being completed. Yesterday, they just had a few planks up but by this morning the skeleton of the roof was visible. So what is the Famous Spiegeltent? Well it’s a pavilion used as a travelling dance hall, bar and entertainment salon which was created in the early 20th century. There are only a hand-full of these unique and legendary ‘tents of mirrors’ left in the world today. Built of wood, mirrors, canvas, leaded glass and detailed in velvet and brocade. The very essence of a festival club, ‘kabaret salon’ and intimate concert hall. You’ll find they’re hosting performances from the Fringe and The Great Escape music festival that’s also in town this month. Goodness! Isn’t there a lot to do in Brighton in May. Where do we start!

Travelling towards the beachfront I spotted another new construction going up and this was the tent for The Ladyboys of Bangkok. It’s their 10th Anniversary this year and once more they have returned to Brighton for the Festival. You’ll find them in Victoria Gardens.

And there’s even more. The Udderbelly is back with us in The Steine as part of The Fringe for the second time. You’ll find comedy, theatre and lots more in the tent. It’s really taking shape and looks almost ready for their opening.

As I said “Where do we start?” Well, I’ll be starting on Saturday night with a performance at the Corn Exchange called ‘Stockholm’.

Can’t wait…

Hilary