Green Brighton Guide launch

In recent months we have been working with Greentraveller and VisitEngland to produce the Green Brighton Guide - a handy pocket guide including a map listing green and ethical businesses as well as details on the City Villages and getting out into the South Downs.

Last night was the official launch of the Guide and the event was held at FARM market, which proved to be the ideal venue for the event. There's a great rustic atmosphere and the food is delicious, if you're in the North Laine on a SAturday make sure you pop in and the sausages are highly recommend.

The guide's will be available at venues across the city, including the Brighton Visitor Informaiton Centre. You can also download a copy of the guide at www.visitbrighton.com/eco-brighton

Charlotte

Blue/Orange at Theatre Royal Brighton

Our beloved Theatre Royal Brighton recently launched its own production company and earlier this year the company's first play, Dandy Dick, was staged and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So when I heard that their next production was going to be the award-winning Blue / Orange starring Robert Bathurst, I had high expectations.

Luckily I was not disappointed, when I tried to give a synopsis of the play to my colleagues this morning I didn't do a very good job so I think this time I'll copy the description from the site:
A young patient is convinced that a notorious military dictator is his father. Bruce, a junior psychiatric doctor wants to do further tests and plan longer care. Robert, a senior consultant, wants to thrust him back into the community. A riveting, compelling and witty battle of freedom and ambition unfolds.

Production shot of (L-R) Gerard McCarthy, Robert Bathurst & Oliver Wilson.

Naturally the subject of mental health is a sensitive one and while the play could have been heavy-going, the witty script ensured that this wasn't the case. Robert Bathurst was on top form and his performance was a masterclass in comic timing. However with only three cast members, they all need to be good and thankfully this was the case. Oliver Wilson was very convincing as the patient caught in the middle of a battle of wills and we all felt for Gerard McCarthy, the poor young doctor trying to do the right thing for his patient.

So I think the Theatre Royal Productions have another success on their hands, and I can't wait to see what their next play will be. Blue / Orange will be in Brighton until Saturday 22nd September before going on a nation-wide tour.

Charlotte

Winner of August's Love Summer, LoveBrighton Flickr Competition

Greetings lovers of Brighton!

It’s hard to believe that summer is over and winter is slowly moving back in! :(

But never fear, we have one more thing to celebrate before autumn starts to chill our cockles, and that’s the winner of our LoveBrighton Flickr competition! The theme for August was Love Summer, LoveBrighton, and we’re delighted to announce the winner is Rob Webb, with his beautiful image of a Brighton summer surfer:

Rob has kindly written a blog about his photograph adventures in Brighton & Hove, and why he loves our wonderful city so much! Rob won a trip on the Brighton Wheel, where he can view the city from on high, round and round, and round again!

Rob sez:

Brighton is simply a fantastic location for photography, not many places offer the diversity of environments and subjects that make up the area. Living here I have easy access to both the urban sprawl and a few minutes drive to get to the peace and tranquillity of the Downs. The vibrant and creative atmosphere make photography in and around the city a joy.

The beach at sunset is one of my favourite places to visit with a camera; there are so many opportunities to capture interesting moments and points in time. The iconic background of the West Pier at low tide has featured more times than I care to mention in my photography, but I will never get bored of taking pictures of it or of people enjoying the sea around it.

And check out this month’s competition theme of Love Eco, LoveBrighton, celebrating all things green about the city and the launch of our brand new Green Guide to Brighton & Hove.

Get snapping the beautiful season of mists and mellow fruitfulness and you could be next month’s winner! :)

‘till next time,

Siobhan

Brighton Art Fair

Today Anne-Marie is going to give us the insider's guide to the Brighton Art Fair....

Brighton Art Fair is organised by local artist Sarah Young and administrator, Jon Tutton who spent many years exhibiting at craft and art fairs - some good, some busy, and some just dire, and so they got a good grip on what they wanted to achieve when they started the fair in 2003. Since then the show has gone from strength to strength and is back at the Corn Exchange next weekend with another fabulous selection of art.

We are really looking forward to seeing Christopher Sacre's installation in the foyer. In 2010 Christopher created a work with condoms and plaster called, ‘See What This Man Gave Birth to After Using 2000 Condoms in 22 Days’. These simple but very striking cast forms are going to look incredible as visitors come in to the fair!

Christopher Sacre installation. Photo by Rikard Osterlund

There are some wonderful and diverse artists exhibiting for the first time. Look out for Tom Pearson's prints which are inspired by the digital and physical planes we inhabit, beautiful paper cuts by Polly Finch, and Dong Li's graceful and light watercolours. If you're looking for some Brighton art, visit Sam Hewitt and take a peek at his oil paintings, many of which depict local scenes, or Natalie Martin's amazing architectural paintings of some of the city's landmark and lesser known buildings.

Gardner Street in the morning by Sam Hewitt

Tom Pearson print

And if it's something just that bit different that you're after, we'd recommend Serena Partridge's embroidered small-scale curios, David Rhys Jones' ceramic wall art or Ben Yates' photo-cubism! Whatever your preferences, there will be something for everyone. It's going to be a good year!

To receive a 2 for the price of 1 ticket to this exciting event, please complete the form here - http://eepurl.com/lHbdD - before Tuesday 18th September and a voucher will be sent to you in the post before the event. Please enter 'VB' in the offer code section.

Brighton Art Fair
21st - 23rd September 2012
Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton BN1 1EE
11.00 - 17.00
Entrance £6, under 14s free
www.brightonartfair.co.uk

Thanks again to Anne-Marie for writing today's post and we look forward to seeing you at the Art Fair.

Charlotte

Biba-founder Barbara Hulanicki interview video 2012

We're all getting pretty excited here at VisitBrighton about the forthcoming exhibition at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery on fashion legend Barbara Hulanicki, of Biba fame.

So ahead of the Biba & Beyond: Barbara Hulanicki exhibition, which runs from 22 September 2012 – 14 April 2013, we caught up with the fashion legend to ask about her time spent studying art and design in our city during the 1950s, the Biba years and fashion in 2012.

Look out for local hotspots which all boast a Barbara connection – the seafront’s Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel, the FAIR shop on Queens Road (once home to Brighton’s very own Biba boutique) and the University of Brighton – as well as sneak previews of some of the original items showcased in the exhibition.

“Brighton’s the right place… because it all started here”, Barbara says.

Re-live her story in the video below.


Barbara Hulanicki – back to Brighton from VisitBrighton on Vimeo.

Brighton again – and again, and again…

Today we hand over to Laura Canning from camping website Pitch-Up to give us some tips from her experiences of camping in Sussex....

‘We’re getting married,’ was the rather tipsy sentence I heard from a friend a year and a half ago late on a Friday night. After waiting until the alcohol had worn off from the happy couple and it was confirmed that yes, in the cold sober light of morn they were still getting married, I found myself making preparations to go to Brighton for the first time for their hitching. On Brighton Pier, the hippies.

Why it was the first time, I don’t know – all I can surmise is that there are too many places to see and that Brighton was just one on the ‘must do someday’ list. But after my first time there, I decided that it had been rather considerate of the couple to get spliced in Brighton and let me see a place I might not gone for some time. And then I went back again. And again…

We invaded The Old Ship Hotel for the wedding weekend, but as I’m a camper and like to stay somewhere off the beaten track, I looked for places around the city so I could go into Brighton every morning but see a bit of the surrounding countryside on my travels too. Maximise the time away from the office, that’s my motto…I found a jolly mixture of places to camp around Brighton with tons of things to do from fishing to shopping (natch). Here’s where:

The Barn Caravan Park: I picked this site as part of a week’s holiday as it’s only seven miles from Brighton but is a quiet secluded site and has free wifi – off the beaten track is fine, but I still want to laze about and read the papers on my laptop…There are pitches at The Barn for touring caravans and motorhomes, but I brought my trusty old tent instead, firing up one of the brick barbecues for dinner and pushing the kids away from the climbing tower slide. Well, I got there first.

Arundel Youth Hostel: Camping in the grounds of a Georgian villa while pretending from my tent that one day all this will be mine? Yes please. I moved on here from The Barn for a couple of nights to check out the Monarch’s Way – and the pub just up the road. There was a day at Arundel Castle and the Wetland Centre, a day on the South Downs, and both evenings on the villa veranda with a glass of wine watching the sun go down. Lush.

Arundel Youth Hostel

Merrylands: This site was for a weekend away with the other half, and we even managed to get a spaniel to take along with us – well, the site is dog-friendly and we wanted to pretend we had one (it was our neighbour’s dog – we did ask). The campfire was the other main pull: Merrylands loves its fires and smoky smells, and there’s nothing quite like cooking dinner out in the open over a fire. Even if we did have to struggle to keep the sausages away from the spaniel…

Owlsbury Park: Now I’m not saying the other half and I have anything against children, but occasionally it is nice to pitch up in an adults-only park. We think most parents would agree. Add to that the fact that Owlsbury is known for its wildlife and we were packing the rucksacks before you could say ‘It’s my turn with the binoculars’. This time round we borrowed a campervan rather than a dog, rolling up for a three night stay where the other half went fishing while I had a snuggly lie-in and waited for breakfast. Then we drove through the countryside to Brighton each day for shopping and sightseeing. Arnie style, we’ll be back.

Summer Ponds Fishery and Campsite

Sumners Ponds Fishery and Campsite: Yes, we went fishing again. Or rather, he did while I lazed on the grass and read many magazines, then told him if he wanted to see fish couldn’t we go to the Brighton Sea Life Centre and then go shopping instead? We used this as a base for Brighton for two days and for a day of fishing/reading/woodland walks – the lakeside café with hot food was a big hit with His Nibs too. And we did get to the Brighton Sea Life Centre, and shopping as well. Sorry, His Nibs. I’ll make it up to you on our next Brighton trip. Which I’m going to book in for a month and a half’s time…now where shall I stay next?