Creative things to do in Brighton in the rain

Well, being summer and all, we thought it was time for the VisitBrighton beach BBQ last week. The elaborate planning would have given J Lo a run for her money in the Wedding Planner, well, except it wasn't a wedding, but you know what I mean and as 5.30 approached we were all raring to go...

Fun was had by all, despite the urm force 9 wind and rain, and being hardened Brits we remained on the beach until dark. With the lack of sun (a very very rare occurence in Brighton I hasten to add!) we actually became very creative in amusing ourselves. Here are some of our best ideas...



Start limboing - ur, there was no pole girls, but never mind - nice idea...

Pretend you a modern day Grim Reaper from Bergman's Seventh Seal.



Still no pole, girls, but thanks for trying...

Ignore the rain and cloud and pretend you are in Acapulco instead. Ole Sue!



Look dreamily to one side and pretend you are in Gone With the Wind. (Richard does look a bit like Rhett Butler)




Pretend you are the lady of the lake with Excalibur. (We hate to be pedantic, but it was a sword Liz)



Oh for heaven's sake...

So remember, don't ever let the rain put you off!
VisitBrighton

Brighton's fantastic...

...according to Sacred Heart School in Battersea.

Many of the kids in class 2p had never seen the sea before and, following their trip to Brighton in June, they wrote to VisitBrighton to tell us what a wonderful time they had.

Children always tell it like it is and the comments were really heartwarming, so here are a selection... Enjoy!

'We had a FANTASTIC time in Brighton. It was beautiful. We had competitions and went paddling.'
Rheegan

'We went to paddle and splash ourselves. We have delicious ice cream. We had a great day!'
From Kristal

'We had a blast. It was fun, but the water was ffffreezing...'
Lucinda

'The sea was blue, sparkling and shiny. I had a really good time at Brighton. I will tell everyone to go there.'
Mawdo

'We had a terrific time in Brighton. We took some shells and stones home.'

From Renee

'We walked along the high street singing Summer Holiday and saw the deep blue sea.'

Chloe

'Sparkling, glittering, fantastic, exhausting, beautiful.'

Sherrie

'When we went to paddle my friend got all wet. I am so happy I went to the beach.'

Carolina

'The ice cream was really nice, better than my Mum's. But you should take the rocks out so people could have more sand and make bigger sand castles.'

Diago

'When we got off the train we all had to go to the toilet. When we got out from the toilet doors, Fifi said she could see the sea. I said 'where Fifi?', she said 'straight ahead of you', but I still couldn't see it. We went closer and closer until we got to the beach.'

'We had a fantastic day in brilliant Brighton...'

I wonder if any of class 2p would like a job in our marketing department?

Thanks to Mrs Metcalf and Mrs Clarke and all the children in 2p at Sacred Heart for writing to us and sharing their memories of their day in Brighton. Hope you get to come back soon.

VisitBrighton

Relax in Brighton

Well what a dreary, grey Monday it is! Not bad weather for Autumn but isn't it still meant to be summer? If the weather is making you feel a bit fed up then I think I have the perfect solution....

Last week we were fortunate enough to be invited to the launch party for Champneys who have just opened up on East Street in the Brighton Lanes. The property is somewhat tardis like as apart from the shop floor, there is another floor downstairs and one upstairs each of which have private rooms for a full range of treatments. Although what tempted me most was the idea of having a pedicure whilst sitting on a lovely big chair which just happened to have a remote control for controlling the thingies in the back of it (not too technical for you I hope!) to massage your neck and back, as well as being able to recline the chair.

I was also pleasantly surprised in the shop as I was expecting astronomical prices but all the products were very reasonably priced, well as long as you stuck to Champneys own products rather than the supposedly designer names which I had not heard off as those were less affordable. And at the moment it's even better value as to celebrate opening they have 20% off products and 50% off treatments until the end of the month, so go and spoil yourself, you can even get treatments done in your lunch break!

Charlotte

Win a night at Brighton Komedia

Fancy a laugh? We've teamed up with Brighton Komedia to give away 2 sets of Saturday Krater Comedy Club tickets for 4 people, including your very own reserved table, scrummy meal for 4 and bottle of wine.

Famed for it's popular weekly stand-up Krater Comedy Club, Komedia has been described by The Independent as 'THE place in Brighton to catch stand-up comedy', attracting top comedy acts such as Catherine Tate, Ross Noble and Gina Yashere in the past.

So for chance to win a fabulous night of sniggers, smiles and smirks, visit our Komedia competition page and enter the prize draw.

Cheers

Sarah
VisitBrighton

A 1st for Brighton Visitor Information Centre

Well, we think we might be the first in the country, or possibly the world, to have a Visitor Information Centre staff member, with a 1st from Oxford University! Robert, one of our seasonals found out last night he was one of only 2 people in his college to get a 1st in English Language and Literature. That makes him just a teensy weensy bit brainy! He's also a lovely guy and deserves it, so if you see someone in Brighton VIC over the next few days floating on a small cloud with a massive grin on his face, that'll be Robert. Oh and his Mum is a bit pleased too!

Incidentally, that puts Robert among 25 British Prime Ministers, 30 international leaders, 47 Nobel Prize winners, six current holders of the Order of Merit, 6 kings, 12 saints and 20 Archbishops of Canterbury, and at least 9 Olympic medal winners, who were also products of Oxford!

Robert isn't sure what he's going to do yet post the VIC, but we've only got him for the summer, so if you want to catch a possible future mover and shaker, pop in and see him and the team.

Phooey - John, our marketing manager and me were quite chuffed with our 2.1s from Bournemouth and Exeter until about an hour ago! Thanks a lot Robert!

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Green city

Brighton was recently found to be the most sustainable city in the uk and while this can be attributed to many factors at the end of the day it is thanks to the residents of the city who went green long before it was fashionable to. Whether it's recycling, buying local produce, shopping at independent retailers instead of chain stores, not using plastic bags or cycling and walking instead of driving, the residents of Brighton have been doing their bit for a long time.

Which leads me on to tell you about an exciting new event in the city the Eco Open Houses. Fourteen houses in Brighton & Hove will be opeing their doors to the public during the weekends of 28-29 June and 5-6 July so that people can learn simple ways to save energy and money. Personally speaking I think it is a great idea, as I don't know about you but I find some of the government advertisements about green issues a little patronising to say the least, however to drop in and chat to someone about it and get to ask them for advice and how much they have saved, seems like a much better idea. Plus you get the added benefit of having a nose around someone elses house so you might get some interior design tips as well!

To find out more about the Eco Open Houses visit the website - www.ecoopenhouses.org and you can also download our fact sheet on how visitors can Go Green on a trip to Brighton

Charlotte

VisitBrighton were discussing where we'd like to go for our next group outing yesterday and we're seriously thinking about putting our 'extreme Brighton' heads on and opting for a spot of orbing. If we have the balls that is!

The guys at Orb360 turned up in Brighton last year professing to have the ‘biggest balls in Brighton’ and subsequently made thousands of locals and visitors alike grin, scream and become hilariously disorientated travelling at speeds of up to 30mph, two at a time, down the longest Orb run in the country. Our old marketing manager did it and loved it. Although he was a slightly odd shade of green when he came back...

Orb360's antics can be seen and heard across Brighton's summit in the beautifully picturesque setting of the Devils Dyke (Bus No.77).

And now, not content at putting thrill seekers and the adrenaline junkies through their orbing experience the cheeky chappies at Orb360 are also giving orbers the ride of their lives inside the appropriately named ‘Aqua Orb’ - so called because you share the orb with a willing friend and 50 litres of icy water! Really not one for the faint hearted...

Then came the next new thing and, being proud Brightonians, the peeps at Orb360 brought the first Sussex and Brighton ATBA approved Mountain Boarding centre to our shores. For the uninitiated, Mountain Boarding is the sport involving large looking skateboards with bmx style wheels that can travel down hills at up to 40mph and over jumps and rails for the committed adrenaline seeker! With all this happening at Devils Dyke you can see why orb360.co.uk and board360.co.uk are full of rock and roll - quite literally on the rolling stakes! So, go and check them out yourselves or call 01273 880045 for more information. If you think you have the balls!

Height, weight and health restrictions apply.

http://www.orb360.co.uk/
http://www.board360.co.uk/

Oh, and we're thinking of doing a video diary of our trip, so watch this space!

Sarah
VisitBrighton