Then make a beeline for The Blind Tiger Club (formerly Hector’s House) on Grand Parade this Sunday 27th November at 12pm, where the lovely ladies of My Swish will be holding Brighton’s first ever vintage clothes swap!
Prospective Swishettes should bring 1-15 items of clothing, shoes or accessories to exchange for someone else’s pre-loved items. It’s a great way to grab unique pieces you can’t find on the high street. Wooden Hill Vintage will be showing swishettes how to combine vintage with High Street pieces to get the hottest looks of the season.
My Swish will be accepting items from periods up to the 1980s, as well as modern pieces that have a vintage or retro style.
Vintage teas from Roses All Over and goody bags are included in the ticket price of £5 in advance, £6 on the day.
The team here at LoveBrighton adore vintage finds and can't wait to swish and swap to our heart's content!
At the end of October, we announced our very first LoveBrighton Flickr competition winner! The lovely MichelleBrighton took an enthralling picture of the seafront through a bus shelter, and had everyone in the office talking about it! Here she tells us a bit about herself and the image...
Siobhan :)
I was given a camera 6 months ago and since that point, it has travelled pretty much everywhere with me, I think my partner uses the word ‘obsessive’.
Brighton is a fantastic place to take photos. The range and character of the people, places and events means that there is always something interesting to capture. As I have been teaching myself photography this is great as it has given me plenty of scope to try out lots of different projects and ideas; extending from the more obvious shots of the nonetheless fantastic Pavilion, through to bloodthirsty, rampaging zombies!
Having said this, I particularly love the way having my camera with me makes me look more closely at the mundane everyday things and find their hidden interest, which is how I ended up taking the bus shelter picture. It was a gorgeous ‘Indian’ summer evening after work and I decided to take a stroll on the prom to catch a shot of the sunset with some local landmarks in the background. On the way to the pier, I noticed the graffiti writing in the dirt on the bus shelter window and liked the effect of the light from the setting sun behind it. I realised that I could get a picture of this with both the pier and the wheel in the background and I really liked the effect.
When I submitted the picture to the LoveBrighton group I had no idea that it would end up winning the competition, I was just enjoying going out and taking photos around my home town and having a place to share them. So when the notifying email arrived I was absolutely made up!
I’d like to thank the lovely people who run the Flickr group for prize and encourage anybody else out there who takes pictures around Brighton and wants to join in, to do so by joining the Flickr group and submitting to the pool… You never know, it could be you writing this blog next month!
As Brighton was recently named the third geekiest city in the country it is no surprise that the Institute of Physics has decided to launch their latest campaign in Brighton.
The aim is to get people talking and thinking about gadgets and demonstrate how easy it is to take these technoligical wonders for granted, and the fact that physics plays a part in our everyday lives. As a bit of a geek I love the idea and will be keen to find out the answers to questions such as: "How many cassettes would you need to tape all the songs on a 32 GB MP3 player?"
Once you and your friends have argued over the possible answer you can find out the actual answer either by text message or by scanning the QR code. There is also a photo competition on Facebook and Twitter (@dotrythisathome) and the most imaginative photo (as judged by the IOP’s Physics in society team) posted wins a physics.org goody bag including a full set of beermats, Marvin & Milo book, and a few other freebies. The deadline for this is midnight on Sunday 11 December.Charlotte
Last night a couple of us were fortunate enough to attend the launch event for the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink. This is now the second year that the ice rink has been at the Royal Pavilion and it really does have a magical feel to it. The backdrop is of course stunning, particularly the way the building has been lit.
Plus if you are not an avid skater you can still visit the bar & restaurant and simply watch as others pirouette across the ice. But if you do want to skate it's all family friendly and there are even special penguin stabilisers, although I'm sure any unsteady adults could also use the penguins!
At last night's event aside from seeing the actual rink we were also treated to a sneak preview of Holiday on Ice. The 2012 show is called Tropicana and features music by the legendary Barry Manilow so I think it is safe to say that it is a tad camp...
Yes that's right that lady does have an orange on her head, where can I get one of those hats! As soon as I heard that the music was by Barry Manilow I was excited about the show but having seen this I am even more excited! Just so you can fully appreciate the outfits here is the professional shot taken by Andrew Hasson:
So whether you are a skating pro or a complete novice make sure you visit the ice rink which opens from tomorrow (12th November) until 22nd January. And Holiday on Ice - Tropicana: The Passion tour will be on at the Brighton Centre from the 13th - 29th January 2012.
The Hotel Pelirocco is a self proclaimed rock ‘n’ roll hotel. Described as a saucy stopover, guests can choose from nineteen themed rooms inspired by pop sub culture and maverick musicians. The playroom oozes sexy decadence, Betty’s boudoir pays homage to ‘50s pin up Betty Page and Pretty Vacant is a punk den with Sex Pistols’ influences.
Nestled among this hedonism is a new room with an unexpected theme - knitting. Traditionally conjuring up images of old women clicking needles and misshapen jumpers made by well-meaning mums, the Pelirocco banishes such old fashioned notions with this knit hit!
Photo credit Andy Nelson
Do Knit Disturb is crafted from floor to ceiling in woolly creations with a Brighton twist. Knitted seagulls hang from the ceiling and adorn the knitted stripy curtains. Pictures of woolly designs hang framed on the wall. Furnishings, including a bedside lamp and the telephone, have been given carefully crafted wool covers. The overall effect is far from fuddy duddy. Instead the room is guaranteed to raise a smile with its cheerful swipe at seaside décor all created out of 500 kilograms of yarn.
The designer behind the vivid room is Kate Jenkins of Cardigan, talented knitting and crochet artist. Kate spent a month transforming the Hotel Pelirocco room using her trademark style of bold patterns and fantastic lifelike items rendered in wool.
The VisitBrighton team took a peak at the new room yesterday. It is as cosy as to be expected of a room made of soft fluffy wool. Yet Do Knit Disturb also exudes a sassy tongue-in-cheek style, putting the fun into funky.
Any guests inspired by their surroundings can have a try at knitting from the comfort of their room, a set of needles and selection of wool balls is available on the dressing table.
Alix and Ruth - knit wits
We quickly decided to the leave knitting to the experts – it’s trickier than it looks!
Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) kicks off at venues across the city on this Friday (21st October) and so the VisitBrighton blog guest spot is taken by Chloe Wennersten, a festival intern who has been getting involved behind the scenes as the final festival preparations take place. Chloe writes about her experiences at a rehearsal of the Festival’s own professional Orchestra, The BREMF Players.
The BREMF Players, directed by violinist Alison Bury and joined by soprano Julia Doyle, will be performing this Saturday 22nd October in St. George's Church, Brighton as part of the 2011 Brighton Early Music Festival. The first rehearsal for this eagerly anticipated concert took place yesterday in the beautiful setting of St. John's Church, Hampstead and, as one of this year's BREMF interns, I was fortunate enough to be involved in facilitating its smooth running. It was 9.30am: the biscuits, tea and coffee were at the ready, the music was out and the harpsichord was having its first tune of the day. We were ready for the orchestra! The musicians played and rehearsed with energy all day, no doubt helped by being bathed in the glorious autumnal sun that flowed through the church windows.
I had the opportunity to chat over lunch with the BREMF Players director, Alison Bury about the chosen programme for Saturday's concert. When asked what she was most looking forward to in the concert, she replied without hesitation that the orchestra was most excited about playing the Lully suite - she went on to explain that they rarely get to perform early French music such as this, yet it forms the basis of so much of what was to come in the 17th and 18th Centuries. To work with soprano Julia Doyle is also a privilege for Alison and the BREMF Players: "'Julia's vocal agility and flexibility make her the perfect singer for this programme. She makes the music dance." However, she went on to say that such a programme does present its own challenges when it comes to variety. To overcome this particular issue, Alison has included music that, even if not strictly for the dance, does have an incredible dance basis; "dance is one of the foundations of baroque music..." and the exploration of this is extremely satisfying for both musician and audience. St George’s Church in Kemp Town is the venue for Saturday's concert and that in itself is also something to look forward to. As Alison pointed out, although it is a 19th Century church, St George’s has an 18th Century feel and wonderful acoustics that are perfectly suited to dance music of the baroque.
The programme and vivacity and warmth evident in yesterday's rehearsal suggest that Saturday's concert is one not to be missed.
The BREMF Players perform at St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Kemp Town, Brighton on Saturday, 22nd October at 7.30pm. Brighton Early Music Festival runs until Sunday, 6th November, and includes 24 events covering 800 years of music, this year’s festival celebrates dance and its pervading influence on music over the centuries. For more information and tickets visit www.bremf.org.uk
Today we are going to hand over to a guest blogger - Katie Mintram, Director of the Nivea Sun Yellowave Beach Sports Centre to tell us about a fantastic inititive they have been involved with called Youthivate...
We’re contacted almost weekly by charities requesting money or support for their projects but unfortunately we can’t support them all as we put most of our efforts in to our own chosen charity ‘Passing It On’, who run the Super Heroes run on Brighton seafront.
However, back in August we were approached by a charity called Youthivate. Their project just seemed so real that it grabbed my attention. It was just two young women who were going out to some of the poorest areas in India to help youngsters play sport.
All they wanted were some balls so that kids could play volleyball. So we dug out a load of equipment including balls, a net, Yellowave T’shirts, hoodies, caps, score boards and a ball bag.
Just three weeks later we could see how the equipment was getting used. Lara and Hayley from Youthivate flew into Delhi and straight away they got to work. We were sent a simple photo of a street kid in Delhi playing with a Yellowave ball. It was so touching to see. These kids have such tough lives. Knocking a ball about was such a simple pleasure and a moments release from their daily deprived situation.
Lara and Hayley then travelled out to Tamil Nadu in Southern India. This tribal community suffer from severe poverty and don’t get to play much sport at all. In fact the girls in the school had NEVER had the opportunity. Youthivate’s aim was to remove some of these barriers and get the local children involved in sport, to help them improve their health and well being.
Straight away you could see what a benefit the equipment had been and most importantly how brilliant Lara and Hayley were with the kids. They clearly captivated the children’s attention. With just a few lessons they were able to play a mini tournament. The whole school came out to watch and cheer for their friends. In the final ‘The Green Stars’ took the first two sets and were crowned the champions!
What I loved about this project was that it was so instant and so simple – two enthusiastic women, 250 kids, a net and a few balls and so much positivity had come from it. Youthivate are continuing their work by travelling to other deprived areas to deliver all sorts of sport. Anyone who wants to check out their work can follow them at: www.youthivate.wordpress.com and check out the video here:
Photo credit Andy Nelson
The designer behind the vivid room is Kate Jenkins of 
