Brighton Early Music Festival – A Treat for the Curious

Today we hand over to another of our guest bloggers - Georgina Hawkins who is a Graduate Trainee working for the Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF)...

This is my first year going to Brighton Early Music Festival and I must say I am really excited. As a trainee for the festival I have been working behind the scenes, using everything from violas to cupcakes to hype up the festival (and I still have a few ideas up my sleeve!) I am really enjoying being a part of the BREMF team, it's giving me great experience promoting something I love, what more could I ask for?

I absolutely love early music, which makes it almost impossible to choose my favourite event. Once again BREMF has put on a range of performances which really do cater for everyone. The festival brings the vibrancy and creativity of Brighton to Early Music which I think is really unique and makes early music even more fascinating.

 

I am particularly excited to see Grand Tour Shorts, performed by an array of artists on Saturday 1st November. It looks to be an exotic and interesting event involving lots of different styles of music. We are exploring Music for Compline (25th Oct), uncovering Bach’s Secret Addiction (2nd Nov) and will be feeling the Passions of Venice (24th Oct); it’s going to be so exciting!

Photo Credit: Eric Richmond

BREMF is early music at its best and really accessible. Not only this, but it does something new with music every year, it really does keep you on your toes.

One of my duties as a trainee is to promote on social media, and this year we have #lovemusic on facebook and twitter. It’s one of the ways we’re getting early music out into the world and I am looking forward to see who tweets it during the festival. If you #lovemusic and want to experience something new, then you should come and try the Brighton Early Music Festival. 

So what more could you want? If you're even just the tiniest bit curious come along to one of our events and see what we are about! Early music can be enjoyed by anyone, that’s what #lovemusic is about.

Highlights from 26 events include:

• The Night Shift - 17/10 @20:30, The Marlborough Pub & Theatre.
  Two half-hour sets of laid back classical from the OAE in the pub
• Passions of Venice - 24/10 @ 22:00, St George’s Church, Kemptown.
  Half an hour of passionate music from romantic renaissance Venice.  Don’t forget your mask!
• Music for Compline - 25/10 @ 22:15, St Bartholomew’s Church.
  A cappella music by candle light from 16th Century England.  Free event.
• The Grand Tour Shorts - 1/11 from 11:00, Latest Music Bar.
  Half hour slots throughout the day featuring new generation artists.
• Bach’s Secret Addiction - 2/11 @ 14:00 and 16:30, The Old Market, Hove.
  Pure indulgence and decadence, 18th Century style.  Coffee, cakes and music.
• Nine Daies Wonder - 7/11 @ 20:00, St George’s Church, Kemptown.
  The longest dance ever! A wild evening of music, dance and strange instruments from Elizabeth England.

Tickets from £5.

Find out more at www.bremf.org.uk/lovemusic

Giraffe is a buzzy burger and cocktail joint in the hip n happening North Laine

Last week Charlotte and I were treated to what I can only describe as an evening of indulgence of the foodie kind. After a full-on day in the office we made our way across a very busy cultural quarter – New Road was thronged - to the newly revamped Giraffe burger and cocktail restaurant. We were soon ensconced in our seats by the window with a first-rate vista of the North Laine fraternity; I love people watching.

 

American diner-style music and enthusiastic, friendly waiting staff make for a relaxed,informal ambience and the menu’s choice of laden burgers and contemporary cocktails give it a distinct ‘live for the moment’ edge.

A choice of beef patty or chicken in a bun is the main menu staple with an assortment of salady bits, cheeses, bacon, and pickles to set each creation apart. There are of course veggie options including all of the above plus falafels or halloumi.

While we deliberated, I grazed my way through a very large plate of nachos, piled high with melted cheese, guacamole, sour cream and a fiery roasted chipotle salsa - which added a pleasant smoky flavour - while Charlotte chose a more modest portion of melted mozzarella and focaccia chips.

My trousers were beginning to tighten as the burgers arrived. Mine, a Matador, was a hearty beef patty comprised of pulled pork, chorizo, manchego and roasted red pepper tapanede, extremely tasty and satisfying to the extent that I really struggled to make inroads to the coleslaw and salad sides I’d also ordered. Charlotte’s Rodeo burger – a riot of bbq sauce, bacon and house salsa - came with onion rings which, miraculously, she doesn’t like so I unashamedly had the pleasure of these too.

Fit to bust, but still willing, we opted to share pudding. A Banana Popcorn Sundae fit for the Rydell Diner – the café in the movie Grease – was set before us: scoops of vanilla ice cream, chopped banana, popcorn, fudge sauce, whipped cream and hot chocolate sauce, no less! On reflection I’m not sure what possessed us at this point but not wanting to miss anything we also ordered a Double Stuffed hard shake on the side. The innocent looking milkshake with an alcoholic twist involved baileys, finlandia vodka, kahlua, vanilla ice cream and oreo cookies.

We left the restaurant, slowly, and headed off to find our respective transport home. Thankfully my bike was nearby but I did struggle with the one slight incline on my ride home and I’m sure my tyres were in need of air the next day.

Giraffe is top for:

A full on blow out
Generous portions - don’t over order
Living for the moment
Eating in comfort with people you know; burgers can be messy

I will return – with the kids; if I take them on a Saturday lunchtime I won’t need to cook tea!

Ruth

Indian Summer and the Curry Capital of the Year

It's time for another guest post and today we had over to Minesh Agnihotri, co owner of Indian Summer restaurant, who takes a look back over the past season and ahead to the cooler months to come...

Charity success, Diwali, weddings, Christmas hampers … and is this the year when Brighton becomes ‘Curry capital of the Year’?

What a summer?  And then a lovely burst of warm Autumnal weather too, to justify our name.  It’s been a busy few months.

My business partner, Byron Swales, and I have just spent two weeks solid in the kitchen with the chefs developing and trialling new recipes.  We’re now happy with them and they will go live today. Tandoori Red mullet proved particularly popular with customers during the trials

The summer wedding season kept our outdoor catering business working flat out with 17 fantastic weddings of between 40 and 180 guests.  Bookings are already secured for 2015 /16 and we’ll have to think about upping our recruitment plans.

Now to decide on the special Gujarati vegetarian menu for our Diwali celebration  Also referred to as ‘The Festival of Lights’, Diwali is a five-day Hindu  festival, which occurs on the fifteenth day of Kartika –  the lunar month in the Hindu calendar which begins with the new moon in November.   Our annual Diwali party, always popular with our regular customers, will be on Sunday 2nd November.   The sitar player and musicians are booked, but sadly those nice people at health and safety won’t let us set off traditional fireworks.

The demand for the in-home cookery course I give is increasing.  The interest in authentic Indian cooking is growing tremendously, as more people realise there’s so much more to the cuisine than the fiery curry house ‘Ruby Murrays’.  Usual Groups are up to 4 people and they’re great fun.  I wish I had time to do more than two a week.

Brighton is certainly blessed with some fine Indian restaurants serving representative offerings of the diverse range of dishes and cooking styles found across the vast sub continent.  London is probably the only other city in this country where you can find such diversity.

 

This has been recognised by Brighton being short-listed as ‘Curry Capital of the Year’ by the Federation of Specialist Restaurants as part of the National Curry Week (13th to 18th October www.nationalcurryweek.co.uk). Indian Summer has been named one of four restaurants along with Bombay, Ashoka and Chilli Pickle to represent Brighton at this year’s event. You can cast your vote  for Brighton by emailing votecity@fedrest.com. Polling closes 26th September.

The accolade adds to being named among the best Indian restaurants in the country, alongside London Michelin-starred eateries in this year’s Best in Britain Awards (BIBA), by Mood Food magazine.

I’ve just handed over a cheque to EIPC, a UK-based charity which raises funds for much needed palliative care for terminally ill patients in east India.  Our customers raised over £2,600 with generous support from the sponsors (who are listed on our website) at our masked ball at the end of July.

This morning’s post brings a copy of the Belfast Telegraph – not part of my regular breakfast time reading.  There’s a great article by Roger St Pierre, the famous travel writer, who declared the dinner he enjoyed with us as the “stand out meal” of his visit to Brighton and wrote of our, “dynamic mix of well-sourced seasonal ingredients, a base of family recipes handed down through the generations and a thoroughly contemporary slant to its keep it simple, keep it pretty presentation.”

Speaking of seasonal ingredients reminds me, I must order the baskets for our Christmas hampers.  This year’s will be jammed with chutneys, sauces, marinades, dips and Indian wine.

Where did the year go?

Indian Summer, 69 East Street, Brighton BN1 1HQ
T: 01273 711001 Tw: @indiansummer108
E: manager@indian-summer.org.uk W: www.indian-summer.org.uk
 

Brighton Art Fair returns!

It's time to hand over to another guest blogger and so today Anne-Marie Shepherd will tell us a bit about the Brighton Art Fair and which artists to look out for...

Brighton Art Fair, supported by Oh Comely magazine, brings together over 100 of the best contemporary artists from the UK and abroad. The fair takes place in the beautiful and historic Brighton Dome Corn Exchange in the heart of the city and has built a very strong reputation for presenting highest quality contemporary artwork in a relaxed, informal and friendly environment.

Brighton Art Fair enables painters, printmakers, ceramicists, photographers and sculptors to present their original and eclectic work to the public, bringing a personal feel to viewing and to the buying process. Visitors enjoy meeting the artists - learning about their creative inspirations, techniques and future projects. The fair draws in curators, galleries, retailers, collectors and art fans, many looking for that definitive piece.

Sam Hewitt

Some of the artists have exhibited at Brighton Art Fair before, others are brand new to the event, but all the work is exciting, fresh and exceptional. New work to look out for include Julie Ball’s exquisite porcelain and wood collages; Annie Blanchet Rouze’s mixed media paintings and Emelie Essel’s embroidered work on silk glass beads. The fair welcomes back artist Sam Hewitt and his paintings of urban landscapes; Lilia Umaña-Clarke’s stoneware ceramics inspired by early South American civilizations and local artist Sam Lock’s oil and mixed media works.

Lilia Umaña-Clarke

Brighton Art Fair will introduce Alun Callender’s project of environmental portraits of East Sussex visual artists, designers and creative types. Alun usually spends a couple of hours with the subjects in their studio, to arrange a composition with a strong narrative. He will be photographing approximately 80 people and making a series of short films to compliment the project. Alun wants to celebrate the diverse creative talent in the area and is fascinated by how people balance the fine line between creativity and commerce. The project will culminate in an exhibition and a book.

The show welcomes back the wonderful artists from ARTHOUSE Meath a charitable enterprise offering artistic facilities and support to adults living with learning and physical difficulties. The work being produced is raw, honest and properly beautiful and it has been wonderful to see Meath expand, now having established its own shop in Godalming and being asked to exhibit work at many shows here and abroad.  Also of interest will be the artwork of the Outside In artists, based at Pallant House Gallery in Chichester. Outside In provide a platform for artists who find it difficult to access the art world either because of mental health issues, disability, health, social circumstance or because their work does not conform to what is normally considered as art.

Details:

• Brighton Art Fair, 26th – 28th September, 2014 www.brightonartfair.co.uk
• Open: Friday 11am – 7:30pm, Saturday 10am - 6pm, Sunday 10am – 5pm
• Address: Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UG
• Tickets: £6.50 on the door.  Children under 14 free
• Travel direct to Brighton from London Victoria by train - 10 minute walk from Brighton station

Scooby-Doo: The Mystery of the Pyramid

Last thing I thought I wanted to do was head straight out after work for a theatre date with Scooby Doo and the gang but hey it's amazing what a change of scene can do for your spirits; even if you don't have time to eat!

Louis with his Scooby sticker & spinner

My seven year old, Louis, was raring to go and after a hot bus ride into town we arrived just in time for curtain call but then got so busy gauging what the least expensive option was merchandise -wise we actually missed the bell! Luckily we were only kept away from our seats for a few minutes before a natural paws- see what I did there- sorry, no more... We got comfortable and were soon ensconced in mystery solving mode.

First off there was a spot of audience bonding and being down in the stalls meant we were in prime position for being coaxed into clapping and hand jiving; spurred on by the characters that came among us during the first lively song. Louis' face lit up when Fred came by for a high five and couldn't believe his luck when Otto the explorer followed suit soon after. He was less impressed by a visit from the scary mummy but took it all in his stride and assured me it 'really wasn't that scary'.

The show rolled on and before I could contemplate 40 winks it was interval time and we were off to join the ice cream queue; well I'd not eaten anything since lunch time! Louis fancied pick n mix and selected a rather large bowl of assorted treats including jelly babies, fried eggs, fudge and citrus sugar coated dummies: yuk.

Back in our seats and super charged with sugar we were all set for a second half of super slick singing dancing and sleuthery. The characters were bright, believable, and just like I remembered from childhood days of TV - when there were only 3 channels and sets were strictly banned from bedrooms - and the clever set and lighting added just the right sprinkling of magic to bring the story to life.

It all ended well, of course, and the treasure plundering baddies were caught and unveiled; with a little help from Daphne's Elnett. I won't give anymore away but suffice to say that Scooby's Egyptian-themed tale made for a great evening out with my favourite little theatre companion and I would definitely recommend it as a show to go and see.

Top tips: arrive on time; have a Scooby snack before you go- Shaggy's frequent mention of pizza was quite difficult to manage on an empty stomach; wear few clothes - it's summer; and if you want to try for a high five: book the stalls.

Scooby-Doo: The Mystery of the Pyramid is on at the Theatre Royal Brighton until Saturday 2nd August.

Ruth

Celebrating a significant year in Brighton

We always used to say that July and August were quiet months as far as press visits were concerned but that theory seems to have been blown out of the water and we're not even halfway through the month!

Last weekend we hosted a group of German journalists and the loose theme of the trip was anniversaries as it seems 2014 is a significant year for our city. So in case anyone would like to replicate the trip, here's what we did:

The group stayed at the Mercure hotel as it celebrates its 150th anniversary, although of course the hotel hasn't always been a Mercure. The Grand is also celebrating its 150th anniversary this year as well, so 1864 was a good year for the hospitality industry!

I did mention that anniversaries was a loose theme didn't I...? The first two items on the itinerary didn't actually relate to the theme but as some of our journalists hadn't been to Brighton before we also wanted to give them an introduction to the city. So with this in mind we started with the classic Fish 'n' Chips on the Brighton Pier. We then moved from the traditional to the eccentric with the Funny Peculiar tour.

When describing Brighton to press we are keen to get across the fact that a lot of the city's charm is down to the atmosphere and the characters of the place. The Funny Peculiar tour got this message across perfectly! Part walking-tour, part theatre we were introduced to the main areas of the city whilst taking a look back at some of the eccentrics that helped make Brighton what it is today.

After the tour we were back on track with the anniversaries theme with a visit to the museum at the Cricket Ground. The Sussex County Cricket Club is the world's oldest cricket club and this year is their 175th anniversary. Even though we were all cricket novices it was a fascinating insight into the development of the game over the years. We then rounded off the day with a sumptuous meal at drakes, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to go there for dinner but I won't be waiting until their 20th birthday for my next visit!

Continuing with the anniversaries theme, the next day we started with a trip around the Old Police Cells Museum to see the graffiti left by the Mods & Rockers who were held there after the infamous clash 50 years ago. It was then on to the Royal Pavilion to learn about the fascinating history of how the Pavilion was used as an Indian Military Hospital during World War One (part of the centenary commemorations). After a delicious lunch at Curry Leaf Cafe we then whisked them away to Court Garden vineyard. While the vineyard isn't celebrating an anniversary this year, they do produce a lovely sparkling wine, which is ideal for anyone marking a special occassion - such as an anniversary ;) The vineyard is in Ditchling and it's surprising to think that this tranquil setting is just a short distance for the bustling city centre!

Court Garden Vineyard

In the evening, after a quick break to watch Germany win the quarter-finals on the Big Screen on the Beach, it was off to Komedia which is enjoying a double whammy of celebrations this year. The venue as a whole is 20 years old and the famous (or infamous!) Krater Comedy Club is 15 years old. While some of the jokes didn't translate, there were enough that did to make it a fun night out. Although sadly we were too tired to stay on for Ultimate Power - the club night full of power ballads. Oh well maybe next time.

On Saturday we stepped back from the anniversaries theme to give the group some time to explore the city by themselves, this mostly included shopping! But in the evening we had time for one last walk along the prom and a photo to mark the end of a busy few days in Brighton.

Group shot!

So there you have it, an inside guide to hosting a press trip in Brighton & Hove. It was a busy few days but we'll hopefully soon see some great coverage off the back of it :) Also on a personal note I would like to thank the lovely Anke from KPRN for her help with organising and hosting this trip.

Charlotte

An artist's view of Brighton

I had a week off work last week and so today has mostly been a battle against the emails, however there was one that really made me smile.

My last post was about the Artists Open Houses awards and the fact that we sponsored the Visitors' Choice Award. Afterwards I asked our winner - Cristobal Ochoa - if he would be interested in writing a few words about his experiemce of Brighton and the festival and today I received his reply.

While we may have our own little moans about this city, I think Cristobal's post puts things into perspective and will (hopefully) remind all of us why it is we love Brighton & Hove...

On February 12th, 2014 protests emerged in Venezuela (my home country) due to the economic and security crisis we are going through. These pacific protests were growing more and more and so was the repression of the Government to them, violating our right to protest and human rights. Those were weeks were we felt asphyxiated and feared the fact that we were stuck in a country in war. Venezuela´s situation turned more tense and dark while days passed, and the Government wasn't paying attention to the complaints of a tired country, but was looking for confrontation among the two sides (the ones that supported the government versus the opposition), in order to have a civil war. 

Amid all this chaos, I was lucky to find a ticket out of Venezuela (extremely expensive and difficult to get one) and arrived to Brighton on March 29th, 2014, filled with hope and illusion of being part of the Brighton's Art Festival. The contrast was very much gratifying. I was able to walk through the streets of Brighton without feeling fear of being mugged or even killed (in Caracas it's unthinkable to walk through the streets at night). I was shocked by how clean and maintained was the city, the public transport service which lets you know when the bus is coming (this doesn't happen in Caracas), the parks, the deck, walking in the beach, the Palace. I started to get to know people from Brighton and was completely delighted of how sensitive and relaxed they were, with an open mind and extremely kind and patient with foreigners. It was people who enjoyed art in all its expressions, and demonstrate it attending each event or artistic show that happens in town.

Cristobal Ochoa's performance art in Brighton. Photo credit: Julien Zuinghedau

I left Brighton on June 3rd, 2014 recharged, full of good energy and new experiences, for which I am nothing more than thankful for the hospitality you had with me. I am thankful for the award, and I take Brighton in my heart and in my memory. I hope I can come back next year with a new proposal.

A big hug for all the VisitBrighton team, the festival staff, and every person that participates in it. And of course, to the Brighton citizens.

A big hug to you too Cristobal :)

Charlotte