Soup and Crumb

One of the biggest challenges we face is getting across the message that Brighton & Hove is not just a summer destination. Of course everyone loves to be by the sea when it is hot and sunny but there is so much more to the city than just being out in the sunshine. To find out just how much is going on this winter why not check out our Christmas pages - www.christmasinbrighton.co.uk. Ok shameless plug over with so let's get back to the point....

We are not the only ones faced with this challenge, let's be honest how many of us say we fancy an ice cream when it's freezing cold outside? So rather ingeniously Scoop & Crumb have introduced a new menu for winter - Soup & Crumb (do you see what they did there?)! As I'm sure you've worked out they have just launched a range of soups. The menu does include savoury soups, in fact m'colleague Richard tried the Green Lentil & Bacon and assured me it tasted every bit as delicious as it smelled. However rather unusually the menu also includes three sweet soups: Hot Spiced Plum; Hot Raspberry and, the one that caught my eye, Hot Chocolate Soup. Well of course I just had to try that!

The chocolate was scrummy - proper chocolate rather then just sugary flavoured syrup. As you can see you do still get a scoop of ice cream, which was delicious and also means the soup cools down quite quickly which is good as it means you can dive straight in to the deliciousness :) As with their ice-creams all of the soups are made on the premises using fresh ingredients.

Plus ice cream fanatics will be pleased to hear that Scoop & Crumb do still sell ice-creams including a winter menu of treats which can be pre-ordered to enjoy at home with flavours including: Mince Pie & Rum Custard; Pear & Ginger; Christmas Pudding & Single Malt and Roasted Plum Crumble.

So when you're enjoying your Winter Break in Brighton make sure you pop in to Scoop & Crumb to try one of their warming treats.

Charlotte

MADE - Brighton's contemporary design & craft fair

It's time for another guest post and today we welcome Anne-Marie to give us a preview of MADE 2013...

MADE BRIGHTON is the city’s annual contemporary craft and design fair which takes place in the beautiful Corn Exchange at The Dome. Now in its 8th year, MADE BRIGHTON offers the public the opportunity to buy original and exceptional pieces of craft and design direct from the best local and national makers and has become firmly established as a friendly, accessible and top quality fair. Over 5500 visitors visit the fair, the majority of whom return year on year knowing that the work on show is well worth viewing.

This is what visitors in 2012 said …

• Like pearls for the eye! 
• Great work, lots of lovely things I LOVED the show! 
• Beautiful things, very talented people 
• Very high quality, bigger next year please 
• Wonderful selection, will definitely come again

Pieces by Tammy Child

The majority of exhibitors are from the UK, but fresh talent does come from further afield too. Look out for Karl Sweeney’s beautiful tambour boxes made from European hardwoods and Angela Hope’s lovely retro handbags. This year some fantastic furniture designers are bringing their pieces to the show; Justin O’Brien’s wooden furniture inspired by the flow of nature, blacksmith James Prices’ forged steel and glass tables, and Jorunn Hustoft’s knitted beanbags which are perfect for winter hibernating on, are all sure to be a hit with visitors. The fair showcases over 100 makers and designers; from unique glassware to luxurious textiles, functional ceramics to dazzling jewellery, and tailor made clothing to quirky accessories. This is the perfect opportunity to Christmas shop for unique gifts as well as indulging in some treats for yourself.

Mercury Table by Justin O'Brien

The Private View takes place on Thursday, 21 November and is by invitation only, although a few tickets are available to buy in advance for those people keen to see the work before the show opens to the public on Friday. Tickets on the door cost £7.50, with advance tickets available via the MADE BRIGHTON website for £6.

The Dome café will provide a place for visitors to relax and take refreshment. With so much work to see, many people like to make a day of it, spending the morning viewing work, stopping for a bite to eat, then returning to continue shopping. It’s a wonderful day out!

MADE BRIGHTON
22nd – 24th November 2013
Friday 11am – 7:30pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am – 5pm
Address: Corn Exchange, Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UD
Tickets £7.50 on the door, £6 in advance via the MADE BRIGHTON website.
Children under 14 free
www.brighton-made.co.uk

Thanks Anne-Marie, see you there! 

Charlotte   

Jewellery Remodelling

It's time for another guest post and today we hand over to Stuart Stanley from RING to give us an insight into jewellery remodelling... 

Jewellery remodelling, upcycling, resetting or restyling. Call it what you will, with precious metals & diamond values so high these days it is the logical choice if you have inherited or unwanted jewellery that is not to your taste.

Many people have jewellery that has been stuck in a drawer for a long, long time. This may be because it is broken, or because it was inherited from a relative & is simply not their style. The temptation is for these people to sell the jewellery but this is usually the worst thing to do. The reason is that 2nd hand jewellers base their buying prices on scrap metal values even when the jewellery is in perfectly good condition. Often they will not even add value to the price they pay if there are gem stones in the ring! With jewellery remodelling although you have to pay for the commission the finished piece is worth the same, if not more, than original piece.

So what is jewellery remodelling?

Well, it can take many forms. One example is simply resetting gemstones. Take engagement rings for example. Many people are tired of constantly paying for the re-plating of their white gold because it has turned a yellowy colour. This is because most jewellers do not tell their customers that the true colour has been masked with a fine plating of a metal called 'rhodium'. So, instead of paying £30-£50 every few months, RING jewellers can unset your diamond(s) & reset them into a metal that is naturally very white & will never need plating - ever! This could be either Platinum or Palladium.

3 stone cluster remodelled into a 9ct white gold rubover set ring

Another form of jewellery remodelling is the melting & reusing of gold. A customer may be looking to buy a wedding ring & they have inherited a gold wedding band that belonged to their parent or grandparent. Now the customer may prefer a white metal like platinum but the family heirloom is yellow gold. This is not a problem. At RING jewellers we can melt the family ring & use it as a fine gold inlay (a narrow yellow stripe in an otherwise white, platinum ring). Some of our clients do not want to see even the finest of yellow details so we use the gold as a 'liner' which is soldered inside the platinum ring & can only be seen when the wedding ring is removed (this choice is made when the gold is there purely used for the sentiment).

Jewellery remodelling can also change the function of an item of jewellery. A customer may have an old ring with lots of stones in. From this one ring they could make a matching set of pendant & earrings.

marquise ring remodelled into a marquise & round diamond pendant

Here is why jewellery remodelling is such a sensible choice:
Scenario 1 A lady inherits her grandmother's yellow gold diamond engagement ring. The insurance value is £2000. She sells it to a 2nd hand jeweller & gets £495. She then buys a ring to remember her gran by. The ring she buys for £495 has way smaller & lower quality diamonds. She has effectively down-graded her jewellery.

Scenario 2 The same lady inherits her grandmother's yellow gold diamond engagement ring. The insurance value is £2000. This time she commissions RING jewellers to design a ring she will love. They remove the diamonds from the inherited ring & reset them into a brand new design. The remodelling process costs her £495. The ring has now retained both its commercial & sentimental value & is still worth £2000. The lady wears the ring every day. This time instead of downgrading her jewellery she has 'upcycled' it!

Thanks for the insight there Stuart - now I'm off to raid the jewellery box! 

Charlotte

CINECITY, the Brighton Film Festival

Last week I was lucky enough to go to the launch event for this year's CineCity Film Festival and aside from being one of the first to get my hands on a copy of the brochure, I also gained an interesting insight into how the festival comes together.

This year's festival features more films from different countries then ever before including: Singapore, Laos, Kurdistan, China, Iran, India, Israel, Mexico, as well as Poland, Czech Republic, Scandinavia, France and the US. 

Still taken from 'Burn the Clocks'

However it's not all international as an important part of the festival is the Brighton Screenings strand. To qualify for this section of the festival the films must be made in Brighton, or filmed with a Brighton crew and it must have been completed after September 2012. We often tell people that the city is a hub for creative people and yet I was still surprised to hear that the panel received 75 submissions. It's great to discover that Brighton is home to such a wealth of talent. Although as the standard of entries was particularly high this year it meant the panel had the unenviable task of somehow whittling the entries down to just 26. To make the process more tricky, apart from looking at the submissions as individual pieces of work, the panel also had to consider how the films would flow together as a package of shorts.

So when you're planning what to see during the festival don't forget to check out the Brighton Screenings to see the home grown talent and place your bets on who will be the next Ben Wheatley or Paddy Considine.

Charlotte

Trip the Light Fantastic

UPDATE (Friday 1st November): Due to the weather forecast for this weekend,  the digital fireworks event - PixelPyros - has been postponed and will now take place on Monday 11th November at The Corn Exchange. 

This weekend is all about lights. On Friday night (1st Nov) the Royal Pavilion will become The Illuminated Palace when digital art duo, SDNA, will be using the palace as a canvas for their lighting and projections. The event will mark the launch of the new Turner in Brighton exhibition which opens on Saturday.

Then on Saturday night there will be a special digital fireworks display in Preston Park. I'll now pass you over to Seb Lee-Delisle, the digital artist behind PixelPryos to tell you a bit more about the event:

Everyone loves fireworks displays but usually you have to stand well back while the experts light the touch paper. Bored of just watching other people set off rockets, I created a digital fireworks display called PixelPyros, where the audience are in control!

We’re excited to be bringing it to Preston Park on the 2nd November as part of a national tour, which is also travelling to Nottingham, Leicester and Huddersfield. It’s completely free to attend, thanks to funding from Arts Council England.

Preston Park is such a classic location for outdoor events - we usually run PixelPyros in more urban environments so I’m really excited to see how well it plays out in a more traditional fireworks setting.

We’ve been working all year and we’ve finally put the finishing touches to the show. The fireworks are projected onto a 60-foot-wide screen using lasers and the brightest projectors we could get our hands on. We have lots of different themes and styles of fireworks, some that look like real fireworks and some that look more digital.

New for this year is the addition of lasers. The projectors are bright, but with the addition of powerful laser light we can actually compete with the brightness of real fireworks. We’ve been working hard to figure out how to control the lasers in real time with our software, and it’s finally paying off - the results are so spectacular. I can’t wait to see it full scale as part of the show.

Every single firework is launched by members of the audience - touch one of the orbs of light along the bottom of the screen, and a firework shoots out of it.

The show will be running at 7pm and 8pm on Saturday 2nd October so we’d love to see you there - the show literally won’t be the same without you!

Follow us on twitter @PixelPyros and like us on Facebook for the latest news and updates. In the event of bad weather check pixelpyros.org for updates.

Thanks Seb. So head to Brighton this weekend and get ready to trip the light fantastic....

Charlotte

Jeeves & Wooster at the Theatre Royal Brighton

I have a bit of a dilemma and sadly I don't have Jeeves on hand to assist me. You see the problem is, how do you review a play when you are anxious to give nothing away? The joy of last night's production was that it was so unexpected, and I would hate to be the person to spoil that effect for anyone. Oh well let's see what I can do...

I have been a big fan of Jeeves & Wooster for as long as I can remember, originally through the TV series and then, of course, the books as well. So when I heard there was going to be a new stage production I was very excited.

However it struck me that the producers had a difficult task ahead of them, for a number of reasons. Firstly the majority of the audience were bound to be big Wodehouse fans who had read the stories several times and therefore already knew, if not the whole story, at least the major plot points. Secondly I can't have been the only one who had been introduced to the characters via the TV series starring Fry & Laurie. Even years later and having read all the books, whenever I watch it I'm struck by just how perfect the casting was, it almost seems as if PG Wodehouse had written the parts explicitly for Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

So how were the production team going to keep those who already know the plot entertained while also preventing people from comparing Matthew Mcfadyen and Stephen Mangan to Fry & Laurie? Well of course I can't answer that as that would be giving the game away, but trust me they do it in a very ingenious way. What I can say is that while Mangan is perhaps not quite as plummy as Wooster ought to be (his plumminess did waver a bit during the evening) he does the wide-eyed goofy, innocent look very well and is a bumbling, lovable fool. While Matthew Mcfadyen is probably best known for playing dramatic roles he was excellent and even had a few surprises up his sleeve... I daren't say anymore then that! Of course the main focus is on the two leads but special mention should also be given to Mark Hadfield as Seppings.

Photo by Uli Weber

I hope my somewhat vague review has not come off sounding at all negative as while, for me, Jeeves & Wooster will always look and sound like Fry & Laurie, last night was a giggle filled evening. The two leads were both fabulous and the production was very well done, so it should please Wodehouse fans and hopefully introduce these two classic characters to a new audience as well. Yes I was shocked to discover that there are people in the world who haven't heard of Jeeves & Wooster, the heathens!

The play will be on at the Theatre Royal Brighton until Saturday 26th October, I believe there are a limited number of seats available so get in quick. After Brighton the play will move on to the West End. Don't forget to let us know what you think of it.

Charlotte

A night of cabaret...

Last week a couple of us were invited to a showcase night at Proud Cabaret. I had been to the venue many years ago but not since Proud had taken over, and having heard good reviews I was keen to see what it was like.

Of course the first thing that strikes you is the building itself, which was originally built as a mausoleum including a large dome similar in style to the Royal Pavilion. Here's a shot of the dome from the inside:

Of course my rough shot doesn't really do it justice but hopefully this will give you an idea. Once inside we were all seated at rounded table in the traditional cabaret style. After a delicious meal it was time for the main event... 

Our MC for the night was Coco, who looked absolutely fabulous and had a powerful, sultry singing voice. We were then treated to three burlesque cabaret acts, including a male performer! Admittedly he didn't wear nipple tassels but he was very limber. I think there is often the assumption that burlesque is salacious but it has to be said that all the performances were artistic and showed impressive acrobatic and dance skills. Of course it was quite revealing but, to quote Kenny Everett, it was all in the best possible taste! Think cheeky rather than outrageous.

After the cabaret there was then the option to stay on and dance the night, although as it was a school night we decided to be sensible and head home. So overall we had a great time and would love to go back again, although I think this is the sort of venue that works best with a group of you. The great thing about Proud is that you can have meal, a show and dancing all under one roof. We've all been in that annoying predicament where you need to move on to the restaurant but someone is being slow to move or you get there and realise you've left someone behind. Whereas a trip to Proud for the night would avoid all that hassle.

For more professtional photos from the night check the Facebook page and for more details about Proud Cabaret go to: http://brightoncabaret.com

Charlotte

Brighton Early Music Festival 2013 - The Early Music Festival with the Latest Ideas!

Today it's time for a guest post and so we hand you over to Felicity for an inside look at this year's Brighton Early Music Festival...

I’ve just got back from my very first visit to Brighton and I loved it! I’ve always been drawn to the city, its reputation for being alternative, exciting and creative, and this was something that made applying for the Graduate Traineeship with BREMF even more appealing.

One of the reasons I wanted to work with BREMF is that they very quickly banish any pre-conceived notions of what an Early Music festival might consist of! Their first pre-Festival event this year was held on Saturday 21st September: an 8 hour singathon, with free workshops and performances spread across two venues, one of which was the pub! The ridiculously eclectic programme included a Russian choir, a 5 year old singing sensation, as well as a cappella performances from both of the Festival’s own artistic directors.

For me it was a great chance to meet some of the artists, volunteers and audience members in a relaxed setting, and to see how well the Festival fits into the Brighton scene. I also got the chance to take part in vocal workshops: improvising on a Russian melody, working with the dynamic lead singer of Joglaresa, Belinda Sykes, and harnessing our inner meerkat with Deborah Roberts (perhaps you had to be there!).

The Festival’s theme this year is Passion, and events include a new concert-drama on the life of Gesualdo, the infamous sixteenth-century composer who murdered his wife, and the Festival finale performance of JS Bach’s St John Passion.

BREMF attracts the biggest and best performers from the Early Music scene, and one of the events I’m most looking forward to will be Early Music Club Night: Cool Passion on 26th October, where BREMF will showcase the talent of 22 new generation musicians from innovative and visionary ensembles such as the Borromini String Quartet and I Flautisti. If you have not yet heard rising star mezzo-soprano Esther Brazil, whose voice has been raved about in the national press, this will also be your chance to catch her before her she whizzes off on her next concert tour to Carnegie Hall in New York!  We will also be joined by BBC Radio 3, who are seizing the opportunity to record the live performances for future broadcast. The stunning interior of St Bart’s Church will be lit up with dramatic lighting, and with an informal setting and performances over three stages it should prove to be the perfect introduction for newcomers to get passionate about Early Music!

Felicity Dunk
BREMF Festival Trainee 2013

Early Music Club Night: Cool Passion
When: Saturday 26th October, 8pm until late – come and go as you wish
Where: St Bartholomew’s Church, Ann Street, Brighton BN1 4GP
Tickets: £8 (£5 conc) in advance from www.bremf.org.uk (no fee for e-tickets) or from the Dome Box Office 01273 709709 (£2.25 fee); £10 (£5 conc) on door

Art at Five celebrate 10th anniversary with Ten for 10

Brighton & Hove is known for being an artistic and creative city, independent art gallery Art at Five is a prime example of this.

The gallery is the only one selling exclusively original artwork, and one of the oldest in the city. This month they are celebrating their 10th anniversary with a special charity art event Ten for 10. By buying a raffle ticket, members of the public will be given the opportunity to win one of 10 (hence the title!) original pieces of artwork. Tickets can be purchased from www.artatfive.com/raffle and best of all they are now buy one get one free so you can double your chances of winning! But get in quick as the tickets are only available until midnight on the 15th October.

The pieces are all by artists who regularly exhibit at the gallery. Apart from the joy of potentially winning one of these fabulous pieces of art, there is the added joy of knowing you are doing something for charity. All the money raised from the ticket sales will be donated to the Brighton based charity Drop4Drop. The charity works with people who have no access to clean water, running projects to help people gain access to clean drinking water for life. Shockingly there are still over one billion people in the world who do not have access to clean drinking water. To find out more about Drop4Drop visit: www.drop4drop.org

See below to see what artwork you could win and for more details on the artists and the gallery go to: www.artatfive.com

Charlotte

Natasha Barnes - Wooded Path

David Walker - Iconic Red

Deborah Flueeler-Janes - A Deeper Flow

Maureen Greenwood - Tuscan Tapestry

Nick Vivian - Sous Bois

Lisa Ridgers - Beach Side

Tina Davies - Melody

Louise Brooks - Crystal Springs

Philippe Aird - Essence

Yvonne Coomber - Deepening Love

Top 5 reasons why you should be part of Artists Open Houses this Christmas

Well it's time for another guest post and today Guy Maberly tells all budding artists why they should register for the Christmas Artists Open Houses Festival... 

It’s a fair bet that when, in 1982, Fiveway’s artist Ned Hoskins opened his front door so the public could view his artwork, he probably didn’t foresee what his idea would grow to become. Other artists in the area soon followed suit and the unique experience of viewing and buying artwork directly from the artist, in their home, proved to be a very popular one. Before long, the Artists Open House Festival was born.

That was 30 years ago and since then the festival has grown enormously. Today, a wide spectrum of arts and crafts can be found on display across the festival, from hundreds of artists, including jewellery, painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, textiles, photography and many other media.

Registration is now open for this year’s Christmas festival. Any artist living within the 01273 telephone code area can register and the festival is open to all parts of the local community regardless of what stage you are at in your artistic career.

There are almost too many great reasons for registering to be part of the Artists Open Houses Festival, but here are the top five:

1. Great opportunity to showcase your work
   You will gain immediate access to a ready-made audience and with Christmas just around the corner this is an ideal time for you to have your work on display. Your profile, as an artist, will be boosted and, if you can grab peoples’ attention in your house, then your reputation can rapidly grow, through word-of-mouth alone, bringing in an increasing number of visitors to see your work.
2. It’s cost-effective
   Registration for the Christmas festival is less expensive than the one in May and, if you include other artists in your house exhibition, that cost can be shared. Exhibiting with friends (or other artists) can also attract more visitors to your house. Check our price list here.
   
   
3. The opportunity to create your own gallery
   Curating an exhibition is exciting and it's up to you how you choose to display your work in your own home. As one of our artists, Jonny Hannah puts it:
   “I’ve always loved the idea that anyone can ‘do it themselves’. Galleries may not come knocking on your door, but you can make your own gallery. Break the rules, be informal, throw caution to the wind and see what happens."
   
   The Artists Open Houses team are always available to provide advice or suggestions on how to exhibit your work, if you need it.
   
   Once you’ve taken part in one AOH Festival you’ll almost certainly start to think about the next one. Kay Aplin’s story, of how she turned her home into a piece of art is quite inspirational.
4. Access to marketing and publicity
   Once you have registered, a dedicated PR and marketing team will be working alongside you to promote your work and the festival as a whole. At Christmas your listing will be featured in 25,000 brochures as well as on the AOH website and via a full digital media campaign. The AOH festival also receives local and national press coverage.
5. Becoming part of a community
   By registering you will become part of a large community of artists in Brighton and Hove. You will meet like-minded people, with whom you can discuss ideas, and there are always opportunities for collaborations for future events. And, as long-time Artist Open Houser Jude Clynick says, “despite all the work involved, it’s fun!’ 

The AOH Christmas festival begins on the last weekend of November and runs until the second weekend of December. If you want to get involved then make sure you register by Tuesday 1st October to be part of this fantastic celebration.

Find out more:
www.aoh.org.uk
www.facebook.com/artistshouses
twitter.com/artistshouses

Brighton Art Fair

Next weekend (20-22 September) the Brighton Art Fair will be celebrating its 10th anniversary. Today we hand over the blog to Anne-Marie to give us an insider's guide to this year's event...

Ten years of the Brighton Art Fair, and it’s going to be a fantastic celebration! With some amazing visual surprises lined up, even more fantastic exhibitors, one at just 16 being the youngest ever, and the use of the beautiful spacious Dome café and bar, where visitors can relax and enjoy culinary treats. It really is going to be a very special show. Brighton Art Fair brings together over 100 of the best contemporary artists from the UK and abroad. Some have exhibited before, some are brand new to the event, but their work is all exciting, fresh and exceptional. Brighton Art Fair takes place in the majestic and historic Corn Exchange at The Dome in the heart of the city. The fair has built a very strong reputation for presenting beautiful work in a relaxed, informal and friendly environment.

Frances Bloomfield - Blocks

John Dilnot - Cubes

To really celebrate the tenth year, Brighton Art Fair is further supporting ARTHOUSE Meath, a charitable social enterprise offering art sessions, run by professional artists, to people with varying needs and abilities, in a caring, sheltered environment in which the artists develop social skills, work ethics, team participation and technical skills. This year Brighton Art Fair exhibitors have been asked to take part in a large collaborative piece to raise more funds for the charity. Each artist is producing their own piece of artwork on four wooden blocks, all of which will be shown in the foyer at the Corn Exchange during the fair and will be sold to the public for £30 each. The results have been phenomenal, and they will all look stunning grouped together.

 Lucas Gabellini-Fava - Delirium

Brighton Art Fair
info@brightonartfair.co.uk
www.brightonartfair.co.uk
From: 20th – 22nd September, 2013
Open: 11.00 – 17.00
Venue: The Corn Exchange at The Dome, Church Street, Brighton, BN1 1UE
Entrance £7.50, under 14s free.

Editors at Brighton Dome

Before I start this post I feel it is important to point out that I am a big fan of Editors (please note they are called Editors, not The Editors). So as you can imagine I was thrilled to see that they would be coming back to Brighton, and even more delighted to see that they would be returning to the Dome.

I've seen the band three times so far, twice in London and once at Brighton Dome. You may think I'm biased but I guess I'll just have to ask you to take my word for it when I say that the Brighton gig was defintely the best. Of course the band were still brilliant but because the London venues were larger - Alexandra Palace and Hyde Park - I didn't get so caught up in the atmosphere. One of the main things I love about seeing concerts at the Dome is the size of the venue - it's big enough for you not to feel like you are sitting on top of the act but it's also intimate enough for you to soak up the atmosphere & actually see the band rather then squinting at them from miles away. Another advantage is the fact that there is a balcony so you can still get seated tickets. Yes I'm not ashamed to admit it, I like to sit down! That way you can see the band without craning around the giant stood in front of you, people respect your personal space more in the seated area and there is the added pleasure of watching the often interesting & educational dance moves of the people in the standing area.

Brighton Dome Concert Hall. Photo credit: Jim Stephenson
Please note for gigs, such as Editors, the stalls seats are removed.

Another plus point for the Brighton Dome is the building itself. I love the art deco style of the concert hall, but importantly the hall is curved which I think helps to explain the excellent acoustics. So even if you're sat in the balcony, the sound is just as good as it is for those next to the stage.

So all in all I'm very excited. Although don't do like me and wait until your favourite band happens to be playing at the Dome before going there. Check out their programme and book something up now. It's not just music as in September and October they will be hosting some of the events from the Brighton Digital & Comedy Festivals respectively. They also have a host of Christmas shows from the Gay Men's Chorus to the Ceilidh and the Nutcracker. And if you're still not sure then why not try one of their free events?

But to get back to Editors I do have another Brighton link aside from the fact I'm going to see them in November. The video for their next single 'Formaldehyde' has been directed by the Brighton-based director, and patron of the Cine-City Festival, Ben Wheatley. Enjoy... 
Oh and just in case anyway from Editors is reading this can I put in a request for 'Hyena' and 'Eat Raw Meat=Blood Drool' at the Brighton Dome concert please? Thank you :)

Charlotte

#BABeachside - Dine at 100 feet!

Often on my lunch breaks I'll take a walk along the seafront, making the most of being by the sea. However yesterday I wasn't by the sea, I was above it - 100 feet above it!

Yesterday British Airways opened it's six day Bank Holiday event. Situated by Hove Lawns #BABeachside includes a pop-up lounge plus the opportunity to dine in the sky.

Dine in the Sky. Photo credit: Stuart Wilson for BA

When we arrived we were asked to stow our bags before being given a safety briefing, then it was time to take our seats and get strapped in for an experience like no other. Each day the meals will be themed around a different destination - Italy, St. Lucia, Lanzarote, Morocco, St Kitts and Mexico. Coincidentally these are all destinations that you can fly to from Gatwick with BA ;)

Our day was Italy and the food was delicious, although eating while strapped in was a bit of a challenge. Eating something messy like soup or spaghetti would have been difficult but the chicken & mushroom rissotto was much easier to handle.

Dinner is served!

While the food was great, the highlight was of course the spectacular views over the city. Hove Lawns was a good choice as it meant we were more or less in the middle of Brighton & Hove giving us spectacular views whichever way we looked. We could even see the Downs in the distance ahead of us. It was rather surreal to be eating lunch while suspended in the air, with no capsule or casing around you so I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who suffers from vertigo but for anyone else it is a rare treat!

Fantastic views of Brighton...

... & Hove

Away we go...

Perhaps the most surprising part is the fact that BA aren't charging anyone for this experience. Tickets are being given out in a Willy Wonka fashion but instead of bars of chocolate, it's sticks of rock. Over the next few days British Airways Ambassadors will be handing out sticks of rocks across the city. So if you see them, make sure you grab one as each stick gives you access to the Beach Lounge and a lucky few also include a ticket to fly.

Good luck!

Charlotte

The Winner of July’s Flickr Competition

Hola amigos,

It’s the summertime and here’s a groove slightly transformed, just a bit of a break from the norm - it is, of course, the monthly Flickr competition! (Ooh you love these, don’t hide it).

The time has finally arrived for me to put my fake tan away as July was certainly scorchio! Our love was like a heatwave (heatwave baby), with the highest temperature in Brighton being 31 (not three) Degrees Celsius, and the high temperatures are set to return for a sunny August Bank Holiday weekender!

And with all this summer madness we had the LoveBrighton POP Summer campaign – check out all of the fabulous ideas for the Brighton summer of POP – with the theme for July’s competition being ‘Love POP, LoveBrighton’. We had a great many kitsch, retro, fun and funky photos to choose from, but the winner hands-down (or feet-up?) was David J Stanley with his shot of the brand new ride on Brighton Pier; the Air Race:

David’s photo captures perfectly the frivolous nature of days by the seaside, with blue sky and primary colours, where you can almost hear the arcade games, musical carousel and cries of ‘weee!’. David won vouchers to spend at the totes delish Coal Shed Restaurant in Brighton’s Lanes.

But I’m sure the best is yet to come with August’s theme ‘Love Celebrating, LoveBrighton’. Pride provided the perfect colourful start to the month of celebrations, parties, shindigs and impromptu BBQs on the beach. So grab your camera and celebrate the city in all its summertime glory!

As for me, well, I’m spending my days chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ and shootin’ some ball outside of school.

Happy holidays folks and don’t forget the sun cream!

Siobhan at LoveBrighton HQ :)

Escape to the South Downs for free during National Parks Week

While Brighton & Hove is well known for being a city by the sea, you may not be aware that we are also very close to the countryside. The city is an access point for the stunning South Downs National Park, and as this week is National Parks Week it's the perfect time to visit.

The park are encouraging visitors to Discover Another Way to visit instead of driving, so this week (29th July - 4th August) you and your family can travel to the Downs by bus for free! It doesn't get much better then that, so pack a picnic and hop on a bus and go to Devil's Dyke, Stanmer Park or Ditchling Beacon. To download your voucher go to: www.southdowns.gov.uk/discover But if you can't go this week then you can still enjoy half price bus travel for the rest of the summer holidays.

Watch this video to see how easy and fun it is to get to the Downs by bus:
For more tips on visiting the South Downs follow @SDNPA and you can also find walks and cycle routes on the Countryside section of our website.

Charlotte

Culture in the City

While it is very easy to get to London from Brighton it seems there are fewer and fewer reasons to leave. For example the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition of Jeff Koons work, the first showing in England outside of Tate.

But there are also things coming to Brighton before they go to London, for example this weekend I am going to see a new production of Noel Coward's Relative Values starring Patricia Hodge, Caroline Quentin and Rory Brenner at the Theatre Royal Brighton. While I'm looking forward to seeing this I have to confess I'm even more excited about seeing Jeeves & Wooster later in the year. I've been a fan of the books and the TV series for as long as I can remember so it will be interesting to see how it will have been adapted for the stage.

Matthew Macfadyen (Jeeves) and Stephen Mangan (Wooster) in Perfect Nonsense Photo by Uli Weber

 

Being such a fan I may have been wary about seeing anyone other than Fry & Laurie in the roles, however I think Stephen Mangan and Matthew Macfadyen will both be excellent. Anyone who has seen Macfadyen in Death at a Funeral will know he plays the straight man very well, and Mangan often seems to be the lovable buffoon.This production will only go to Richmond and Brighton before it's West End run - so see it in Brighton and then feel smug when everyone starts trying to get tickets for it in the West End ;)

While nothing beats the thrill of the live performance sometimes - wether it's time, money or energy - it's not always possible to see these shows or exhbitions live. Which is why I love the new trend for cinemas to start screening theatre shows and behind the scenes looks at exhibitions. For example tonight I am going to see Twelth Night filmed at the Globe starring Stephen Fry as Malvolio. In the coming weeks the Duke's at Komedia will also be showing the National Theatre's Macbeth; The Globe's Taming of the Shrew and the Victoria & Albert Museum's David Bowie exhibition.

So there is really no excuse not to enjoy a bit of culture by the sea. Let us know what takes your fancy...

Charlotte

A Poem for Flickr Winners in April and May!

Ode to Competition Winners

Almighty April and Manic May,

Have been and gone so fast,

With festivals and events abound,

They surely aren’t the last.

For June is now upon us,

And we may see some sun,

So let’s get to the point at hand,

The Flickr competitions won!

April’s theme was ‘Love Light’,

And there was choice aplenty,

A winner was so hard to choose,

We could have chosen twenty!

So from all the entries,

Alas, there can be only one,

And with this shot of Brighton Pier,

The winner’s Moonheadone!

And so for May’s theme,

We had to ‘Love the Arts’,

From shirts and through to drummers,

Festivals are in our hearts.

Another winner we must choose,

And we just loved this drummer,

With the sea and beach and pebbled rocked,

This is the sound of summer!

The winner was a local man,

A name linked with music,

Mr BrightonDJ is your guy,

And so we had to choose it!

Press on to June’s theme,

‘Love the Great Outdoors’,

Search for walks and hills and sea,

So the photos aren’t bores.

So with these final verses,

I hope I have inspired,

Can think of nothing more to say,

Because I’m getting tired.

Get out and take some shots,

And make sure to get them posted,

Onto our LoveBrighton Flickr page,

So next competitors get roasted.

So ‘till next time,

(I won’t go on and on),

From the poetic and slightly nuts,

The lyrical Siobhan :)

50th Anniversary of The Beatles first appearance at Brighton Hippodrome

Today we hand over to another guest blogger - Geoff Goodyear, a member of the British Beatles Fan Club, is here to tell us about an important anniversary coming up this weekend...

Beatles fans, in particular, will be interested to hear of this forthcoming anniversary. The Beatles Bible Website informs us that on the 2nd June 1963 at 8pm The Beatles played the 15th date of their UK tour with Roy Orbison at the Hippodrome Theatre on Middle Street, Brighton.

Were you there, and if so, what are your memories of this concert?

They performed a seven-song set on this tour, and included :

• Some Other Guy
• Do You Want To Know A Secret
• Love Me Do
• From Me To You
• Please, Please Me
• I Saw Her Standing There
• Twist And Shout. 

This was the first of three occasions on which The Beatles performed at The Hippodrome. They returned on 12th July 1964, and 25th October 1964. The Hippodrome is now closed to the public, otherwise it might have been possible to have hired a Beatles Tribute Band to play at the venue on the anniversary. Unfortunately, many buildings where The Beatles performed, up and down the country, have long since been demolished, so it is a bonus that the Hippodrome is still there.

If you are in Brighton on 2nd June, you may wish to pay your respects in person. The Hippodrome is situated in Middle Street, in the City Centre. I'll be there! Otherwise, you may wish to simply raise a glass to the "Fab Four," the most famous, and arguably the greatest pop band of all time.

Thanks Geoff, we did also manage to find this snippet on YouTube of the Fab four at the Hippodrome:

The Lost Play and a Bus named Terence

Today we hand over to another guest blogger. Kieran Chapman from the Theatre Royal Brighton tells us a bit about Terence Rattigan and there's a chance to win tickets to see Rattigan's 'Less Than Kind'...

The great British playwright Terence Rattigan is a name that could be said to now lack the authority it once did. Hugely successful in his prime during the mid 20th Century, Rattigan had strong connections to Brighton and called the town home for many years, a blue plaque denoting the seafront Kemptown house where he shared a street with none other than Sir Laurence Olivier. Three of his plays premièred in the Theatre Royal on New Road and there’s even a bus in Brighton named in his honour.

Rattigan struck early success during the mid 1930s, as a young man in his twenties, with two of his early plays. As WW2 broke out, Rattigan’s flourishing career was abruptly put on hold and he was enlisted in the RAF as a tail gunner. His time in the services inspired him to write the play Flare Path and shortly after its success he was released from active service to turn it into a film screenplay.

After the war ended Rattigan enjoyed many successes including co writing the screenplay for the 1947 film Brighton Rock and penning The Deep Blue Sea, which premièred at Brighton’s very own Theatre Royal in 1952. However in the mid 1950s Rattigan began to fall out of favour with the arrival of kitchen sink dramas, whose angry working class heroes were at stark odds with Rattigan’s more emotionally understated middle upper class settings.

Despite feelings of bitterness towards the changing tastes of the critics, Rattigan continued to write throughout the 60s and 70s, turning many of his plays into successful films. During this time he was cited by some as the highest paid screen writer in the world and was only the fourth playwright to be knighted during the 20th century in 1971. Terence’s later years were spent in Bermuda, where he tragically passed away in 1977 after a long battle with cancer.

Since the celebration of his centenary year in 2011, many of his plays have been enjoying a revival of their past success and next week, Rattigan will make a return to Brighton, the town and theatre he loved so dearly with the hilarious wartime comedy Less Than Kind. Originally staged in the 1940s, Rattigan was inspired to write the play after an argument with a friend over the conclusion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. After which Rattigan asked himself how he might finish a play that began in a similar fashion, the title even alludes to an opening line directly from Hamlet ‘A little more than kin, and less than kind’.

The original script however was heavily altered at the suggestion of the then leading man Alfred Lunt, until the play had been changed so significantly it also underwent a name change to Love in Idleness (another Shakespearean reference, this time to the flower from A Midsummer Night’s Dream). As part of Rattigan’s centenary celebrations in 2011, the original version of Less Than Kind was published and staged for the very first time. Following success in London, the production, now starring Sue Holderness (Only Fools and Horses, Green, Green Grass) and William Gaminara (Silent Witness) is on tour around the UK and is coming to Brighton 27 May – 1 June.

We’re offering a chance to win a pair of tickets to Wednesday evening’s (29 May) performance of Less Than Kind at Theatre Royal Brighton next week; to enter all you need to do is tweet the following.

RT to win 2 tickets for Terence Rattigan’s hilarious Less Than Kind 27 May – 1 Jun Theatre Royal Brighton @TheatreRoyalBTN @Love_Brighton

A winner will be chosen on Tuesday 28 May and they will be notified by Twitter.

Thanks Kieran, and good luck everyone! 

Charlotte