What is is about the smell of cow dung?

You either love it or hate it. I have to confess to loving the fragrance of a freshly laid cow pat myself, but I guess that is probably down to my rural upbringing.

On Monday one of my partner's friends decided to come down from Surrey and pay us a visit. As it was not his first time to Brighton, the 'cow dung lover' in me suggested that we go for a jolly jaunt in the lovely Sussex country side that surrounds our wonderful city by the sea!

So with an excitement reminiscent of The Famous Five, we set off with our SuperSaver bus tickets (only £4) and hopped on the upper deck of the number 12 from Churchill Square.

The journey along the coast was lovely, as we were bathed by the lovely warm glow of Autumn sunshine.

We got off the bus at Exceat (the bus stop is just next to the Seven Sisters Country Park Visitors Centre).

Salsa on a schoolnight

People assume that the best time to come to Brighton is at the weekend as there will be nothing going on during the week except possibly in the summer. However this could not be further from the truth. I think Autumn or Winter is actually the best time to come as the city is less crowded, you can have your pick of the best hotels and restaurants and there are some great discounts with our Winter Break offers plus it's easier to get around all the fabulous shops.


On top of that there are always things happening every night of the week and not just at the weekends. Which is why I found myself at the Hanbury Club on a Tuesday night trying to Salsa. At first we were a bit alarmed as we were the only ones in there but it gave us a chance to have a drink and catch our breath after the longish walk up the hill. I have to say the Hanbury Club is a great venue, with it's black and silver interior, it's small enough to be intimate but large enough to have a dance around.

So once everyone had arrived, about 30 people and not the 60 or 70 that the barman had promised us. We did a quick warm up and then were split into two groups - beginners and intermediates. I was in the beginners class and we were taught the basic steps. Although as ever there were not enough men so I volunteered to act as a man, and once we had gone over a few of the steps we then had the music and swapped partners as we tried to remember where our feet were supposed to be and smile as well! The only problem was that it was sometimes difficult to hear what the teacher was saying as she had to shout over the sound of the other class. But it was all a bit of fun. After the class we could stay and watch the more advanced class, to see how it should be done. We could have joined in with the improvers class although I'm glad we didn't because as my friend said that teacher could have worked for the military the way she was barking the names of the steps out at the students!

So would I go again? I would certainly go to the Hanbury Club again as I like the atmosphere, however if I seriously wanted to learn to Salsa then probably not as for one thing I'd end up dancing like a man and personally I don't think these drop in classes are ideal, I think to really learn you need a more structured class, although different methods suit different people. However for a bit of a giggle on a Tuesday night, then why not?

Charlotte

Sunsets in Brighton

It's not as if I need a reason to bang on about Brighton being a great place to live, cause I don't! But one thing I have noticed recently is the phenomenal sunsets we're getting over the sea at the moment. The other day I made a woman next to me on the bus nearly jump out of her skin when I said 'wow, look at that sunset!' After deciding I wasn't an escapee from Lewes prison, she did agree with though!

In fact, I loved it so much I chased a poor couple all along hove seafront to get this shot...

And sunsets are completely free too! Bargain...

Sarah

Fat but not frumpy!

Just when I thought being 7 months pregnant meant abandoning all efforts to retain a certain 'je ne sais quoi', I have discovered the joys of Simultane!

No sign of the uniform mumsy pastel hues of pink and light blue that adorn preggie 'boutiques', oh no! Vivid splashes of reds, golds and sea green, which artful drape your bump, in a way in which the designers could never have imagined when pattern cutting for their size zero mannequins.

And, if I need to justify myself, (which I do!) clothes can be worn post birth for that trendy yummy look that Brighton mummies do so well.

All I need to do now is to work out how to intercept the joint bank statement...!

Julia

Stardust at Brighton Marina

When visitors come to Brighton they tend to focus on the main city centre area by the Royal Pavilion and the Lanes, and while these are must-sees on any trip one of the great things about the city is the fact that there are lots of other areas to go to as well.

This was useful last night as my Mum and I had decided to go to the cinema, but we knew the city centre would be busy as Thursday night is late night shopping and as we are starting to head towards Christmas lots of people would be there buying presents for Uncle Tom Cobbly and all. On a side note I hope my colleague Julia doesn't read this as at the merest hint of festivities she'll start singing, dragging the decorations out of her drawer and giggling with glee, and I'm just not ready for that, not yet anyway let's wait a couple more weeks at least!

Anyway back to the point, as the centre would be busy we decided to go down to the Brighton Marina instead, as apart from the boats there is a multiplex cinema and a variety of restaurants and bars. So we had a pizza and then off to the cinema to see Stardust, which was very good, your classic fantasy adverture. It had all the elements you would expect from this sort of thing, pirates, witches, magical lands, princes and of course the young couple falling in love. There were also several very funny moments, and it is worth going just to see if you can spot all the famous people in it as nearly every part was played by a well known face (even if we couldn't remember all of their names!) including Michelle Pfeiffer, Ricky Gervais, Peter O' Toole, Rupert Everett, David Walliams and Mark Strong however with all these cameos the one that truly stole the show was Robert De Niro. I don't want to spoil it for anyone planning to see the film but prepare to see him as you've never seen him before, he really is a very versatile actor... so overall a great fun film

Charlotte

Excellence rewarded!

So, continuing the story from earlier..... we dusted off our DJs, tottered in our stilletoes (not at the same time you understand - it was a mixed group!) and set off for the awards ceremony.

We were up against some stiff competition from other major destinations in the South East, but guess what .... we won!! VisitBrighton's information centre is officially regarded as the best in our region!

So whatever you need to know about the city, or even if you think you already know everything there is to know, don't forget to come in and see us when you're next passing. We're at the Pavilion Shop in the centre of the city - you can't miss us - we're the very purple room at the back!

Sue

Virgin Blogger

My virgin blog. It’s nice to do something you’ve never done before. But I’m not really a completer-finisher as decades of half finished jigsaws and DIY projects can testify. I wonder if I’ll manage to keep finding things to write about.

I thought I’d tell you about a couple of things that have happened to me today.

The first is I have discovered my technical genius. I couldn’t understand why every time I typed a ‘t’ I kept getting a ‘t6’? It looked a bit ridiculous – Bright6on, Hot6el and so on. The answer lay in the bit of my lunch that had lodged itself in my keyboard. Should I call x2000 and summon help or could I fix it on my todd. I didn’t fail my o’level Physics three times without good reason: so relying on Isaac Newton I managed to sort it out.

The other thing was the bus trip I took this morning to a meeting in Hove. This bus goes from a regular stop twice an hour and so if you miss it, you’re likely to be late for meetings. I arrived at the bus stop with my usual 30 seconds to spare. A notice was sellotaped to the timetable: the 11x will depart every 30 minutes from in front of Marlborough House – definitely more than 30 seconds from where I was now standing. Trying not to have to run (not as fit as I used to be and there generally tends to be more bouncing than I remember) I fast walked round to Marlborough House to find no bus but another colleague looking confused but contemplating a bus on the other side of the Old Steine hidden from view by the bushes. Some people can sense spirits, others events that are yet to happen. This bloke clearly sensed that somehow the bus that wasn’t where it was supposed to be, that wasn’t really visible and that couldn’t be told apart from a dozen other buses circulating around the Old Steine was our bus. In these matters our bus sage was dead right. I shared my bus stop issue with the driver when we boarded and wish I hadn’t as I have now had the merits and disbenefits of a wide range of bus stops from which they could operate the 11x explained in far more detail than is probably strictly necessary. He’s a nice driver though – always friendly and very ‘Brighton’. This morning I was greeted with a ‘morning chap’ and a colleague with a ‘morning sweetheart’. Nice. I think.

My meeting was about the thing that’s happening between 2011 and 2013. We not allowed to use certain words as they are only available to organisations that have sponsored this thing and I have been threatened with all manner of punishment for straying from this edict. I can’t tell you what it is called but there is an airline and a camera that sound a bit similar. There are probably other things as well that sound quite similar. Aubergine isn't one of them. I’m really not making much sense am I? Answers below please.

And how do I feel at the end of my first blog? Well quite pleased that I managed to actually do it. Who knew my life (bus stops, meetings, minor technical fixes) really was that exciting!

Adam - Visitbrighton