A Wonderful Year in Brighton

Today we welcome another guest blogger as this post has been written by Eivind Nerberg. Eivind currently lives in Scotland with his partner Suzi but back in 2005 they decided to spend a year living in Brighton. For full details you can read Eivind's blog 'Walk a Pavement Once Again' on The Argus website. But below is a quick summary of their time spent in the city, including their top tips for any visitors...

When you live in inland and inclement Scotland, Brighton appears to be a dazzling jewel. And it was - it was everything we’d read and heard about.

A couple of ex-teachers, Suzi and I rented-out our house, sold the car, and on a beautiful evening in the middle of May we arrived at Brighton railway station.

After spending our first night in a B&B, we moved into a splendid self-catering apartment in Cavendish Place and then, thanks to a friendly, welcoming Brightonian, to a mansion flat overlooking the majestic Lawns at Hove. Throughout this time we were busy flat-hunting, and by the end of May we were signing a lease for six months – which we later extended to twelve – on a delightful flat, just off Western Road and on the cusp of Hove.

Every morning we emerged from our Brighton ‘home’ into invariably glorious sunshine and in sight of the sparkling, brilliantly blue Channel. (Whenever we walked along the beach or the prom we felt great: we were canny Scots and we were getting two things for the price of one – the sea and the city!)

Eivind on the beach

In order to experience as much of the city as possible we did lots of things ‘once-only’. The race-track, the dog track, zen meditation, the Theatre Royal, belly-dancing (well at least Suzi did), Hotel du Vin, the Brighton Marina, the Royal Pavilion, Valentino’s cocktail bar, the unmissable Duke of York’s Picture House - and on the sea-front, Tables 88, where we were joined by my younger daughter and her husband-to-be for an unforgettable Christmas Day dinner. I could go on and on: Brighton is simply inexhaustible.

Nearer to home, in our enchanting neighbourhood, we choose to indulge ourselves in as much repetition as we liked. (It was comforting and sweet to enter a pub and hear the staff say, ‘It’ll be the usual, then?’). By far and away our favourite pub in Brighton was virtually on our doorstep: the Atlas Lounge. We loved its décor, food, atmosphere, guest singers, and its large wooden tables on which, after borrowing a deck of cards from behind the bar, we’d play ‘Two Man’s Whist’, which I was taught decades before, in Norway. We’re delighted to hear that the The Atlas is still going strong – and gladdened to know that the nearby ‘Barney’s’ has re-opened [It is now called Hove Kitchen].

Not much farther along Western Road - in the direction of, and actually in, Hove - are two beautiful, Georgian squares, Brunswick and Palmeira. They are exquisite. Check them out for a chill-out or picnic. ‘Palmeira’, especially, sends a shiver down our spines! It was the most idyllic spot in town. Vibrant and varied, cosmopolitan and captivating, Brighton is a must-visit city. You won’t be disappointed. It gave us one of the best years of our lives.

Suzi in Brunswick Sqaure

Thanks again to Eivind for writing today's post and I hope you both get a chance to visit Brighton & Hove again soon :)

Charlotte

June's Flickr Competition Winner Blog

Bonjour!

The prodigal daughter has returned!

We’ve been busy with our Flickr competitions, some amazing photos have been winning our monthly competitions. Check out our Flickr group here: www.flickr.com/groups/lovebrighton 

In July our theme was Love Jubilees, LoveBrighton, and we had some great shots of the city, flags everywhere! The winner of July’s competition was Ta King, who has written a blog entry for us below. Have a read, and check out her images!

Peace out,

Siobhan x  

On the Jubilee Sunday June 3rd 2012 we decided to check out some cafe places in Upper Kemp Town. I always have a camera with me all the time, at least one. That day I had my Olympus Pen E-P2 with the Pancake 17mm F2.8 lens with me. As we were passing Charlotte Street with a retro looking cafe at the corner, I looked out towards the sea and I noticed this pink Victorian building with lots of union jack buntings. We did walk pass but after a couple of minutes I had this familiar feeling that I was about to miss some good shots. I told Tony, my partner, that I had to go back to take some pictures of that pink building and I did.
 

It turned out to be a Hotel, Brighton Marina House Hotel. I took two shots one overly exposed so the flags stood out and the other one is this shot that won me the prize. Being an amateur photographer and a camera-mad person, I took pictures for fun and never thought that I would win anything. I am so very pleased and it inspires me to take more pictures, the way I like. 

I had my first digital camera in the year 2003. It's plastic with MP3 player. I really loved it and I thought I would never want to go back to film again. Then I came across Lomo Lc-a and I fell in love with it. I spent all my life trying to fit the Minitar-1 lens on to digital cameras. I took a lot of good cameras apart to take the lens out and replaced it with the Minitar-1 lens. It was good fun. I had no knowledge of anything photography, I still don't know a lot even now. I know I wanted to make it focus to infinity and make it stay and that's about it. I ended up buying a Canon 5D full frame camera for sole reason, so the minitar-lens can show its full effect. Long story short, the back of the lens hits the mirror. I nearly shaved off part of the mirror to make it curve but I stopped myself. These days there are a lot of cameras with Lomo type effects and I had my hands on most of them, still my ultimate goal is to have the Minitar-1 lens fit with adjustable focus on a full frame camera. That's my story. 

I have lived in Brighton for nearly 20 years. Ever since I started taking pictures, I took some almost everyday and I still find things that catch my eyes every time I am out and about. I love Brighton!  

Ta King

A Literary Weekend in Brighton

Today we welcome another of our guest bloggers. Sara Sheridan is the author of Brighton bestseller ‘Brighton Belle’ – a 1950s murder mystery set you-know-where. Today Sara hands out her top tips for the city’s book-ish hot spots...
 
Brighton is steeped in history! That’s one of the reasons I love it. I’m not the only writer to get inspired by the city’s lively atmosphere. Over 200 years ago when Jane Austen wanted to send Elizabeth Bennett’s naughty sister Lydia somewhere risqué in Pride and Prejudice, she had her visit Brighton where she eloped with army officer, George Wickham. Later, of course, she marries him but you can’t get more shocking than an elopement in Regency Brighton. Today, you can walk past the spot where the regiment were camped on Brunswick Square, which is just around the corner from Brighton’s lovely independent bookshop, City Books (a shop that appears in several of Peter James’ Brighton-based crime thrillers).

I love visiting Brighton – my Granny lived here for a large part of her life and I’ve been coming down since I was a kid. It’s not surprising I always get ideas for stories while I’m strolling around. It’s a great place to write. Dickens completed both Bleak House and Dombey and Son while he stayed here. There’s a blue plaque these days where he stayed – which is now the Holiday Inn on Kings Road. The city’s been immortalised in books several times. Most famously in the raw appeal of Brighton Rock by Graham Greene who also uses The Cricketers as a location in his much more light-hearted novel, Travels with My Aunt. Greene’s own Brighton pick was the first book in local boy Patrick Hamilton’s Gorse Trilogy – he proclaimed it ‘the best book about Brighton ever written’. Hamilton was a Sussex-born novelist and playwright whose work was adapted for film, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in ‘Rope’.

Today Brighton is best known for its edgy crime books – not only Peter James but Mark Peterson and Peter Guttridge, for example turn out atmospheric forensic police procedurals. I decided to write something more cosy though I gave it an edge (of course!) I’m an historical novelist at heart and I’m fascinated by the 1950s. For me Brighton’s unique relationship with London make it the perfect setting for my ex-secret service agent, Mirabelle Bevan, to recover from WWII. It was fun finding out about the world my grandmother must have lived in – shopping at Hannington’s while eking out ration coupons. Granny had a shop in the Lanes for a while – she sold antiques. My guess is she had a window into some intriguing dodgy schemes. I certainly hope so.

Nowadays I visit Brighton whenever I can. Last weekend I took a literary tour and walked everywhere I just mentioned – from Austen to Graham Greene. Then my friend Jess had a swim in the sea and settled down to read my book on the beach in Hove. Brighton Belle in Brighton – there’s nothing better than that for an author to see!

Thanks Sara for all the tips and don't forget Brighton's annual literature festival City Reads will take place this year from 15 September - 7 October. This year's book is another Brighton based novel My Policeman. 

Charlotte

Our Digital Planet photography competition & exhibition

On Thursday 16th August a new photography exhibition will arrive on the main Brighton Promenade. Brighton is the first stop for Our Digital Planet which will go on to visit five other cities.

The exhibition will include images which demonstrate the positive impact the internet has had on people's lives. The aim will be to intrigue, inform and inspire visitors and encourage people to learn more about how the internet has positively contributed to society.

Plus there is a chance for your photo to be part of the exhibition! Simply upload a photograph which demonstrates what the internet means to you to www.blipfoto.com including a brief description and you could be in with a chance of winning. The winner's photo will be included within the exhibition and they will receive £500 of photography equipment and a personal photography workshop with David Collinwood. The competition is open until 3rd August.

Good luck and hopefully we'll see a Brighton winner when the exhibition arrives on the 16th!

Charlotte

Baroque named Boutique Retailer of the Year

Of course we love our independent retailers but it's always great to hear about local businesses achieving national recognition. Last week Baroque Bespoke Jewellers in the Lanes won the "Boutique Retailer of the Year" Award at the Retail Jeweller UK Jewellery Awards 2012, and here's a snap of the guys collecting their award...

The Awards are the Jewellery industry's equivalent to the BAFTAs and Baroque were originally shortlisted back in April along with 7 other jewellers across the country. The voting process consisted of interviews and a mystery shopper to judge the team's selling & customer services skills. The judges were impressed by the shops individual identity as well as their support of British talent.

Congratulations to the Baroque team from everyone here at LoveBrighton! 

So whether you are looking for a bespoke piece or a designer item pop into Baroque for an award winning experience.

For more details on Baroque go to: www.baroquejewellery.com

Charlotte

Brighton Olympic Torch Relay - 17th July 2012

Being a little disappointed (well very actually!) that for one reason and another I missed the Olympic Torch last night, I got up bright and early to get to the Pavilion for 7.20am for this morning's Torch lighting.

As the bus veered off course into Preston Drove at 7.07am, I had visions of missing it again. Neither a diverted bus or my feet were going to get me to the Pavilion in 13 minutes! Oops.

The torch is alight!

The Olympic Torch Lighting at the Royal Pavilion

I jumped off anyway, and started running down London Road frantically pushing my one year old in her buggy, whose hair by this time was vertical in the wind. I only made it to Preston Circus before we heard the distant sounds of what must have been the relay, so we stopped and stood in what turned out to be a great spot near the Duke of York's Cinema.

As the Torch came by a bit of lump came into my throat - there is something about a large crowd of people all turning out together for a common cause that is quite emotional.

Especially when your one year old is waving a flag with a big smile on her face, as she bounces around to the Freemasons...God speed Olympic Torch!

Oh and thanks to a more organised colleague we did capture the Torch lighting at the Pavilion above, not to mention the rather fabulous patriotic punks below...

Thanks John!

The Olympic Torch as it passes down London Road

The Torch runner - London Road

Patriotic punks turn out for the Torch!

Thank You GB Coca Cola lorry

Dandy Dick at the Theatre Royal Brighton

Every time I go and see a show at the Theatre Royal I think I mustn't leave it so long before I come again. The theatre always has such a lovely atmosphere & it's also a good place for some people watching especially if you happen to be in a box on the Royal Circle.

Last night a couple of us went along the see Dandy Dick, which is the first play to be staged by the new Theatre Royal Brighton Productions and as the play was originally written in Brighton it was certainly an appropriate choice. The story is based around a village vicar who is strongly opposed to gambling, however his quiet home life is disrupted by the arrival of his estranged sister who definitely doesn't share his views on horse racing.

For me the play was pure escapism - this is traditional English comedy at it's best. Don't get me wrong I am a big fan of modern comedy and am already looking forward to the Brighton Comedy Festival in October. However I am also pleased to see that there is still a place for farce and comical misunderstandings. No one is cruel and you know that everything will turn out alright in the end, in a similar style to Jeeves & Wooster or the Ealing Comedies.

Of course the two lead stars - Patrica Hodge & Nicholas Le Prevost - are well known faces and their performances were as good as you would expect them to be, but I am pleased to report that the rest of the cast were excellent as well, and the set design helped to capture the mood.



If you are looking for a night out with no mention of the banking crisis, dodgy politicians or that big sporting event coming up soon then this is for you. The play will be on at the Theatre Royal Brighton until Saturday, of course that is the best place to catch it although if you can't make it then you'll be pleased to hear that the production will be touring the country as well. Go to the Theatre Royal's Facebook page to see more of the production shots.

Charlotte

Image credit - Dandy Dick - Sir Arthur Wing Pinero - Ambassadors Theatre Group © Robert Workman