Digital, eBay & ecommerce expert, writer. Wunt be druv.
One of the great surprises of the City Council elections in Brighton and Hove in May (Yes, yes, the ones where I got absolutely thrashed by the Cllrs Kitcat), was the victory in Central Hove ward of our very own local eccentric Christopher Hawtree. Needless to say, when I call someone eccentric, I mean it …
I can’t help thinking that this frankly awful error is the result of Newsquest cutting staff, especially those wonderful sub-editors who are fastidious as a class. Hear me now. You can’t run a newspaper on a shoestring and maintain your reputation and readership. The cracks are showing at the dear old Argus. The Argus hacks …
You can often hear me grumble in the saloon bar, or as I stroll past the place, that the Royal Alex hospital on Dyke Road in Brighton risks becoming “our next West Pier.” Despite the fact a plan is in place and development is supposed to start soonish, it’s still a discarded site with all the …
I love this. Chortles galore. I think it’s a boyish effort at flattery, attached as it was to a fence. I salute that. A reckless, rather romantic gesture. No? Then someone comes in and goes all Truss in a most amusing manner. It’s like a Twitter row. But better. Look carefully for the biro contributions.
I could write a very long post about standing for election and getting beaten and what a Green council might mean for Brighton. But who really wants to know my ramblings about that? So instead here are the buzzers. Every candidate knocks on doors and Regency ward is tougher than most. So many shared front …
If you’re looking for a Brighton Festival fringe tip, I suggest you get along to Kemble’s Riot. It’s running for three nights this weekend at the Old Courtroom. Let me declare my interest: it’s a new play by my friend Adrian Bunting and I’ve offered a few modest pearls of wisdom on the script. But …
A few people have asked me why Labour abstained last night on the budget vote for Brighton and Hove City Council. Here’s my best stab at setting a context and explaining the decision. I must say though, that over the last few years, as I’ve learnt more about local government, there are lots of things …
(A little guest post I did for someone else as a favour. Shameless recycling) The prize for the worst Royal Wedding ever could easily go to the man who would become George IV. He was Prince of Wales at the time and later Regent. George married his first cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795. It …
An unfortunate juxtaposition? Or a clue? Spotted. Two Argus posters down my way. I think we should be told.
I love a nosey behind closed doors and I was interested to take a tour around Embassy Court on Saturday. It’s a fascinating and beautiful building from the 1930s. More Miami Beach than West Pier, and certainly a Brighton icon. Tales of Embassy Court’s heydey before the war, replete with a martini bar and lifts …
I don’t really know what this is, but I snapped it. It’s a stone in the central reservation of the barrier at the west end of the railway bridge at the junction where New England and Old Shoreham Roads meet. I guess, technically, that it’s on New England Road. It obviously has a railway connection. …
I’d never seen this plaque on Buckingham Road before yesterday. It’s commemorates the all too brief life of the artist and illustrator, Aubrey Beardsley who was born at number 12. It’s such a shame that it has a spray can squiggle on it. Not least because such artlessness seems totally at odds with Beardley’s own …
The Argus is the first for news. I particularly enjoyed this picture of the Mayor last week. What IS he doing? How to be a Retronaut is a superb compendium of old snaps and views. It’s required reading in my personal blogosphere. Last week The Retronaut people published some really rather wonderful pics from Brighton …
It’s more than a month since the General Election and I have one last post to make in my Election Notes series. I’ve been sitting on it because I was unsure exactly what I wanted to say. I made some notes at the time. This is a verbatim extract from the Sunday after the General …