I adore this 1988 editorial from The Sun. Many thanks to Brightonian playwright Adrian Bunting who sent it my way. He got it from local cultural guru Peter Crisp, who is well known in the city. I hope that Peter and Adrian will forgive me for sharing it. It’s too delicious. The thing about the …
Noone who was present at Henry Allingham’s funeral earlier in the year doubts Brighton’s pride in its heroes. And today at the Brighton cenotaph down at Old Steine, just like in communities all over, hundreds of people joined in the Service of Rememberance. Rememberance is important every year, but recent losses in Afghanistan made it …
I’m always too scared to visit this chemists. I can’t imagine why.
We’re very lucky in Brighton because some sort of happening is usually happening somewhere. And last Saturday we saw the second annual White Night shindig. Basically, it’s an all night arty thing to coincide with the clocks going back. Centred on Jubilee Square, there was music, drama and all kinds of amusement. And a few …
Rejoice! The church has sent another missionary to save us godless Brightonians! Our new saviour comes in the shape of the ever so trendy Reverend Archie Coates. He knows what we need: more god. He’s so wrong. When it comes to beliefs and religions we’ve got plenty. It’s just not necessarily Church of England or …
A couple of delegates at Labour Conference have asked for some food, drink and fun suggestions for when they’re down in our great city-by-the-sea. And as a special service to them, here are some places that I really like and can honestly recommend. Places that you might not naturally stumble on as a visitor in …
I don’t head down to Brighton seafront enough on Saturday nights. But a few weeks back I did enjoy a drink at the Fortune of War and I was totally amused by these flyers that some chaps on a stag do were giving out. Essentially: spot the groom and claim a pint. A fun idea …
Overheard. Two slightly eccentric gents order a round of drinks at the bar of a Brighton boozer not far from the station. Their change includes a five pound note. Vladimir: That’s the second one today. Estragon: What? V: (triumphantly) A fiver! E: (very seriously) They’re like gold dust. V: I know. It’s always good to …
Backstreet boozer not far from the sea, sunny Sunday evening. A flame haired, ill-tempered 30-something woman approaches the bar. She has enjoyed a few scoops. And I don’t mean ice cream. Her: (Rudely) What wine have you got? Barman: Red or white, madam? Her: White. (As if he should have known that) No Chilean. I’m …
I live a stone’s throw from Brighton’s oldest church, St Nicholas’s. So I felt an urge to attend the funeral of Henry Allingham, one of the last veterans of World War 1. Many hundreds of people were there too. It was a moving occasion, even outside the church. Sombre certainly and all the time you …
One ‘amended’ To Let sign is unfortunate. Two looks like carelessness. Snapped tonight, these two are back-to-back for the same big old Victorian house recently turned into studio flats.
Southern Railways usually do a pretty good job of running trains to and from London and Brighton. But the past few weeks have been horrendous. I’ll forgive snow disruption reluctantly (although not the website being down due to demand as people were desperate to get info) but signal failures, fatalities causing total chaos and general …
Some pictures taken last night, at about 11PM.
Overheard in the pub: First Man: Seen that Andrew Lloyd-Webber programme with Graham Norton? Second Man: The Eurovision one? Yeah. Bollocks innit. First Man: Nah. I reckon Lloyd-Webber’s the man. He knows his stuff. He might win it for us. Second Man: Win it? All block-voting these days. Even Ireland can’t win it. All East …