ALL HAIL THE ALE
Ale, lager, cider and stout: the four cornerstones of British heritage. It used to be that real ale was the reserve of ageing alcoholics, but times have changed. On Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th July Brighton Beer Festival is bringing over 250 top quality brews to The Old Paddling Pool, along with great live bands, games and live radio broadcasts for your entertainment. Even if beer’s not your poison there’s something for everyone – hell, they’re even serving cocktails.
PARADING ONCE MORE
Electric Soft Parade, Brakes et al luminaries Alex and Thomas White’s first (notable) outfit are “getting the band back together” to play some of their much loved back catalogue. By some, we actually mean all. Literally. ESP have been playing every single song they ever wrote, album by album, for the last two months at the Prince Albert. This month (on the 25th) they’re doing their last full album, ‘No Need To Be Downhearted’, and then next month (June 29th) they’re doing the rather exciting bonus package, including a load of rarities and unreleased material.
ENABLE YOUR CABLE
Hove Lagoon has long been the place in town for watersports (outside of the specialist clubs, of course), and they’ve just stepped up a gear with the introduction of Wake Up Brighton, the south coast’s first cable wake park. If you don’t know cable wakeboarding, you’re basically towed at 20mph by a cable in a continuous ride without being dropped in the drink or letting go of the handle, as you show off doing sweet jumps and tricks and stuff. You can rent all the gear you need there and also do beginners’ courses – go to wakeupbrighton.co.uk and start leaping in and out of the water.
STICK YOUR OAR IN
Considering at its heart it’s a load of slightly mad people flailing around the West Pier, ‘Paddle’, as it’s affectionately known, has done well to become the largest annual free beach festival in Europe. Crammed with showcases of up and coming musical talent, extreme sports demos and family entertainment, this year it hopes to attract over 50,000 visitors and raise £1m for charity. This may be the only chance you’ll get to see a plane, iceberg or wild west wagon haphazardly ‘racing’ round the West Pier so get down to Hove Lawns on July 2nd and 3rd.
MOUND WOUND DOWN
As seems to be the way when community gardens take shape, The Mound, close to the Earth & Stars pub, has received an eviction notice. It had lain derelict for 14 years until it was lovingly transformed into community space for growing food, composting and as a general family hangout, and the organisers are currently on bailiff-watch, seeking to save it from closure. If you’re annoyed at this latest clampdown on community spirit, why not email your MP Caroline Lucas about it, at [email protected].
SCREAM 2
Scream Studios, in Enterprise Point just off Lewes Road, has been struggling to stay afloat recently, but Access To Music Brighton, the government-funded music college, has taken over. They’re promising a major refurb with new facilities, free recording and rehearsal time, a dedicated learning space with iMacs running Reason, Logic and other music software, plus a new recording studio coming soon. Go to myspace.com/atmrehearsal for more information.
DO THE CHARLESTON
The 22nd annual Charleston Festival is a literary celebration bringing together high profile authors and workshops for aspiring writers in the beautiful grounds of Lewes’ Charleston House. From Friday 20th to Sunday 29th the line-up runs from heavyweight novelists, historians and global adventurers, including big hitters like PD James, Melvyn Bragg and Paul Theroux. With a very diverse set of topics, there’s bound to be one that appeals, and it’s worth the trip to see the beautiful grounds of Charleston House anyway.
WORDS BY MATT BARKER, NICK COQUET, JESSICA MARSHALL MCHATTIE, BILL ROBINSON
