BN1 Magazine Dec 2022

Photo Credit Matt Crockett

Photo by Manuel Harlan

TW - Satire

Much like a disgraced minister, Christmas is returning once again, whether we like it or not. Accompanying the inevitable disappointment over TV schedules, wondering who this Eric & Ernie are that your Nan keeps going on about (we can only imagine they’re sailors from a riotous gap-year holiday in Ibiza) or not caring what lyrics are now being used in Fairytale Of New York, it’s a time when we can all come together – and agree that turkey is robustly underwhelming.

The sooner we admit this unspoken truth, the better. I’m sure there are fans out there, who revel in its dark, bruised taste – but for most of us, it’s like the inevitable Cliff Richard festive release. We’d much rather you didn’t bother. If it was really that good, we’d be gorging on it every day of the week, not just when we’re in the mood to place ourselves under enormous pressure by inviting all the family round for an over-sized meal.

High streets would be bulging with Turkey Shacks, from where delighted members of the public would stagger home with tasty turkey nuggets and turkey burgers. Turkey-flavoured crisps would certainly be more than just a cruel seasonal oddity. But they don’t. Because most of us can only endure the taste of this freakish bird but once a year.

There. I’ve said it. If you’re interested in more honesty, then look out for my upcoming TED talk, Why Mrs Brown’s Boys Has Ruined Society. Merry Christmas! xx

CONTRIBUTORS

COVER: Prancer The Dancer Image By © Matt Crockett

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BRIGHTON

CIRCUS STREET BRIGHTON WINS PARTNERSHIP AWARD

Brighton’s Circus Street cultural quarter scooped its fourth major national award since it was completed last year, this time for best private/public partnership in the EG Awards 2022, leading awards for the commercial real estate industry.

Representatives of the winning team, U+I, Brighton & Hove City Council and the University of Brighton picked up this coveted award for the development which has already won the AJ 100 Building of the Year 2022, Sussex Heritage Awards – Large Residential 2022 and the WAN Future Project Mixed Use 2021. The scheme has also been a finalist for six other property and design awards.

Circus Street was officially opened one year ago by Brighton & Hove City Council Leader Phélim Mac Cafferty at a ribbon cutting ceremony with members of the unique public private partnership formed to transform the former fruit and vegetable market site, led by U+I and Brighton & Hove City Council, with Scape, M&G Real Estate, the University of Brighton, South East Dance and Coast to Capital.

Developed by specialist regeneration developer U+I and designed by awardwinning architects Shedkm, Circus Street includes 142 homes, 450 student bedrooms, a new innovation community in 30,000 sq ft of new office space, a range of food and drink outlets and, at its heart, a new home for South East Dance in the city’s first purpose-built dance house.

State-of-the-art environmental building design has been combined with landscaping focused on building biodiversity, making this a very green development where over 100 trees have been planted, including a mature elm tree, centrally placed as an emblem of regeneration and growth.

Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty said, “I am thrilled that Circus Street has won another important national award. This acknowledges the unique and successful partnership between Brighton & Hove City Council, U+I and the University of Brighton. The Circus Street development has transformed this derelict brownfield site into an exciting city community with bold design, homes, jobs, culture and community space with quality public art that can be enjoyed by all.”

Rob Sloper, Project Director, U+I, said, “It has been a pleasure working with such a forward thinking Council and University to deliver really important economic and cultural benefits to the local area and the city as a whole. We are delighted to win this award for a specialism that we are particularly proud of; working in partnership with public sector organisations.”

Professor Debra Humphris, University of Brighton’s Vice-Chancellor, said, “The Circus Street scheme is a worthy winner of this award and is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through bold thinking and partnership working. The partnership we have with U+I and the city council has not only

GLASS HUMAN COMES TO ACCA

Starring three soloists and members of the Glyndebourne Tour Orchestra, a brand-new chamber opera will be lighting up the intimate setting of Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts auditorium on Mon 5 Dec.

This newly commissioned work, composed by Samantha Fernando with words by Melanie Wilson and stellar performances

from Anna Cavaliero, Camille Maalawy and Denver Martin Smith, explores the experience of loneliness.

Three isolated voices find their way towards each other, charting a journey from emotional and social fragmentation to connection and meaning. Rooted in three contemporary experiences of loneliness – a young woman

made a huge difference at Circus Street but also transformed our Moulsecoomb campus for the benefits of our students, staff and the local community.”

Circus Street is creating over 400 new jobs and will add more than £200 million gross value to the local economy in the next ten years.

finding her identity, a refugee searching for stability and an older man living with grief and cognitive decline – the work explores the forces that separate us from each other and the threads we follow to join back together again.

For more information and tickets, head to: www.attenboroughcentre.com

Photo Credit Richard Hubert Smith

Photo Credit Richard Hubert Smith

Photo Credit Richard Hubert Smith

Photo Credit DCoolimages.com

Photo Credit DCoolimages.com

Towner Eastbourne and Tate are pleased to announce the judging panel who will select the 2023 Turner Prize shortlist. The shortlisted artists will be announced in spring 2023, and an exhibition of their work will open in Eastbourne from Thurs 28 September 2023 - Sun 14 Jan 2024. The jury for Turner Prize 2023 at Towner Eastbourne is Camden Art Centre Director Martin Clark, Chief Curator at Capc musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux Cédric Fauq, Director of Wellcome Collection Melanie Keen and Artistic Director at Art Night Helen Nisbet.

One of the best-known prizes for the visual arts in the world, the Turner Prize aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. Established in 1984, the Prize is awarded annually to an artist born, living or working in Britain, for an outstanding exhibition or public presentation of their work anywhere in the world in the previous year.

Joe Hill, Director at Towner Eastbourne, said they were pleased to welcome Martin, Cédric, Melanie and Helen to select the 2023 Turner Prize shortlist. ”Their range of experience, locally, nationally and globally will be sure to draw together a fantastic list of artists, who we will be privileged to exhibit in our galleries in

2023. We are delighted that the Turner Prize will be hosted at Towner as an important part of our centenary celebrations, and that this very capable and knowledgeable judging panel will be part of it. Hosting the Turner Prize will be an exciting moment not only for us but for Eastbourne.”

Each year an expert jury is formed to select a shortlist of artists for the Turner Prize. An exhibition of work by the nominated artists provides a vital public platform for emerging British artists and for visitors to engage with the latest developments in British art. The Turner Prize winner will be awarded £25,000 with £10,000 awarded to the other shortlisted artists at an award ceremony in December 2023.

Towner Eastbourne has also announced that the University of Sussex will join as the Education Partner for the Turner Prize. ViceChancellor Professor Sasha Roseneil said of the partnership said the university is honoured and excited by the partnership. “We hugely look forward to building on the rich relationship that we already enjoy with Towner Eastbourne through our School of Media, Art and Humanities, and to exploring the many unique and creative opportunities

this collaboration will provide to celebrate the prize and to explore contemporary art on our campus and within schools across Sussex.”

Joe Hill, Director, Towner Eastbourne, added, “We have collaborated with the University of Sussex on a range of endeavours for some time and are thrilled that we can work together to deliver a collaborative programme for the Turner Prize, using the expertise of our colleagues in the University’s History of Art department to create additional narratives around the exhibition, and ensure students can engage with this important cultural moment that is set to take place on the doorstep of their campus.”

The 2023 Turner Prize will be hosted by Towner Eastbourne as the centrepiece of the gallery’s centenary programme. The prize is awarded to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation of their work in the preceding year as determined by a jury.

For more information about the Turner Prize 2023, and Towner Eastbourne’s other exhibitions, head to:

www.townereastbourne.org.uk

CONCLAVE BRIGHTON LAUNCHES DECK THE HALLS SEASON

On Sat 3 – Sun 11 Dec, Conclave Brighton are hosting a special exhibition and nine days of creative events, all celebrating the archetypal symbol of urban street and youth culture: the skateboard.

At the centre of this non-Christmassy Christmas show is an art exhibition featuring 20 artists showing their original artworks created on the humble skateboard deck. This is no ordinary show of art on decks – the gallery has thrown aside all the normal rules for decks being customised with urban street art, and opened up the platform to all our artists, so you’ll be seeing all sorts of styles, from painting and drawing to screen-printing, carving, 3D modelling and collage.

Alongside the exhibition, Conclave are hosting events and community collaborations, including a number of hands-on events hosted by local artists where everyone can get stuck in (without the risk of a broken ankle!). There’ll be kids’ workshops hosted by award-winning Inclusive Arts Practitioner, Sarah Gillings (aka S.O.S Street Art) and adult’s evening sessions, where you can get creative in a fun supportive environment.

Conclave Brighton are working with the teachers and young people at PACA (Portslade Aldridge Community Academy) on their project ‘Board with Art’, which has seen 20 students working to create artworks which will be exhibited at their school, with a winner specially selected by Conclave to exhibit in the gallery exhibition.

The gallery, at 9 Queens Road, Brighton, is an independent, affordable contemporary art and creative event space which strives

to create an inclusive environment. Unlike many other galleries, they aim to break down the social and financial barriers to getting involved in art. The ethos is to make real people feel welcome in the gallery space – traditionally an environment where many believe they don’t belong.

This is achieved primarily through an affordability strategy: in the main gallery, 95% of prices are under £95. Customer service is friendly, personal, and the opposite of the exclusive gatekeeping which is associated with many galleries. The intent is to create something which feels more like a pop-up, or fair, only they’re by Brighton’s Clocktower six days a week throughout the year.

Conclave is also accessible to artists. For each group show, they host an open call where artists can apply to take part. Unlike many other galleries, artists aren’t charged to apply, or exhibit, and artworks are selected on their own merit. To date, there’s been 19 group show exhibitions in the main gallery space, featuring 137 artists, many of whom were given their first gallery opportunity at Conclave.

For more information of Conclave Brighton, their artists and the Deck The Halls season, head to: www.conclave-brighton.co.uk

BRIGHTON

QUEER HEARTS UNVEILS YEAR-LONG CULTURAL EXCHANGE OF EXHIBITIONS, WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS BETWEEN ISLE OF WIGHT AND BRIGHTON

With a love of psychedelic and surreal pop art, informed by their maverick sensibility, Ladypat and Boogaloo Stu are launching a year-long season of events. Queer Hearts gathers their eye-popping artworks and rallies local communities to celebrate queer heroes.

The project encompasses joint exhibitions of new artworks, workshop events and cultural exchanges. Ladypat and Boogaloo Stu have worked together on numerous creative projects over the past 20 years, with Ladypat creating many pop videos and live show visuals for Stu’s musical endeavors. Stu’s hand-made dioramas are a transgressive playground of unearthly delights; while

Ladypat deconstructs his own vector art into hand-made fuzzy-felt pieces. With a symbiotic connection linking both artists’ work through aesthetics and digital techniques, the Queer Hearts exhibition is a logical progression for the duo; together, they have coined the entirely appropriate description ‘fabestry’ (fabulous tapestry) to describe their style.

Partnering with local charity organisations (youth opportunity charity Brave Island on the Isle of Wight, and LGBTQ+ mental health charity MindOut in Brighton), the Queer Hearts Awards workshops will be a oneto-one experience for local queer people and their allies, to create an artwork with a

message dedicated to a queer person who made a positive impact on their lives. These artworks will be displayed in the galleries and then digitally archived afterwards.

To close the project, in May 2023, a group of queer islanders will have the opportunity to visit Brighton Fringe, to educate, inspire and forge friendships among queer people and further develop a cultural dialogue between the two locations.

Further information can be found at: www.queerhearts.uk

Photo Credit Ben Francis

Photo Credit Ben Francis

Photo Credit Ben Francis

Photo Credit Ben Francis

WAKEHURST UNVEILS GLOW WILD 2022

stop, specially added on the trail to keep hunger and thirst at bay. Plus, Sussex metal sculptor Michelle Dufaur’s shimmering array of lantern birds celebrates the colourful plumes and feathers of native species.

As the route ventures into new ground for the first time, the trail draws attention to the power of the elements, with a bespoke installation from Glow Wild regulars, AndNow:, returning for their ninth year. Over 300 points of fire will transform the dark woodland path into a dancing fiery display accompanied by a specially commissioned soundscape. The movement of the flames will reflect across the surface of suspended water droplets above, inviting visitors to contemplate the breadth of the elemental spectrum. As the fires ebb away, a new installation from Same Sky forms overhead with clusters of cloud-shaped lanterns bringing calm sunset hues as they billow across the night sky interspersed delicate stars.

Forming a glistening haven in the heart of Sussex, Wakehurst’s enchanting winter lantern trail Glow Wild has returned for 2022. This ninth edition offers a brand-new route through Kew’s wild botanic garden, with 11 bespoke installations and over 1000 paper lanterns handmade by local volunteers celebrating the incredible colour spectrum of the natural world.

This is Glow Wild’s most imaginative route to date, with each segment lit with different vibrant colours, bathed in a new soundscape from Brighton artists, Ithaca. The dark hues of succulent berries conjure up infra-red as the trail commences. Though invisible to the human eye, Wakehurst bats rely on infra-red waves, and eagle-eyed adventurers may see their lantern figures languishing in trees above. Maker and illustrator Kerith Ogden continues the exploration of the animal kingdom with his series of playful lantern sculptures inspired by the world of insects. Insects’ intriguing use of colour – as a warning, to attract a mate, or as camouflage – is reflected in the richly coloured creations of lady birds, stag beetles, bees, green shield bugs and common blue butterflies. Shimmering blues will also adorn two new arrivals on the Glow Wild trail, with giant parading puppets Percy and Percie the Peacocks entertaining visitors at a pop-up refreshments

Moving away from the open woodland, AndNow: returns with a glimmering tunnel of greenery, inspired by botanicals, mosses and lichens. The fully immersive installation combines the colours and textures of these richly coloured organisms with sweet wood scented essential oils. Emerging from the cave-like depths, iridescent beetle lanterns enhanced by the amplified sounds of scurrying insects will accompany night- time explorers to a new 12m platform overlooking Wakehurst’s Westwood Valley, which forms the perfect viewpoint for an awe-inspiring projection from digital artists, Colour Project. A joyful exploration of the landscape through colour, the display will progress from the stark whites of winter woodlands to an explosion of kaleidoscopic waves, diffusing across the ravine like ink in water.

Towering above everything is Wakehurst’s iconic Christmas tree. The tallest living example in the UK, it stands at over at 37m tall and is draped with 1,800 energy-saving bulbs. Winter wanderers are invited to consider the fundamental role of colour for all living things, discover the power of colour communication within the animal kingdom and explore the outer edges of colour perception.

For more details or tickets, check out: www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-on/glow-wild-2022

Photo Credit Jim Holden

Photo Credit Jim Holden

Photo Credit Jeff Eden

BRIGHTON

BRIGHTON MUSIC CONFERENCE ANNOUNCE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Brighton Music Conference (BMC), the UK’s foremost electronic music and networking event, will host its 10th Anniversary edition on Weds 24 – Sat 26 May 2023 at the prestigious Brighton i360 beachfront complex.

2022’s BMC was the first full edition after the pandemic and focused on getting ‘back to the music’. The 10th anniversary edition will focus on the importance of communities with Bristol Night Time Economy Advisor, Carly Heath summing it up perfectly in her talk last year, stating that “nightlife is where communities happen”.

The concept for the event came from the idea that the UK is a world leader when it comes to electronic music, but didn’t have its own electronic music industry conference, and so in 2014 BMC was born. Starting life at the Brighton Dome, the conference has grown into the UK’s leading event for the electronic

music industry, with thousands of people attending and over 250 industry professionals taking part in events, panels and workshops over the three days each year. Exclusive pod parties in the i360 observation tower, the Label Lounge A&R sessions and numerous networking events at some of Brighton’s best loved venues, offer the opportunity to meet colleagues and make new connections. BMC was also awarded by the NTIA at the Ambassadors of the Night Awards 2019 for their work and commitment to developing awareness and education of the UK Electronic Music Scene internationally within the NTE.

“When I started in the industry we didn’t have anything like BMC to help people with their careers,” BMC Founder Billy Mauseth explains. “We wanted to create an event that everyone can enjoy and a place for the industry to come together. We are all part of the same tribe, the same family and everyone

can come together at BMC to learn, be inspired, network and enjoy amazing music and DJ sets.”

BMC’s vision is to create the most informative learning platform and networking opportunities to form new business relationships and collaborations for professionals and enthusiasts in the electronic music industry, through various talks, seminars, workshops, networking events and gigs. BMC 2023 will once again present a full programme of panels, Q&A’s, workshops and networking events.

For more information and early-bird ticket deals, head to Brighton Music Conference’s website at:

www.brightonmusicconference.co.uk

Image credit: Charlotte Horton

Image credit: Nikki McNeill

Image credit: James Allam

COMPETITIONS

WIN tickets to Emma Bunton & Friends Christmas Party

We have teamed up with SJM Concerts to give THREE pairs of tickets in our prize draw for the Emma Bunton & Friends show at the Brighton Dome on 13 Dec.

Emma Bunton’s Christmas Party will see her performing songs from her own back catalogue as well as some classic Spice Girls tracks and all your favourite festive hits. Emma will also be bringing along some very special guests!

To enter visit www.bn1magazine.co.uk and follow the simple entry instructions. Entrants must be over 18. Three lucky winners will be picked at random and announced on 10 Dec.

Win a stay for two in a boutique hotel

We have teamed up with INNit Hotels in Kemptown to give you the chance to win a night’s stay for two people in one of their four boutique hotels.

This would be the perfect prize for anyone with friends or family visiting in the new year, or if you simply want a night away in a luxury room.

You can choose to stay in a twin or double room across any of the hotels: Saltwater, Ocean Breeze, Upper Rock and Marina House. Every room has a modern, individual design and cosy guest amenities.

To enter visit www.bn1magazine.co.uk and enter your name and email. A winner will be chosen at random on the 3 Jan 2023.

Good Luck!

(The winner may choose any date in Jan, Feb or March 2023 to stay in any of the 4 hotels).

www.innitrooms.com @innitrooms

WIN!

INNit Hotel - Saltwater

PRANCER THE DANCER

MARLBOROUGH PRODUCTIONS’ LAUREN CHURCH TALKS ABOUT INNOVATIVE NEW WORK FOR CHILDREN

By Stuart Rolt

“It’s about saying it’s OK, and making space for joy, no matter what’s going on outside. It’s about you, and believing In you, and putting that self-belief into action.” Marlborough Productions’ Creative Development Producer, Lauren Church, is undoubting about the message their new theatre work offers young people and their grown-ups.

Prancer The Dancer is packed with fun for the whole family, helping audiences imagine what discos might be like in the future, if dancing could translate into renewable energy and how time travel may provide a useful exercise in confidence building. “We wanted to make a space which is purely about celebration, so folks could come to the show and just be themselves,” says Church. “This year has been tremendously difficult, and this period is going to be particularly challenging for many families.”

We get to meet Prancer, who is painfully shy but desperate to dance. In fact, it’s their biggest wish in the world. Building a time machine in their bedroom, Prancer journeys to the future. There they become a world-famous star, as Prancer the Dancer, tearing up the Blackpool Tower Ballroom with some futuristic dance power.

“The festive period is a difficult time of year. It can be so isolating. When this opportunity arrived to preview this new work at ACCA and take it on to Shoreditch for a world premiere, we felt it was the perfect

Photo Credit Matt Crockett

time of year. It’s not a Christmas show, but it can feel quite festive. I think disco music sounds festive, but that might say something about me!”

This dance theatre work celebrates movement, community and how we can all help construct a better future, while encouraging greater confidence and understanding of identity. There’s even a postperformance disco party, where you can bust out the moves you learned during the show.

“What Prancer is doing is treating adults and children the same. You could come to this work as an adult and enjoy it just the same. Children are intelligent, and they do know when they’re being patronised. The universal message is about realising you are enough and taking space to develop an awareness around mental health.”

If times are difficult, the enforced jollity attached to Christmas can pull everything into sharp focus for some people. But before Christianity, this period of the year saw many celebrations amongst communities designed to spread light and happiness in the depth of winter. Despite it not being a traditional Christmas show, Prancer The Dancer seems to tap into these ancient traditions. “All those adverts on the television, where you see people coming together, can make you feel a bit rubbish if you haven’t got that going on yourself. This is about community building and coming together in an authentic way, so everybody can be a stakeholder in the show.”

The idea for Prancer was seeded at Palaver Party at Cambridge Junction - a family-orientated space where everyone is encouraged to be whoever they want to be, with music, performances, DIY costume-making and lots of glitter. There was lots of workshopping with Adam Carver from Fatt Projects, who run a programme to develop performance work which engages with children in a meaningful way. “Adam was so important in the project’s inception, and what we realised was this was something which could become a full show.” With enthusiastic support from venue partners, and almost a year of production, Prancer The Dancer is ready for the world.

The show previews at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts on Sat 10 - Sun 11 Dec, before transferring to Shoreditch Town Hall for its World Premiere on Tues 20 -Sat 24 Dec. There are plans to take the idea onward. The role of Prancer can be fulfilled by any artist in the community, while the script can be adapted to cover important key issues. There are already ongoing conversations with national venues and talk of international tours. Like the titular character, there’s world-building ambitions for this work.

The Brighton-based Marlborough Productions is arguably Britain’s premier queer-led, intersectional performance makers. Working closely with local arts groups like The Spire, ACCA and South East Dance, it’s platformed a broad spectrum of critically-acclaimed and innovative new work over the past ten years, opening spaces to inspire people from a range of backgrounds.

“All the work Marlborough does enriches the life of our team and associate artists. Selfishly, it’s an incredible wellbeing strategy to make a piece that’s purely about joy.” Marlborough recently became an arts council National Portfolio Organisation, recognised as an organisation which provides meaningful cultural events which benefit the community around them. It means they now have secured core funding for the next three years, which will have a profound impact on their output.

“Just that very simple change will unlock so much more work for us. There are some big announcements to come from us. So, it is a really exciting time for us.” It allows them to create better strategies, develop new ways to work and challenge any barriers to access.

This is Marlborough Productions first full length for show children, and Church says she wishes there could have been something like this happening when she was a youngster. It must be tough being six years old, and hearing about the cost of living crisis, war and austerity. World events can sometimes be monstrous and scary, especially if you feel like you’ve no agency.

“The nearest I got to this was panto, and the problem I had was my mum and dad couldn’t afford that. There seems to be real learnings in the arts about how to talk to children about difficult subjects. I think it’s

been a protection thing, it’s like: ‘No, we can’t talk to kids about mental health…’ But I wish something like Prancer had been around, so if I felt really isolated and rubbish, I could understand what that feeling is and devise some tools to deal with it better.”

Confidence building, understanding identity and learning that you’re not responsible for everybody else are all crucial steps in emotional development. “For me it was watching all the Disney stuff, where there’s a hero who goes out and fixes everything. They sort out the town they live in or the monsters banging at the door. I was thinking I had to go around and fix everything and be a people pleaser. But you don’t have to worry about that. And, if you’re feeling upset… well, that’s OK as well.”

Just before Prancer’s preview, Marlborough are hosting the latest instalment of their Live Art Social showcase at ACCA on Fri 9 Dec. “It’s a chance to gather Marlborough’s family and make a space for all the great stuff we’ve done.” A dynamic, and fully inclusive, evening of alternative cabaret, live music, and radical performances, it gathers a myriad of fantastic local queer talent.

Church’s work is firmly rooted in social justice and representation, particularly around disability, mental health, race and sexuality. A theatre producer for over 15 years, she says she’s got to work with some amazing artists on shows which have toured internationally. A big hope for Prancer is not only connecting with young people but inspiring their grown-ups to unlock their own sense of fun and wonder. It’s a work which is filled with a subtle lesson, which can inform everyone’s day to day lives, from sustainability to the importance of dreaming big. “If you think back to when you were younger, you probably had all of these ambitions. Mine was starring in Star Wars, but a careers advisor told me it wasn’t going to happen. The inner child in me wishes that I retained some of my ambition.”

As a responsive performance work seeking to offer an enriching experience, Prancer encourages us to take some much-needed time to let go and check in with joy. We’re not born to just work and pay the bills. We can also live an experience - and feel the complexity of dayto-day life’s emotions. It’s a captivating idea. “This work is not going to fix all the world’s problems, but it is a reminder to check in with yourself and remember the things which are important to you – whether that’s dancing to disco tunes, or just remembering what your ambitions were as a child. Or maybe you’re starting to think about ambitions. It’s quite a small thing which can have a huge impact.”

Marlborough Productions present Prancer The Dancer at Brighton’s Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts on Sat 10 - Sun 11 Dec and Shoreditch Town Hall for its World Premiere on Tues 20 - Sat 24 Dec. www.marlboroughproductions.org.uk

Photo Credit Matt Crockett

THREE MILE BEACH

is a collection of effortlessly cool beach houses situated a stone’s throw from the wild Cornish Ocean.

Written by Lauren Libin.

Three Mile Beach is hard to describe. It is neither a hotel or an Airbnb style house. For me, the best description is luxurious and stylish resort with a Cornish twist. 15 luxury beach houses each with their own outdoor space complete with sunken hot tub and Finnish style wooden sauna nestled in a small hamlet close to St Ives right on the mesmerising Cornish coast. Each of the bold and striking coloured houses is named after a song title and although they all have similarities, they each have their own distinct features and style. The finish in each dwelling is superb, with turquoise touches taking centre stage including several Smeg items and the coolest cocktail cabinet I have ever seen in the shape of a US style Jerry Can. The kitchen is kitted out with so many incredible appliances that even Gordon Ramsay wouldn’t complain. The open plan kitchen / dining / living area is perfect for entertaining, and the sofa is so inviting with a comfort level that I really didn’t think existed. The outside is a private haven, with a sunken hot tub, your own sauna, a comfy hammock, bean bags and a large table for those family alfresco dinners.

We were lucky enough to stay in a stunning four bed beach house called Rocket Man (one of my all-time favourite songs) and it really was love at first sight as we walked across the heated floors and into kitchen diner with a definite Californian / surf influence. After a long drive, the welcome hamper was just that, very welcoming, and bursting full of the most delicious British goodies from local scones and a Cornish sparkling wine to the world’s largest and most delicious chocolate buttons. After a refreshment break, we took great pleasure in exploring the glorious house that we were to call home for the next few days. Each bedroom is unique from a giant Four poster bed with a chic pink ensuite to a twin bedroom with a nautical style and a cute mezzanine chill out area (or secret hide away as my children called it). The master bathroom once again brought to life Three Mile Beach’s brand colour of turquoise with floor to sealing coloured tiles, a shower that could fit a football team in, and a bath with a regal quality that wouldn’t look out of place in Buckingham Palace.

The team at Three Mile Beach really have thought of everything in terms of style and comfort. And the cherry on top is they also offer a plethora of rather brilliant extras. For sea lovers you can hire everything from wet suits to surfboards, bodyboards, SUP’s, hoods, fins and more

to really take advantage of the fact the sea is on your doorstep. You can opt for a private chef to come and cook in your house, a Wim Hof inspired cold immersion and breathwork experience and even the option to hire an acoustic guitar. There is a food and drink menu from cold white wines to IPA’s and even a tasty non-alcoholic beer, plus a lush finish at home style menu from pies to antipasti sharing platters that the team will deliver to your door. Perhaps our favourite extra was the Pizza Party a brilliant pack that features an Ooni pizza oven (which the awesome Three Mile team drop off and set up) 12 pizza doughs from a local bakery and a fabulous selection of British charcuterie and other tasty toppings. We loved making the pizzas, and the whole family got stuck in, with our competitive nature taking over and everyone claiming their creation was the best.

If you can prize yourself off the sofas, or out the amazing wooden hot tub, the local area has a lot to offer. The stunning coastline of Gwithian is excellent for a walk, a play on the beach, a surf, bodyboard or even kite surf. Ten minutes down the coast is a magical place called Godrevy where at low tide most days the local seal colony rest in between meals. As the beach has no human access it is a seal’s dream, and on the day we visited 50 plus seals were resting which really was the most unbelievable site. The picturesque fishing town of St Ives is also only a short drive away so another great day trip option.

To sum up, Three Mile Beach is a magical place where the wild sea meets warmth, style and luxury. Where each day your mind is cleared by the powerful ocean, and really nothing in the world is better than bodyboarding with your best mate while two seals bob up a metre from you, followed by drinking a glass of cold wine in a warm hot tub. For those that think Cornwall is just good for the summer, you are wrong. Three Mile Beach is the perfect getaway all year round.

For more information or to book please visit www.threemilebeach.co.uk

Shopping with RARE Brands at Goodwood’s Stylish Christmas Market

This year, more so than ever, I have been more conscious of supporting local, independent businesses. Whether that is eating at local restaurants and cafes (see Solera, and Bread & Milk), shopping at Goodwood Farm Shop or One Market Brighton for those extra special quality treats, or even travelling to independently run campsites on my staycation adventures (I highly recommend East Thorne in Bude, Cornwall). Christmas will be the perfect opportunity to really be careful with my purchases to make sure they are sustainable, charitable and ultimately great quality products from businesses that deserve the extra attention this festive period. The Rare Brand Christmas Market is the absolute idyllic place to shop with this ethos in mind, and I had the privilege of being invited along to Goodwood Racecourse to enjoy this event and celebrate some fantastic brands and businesses.

For those that do not recognise the RARE Brand from my November article on The Barn Little London, the woman behind it all is Emma Schwarz who is on an absolute mission to expose consumers to the best emerging brands in the market. While there is a bias to local Rare Brand’s, some brands travelled from Hampshire, Cornwall, London, Suffolk and Scotland for the market last week. The mission seems to be proving a success too as the halls were absolutely full of shoppers keen to learn and buy from the sustainable clothing stalls, food-waste fighting charities, and enthusiastic creatives over the three days (17-19th November).

First I must address the venue itself. It does not get much more stylish than Goodwood Racecourse, and on this particular Saturday morning, it looked especially incredible in the November sun. Entering the event, we were first introduced to ‘Dinoski’ on the exterior of the market - a children’s skiwear brand with an ethos of wanting to get the kids (and adults) to go outside and enjoy the great outdoors. They

have also created ‘Roarsome’, renovating vintage school buses and turning them into epic glamping accommodation. One of these colourful buses was parked right outside the food hall, giving us just a tease of the sort of quirkiness we would find as we mazed around four halls packed with hundreds of shopping brands.

In the Double Trigger was everyone’s favourite part of a market - the food hall. It was hard to resist the tasters of food and liquor as we wandered around, but what was even more impressive than the taste of these samples was the care each brand had for its product.

Mavrik Drinks introduced us to the deliciously refreshing taste of their low calorie, no alcohol canned cocktails, but then shortly after we were exposed to the delightfully sweet warmth of Thunder Vodka’s toffee spirit. Continuing to maze through the stalls, we nibbled on biscotti and tasted curried butter chicken. There were cheeses, chocolates, cured meats and plenty more booze. My purchase of the day was made with UK Harvest who were selling their sweet chutneys made entirely from surplus ingredients rescued from going to waste, and cleverly labelled ‘Scrap and Pickle.’ The new ‘boxing day chutney’ is made from all those leftover pumpkins we tend to carve and dump annually.

Once I had tried and tested my way through all of the food and drink products, there were still three rooms to explore across Goodwood’s Charlton Stand. Jewellery, candles, clothes, kitchenware, and decor brands filled the room like tetris blocks to cater for everyone’s Christmas wish-list needs. A wonderful feature was the bar in the middle of room one serving coffee, cakes and Digby Fine Wine, transforming a shopping morning into a shopping experience. What’s more is there was a pop-up version of The Barn Little London with a delicious brunch menu for those more-than-peckish tummies; the courtyard sheds were brought along to

the racecourse too for that authentic Barn dining experience from the market.

It was a joy to see the market so busy, and to hear people networking, from social-media following to live action candle sniffing and reviewing. The day was clearly about making shopping personal, and really building relationships with the brands you buy from. The rush was far from claustrophobic, but instead had a comforting, communal buzz which left me feeling extremely festive. It goes to show that shopping with care - choosing the brands and businesses you buy from wisely - can truly benefit your own wellbeing, as well as the environment, and is a habit to form and maintain beyond Christmas.

Hear from the Brands themselves:

“Sustainability is a big deal for us. Shanty was born out of a genuine love of the British coastline and we give money to projects that are concerned with protecting and cleaning up this ecosystem. The seaweeds that we use in our product are harvested sustainably by hand ensuring that the holdfasts are left in tact allowing for regrowth. We use an organic wheat based spirit. The bottle is wax dipped so as to avoid any plastic shrink wrap. Our 70cl bottle is decorated using organic ceramic glazes that are kiln fired on to the bottle.We encourage refilling our bottles rather than throwing them away offering a discount to anyone who brings us back a bottle. We are looking at the possibility of using solar power or even tidal power to run the still in the near future.

It is great to see events such as Rare Brand’s putting time into making sure that the brands that they represent are making efforts to produce sustainably. Making a difference to the climate and the well being of the planet

is ultimately going to be down to each and everyone of us but I think it's important that brands set a good example.”

Hugh Lambert, founder of Shanty Spirit, shantyspirit.com

“[Our] Handmade products are made in small batches and often made to order, meaning less waste, as they typically use fewer resources to produce than mass production techniques. Sustainable brands will put the environment first, from fabrics choices, to recycled packaging, to locally made items. Events such as the Rare Brand Christmas market are great events where you know and can trust the brands exhibiting who they say they are and are truly independent and unique and have the environment at the forefront of the business. Events mean that customers can meet the faces behind the brands, feel the products and try them on first hand rather than through a computer screen.”

Catherine, founder and director of Touch of Tweed, www.touchoftweed.com/

Shopping In Brighton:

Currently at The Stanley Road Store on Market Street in the south lanes is a pop-up store which features Brighton’s own makers. From ceramics to clothes; prints, jewellery and badges, there are 70 artists on display, each with their own aesthetic. Check it out while you can from 11am-6pm everyday until Christmas. @the_stanleyroad_store

BN1 chats with GLU

Michael Shuman, otherwise known as Mickey Shoes, is a music legend taking on his own solo project as GLU. While he may be more known for his rock music as bassist of Queens of the Stone, and frontman of Mini Mansions, GLU is taking on a hip-hop sound. Shuman shared with BN1 how he is excited to be exploring the freedom and challenges of releasing solo music; while he expresses putting pressure on himself at first, his project is proving a success as GLU is touring major cities this December. From discovering exactly who and what GLU is, to the UK being a home for this project, here is what Shuman had to say about kick-starting his solo career.

Your first show kicks off on the 7th of December in Birmingham, how is preparing for your December tour going so far? It must be an exciting time for you?

Any new upcoming tour is exciting for me, but I am really looking forward to this UK one. Although I’m a Los Angeles boy, the UK has always been a second home to me, and that’s where I started GLU. I wanted to build it here in the UK specifically. Can’t wait to play these very small and intimate venues. Think it will be special.

In June you had a residency at Sebright Arms in London, will you be bringing anything new to your December tour compared to your summer shows?

Those London shows were my first ever playing as GLU, so I think the

main difference will be having a better sense of what GLU is, what it is for me, and how to put on this show for the audience.

In the summer you also joined Blood Red Shoes on the European leg of their tour, what was touring with them like?

It was my first tour with GLU, so it was very exciting. I did all the travel by myself on trains, so being with Blood Red Shoes every day and night at the shows felt so comforting. They are amazing people and an amazing band, so it made every day that much easier.

You are of course also known as Mikey Shoes, bassist of Queens of the Stone Age, and are the frontman of Mini Mansions, what made you want to do your own solo project? How does performing solo compare to with a band?

I wanted to have something that I could do on my own terms at all times. I’ve always been in bands, and I would never not want that. But I also felt I needed the space to be able to create, play shows, and tour whenever I want. It really has nothing to do with having full creative control, but rather how my time is spent. It’s a bit weird to be up on stage by yourself, but I’m really starting to grab a hold of it and am now really enjoying the challenge. It’s all on you… all the music, all the mistakes, all the pressure. I’m into it.

The new hiphop-led solo project crafted by Michael Shuman (aka Mikey Shoes - bassist of Queens Of The Stone Age and Mini Mansions frontman).

Your debut single, Cold Sweat was released earlier this year; was that a nerve-wracking experience or were you pretty confident with it? What sort of response did you receive?

There was a bit of pressure I put on myself when releasing the first track. All the thoughts cross your mind. Is this what people are expecting from me? Will they hate it? Does it make sense? Is it good enough? But I did my own type of market research before releasing it, and the response from all my peers was extremely positive. The general response was it was a step forward for me as an artist, yet still felt very much like me.

GLU has been labelled a hip-hop project, and you can definitely hear that in your singles Cold Sweat and Night Shift. Who are your influences for these more hip-hop sounds, because it may not necessarily be what people are expecting from you?

It’s hard to put a label on GLU, and that’s what I like and somewhat always strive for. The main goal was to create something that felt authentic coming out of my body, yet pushed me out of my comfort zone. I think that’s the only way to be in the world. As far as hip hop influences, I’d say what Damon Albarn has done with Gorillaz is one, as well as 90’s west coast hip hop, and someone like Mac Miller, who did a great job of blending hip hop flow while maintain a very musical backbone.

Can we expect to hear your Night Shift on the setlist of your December tour?

Yes, Night Shift has always seemed like a fan favorite when I’ve played it live. Didn’t think it would be, but it always seemed to get the best response from people never hearing any of these tunes. So that was one reason why I decided to release it now.

My Demons features Sarah Barthel of Phantogram, and you have also worked with Alex Turner (of Arctic Monkeys) on Mini Mansions’ track Vertigo, and Queens

of the Stone Age have worked with some music legends including Dave Grohl (of Foo Fighters). Can we expect more collaborative work from GLU?

Definitely. I love collaborating with other musicians and artists. I think it’s extremely important in your own progress and development. Learning from others always. And especially since GLU is solely written, recorded, and produced by me, I think having these features and collaborations was important to giving different textures to my songs. There’s a few good surprises in the can.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

I think doing a collaboration with Gorillaz/Damon Albarn may be my first choice. Would love to flow on a track of his, or have him drop some knowledge on how he builds his tracks.

You are performing at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton on the 13th December. Have you ever performed in Brighton before? Are you expecting anything particular from that gig?

I’ve performed many times in Brighton with Queens and Mini Mansions, but never as GLU. It’s always a blast though. I have a bunch of friends down there, including my homies in Royal Blood and Blood Red Shoes. So I expect to have some good hang time, laughs, and a few post show pints.

And after the December tour, what can we expect to hear from GLU? WIll there possibly be an E.P anytime soon?

I’m looking to keep releasing GLU music consistently, so definitely expect more releases and announcements at the top of 2023. Queens will also be back out next year, so I expect all my time to be filled up with shows and more shows.

GLU will be kicking off a headline UK tour in December with a show at Hope & Ruin on 13 Dec.

Your Guide to the Ideal Vegan Christmas

This Christmas, whether you are newly vegan yourself, or you are hosting for vegan family and friends, get prepared well ahead of time with this guide full of inspiration and top tips. This Christmas and always, it is important to ensure everyone feels included in the festivities by providing plenty of food and drink choices for everyone's dietary needs. Maybe this guide will inspire you to try Veganuary, or you might just want to try some new vegan treats.

Shopping

What’s in store this Christmas?

While supermarkets do have plenty of vegetarian options, it can still be hard to find exclusively vegan pre-made treats. Ready made vegetables are often tossed in honey or butter, or you search for Christmas party food only to find a load of breaded and fried cheese nibbles (no good for a vegan!). I have however found that Tesco is the most inclusive supermarket in my opinion with their ‘free-from’ range proudly displayed on shelves, and it actually tastes good too.

Rather than hunting through large mainstream supermarkets, it may be much easier (and more sustainable) to shop at exclusive vegan shops, which there are luckily plenty of in Brighton.

The Captain Pig in the North Laine was the 1st vegan grocery store in Brighton and remains popular with their ethos of minimal waste and organic fruit and veggies. While they can supply your cooking needs with cupboard essentials and meat alternatives, they also have chocolates, alcohol, cruelty-free makeup, and household products which would make great gift ideas! Amongst the bakery section is bourek, empanadas, and gorgeous looking focaccia which would make an impressive spread for your Christmas Eve drinks, or Boxing Day hangover cure! Claire and Rob’s shop can be found on Church Street, BN1 1US.

Other vegan shops in Brighton include Infinity Foods on North Road and Kindly of Brighton in Seven Dials.

If however you are doing your big shop at a branded supermarket, and are on the lookout for some vegan food to add to your dining table, make sure to grab some vegan mince pies, get creative with a turkey alternative, and remember that not all alcohol is vegan.

Some vegan foods you (maybe) did not know were vegan!

Twiglets - in fact, a lot of crisps are vegan but make sure you double check the back of the packets just in case. Ritz and Jacob’s Crackers - grab some Marmite, hummus, or vegan cheese spread for these inclusive Christmas essentials.Nuts and Salted pretzels are great savoury snacks. Rowntree’s jelly tots, fruit pastels and Starburst. Make sure you are careful with sweets because most contain gelatin which is not suitable for vegans. Soreen malt loaf, Lotus Biscoff spread and Oreos are all surprisingly vegan!

Bisto Gravy! Ah, Bisto. Don’t forget that any vegan diners would not be able to eat gravy dowsed in turkey fat, but Bisto gravy is a great alternative. It is however produced in the same factory as meat products, so it would be considerate to ask your friends/family/yourself what their preferences are.

Cooking

Because Christmas is for creative cooking

While pre-cooked dinners may make life easier for the host - especially if you are cooking for all different dietary requirements - and there are plenty of snacks you can provide to suit a vegan diet, Christmas is all about cooking and people coming together over food. If you are a vegan visiting someone else's home, it may be fun (and ultimately easier for you) to provide your own Christmas centrepiece. There are some great options on the BBC Goodfood website which I recommend checking out. Alternatively, why not try a vegan shepherds pie, or create a pastry Christmas wreath instead of a wellington for a show stopper.

Celebrating

Before it even gets to Christmas day, I am sure there will be plenty of celebrating to be done and catching-up with friends fun. The restaurant Food for Friends on Prince Albert Street prides itself in using the freshest vegan and vegetarian options. With a menu of small and large plates, it would make the ideal venue for a classy festive dinner. Or, Purezza Brighton brings sustainable Italian dining to Brighton with their vegan pizza menu. This December, they even have a set Christmas menu where you can order two courses for £20, or three courses for just £25. This bargain features a Christmas Dinner calzone, which seems too good to be true, and became available from the 24 of Nov.

Don’t let breakfast and brunch be overlooked as you could get yourself down to T @ The Dials or T @ Hove for their Christmas specials. A vegan Christmas turkey sandwich, vegan hoisin pork pitta, or vegan no pigs in blankets sandwich are the meat alternatives of dreams.

Did you know that The Roundhill is a plant-based pub and restaurant? With it being 100% vegan you can help yourself to any of their cocktails. Or, The Pipeline has a totally vegan kitchen to go alongside their bar, and you can hire out the upstairs floor for your private events, if you have not yet organized your Christmas do or want to throw a last minute new years eve party!

Hopefully this mini guide has given you plenty of inspiration to shop for, cook for, and celebrate the best vegan Christmas yet. This is just a small insight to how inclusive Brighton can be, even at this time of year, to make sure everyone has plenty of festive fun.

B R A N D S T O R Y T E L L I N G A S A F O R C E F O R C H A N G E

o o k y o u r f r e e s t r a t e g y c a l l

CAM COLE

by Thom Punton

Image by Kitty Aurora

Towards the climax of Season 1, Episode 4 of Apple TV’s footballbased comedy Ted Lasso, an empty stage slot at a fundraiser – Robbie Williams couldn’t make it – is filled at the last minute by a busker that the ever cheery manager of AFC Richmond, the eponymous Ted, has just discovered on the street. “This is Cam Cole,” says Ted, trying to convince his colleague it’s a good idea, “He’s an undiscovered mega talent.” There’s a moment of tension as the unkempt, dreadlocked busker takes to the stage. He sits down and strums out a distorted blues riff on his guitar, soon bolstering the sound with his foot-powered drum kit and rowdy vocals. Immediately, the audience are out of their seats in raptures at this unexpected musical display, dancing with that special kind of enthusiasm only extras dancing on a TV show can muster.

In a show by Americans that attempts and often fails to portray a very English world, it could be that Cole is the most genuine character we see, partly because he is in fact a real person, and a real busker. After nearly a decade of performing on Camden High Street as a one-man-band, he has made a leap similar to his TV character and has been playing in venues around the world for years, releasing two albums, with one more soon on the way. However, unlike his character in the show, the producers of Ted Lasso didn’t stumble across him in the street. When I speak to him on the phone, Cole tells me the more prosaic story: “Jason Sudeikis, the director behind Ted Lasso, who stars in it as well, needed a busker for a scene and so he typed in ‘London busker’ and I came up and he was like, ‘okay, I want that dude.’” There’s a straightforward honesty to Cam Cole. He’s evidently keen to cut through the artificiality of the modern world. When we speak, Cole is in “chill mode” in a Tesco car park, just about to do a food shop before getting back to practising for his upcoming tour.

Cole started busking on his own after a previous band fell apart and performing on the streets soon became his route out of the rat race. He tells me he never wanted to spend his time working jobs he didn’t enjoy just to make money, so he made the choice to cut right down on creature comforts and make money playing music in whatever way he could. He sidestepped sky-high London rent by moving into the van he had previously been using for a man-and-van removal venture, and “adopted the lifestyle fully”.

Since that first van experience, he has upgraded to the point where the comfort and amenities plenty trump the expense of what a flat can offer. “I first lived in a camper van and that was fucking awful,” he says, with characteristic sweary candour, “but then I got a small three and a half ton horse box van and I converted that and made it really nice. It was like a little hobbit house inside. And I had a bigger water tank and a wood burning stove and all that. And now I’ve got an even bigger truck.”

Cole’s current van is decked out in mostly reclaimed wood from an industrial estate in Bow, East London. The doors and panelling are lovingly sculpted to indeed look like something that wouldn’t be out of place in The Shire. His lifestyle is guided by a strong eco-friendly ethos, with recycling and repurposing at the forefront, solar panels on the roof, vegetable oil in the tank and a compost toilet.

His website describes him as a ‘new age traveller’ but rather than fit neatly into the umbrella of a particular group or movement, he is very much a man out on his own. I mention that I saw a YouTube video of him at an Extinction Rebellion protest and it sparks an extended rant about their controversial tactics of disrupting the lives of ordinary people and his general mistrust of political ideologies, both left and right.

It makes sense that someone who has extricated himself from the mainstream in terms of everyday life finds less and less in common with the political system that controls it. He has become someone on the outskirts looking in, exasperated by political infighting, aware of how impossible it is to reconcile the urgent obviousness of something like climate change within a political system that is driven on the whole by self-interest.

He says he believes in a more centrist kind of view, which perhaps refers to something perpendicular to left- and right-wing thinking, rather than an affinity to Blairism. It’s the viewpoint of someone who has had to make his own way in life because the system has failed him, and it comes with a touch of bitterness and anger. He sums it up: “I don’t trust a lot of the cunts out there to be honest with you, mate.

I don’t trust any of them. So I’m trying to stay away from politics and just trying to do my own thing. I just want to put on amazing shows, amazing parties, and do cool stuff to get people away from all that bollocks, mate.”

Which brings us back to the infectiously optimistic side of Cam Cole. Through his music and his online presence – his YouTube channel has over 120K subscribers – he is channelling his exasperation in a direction that he hopes can help others escape the woes of everyday late stage capitalism, if only for the length of his barnstorming live sets. “I just want to do positive stuff and create a positive vibe,” he tells me, “and if enough people get on that vibe and that wavelength, all that shit should fizzle out.”

Cole built his act on the streets, drawing crowds with the spectacle of someone making the impressive rock racket of a whole band on his own, a full drum kit condensed into a portable foot-powered contraption. At first, the street performance was an end in itself, a way to make a living, but soon people started asking him if he had music available to buy, so he started putting albums out. Busking acted as a way of getting instant feedback for the songs he was writing. “I used to write songs on the street,” he tells me, “I’d be fucking around, jamming with riffs until I played one that actually stopped people, and I’d be like, okay, I’ll record that.” It goes both ways though. As he tells me, it can turn ugly. “Sometimes people would just walk past and chuck something at me because they’re angry and they just hate life… You get all kinds of people… And you just learn how to deal with them.”

Taking the show from the streets to conventional venues has changed the dynamic. “I guess, from a street show to a stage show the main difference is I’m trying to get them to come forward on the street.

You’ve got to get them to come forward because they’re all standing miles away from you, watching you from a distance. You’ve got to bring them in. Whereas in a show they’re already there, they’re already keen to see you and you’ve just got to play the songs technically, but you’ve got to energise them as well. It all requires energy.”

And he has been successfully bringing in the crowds across the world, recently touring the East Coast of America all the way down to Mexico, the audiences swollen by his Ted Lasso appearance. Cole says he noticed a different kind of reaction from the Americans: “They’re well enthusiastic but no mosh pits, not a single one dancing. They just stand there with their drinks in their hands, smiles on their faces. I finish the song and they just applaud like no man’s business.” This is a contrast to British crowds, who start the evening off tentative and quiet, then when they’ve had a few drinks, chaos ensues. Cole shows great tenderness towards his home country, which he likes to call by its ancient name “Albion”. He articulates this feeling on the song Albion from his second album Crooked Hill. In it he describes a yearning for an idealised England from the past and his pleasure at coming home to familiar shores after being away on tour.

It’s refreshing to talk to someone who has taken the step to let his beliefs shape his lifestyle, someone honest and vulnerable about the slog of navigating the modern world. When I ask him how he finds these interviews, he alludes to getting the same question over and over again, and I am conscious that he is probably referring to some of mine (perhaps the ones pertaining to a certain TV show). I’m aware that I represent the establishment to some extent, and that his mistrust of politicians may well extend to the press, but he reassures me when I apologise: “it’s chill, man. I’ve enjoyed the conversation.”

Image by Aaron Parsons Photography

CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

Gift Cards from Albourne Estate

With Christmas on the horizon we have developed a range of experience gift vouchers, offering something just that little bit different.

We know that it can be hard choosing a present for someone, whether it’s for a Birthday, Christmas or a special occasion. Often the gift of an experience or unique day out can feel a little bit more memorable.

With this in mind, we’ve created a range of exclusive gift vouchers for those looking to give the gift of an Albourne Estate experience. A memorable day out enjoying lovely wines in a glorious setting at the foot of the South Downs - what better gift to give this Christmas.

Choose from three great days out:

Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting Voucher (£24 for one / £48 for two). A guided tour of our beautiful vineyard followed by a tasting of 4 of our wines matched with delicious local cheeses.

Vineyard Picnic for Two (£40). Our picnics include high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients with incredible flavours from fantastic Sussex food suppliers.

Sparkling Wine Flight & Sussex Cheese Board Voucher (£28)

A wine flight consists of 3 small glasses of sparkling wine with detailed Tasting Notes so you can learn about our wines and their differing styles at your own pace.

All of our vouchers are sent by post in an attractive embossed presentation card wallet and can include a personal gift message.

Gift Cards and Tickets for FRINGE

Journey into Fringe with a loved one this festive season, and gift them vouchers or tickets to enjoy Brighton Fringe 2023.

With the first release of tickets for England’s largest arts festival on sale from 2 December, get ready to discover a month-long extravaganza of theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus, music, dance, tours, exhibitions, and events this May.

Already know a Fringe fanatic? Why not gift them a Friends of Fringe membership guaranteeing them 2-for-1 tickets on participating events, no booking fees*, and priority booking.

With every gift given, you are supporting up-and-coming artists to develop their work, ensuring independent venues keep the lights on this winter, and helping Brighton Fringe continue its work to make the arts accessible to all.

Gift vouchers, tickets, and Friends of Fringe memberships can be purchased online at brightonfringe.org

*not available on Bronze tier membership.

Lucky Voice MachinesKaraoke

Bring the sing home! With the Lucky Voice Karaoke machines

Easy to use home singing system - with access to over 10,000 songs! Designed to capture the experience of singing in the popular Luck Voice karaoke bars.

Visit www.shop.luckyvoice.com to pick your machine style.

Use voucher code BN1MAG to get an additional 20% OFF all karaoke machineseverything you need for a karaoke party in one box!

Give the gift of laughter Christmas…this

Celebrate the festive season by gifting a loved one the chance to see their favourite live show with Komedia’s Gift Vouchers.

With over 700 performances of comedy, music, cabaret and children’s theatre, Komedia’s programme features the very best international and national performers and includes Komedia’s all-conquering resident comedy shows: Komedia Comedy Club, Comic Boom, Bent Double, Down the Hatch and The Nest. Whilst winning the Chortle Comedy Award for Best Venue in the South a record 17 times, Komedia Brighton is also an important music venue in the city. A regular feature of The Great Escape, Komedia also remains at the forefront of new music.

Our Gift Vouchers are available to be posted or via email. Vouchers are available at £30, £40 and £50 if booked online via komedia. co.uk/brighton. If you require a different value please give us a call on 01273 647100 to arrange this.

For more info or to book online, please visit: komedia.co.uk/brighton

Rothesay International, Eastbourne

(24 June 2023 - 1 July 2023)

The Venue: Devonshire Park Lawn and Tennis Club

This Christmas, treat the foodie or tennis lover in your life with a memorable and luxurious, all-inclusive experience from the UK’s leading hospitality provider, Keith Prowse.

Rothesay International, Eastbourne (2023) hailed as the ultimate Wimbledon ‘warm-up’ is an unforgettable experience, showcasing 3 brand-new innovative packages, Baseline First and Second and Love Fifteen, as well as its iconic Sky Lounge, offering brunch, afternoon tea, with free-flowing beverages, live music and some of the best seats in the house.

This elevated time away from the court is an experience your loved ones will never forget. Packages include:

BASELINE FIRST SERVE PACKAGE (Half Day from £140pp + Vat) * New

This morning brunch is an informal and relaxed atmosphere for any group size. Guests are welcomed by a brunch buffet, a Bucks Fizz drinks reception and access to the exclusive Winter Garden.

BASELINE SECOND SERVE PACKAGE (Half Day from £140pp + Vat) * New

Set in the exclusive and gorgeous Winter Garden building, Second Serve offers a traditional afternoon tea experience, in a casual dining environment, with a range of free-flowing beverages and live music.

LOVE FIFTEEN PACKAGE

(From £170PP+Vat) * New

Set within the exclusive Winter Garden, Love Fifteen (sister hospitality experience to cinch Championship’s) guests can enjoy a 3-course plated summer menu in a casual yet intimate setting, as well as enjoy the exclusive private outdoor garden.

THE SKY LOUNGE PACKAGE

(From £310pp+Vat)

The Sky Lounge offers a relaxed atmosphere and exquisite food offerings for any group size. Guests can enjoy a range of food offerings, from breakfast, a seasonal summer lunch and traditional afternoon tea, whilst overlooking Centre and No.1 Courts.

Book HERE: www.keithprowse.co.uk/devonshire-park/ eastbourne-international/

© Kaleidoshoots

Stunning Spanish cuisine at Solera on Sydney Street

Words

and

Images by Amy Stanborough

There are always people either tucked inside this quaint restaurant and making the most of the outdoor tables too (even tonight, on a chilly November evening) so instinctively I had fallen curious to this mysterious looking restaurant on Sydney Street. Solera Tapas do not have a website, and are rarely active on social media; even the exterior of the restaurant does not give much away with its black and white paint work and ‘solera tapas’ written timidly. The large bay window entices you into the dimly lit space which I now realise is intended to look like nothing more than a home. It is a little Alice in Wonderland escape because you step inside and are transported to the taste of authentic Spanish food and an ambience that makes you feel as though you are a part of the family that prepared it. The owner, Jesus Carmona Azopardi, tells me that it is simply word of mouth that encourages customers to come to his restaurant, if they don’t just stumble across it while wandering through the lanes.

The exposed brick with family photographs on the walls and dining tables of oak wood feels casual but friendly. The tables are pretty stacked on top of each other, ensuring as many diners as possible can squeeze into the space, but it is cozy rather than claustrophobic. We took a seat once greeted by warm smiles and ordered a jug of sangria - the owner’s own recipe. Sipping the peachy

liquid with fruity gems stirred into the juice, I noticed one diner swiping their index finger across their plate and licking that finger to savour every last taste of rich tomato sauce or garlic aioli. This gave me a pit of excitement in my stomach before even ordering the food, confirming I was right to be curious about Solera.

The aim with the menu, Jesus explains, “was to share the most iconic dishes from my country’s unique traditional gastronomy with the people of Brighton”, allowing us to taste genuine Spanish cuisine without the travel. Having worked in hospitality since twelve years old at his older brother’s bar, he has also worked in both small and national franchise hotels, allowing him to meet and work with chefs all over the world. To have his expertise and experience here in Brighton is a true luxury, and his desire to recreate the traditional cuisine of Spain which he grew up in will give you a teaser of just how good it is.

Recommended two or three plates of food per person, I ordered the aubergine, mushroom croquettes, prawns and chorizo, garlic chicken and meatballs for two people. These choices were made following the list of Jesus’s personal favourites reeled off to us as he squatted beside our table, maintaining the sense of familiarity between staff and customer though we had only just met. It took hardly any time for the food to come to our table too despite the full capacity, piping hot and giving off stunning aromas in the steam. The vegetarian dishes were served first and six mushroom croquettes were generously served in a cute deep fry basket. Crisp on the outside with a rich mushroom cream in the middle, they were heavenly little bites of gold. The rich tomato aubergine was topped with cheese and parsley, and was so indulgent that it felt like the perfect dish to console you on a winter's night. Prawns mixed in with chorizo is a Spanish classic, but the sherry sauce in which Solera’s chorizo is cooked makes this plate memorable. The seafood was cooked to

perfection, and I found myself using the oil as a dipping sauce for my croquettes (not that the already provided aioli was not delicious enough), it was just that flavoursome. The chicken was beautifully refreshing, marinated in herbs with a side salad, but definitely nothing too special while the meatballs really were noteworthy. Four small balls of succulent pork meat served in a luscious tomato sauce, they were soft and delightfully herby. It was clear to see why guests were licking their plates clean. All ingredients are cooked in house every morning we are informed as our table is cleared and I compliment the now vanished food. Nothing is brought in; everything is prepared fresh from scratch.

Curious to know if there is potential for Jesus to open more restaurants in Brighton, he states that he would rather purely focus on keeping Solera successful, wanting it to be a reference in the city. The best way to book your table at Solera is to call up the restaurant and that is where your adventure to memorable, heartwarming tapas begins.

DRUNKEN CHRISTMAS HAM

By Jock McHaggis

It’s Christmas soon. Groaning tables fill the imagination, a happy day of complaining as your waistband tries to cut you in half... The inevitable picking, ‘filling up the corners’, until you actually have to remain upright for fear of your contents spilling out. It may not be the first choice for all in this enlightened age, but a Christmas ham for those that like one is a perfect table guest. It sits in the corner, glazed and shiny, waiting patiently for the main event to be over and the nibbling to begin. The curl of those first few slices, the glimpse beneath the sugared skin to the meat beneath luring those who should really know better, but still have faith in the Almighty Rennie.

As a Scotsman abroad a Christmas ham is also a chance to reconnect to the extra levels of excess so celebrated north of the border, where you get an extra bank holiday to recover! Why just have a ham, baked, glazed, gorgeous... When you can add that staple of the Scottish - Irn Bru. It’s naughty, it’s nice, probably takes a year off your life and adds a ton to your dentist’s bill. It’s made from girders, which is iron, which stops you feeling tired. It’s practically a medicine!

What a happy coincidence that it turns a hunk of pig into so much carni-crack. I have to make two each year, at least, as once that first slice is free it’s open season. Decorum lost, friends and strangers come back again and again to fill their plates and faces. Top tip : Turn up (with any you’re willing to share) pre-cut, so you can sneak all the best bits before the wolves descend. Turning up pre-cut, or at least half-cut, is a Scottish tradition. You can’t change tradition, only add (ham) to it.

WHERE TO START?

Ham - yes, you’ll need one. Doing naughty things to it will hide a multitude of sins, so you can go for a dirty cheap hunk if you want, or wow everyone with an artisan haunch. Smoked is the key here, the salt and sugar combine to give you delightful palpitations.

Irn-Bru - available outside Scotland at all large Supermarkets, most of the smaller ones, and due to its fame as a hangover cure, most 24 hour shops as well. This can be very helpful when you’ve forgotten that everything shuts around Christmas.

Brown sugar - because oddly there’s not enough in Irn-Bru. You can skip this in extremis.

Fruit - oranges, clementines, easy peelers, whatever they’re called these days. Mostly for decoration, because it’s nice to look the part. Again, if you can’t even find a dry old one in the corner of the fruit bowl you can skip this too.

A pan you can sink your ham in, but not too much bigger or you’ll need to go back to the shop for another Irn-Bru.

Stove, oven, baking tray, foil, brush. Whisky to taste. Half-cut, remember.

Prep your meat - remove the plastic (I’m assuming if your ham isn’t in plastic you’re no stranger to butchery and don’t need help here...) leaving the string sock on to stop it all falling apart. Have a wee dram to prep the rest of you. Boil - this is to help get rid of all the ‘stuff’ the plastic-wrapped meat industry likes to add to things, and keeps the salt to manageable levels. Cover the ham in your pan with water, weight with a plate if it keeps floating. Boil for 20 mins or so. Ditch the scummy water. Have a wee dram to take the taste away. Naughty up your ham - this will turn it pink with shame or excitement (only you know your ham...) Cover it in the pan with Irn-Bru just as you did with the water, and bring to the boil again. This is where the Irn-Bru imparts all that Scottish depravity and delightfulness to the meat, so let this bubble away for an hour or so, depending on your (plastic wrapped) butcher’s instructions. When you’ve 15 minutes or so to go, turn on your oven, medium low. Probably have time for a wee snifter while all this is happening.

Bake, baby, Bake! - Lift the ham out of the orangey goodness, drip dry, place on your baking tray. You want to seal in all that northern moistness with a nice foil hat, tucked in around the edges. Get that bad boy in the oven and turn your attention to the glaze.

The Magic - what glaze you say? It’s right there in front of you, that pan of orangey meat juice. Ideally you’d reduce that down over a period of days while sorting your Yule log, but since you’ve probably got a few pints of the stuff and the ham doesn’t need to bake for too long, ditch about half of it, then bubble up the rest until it’s getting proper sticky and you need some more whisky to stop you getting worried about the washing up. Slice up your fruit if you have some at this point. Think M&S advert, you know what it should look like.

Paint me like a Scottish girl, Jack - after a half hour or so the ham’s probably sweated enough under its hat and wants to get sticky. Hopefully your glaze is getting to that magic point at the same time (your kitchen should smell incredible by now). Have a wee dram to steady your hands. Whip the meat out, take its hat off, and get busy with your brush. The trick here is to just pour the glaze all over it, then keep brushing it back on. Cover as much of it as you can see. Use that stickiness to slap some slices of orange on there, smother them in glaze too (cocktail sticks or cloves help to pin them on the sides if your glaze is feeling weak)

Burn, baby, BURN! - Put the uncovered ham, all sticky, back in the oven. Crank the temperature up a little bit, pour another whisky and watch the caramel happen through the oven door. Better than Christmas telly! It won’t take too long, 20 mins or so. Take it out a couple of times, try brushing more of that glaze back over and stick the fruit back on. Once the glaze has turned to toffee on the tray (have another whisky if the washing up is worrying you again) you’re about done. Take it out, put it on the side, turn your oven off, and sit on your hands.

And that’s it. Shows over. Hopefully you’ve got some whisky left, and a bloody good scourer, or just leave all the cleaning for after Boxing Day. Go and get your glad rags on and decide who you’re going to grace with your ham-laden presence. Once cool, slice according to preference, and try not to eat so much your party trousers won’t do up. For full authenticity, tell everyone that since your ham is actually cooked in a hangover cure they should have an extra drink or two to compensate, and take the rest of that whisky with you. Sláinte!

How and why we should be using vision boards in the new year

By Amy Stanborough

While December is a time for looking back on the year and remembering all the positive memories made (hoorah for events and travel mostly being back to normal again, long gone are the days of mask wearing and biweekly lateral flows), it also a month for saying how on earth did we get through that? (ahem, cost of living, climate crisis, a pandemic still circulating). The only appropriate solution is to start getting excited for a brand new year: start planning your holidays no matter how big or small, set some self-development goals, and think about all the new amazing

memories you can make. Now, I am not suggesting we start setting our new year’s resolutions already (we all know they get forgotten by February) I am saying we start visualising what we want for ourselves in this new year and actively making it happen. Power to the vision board in 2023!

So, what is a vision board? Chances are you have probably already made one at some point in your life without even realising it. Think mindmaps, bullet points, collage building, but all of which represent your goals, dreams and

What are my career goals?

ideas. A vision board is a way for you to put all of this ambition into one visual project for you to constantly reference and work towards making that vision a reality.

The key to a successful vision board is clarity. It is a good idea to check in with yourself and question, what is it you really want or enjoy in

Where do I see myself in 1, 3, 5, 10 years?

How do I want to show and express my love?

What makes me happy? Where am I happiest?

How can I better myself?

What do I enjoy doing that is good for my mental health?

Of course, the question possibilities are endless. You may even decide to have a vision board for each question, or one project that explores all of these ideas. Other themes: visualising your new home, wedding planning, travel goals, finding inspiration for an art project, general things that make you smile. Make it personal!

Once you know what it is you want to represent on your vision board, the fun part is making it a visual. While vision boards are a form of manifestation - making something happen for yourself – they differ from journaling or affirmations because you have a physical reference to help you actively see into what you want your own future to look like. It is a material reminder of achievability. Crafting a vision board on paper can be a positive, enjoyable artistic project to participate in for yourself or with friends and family to discuss your ideas and goals together. Gather your materials: paper, scissors, tape,

glue, and grab some magazines, pages in books, printed off images, postcards, old photographs, notes of encouragement, whatever it is you need, and get to work! Cut and stick your objects and memorabilia in a frivolous manner, remembering that what is important is having a clear exhibition of your desires.

If artistry is not your thing, vision boards can also easily and quickly be made digitally. Pinterest is the ideal website for inspiration and goal setting. It is a purely visual application where you can save photos to ‘boards’ then, viola! You have a vision board! Using the ‘saved’ feature on Instagram is also a great place to collect photos which resonate with you in any way, even if you just have a folder full of motivational quotes (accounts like @wetheurban. @shopsundae, @wearefeelgoodclub are great for this). Notion is a very recommendable and popular website for organising your brain junk as well,

make a powerpoint presentation for yourself.

Once you have crafted your vision board, be unapologetically proud of it. Display it in your home as if it is your own little gallery submission, or if your vision board is digital, print off some of your images and stick them around your preferred space if you can: your bedroom, office pinboard, on your desk, magnetted to a fridge. I keep my vision board laying down on my desk so that I see it every time I place my laptop down. The point of a vision board is to constantly look at it, so keep it somewhere that visualisation is accessible. Remind yourself of your visions as much as you can and slowly drag them into your day to day life. 2023 will not be about setting goals, it will be a year of seeing them progress from paper to reality.

THE TREASON SHOW

Iconic Brighton satire show rounds off 22nd year

By Stuart Rolt

This is always a busy time of year for The Treason Show, and its Creative Director Mark Brailsford. They’re putting together another instalment of their That Was The Year That Was production, which bitingly looks back at a particularly eventful 12 months, as well as preparing a parody of the King’s Speech for the festive period.

“It’s going to be quite gentle,” Brailsford tells me. “Maybe a few jokes about meeting a lot of Prime Ministers. One in and one out and all that… And maybe a bit of fun about pens.” He suggests that the real thing, broadcast to millions on Christmas Day is going to be an intriguing affair. “There’ll be a lot of people who’ll find it a big adjustment. It’ll be fascinating to see how he talks about the Queen.” With their own version launching on TTS’s YouTube channel in the next few days, it demonstrates, like Britain and the Commonwealth, that the company has entered a new age.

TTS made the jump onto the small screen during lockdown. Robbed of the opportunity to bring their enormously popular shows to venues across Sussex, Brailsford and his team had to learn, adapt and overcome, although it initially presented a steep learning curve. “I had to vertical upskill very quickly... How to shoot, edit, prop, costume, auto-cues… all of those.” Running for four seasons on Latest TV and on regional broadcasters in 12 other UK cities, this stripped-down version of the show got them a nomination at The UK Comedy Awards

“The TV format is quite limiting,” Brailsford suggests. “It’s not the best example of the show, in my view. But it’s lovely to get that recognition.” The increased exposure did give a real boost to the production’s crowdfunding efforts, which sought to see them through the extended period without live audiences. It’s also attracted a bunch of new faces to their busy writer’s room. This has given a real boost to the show’s scope and creativity.

This iconic Brighton-based satirical show features an extraordinarily talented cast serving up a feast of sardonic comedy, silly songs and inspired impersonations. It delves into the more implacable and ridiculous side of current affairs, and anyone could be target, whether they’re politicians, celebrities or royals. With times as challenging and uncertain as they are, the intention is to bring a little humour and happiness into the winter months with this bumper TWTYTW edition. Although staging something based on current affairs does bring a few challenges.

“We were in rehearsal when Truss resigned. The night before a show we had to rewrite everything. I do like that though. It keeps it exciting and dangerous. Then new material comes in. The reason I’m still doing

alongside Spitting Image and Horrible Histories. It’s an enormous accolade for something originally filmed in his living room.

this is because it’s fresh all the time. I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie in that sense.” To stay relevant when the world is changing so fast requires a team of writers who are on top of everything. “It’s a chorus of writing. That variation is a joy when you’re editing. I write a lot of stuff, but I couldn’t do a whole show. And it would be rubbish if I tried.” He says his writers have a broad range of views and political persuasions, and polarisations do happen amongst the group. But this only enables them to take a ‘scattergun’ approach to gag-writing. Nobody who has recently made a fool of themselves in public is safe from the writer’s wit.

On Thurs 8 Dec, That Was The Year That Was comes to Hove’s The Old Market, followed by performances at Brighton’s Ironworks Studios on Thurs 29 Dec and Shoreham’s Ropetackle on New Year’s Eve. There’s also a date at Hassocks Adastra Hall on Sat 17 Dec. “That’s a really well-kitted out facility, which just been upgraded. We’ve done preview shows up there and always sold out, so thought we’d try another one…” The season also sees Brailsford reining to his performance roots, Portslade’s The Railway Inn on Thurs 15 Dec with Parodies Lost

“I did a version of it on the beach at The Warren as a one-off. It’s like classics from The Treason Show, but I’ve developed it into more of a stand-up show thing, with new routines and guests.” He says it’s been a joy getting back into stand-up, but it’s been hard working on both ventures. “I quite like that. It motivates you to create more show energy, and that energy creates more work. So, it’s a cycle.”

He originally got into stand-up during his late 20s, but didn’t feel like he fitted in. Satire was not trendy, and it was the time of things like the Balkan Wars which didn’t exactly inspire jokes. He recalls doing an open mic night with Dylan Moran and were the only people on the night to get rebooked. “He was a real craftsman, but in my spot, I went off the track and mucked about. That’s what got me the gig. We went up to some place called American Dreams in Hertfordshire, which was grim. We go in and I do my routine as written - I died on my arse. It was a good lesson.” He says the bloke who came on after his set stormed it with a range of silly faces and jokes about cancer. “Much as I love a knob joke, that’s not what I do. I wasn’t looking down my nose, it just wasn’t me. That’s what made me veer off into theatre, TV and sketch.”

Beside more serious screen work and his productions with Brighton Shakespeare Company, there’s been 22 years of The Treason Show. Brailsford acknowledges that has become his life’s work and feels a great sense of joy in what has been achieved. “I’m really proud of that. And humble. When people stick with you for that long, it’s just amazing.”

Comedy can bridge divides; highlighting the problems we share and give us the strength to face them. And perhaps it can change preconceptions. “It was fascinating to hear someone from DMOS (a charity which researches the changes people want in society) was sitting in one of our audiences. Not that we’re going to be the weathervane which defines politics. Comedy is like whispers in the wind. But now, more than ever, we need to laugh at all the stuff which is going on.” Rather than shaping the zeitgeist, he likes to think of himself as providing a service, offering a little levity when things are getting serious. Society is more divided than ever, which can lead to polarised audiences. He does note that it’s easy to tell when there’s a seed-change in attitudes, especially when anti-Tory material starts getting huge laughs in a place like Shoreham.

“It could go the other way…. Peter Cook told us: ‘Satire can change the world, as they said in Nuremberg during 1933’. So, it can perform a reverse function. Because it is an outlet, it releases a lot of tensions which would have us out on the streets like some other nations. Perhaps those valves which have been built in all those years ago have been unconsciously very well placed, which has led to a less revolutionary environment. Maybe I’m actually the enemy….”

The Treason Show’s That Was The Year That Was comes to Hove’s The Old Market On Thurs 8 Dec, Hassocks’ Adastra Hall on Sat 17 Dec, Brighton’s Ironworks Studios on Thurs 29 Dec and Shoreham’s Ropetackle on New Year’s Eve. Mark Brailsford also presents Parodies Lost at Portslade’s The Railway Inn on Thurs 15 Dec.

www.treasonshow.co.uk

ACTIVITIES ACROSS SUSSEX

SANTA CITY AT BRIGHTON MARINA

Sat 17 - Tues 20 Dec

This year, in association with Artpod, Brighton’s leading visual arts company, Brighton Marina will be taking families on a unique adventure to Santa City, using the in-house Antler Airways! The former Franco Manca’s restaurant on The Boardwalk at the Marina, will be transformed into a free, interactive Christmas Extravaganza where children and families will start in Brighton, but end up at Santa’s House.

The journey starts at Passport Control, where you’ll meet cabin crew, receive their passport and board the exclusive Antler Airways plane. The destination is Santa City and everything is powered by jingle bells and Christmas songs.

On the way, this spectacular journey takes them to six other destinations in this fantasy world, with stops at Gingerbread Inn, where they collect their candy cane room key, Elves’Tavern, where they are served a nonalcoholic mulled wine and Ribbon Alley where they must find all the hiding Elves. They will then continue to the Elves workshop and finally to theChristmas hoopla where participants have all the clues to enable them to find the address of Santa’s grotto!

www.brightonmarina.co.uk

SLEEPING BEAUTY AT ROPETACKLE SHOREHAM

Fri 16 – Sat 31 Dec

Shoreham’s brilliant arts venue celebrates a tenth year of brilliant pantomime with an absolute classic. After pricking her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel, Sleepy Jean is put under a cruel spell and made to sleep for a hundred years.

Only true love and a handsome Prince can break the spell before time runs out! Along with Nurse ‘Sister Slumber’ and the Princess’s best friend ‘Cheeky’ muddles, can the boys and girls help wake up the townsfolk of ‘Snoreham-by-Sea’ and rid themselves of the evil ‘Carabosse’ and her nefarious plans to take over the world!!? Produced once again by the exceptional LP Creatives, you can expect more magic, music, comedy and mayhem in this perfect festive family outing.

www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk

THE OCTONAUTS AT SEALIFE BRIGHTON

Fri 16 – Sat 31 Dec

This December, join other intrepid ocean explorers on a new deepsea adventure. Young sailors and their families will help the Octonauts on a Christmas themed scavenger hunt throughout the aquarium, where guests will be challenged with various tasks and conundrums to complete throughout the site, while meeting an array of amazing sea creatures. There’ll be opportunities to come face to face with an Octonaut themselves, loads of festive photo zones, awesome Octonaut themed crafts and prize sfor taking part in the Octonauts Christmas mission!

www.visitsealife.com/brighton

Photo Credit Edward Cooke

ARTS AND FESTIVE FUN AT BRIGHTON & HOVE MUSEUMS

Sat 19 Nov – Tues 3 Jan

All of Brighton & Museums are gearing up for Christmas with some special festive activities. The Royal Pavilion will be enjoying Christmouse with their adorable little Regency friends. Look for the magical mice as they enjoy a wonderful traditional festive season with parties, delicious food and gifts in mini-sized scenes throughout the historic palace. See if you can spot them on our new mice trail hiding in the spectacularly decorated Christmas trees on display including one inspired by the exotic interior of the pavilion.

For more family entertainment, get in touch with a Victorian Christmas by treating yourself to a traditional telling of the story of Scrooge and his encounter with ghosts. Actor John O’Connor faithfully recreates Charles Dickens’s famous performance of his best-loved story. Using Dickens’ own performance script, this is a wonderfully evocative evening and an acting tour de force.

For a more modern take on A Christmas Carol, see if your family can crack the codes and puzzles for a fun game at Preston Manor. Your team will bring the characters to life in an original half escape room, half immersive theatre experience. But Christmas isn’t just for the kids and there’s plenty of traditional evenings for the grown-ups, including glamorous Christmas Banquets in the Royal Pavilion. If you enjoy a good singsong, tickets are still available for a joyous carol concert in the Royal Pavilion Music Room to get you and your friends in a festive mood.

Over at the Booth Museum of Natural History, they’re celebrating

Christmas with some fun arts and crafts with our pop-up workshops and some rather peculiar animal exhibits, including a reindeer, getting everyone into the festive mood.

www.brightonmuseums.org.uk

CHRISTMAS PARTY WITH EAST 17 AT THE FACTORY LIVE

Mon 19 Dec

Worthing will be welcoming the kings of everyone’s Christmas in the 90s,… East 17! It’s a massive festive party, with a host of special guests on the line up, including Mark Read from the chart-smashing A1.

Formed in 1991, chart-topping boy band East 17, named after the postcode of their hometown Walthamstow, were one of the UK’s most popular boy bands. Their biggest hit Stay Another Day was the Christmas No 1 in 1994 and they scored twelve top 10 hits between 1992-1998 including House Of Love, It’s Alright and If You Ever.

www.thefactorylive.co.uk

STEAMLIGHTS AT BLUEBELL RAILWAY

Until Sat 31 Dec

A magical train covered by thousands of colourful lights sparkles, glows and shimmers, as SteamLights returns with a stunning new theme and a new lighting-up performance to capture the imagination of every family. The winter night is lit up with an amazing light show along your journey, with brand-new sparkling displays, music and narration, this is a steam train experience not to be missed.

Travel through the Sussex countryside under cover of darkness, bringing shimmering light and colour as you go. Along the way, you’ll enjoy festive scenes among the trees and clearings and a colourful light show orchestrated in time with music and narration. This is a multi-sensory feast…

www.bluebell-railway.com

THE FREEDOM TRAP

BY MARK DAVIS

“Give me liberty, or give me death!”

As politician Patrick Henry finished his famous speech in Virginia on March 23, 1775, he plunged an ivory letter opener towards his chest in imitation of the Roman patriot Cato the Younger. We’ll get to that later, but the rhetoric is credited with having convinced the convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops for the Revolutionary War against the British Empire. In attendance were future United States presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Thomas Marshall, father to a future Chief Justice of the United States (John) called it "one of the boldest, vehement, and animated pieces of eloquence that had ever been delivered”, and Colonel Edward Carrington even got his wish to be buried at the site of the speech in 1810.

Freedom is a powerful idea. In the ‘West’, we’ve been weaned on the idea from birth. But it turns out to be harder to pin down exactly what form of freedom is on offer. The fact that Patrick Henry was a slaveholder whilst simultaneously claiming he’d rather die than pay the “price of chains and slavery” in his landmark speech, perhaps shows that Liberty has a range of interpretations.

“The bird is freed”, tweeted Elon Musk on Oct 28th; his Twitter buy-out and staff-cull in the name of restoring free-speech to the platform has granted the podium back to Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Andrew Tate, and Kanye West amongst others. Given the technical certainty that corporations do not

have to offer a platform to anyone, it does raise questions as to whether these businesses are therefore culpable for the spreading of conspiracy, disinformation and hate. Whilst the right to free speech is clearer in written constitutions such as the 1st Amendment in the U.S., where multi-billion dollar companies choose to draw the line between freedom and oppression is usually guided by their advertising revenue.

Free speech is a right, platforming it isn’t.

Culpability for what is said is often a surprise to those who have said it. Were they looking for freedom without repercussions? Sounds like the latest installment of The Purge. Which is too often not dissimilar to the experience of nations ‘liberated’ by western military intervention. Interestingly the editors and publishers of The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and El Pais have just issued a statement that “it is time for the US government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets. Publishing is not a crime”. Quite why it took them 12 years to make this statement, having sold many papers covering the story he leaked, is anybody’s guess. Couldn’t possibly be that if Assange is convicted, then the freedom of the press is threatened. That was taken care of years ago by Billionaire donors gaining control of the news and what it doesn’t report.

But to pin down what is meant by freedom in

the wider sense, beyond mere free-speech, we could take a pleasant boat trip down the River Cherwell. Oxford,1958, and a very different speech to Patrick Henry’s was delivered; "Two Concepts of Liberty,” by renowned philosopher and political theorist Isaiah Berlin defined freedom into two camps; positive and negative. He claimed that ‘positive liberty’ was born of the idea of what we are free to do, rather than what we are not. ‘Negative liberty’ was the absence of coercion or interference of private actions by an external political body.

‘Positive Liberty’

If this seems a little abstract it’s worth noting that the Isaiah Berlin lecture became one of the key ideological underpinnings of the Cold War. Having witnessed the Russian Revolution in 1907 at an early age, he had grown up with the corruption of ‘positive liberty’. An uprising of the oppressed people which ultimately lead to their oppression under a different system. One that believed it is the solution for human liberty, that it will create the ideal human, and only the leaders know how. So they would coerce the masses into strict adherence to their rules. Isaiah Berlin believed this was a flaw in all revolutions, no matter how well intended. No matter how bad the previous regime had been. Horror would prevail. Freedom would be lost.

‘Negative Liberty’

‘Negative liberty’ however, was a society

without any ideological position on what the perfect person was. Sure, they had rules to protect us all from harming each other, but allowed self seeking individuals to pursue whatever they wanted. Individuals were given no purpose or meaning by the state, but were free to do whatever they wanted within the society that they lived. This idea of liberty neatly fitted into the idea that the market will give people democracy. That the capitalist ideology of the West was in fact freedom. Despite inequality and resistance to Union empowerment of workers rights. Perhaps more importantly, the Game Theorists of the Cold War also saw how this version of freedom was a truth of human nature. These autocrats who had mastered the art of war games to avoid nuclear war, moved on to prominent positions in US and UK governments. They promoted the extended ideas that American mathematician John Nash described in all human behaviour. That we are all selfish. And that altruism was not possible. The fact that Nash rescinded this part of his thesis after being treated for schizophrenia, is clearly not a red flag…

Isaiah Berlin knew that ‘negative liberty’ had its flaws as much as ‘positive liberty’ - and he warned throughout his life that if those in charge of governing under that system came to believe it was an absolute ideal then they too would become as corrupted as those who lead revolutions into dictatorships.

Project Democracy in America undermined the very democracy in the US that it was trying

to ‘defend’. General Haig promoted Freedom through Democracy by force under Reagan, affecting many nations it saw as a threat. The fall of the USSR in 1991 was seen at first as a triumph of western democracy with the US offering millions in reconstruction aid and the expertise of Jeffrey Sachs amongst others. The Harvard economist oversaw the privatisation of the big companies in Russia. Which was ultimately an economic disaster and led to the rise of Putin.

They did the same in Iraq. Over $350 billion was sent to Iraq by 2007, much of it lost to corruption. Conflicting ideas of the perfect liberty lead to both sides using violence to achieve their aims. In the UK our liberties have been affected by the resulting restrictions on freedom cause by anti-terror laws. And whilst UK PM Rishi Sunak calls out China’s recent oppressive restrictions on protest, his own government continues to support bills that restrict our own at home.

What would Cato the Younger make of this? The Roman patriot that Patrick Henry emulated at the end of his liberty speech? Ironically, his political influence was born of his moralist principles and his embodiment of Roman traditions that appealed to both senators and the innately conservative Roman populace. The distance between

the purpose and self sacrifice he believed empowered uncorrupted governance, and our current free market system of lies led by an ex Goldman Sachs analyst said to be the richest politician in history, is profound.

So what is freedom?

Is it simply just the freedom to purchase whatever Christmas Gifts we like from Amazon? Or does it allow us the right to protest peacefully for change? Are we only allowed a single vote every four years in a gerrymandered district or can we call for the redistribution of wealth by demanding laws that billionaires and energy companies pay tax that supports the NHS and essential infrastructure that allow them to profit from this country? The papers will help the government control perceptions no doubt, but the rise of nationalism has overtaken both political parties in our post-Brexit age. And the freedom from the EU is somehow finally making headlines as people struggle to put food on their table. Regardless of who takes the blame for the recession, protests, strikes and the risk of an uprising are challenging the belief that their idea of ‘negative liberty’ is working. A narrow and limiting version of freedom that is treated as an absolute, a freedom that has also become corrupted.

MARK GATISS – THE UNFRIEND

COMEDY STAR TRANSFERS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT TO LONDON’S WEST END BY STUART ROLT

For better or worse, good manners is a cornerstone of British culture. While this clumsy unwritten code has been impacted by multiculturalism and the slow-creep of equality, it still offers a rich source of puzzlement for an unwary overseas observer.

Mark Gatiss is under no illusions about the ridiculousness of our occasional inability to say what we mean. “How often are you in a restaurant vaguely moaning, and someone comes over to ask how everything is and you’re like: ‘Oh it’s all fine, thank-you!’?” Crippling politeness forms the basis of his directorial debut The Unfriend. Premiering during the summer at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre, this ruthless comedy is now transferring to London’s West End.

He’s gathered a gifted cast of performers and given a lively zing to The Unfriend. The award-winning Steven Moffat, who previously co-wrote Sherlock and Dracula with Gatiss, sets his debut play around middle-England’s compulsive need to appear ‘nice’. We meet Peter and Debbie, a couple who are marking two decades of marriage with a gentle cruise. They attract the attentions of Elsa, an American whose views are as robust as her conversation style. Arriving back home, they soon receive an email from their new friend. This is followed by Elsa herself, who is expecting to be welcomed as a house guest. A spot of internet research reveals she may be a killer on the run, but the hapless couple can’t quite bring themselves to withdraw their hospitality.

Gatiss is in an ebullient mood today. Asked if theatre direction was a natural evolution

for someone established as a writer and performer, he suggests it was simple blackmail. “Steven wrote the play when we were doing Dracula. I read it and loved it. He asked me to show it to a few people in theatre, because he didn’t really know many people.” Matthew Byam Shaw from Playful Productions was particularly keen, and suggested that Chichester Festival Theatre’s Artistic Director, Daniel Evans, would be keen on staging it.

“He said: ‘But you’ve got to direct it!’ Now I’ve discovered he said to Steven: ‘No-one else will work with you. Mark has to direct it,’” he says with a laugh.

Not having directed anything for the stage since college, there’s certainly been a learning curve. It’s been a rewarding experience approaching the whole production process from a new angle. “Having been on the other side of the table in rehearsals, I knew how to run the days and the rooms. But it was full of fascinating discoveries.” The Unfriend’s first preview was riotous, with both Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian Mckellan filing in for a glimpse of the new work. “Oh my god, talk about pressure… It was really good, people were howling with laughter. Afterwards, I steamed to the bar to congratulate everyone. I totally forgot that I was supposed to be comparing notes with my crew.”

His approach to direction has been to take things slowly in the rehearsal rooms, so performances still feel fresh and vibrant. “That in itself is an art. Because you don’t want to peak too soon.” Forging something which builds to a tremendous pace is made much easier when you’ve the support of a seasoned cast. The hapless Peter and Debbie are

portrayed perfectly by Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen, Inside No. 9) and Amanda Abbington (Mr Selfridge, Sherlock). Gatiss refers to the former, perhaps without it being simple hyperbole, as a comedy genius. “I just knew Peter would appeal to him. They’re joined by the legendary Frances Barber (Prick Up Your Ears, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Silk), who brings the menacing Elsa Jean to life. “She’s got such comic chops, but she can also be quite fearsome.”

Providing a foundation to the antics is the bemused, and excruciatingly boring chap next door, who is perfectly played by Michael Simkins. “The neighbour looks like sort of part you’d never want to play. You never know his name because he’s so boring. I needed someone who could do that boringness without being a boring actor. Michael is so adorable.” Gatiss’ notes were to play the character completely straight-faced. The only way it could work is if the audience don’t immediately realise it’s passive aggression. He’s smiling all the way through; nothing is too much trouble. But, underneath, it’s horrible. I think a lot of the laughter was coming from people who were him… but were saying; ‘I know someone just like that’.”

Much of the play’s comedy gold is mined from Barber’s portrayal of Elsa, who tears into her hosts’ shroud of politeness with plenty of loud, MAGA-loving vigour, forcing them to retreat into awkward courteousness. “That American directness is why it works. She just cuts through the bullshit. We find it, as a nation, so difficult. It would save a lot of time, but we just can’t do it.”

Photo Credit Manuel Harlan

Photo Credit Manuel Harlan

Photo Credit Manuel Harlan

For all the jokes, The Unfriend also borrows some gentler elements from the horror genre. This unassuming couple have been trapped by their social conventions and must now confront the universal fear of appearing rude. This intersection between horror and comedy is something Gatiss has explored throughout his career. As well as film and stage performing credits like Darker Shores, Game of Thrones and Doctor Who, he’s a member of The League of Gentlemen comedy team and has helmed several documentaries about the origins of British horror.

Perhaps these two genres play on the same senses, it’s only our preconceptions which determine if we’re scared or amused. “It’s the sweet spot. It’s what I’ve always liked. It’s not overt. More like the horror of embarrassment. Nuts In May is a sort of horror film.” He says he’d always been drawn to M. R. James, who is widely regarded as one of Britain’s finest ghost story writers. Intended to be read aloud, these works valued establishing atmosphere over shock and awe. “They’re often very funny characters, who have terrible things happen to them. It’s not grimly unpleasant. The situation is cosier, I suppose. It’s what he called appealing terror.” This vein of normality thrown off-balance runs through The Unfriend, and in turn through much of Gatiss’ other endeavours. It’s a combination of pathos, scares and complicated embarrassment.

There’s something profoundly English about these qualities, which he finds fascinating. He expresses an admiration for the quiet drama in Alan Bennett’s Sunset Across the Bay. It features an old couple who retire to the seaside just as the world is changing beyond recognition. “You follow them as time slows down. Then the man says he’s going to the gents with: ‘I’m just going to shed a tear.’ Isn’t that beautiful? His wife waits for him, but he’s died in there. I saw that when I was about ten and it’s just stayed with me.” That proverbial ‘stiff upper lip’, and the way the British often adjust to the most testing of circumstances, is one more facet of a complex culture. “When we’re at out best, it’s our most admirable quality. At our worst, if we dealt with these things better if we wouldn’t be so constipated about them.”

The coming months are already looking busy for him. There’s another instalment of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas over the festive period, which build upon the networks tradition of offering festive frights. There’s also Russell T Davies’s eagerly awaited Nolly coming to ITV next year.

Starring Helena Bonham Carter, this threepart series looks at the rise and fall of British soap opera icon Noele Gordon. Known to millions as motel owner Meg Richardson on Crossroads, she was one of the most recognisable people in Britain during the 70s.

When the show’s production company became concerned about making expensive drama productions, she was sacked as an attempt to make it less popular and justify cancellation. “Even if you’ve never heard of her, you will get it. This is the story of a queen losing her crown. I was on the set of Crossroads. I got a photo of me holding the phone, going; ‘Crossroads Motel, can

I help you?’” Gatiss plays Gordon’s best friend, Larry Grayson – who was similarly a household name at that point.

The star of mega-hit The Generation Game, Grayson regularly drew over 10 million viewers to BBC One’s Saturday nights with his tall stories and theatrical incompetence. “In a way, I’ve almost fallen in love with him again, because he’s so good. And there’s nothing to his act. It’s just those looks down the camera. It’s so filthy.”

Despite 30 years of hard graft in working men’s clubs, Grayson’s success came almost overnight. He’d been spotted doing a gig by someone from Anglia Television and was booked on a TV talent show. From there he was given his own series. By the end of that year, he’d won the Variety Club’s Personality Of The Year award. For the next decade he was the golden boy of light entertainment, so a natural replacement for Bruce Forsyth on the Beeb’s flagship gameshow. “Russell did say he wondered if there was ‘a story’ to Larry... But there wasn’t, he was just lovely.”

On a festive note, Gatiss’s own version of A Christmas Carol is currently showing in cinemas nationwide. Recorded over two nights at London’s newly restored Alexandra Palace Theatre, it brings Dickens’ classic to life in a truly authentic setting. “An old Victorian theatre to stage A Christmas Carol in… It couldn’t be more perfect,” he says, with conspicuous delight in his voice. Originally opening in winter 2021 at Nottingham Playhouse, before transferring to the capital, the production garnered rave reviews for its mixture of humanity and dark humour. “It’s my favourite story. And I’ve always wanted to play Jacob Marley. It’s a strange bucket list item. I used to end every interview by saying that, in the hope someone would notice and cast me. Eventually, I had to do it myself. If you want something doing…” So, starring Gatiss as Marley and Nicholas Farrell as Ebenezer Scrooge, the new version directed by the Playhouse’s artistic director Adam Penford brings A Christmas Carol to a whole new audience.

While he’s made himself synonymous with a very British brand of dark humour, Gatiss says there’s still no such thing as a free lunch. He’s still not able to get things made without first proving their merits. “The industry is incredibly busy, there’s so much activity. The

pandemic has really changed how things are made and viewed. Theatre audiences are reluctant to come back. They’ve almost got of the habit. There’s a lot of exciting things going on, but the landscape is in a weird state of flux.”

We’re speaking just after some far-reaching Arts Council cuts have been announced. I suggest that we as a nation might have fallen into the trap of undervaluing culture and the part it plays in society. “There’s no equivocation… The appointment of someone like Nadine Dorries was a deliberate thing to say: ‘We don’t give a monkeys about this’. And it remains like that. When they were trying to cut arts funding during the war, Churchill said: ‘What are we fighting for?’ The arts are not an indulgence, they’re absolutely essential. People need to try and be more aware of what they mean. It’s not some rarefied thing that all your tax money is spent on. It’s everything… from the telly you watch at night to the Christmas shows you take your kids to. It’s a huge part of our lives, and we are impoverished by attacks on it. But it’s a very English thing to undervalue.”

Gatiss seems to have now acquired a taste for theatre directing. He’s assembled Donna Berlin, James Bradshaw, Sara Crowe and Rose Shalloo to stage Ian Hallard’s new play, The Way Old Friends Do. With its world première at Birmingham Rep next year, it features two school-friends who cautiously come out to each other. One is gay, the other an ABBA fan. Finding themselves on a new path and they decide to form the world’s first drag tribute to the Swedish pop sensations. “It’s more blackmail,” he jokes. “But it is lovely to do these plays back-to-back. It’s a very nourishing experience, to gather a cast and be in a room with people like that. It’s so exciting, it’s just like putting a dinner party together!”

Mark Gatisss’s A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is in cinemas now.

The Unfriend is at London’s Criterion Theatre on Sun 15 Jan 2023 – Sun 16 April.

The Way Old Friends Do runs at Birmingham Rep on Fri 17 Feb - Sat 4 March, before heading out on a UK-wide tour.

Photo Credit Manuel Harlan

COFFEE, CARE AND COMMUNITY

AT TRAFALGAR STREET’S

It was one of the first coffee shops I took myself to when I was a first year student, exploring this new city I was learning to call home. “I am at coffee shop number one of the day and I have been here for about half an hour, watching a lecture. This particular place is called Bread & Milk. I treated myself to a shot of caramel and stole the window seat though it is a table for four” I wrote in my diary, dated September 2020. Of all the independent places to eat and drink in Brighton, this one clearly remained ingrained in my memory, so much so that I even served as a barista there. Making the transfer from customer to colleague, I found myself sitting in that same window seat a plethora of times, pondering just how beautiful a business Bread & Milk truly is. Perhaps I am biased, but since working there I have discovered that there is so much more than what meets the eye to this quaint little gem on Trafalgar Street.

While the most important thing about a coffee shop is making sure it has good coffee, the first thing you notice about Bread & Milk is the soft aesthetic to match the name of the business. Dry flowers and wicker chairs the colour of sourdough are scattered against the milky white tiled walls. Outside too there are wooden benches complimenting the bistro sets, the perfect spot to watch the commuters come and go, in and out of Sydney Street. From the professional, crisp Instagram photos to the pretty designs in your coffee foam, everything about Bread & Milk is delicate and calming.

The coffee is also wonderful. The owners, Rupert and Agnes take great pride in making sure that everything from the flavour of coffee beans to the cup you drink it from are of the absolute highest quality. The latest and greatest bold decision was switching to Allpress coffee, who proudly source their coffee directly from the country of origin and promise that rich, chocolatey espresso for every cup of coffee made. Allpress even offers staff training to make sure baristas are equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide a good coffee. Bread & Milk prides itself in making the greatest cappuccino in Brighton too: a pure white dome of foam, balancing within the circumference of its mug, and of course chocolate is the final touch. However, if you are not a fan of flat whites or cortados, there is also chai, matcha, hot chocolate, turmeric latte and an absolute abundance of loose leaf tea on the menu which ensures there is something for everyone. The tea is served in a dainty glass teapot, adding a touch of luxury to this classic, homely beverage. So much care to detail is paid, that the ceramics have recently been updated too, freshly bought from Surrey Ceramics to make sure you have the perfect mug to wrap your hands around and feel the golden warmth of each drink.

BREAD & MILK

Further, in their mission to celebrate independent businesses, Bread & Milk select most of their ingredients from local suppliers. The breakfast and lunch sandwiches genuinely seem to amaze people because they are made on extra thick cuts of bread from the Flour Pot Bakery, toasted too, and the exclusively chosen ingredients are no surprise when you taste just how good the food is. Breakfast baps in the morning are stuffed with sausage and bacon from Brighton Sausage Co. and there is the option to add an egg straight from Holmansbridge Farm. Or, you can grab my personal favourite - the halloumi and chilli jam bap. For lunch, it is very difficult to resist the Grilled Chicken or Reuben sourdough toasties. They are big! The Italian however is a customer favourite: nut-free pesto, mozzarella, sunblushed tomatoes, olives and rocket all on a very thick cushion of focaccia bread. A vegan sausage sandwich or the falafel feast which features Smorls’ deliciously rich hummus are the vegan options.

If the thought of these perfect warming treats has not tempted you enough, perhaps you would rather something sweet. The dark chocolate and banana loaf can be toasted and spread with butter if you ask, and the bacon and maple or vegan sausage rolls can be warmed up for you too. The cinnamon buns, almond croissants and nutella croissants often sell out. The cakes too are generous portions and Becky’s Brownies are always an indulgent treat.

The one thing about Bread & Milk that will keep you going back is the sense of

community there. Even as a brand new customer, you are bound to feel like you are somewhere familiar. Most of the regular customers now know each other by name, and everyone on Trafalgar Street knows Agnes, who always makes time to chat to and care for her customers with her extreme generosity and kindness. Depending on what day of the week you pop by, you may even catch the very sweet Erika, who always serves with a smile, or Declan who seems to already know everyone in Brighton due to his successful side hustle as a drummer! While you’re at Bread and Milk, make sure you pick up a loyalty card to get a fifth coffee for £1, and your tenth free. Or, remember Break & Milk is on deliveroo for those rainy days when you are craving your favourite sandwich and an avocado smoothie, but do not want to get out of bed. The joy of Bread & Milk is having that home from home feeling, but you will just have to visit for yourself to truly immerse in that one of a kind sense of comfort and community.

TIS THE SEASON FOR PANTO

by Amy Stanborough

ALADDIN AT THE BRIGHTON CENTRE

MOTHER GOOSE AT THE THEATRE ROYAL BRIGHTON

THURS 22 DEC - TUE 27 DEC

For just under a week, Brighton production company E3 is bringing this Disney classic to the Brighton Centre stage. This performance promises to feature spectacular sets and a cast of genius West End performers. The show is bound to make you laugh, and get audiences interacting with all the fun action - one not to miss this christmas.

TICKETS: £15-£30 www.brightoncentre.co.uk

SAT 3 DEC - SUN 11 DEC

Live at the Theatre Royal at the start of December, Sir Ian Mckellen and John Bishop are featuring in Mother Goose. From the imaginations of Jonathan Harvey (Coronation Street, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme) and Cal McCrystal (‘Britain’s funniest director’ Guardian) comes the joyful tale of an Animal Sanctuary. It is fun, family-friendly, and the perfect festive treat. Tickets are selling fast, so get them while you can.

TICKETS: £13-£35 www.atgtickets.com

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK AT THE ROYAL HIPPODROME THEATRE, EASTBOURNE

MON 12 DEC - MON 2 JAN

The Royal Hippodrome Theatre is offering some fi-fi-fo-fun as you join Jack on his journey up the beanstalk. Add some special adult fun to the world of pantomime on the 20th December for a performance that is strictly 18+, or bring the kids to any performance before Christmas Day to see Santa in his Grotto for an extra £6.50.

TICKETS START AT £9.50 (OPENING WEEKEND), AND GO UP TO £17.50 AT PEAK PERIOD ADULT PERFORMANCE (20TH DEC) - £15 www.royalhippodrome.com

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: THE PANTOMIME AT WORTHING THEATRES

ALSO ON THIS CHRISTMAS:

THE SPIRIT-LEVEL

The Spirit-Level is a new venture born out of a long friendship and life-long love of cocktails.

We caught up with Myfanwy, as she explains how it all started. “One of my happiest childhood memories is my grandad teaching four-yearold me how to make a pink gin behind the bar of his tennis club. I loved the magic of swirling the dark bitters around the glass, turning bright pink when I poured the gin on top. In my grandad’s defense it was the 80s and different rules applied to child-rearing. I later learnt that my great granny had been the landlady of a famous (possibly infamous) Irish pub in Kilburn, so serving drinks is obviously my blood.”

Like most people, life takes a different direction, “I ended up as a history teacher and my endless cocktail experiments seemed destined only to be served to my friends and family (they were grateful but maybe their livers were not). This all changed one fateful night when I met up with an old friend Georgia and after a few too many glasses of wine she told me about the bloody mary trailer of her dreams. Within weeks we were planning our first pop-up cocktail night at Tilt Kitchen and we never looked back.”

“Georgia is a talented vegan and vegetarian chef and, when it comes to cocktails, she is part-magician, part-scientist. She makes all our bitters, liquors, syrups and even our own

fresh vegan foamer. This, combined with my love of cocktail history and classic recipes, is the foundation of signature cocktail menus. We use seasonal ingredients, high-quality spirits and specialise in using unrefined sugar sources. You will never find any commercial syrups or mixes behind our bar. We currently have regular pop-up nights at a range of venues across Brighton & Hove and offer bar and catering services for private parties and corporate events. Our nights offer fabulous drinks, fresh bar snacks and great music in a welcoming and social atmosphere.”

The Spirit Level next two pop-up nights are:

17 Dec at Café Rust in Hove 6-11.30pm NYE party at Tilt Kitchen (ticketed event) 8pm-1am

They also sell bottled cocktails and cocktail accessories at Florence Road Market on the 3 and 10 Dec.

For inquiries about private parties or to make a booking get in touch via Instagram @thespirit_level or on WhatsApp 07973288550

This one is a twist on the cranberry packed classic Cosmopolitan, we have replaced traditional vodka with a ‘London Dry’ gin to give it more depth of flavour. This pink fruity crowd pleaser is a simple shake cocktail, perfect for a Christmas party. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker or strainer, use a big jar and a tea strainer.

Ingredients

for one drink (multiple as needed)

50ml ‘London Dry’ style gin (we use small batch ‘Hastings 1066’)// 25 ml triple sec or 15ml Cointreau // 25ml fresh lime juice // 100ml cranberry juice // lime peel garnish.

Method

Put ice in a shaker, pour in ingredients and shake for 20 seconds. Strain into martini glasses or cocktail coupes. Garnish with lime peel or fresh cranberries.

The Penicillin

This gorgeous smoky drink is packed with everything you need to keep the winter sniffles away. Best drunk in front of a roaring fire in a Christmas jumper. In the bar we make ours with fresh ginger juice and black cardamom bitters, but we have made this recipe more accessible for the home bartender.

Ingredients

50ml blended whisky (we use Buffalo Trace)// 20ml fresh lemon juice// 20ml honey and ginger syrup (recipe below)// 10ml smoky whisky (we use Talisker Storm Single Malt)// crystallised ginger.

Method

First you need to make the honey and ginger syrup. Add 1 part honey to 1 part water and chopped fresh ginger (the more you add the spicier it will be) into a pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. You can use immediately but ideally leave to sit overnight and then strain out the ginger.

Pour all ingredients, expect the smoky whisky into a shaker (jar) over ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into a whisky or negroni glass. Add fresh ice to the glass (we use giant ice cubes for this). Pour the smoky whisky over the back of a spoon, so it floats gently on top of the glass. Garnish with two pieces of crystallised ginger on a cocktail stick.

The Wassail

The history of cocktails can be dated back to the ancient Egyptians using dates and other fruits to flavour their beer. Here in Britain, early Celtic people drank a spiced drink based on hard cider, known as wassail. The tradition progressed to people going from door to door, singing and offering a drink from the wassailing bowl in return for a gift. After the introduction of Christianity, this morphed into carol singing. This hot punch recipe pays homage to this old tradition.

Ingredients for 4

800 ml apple cider (we used Aspell’s Cru) // 200ml spiced rum (Dead Man’s Finger is a good option) // 150g golden demerara sugar // 1 orange // 100ml water// cinnamon sticks // star anise //cardamom pods// fresh ginger.

Method

Put the sugar in a large pan, squeeze in the juice from the orange, add water and spices. Heat slowly to create a spiced syrup base for your cocktail. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow spices to infuse. Next, pour in the cider and heat (if this is a party, you can keep this mixture warm for up an hour or so). When you are ready to serve strain out the spices using a sieve or tea strainer, reheat and add the rum. Pour into sturdy glasses and garnish with cinnamon stick and some star anise.

Aperol Sbagliato

Bucks fizz for breakfast has been a popular choice since the 1980’s, don’t be fooled by people calling it a mimosa. It’s a lovely drink but maybe it’s time for a change. Our creation is the handsome love child of a Negroni Sbagliato and an Aperol Spritz.

Ingredients for 4

Approximately ½ bottle of Prosecco // 150ml Aperol // 150ml Sweet vermouth (Martini Rosso does the job) // gold luster (from baking section in any supermarket) // orange peel.

Method

Pour Aperol and Vermouth into a jug or mixing glass with ice, stir with the ice for 1 minute. Pour the liquid into 4 glasses and top up with Prosecco to your taste. Take a decent sized piece of orange peel and twist it over the drink to release the oil, then rub the peel along the rim of the glass, pop into the glass or make a fancy peel garnish by watching YouTube. Spray top of the glass with gold spray. If you want to make the drink less alcoholic, you can also try adding fresh orange juice or soda to taste.

NEW YEAR’S EVE GUIDE

NYE AT KOMEDIA

Komedia, in the heart of Brighton’s North Laine, has something for everyone this New Year’s Eve! For families, dance the afternoon away at the Kidz With Attitude New Year’s Eve Special between 1pm–2.30pm. A day time club with DJs playing the finest (non-explicit) hip-hop, funk and soul, plus vinyl prizes, free face-painting and a special New Year’s Eve “Midnight” countdown.

Laugh your way into 2023 at the Komedia Comedy Club New Year’s Eve Special at 7pm. Enjoy the very best comedians on the circuit, with a glass or two of bubbly and something from Komedia’s delicious menu. Featuring top stand-up from Alasdair BeckettKing, Tom Houghton, Rachel Fairburn and Robyn Perkins.

At the Boogie Wonderland 70s Disco New Year’s Eve Party, from 11pm, enjoy the best tunes from the 1970s. Expect to hear nothing but good rhythms from the decade from Bee Gees, Fleetwood Mac, Abba, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush and more.

Say hello to 2023 with a trip back to the 80s at the Spellbound Alternative 80s New Year’s Eve from 11pm. Enjoy 80s all-killer floor-filler anthems all night from the likes of Siouxsie, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Smiths, Cramps, New Order and many more.

www.komedia.co.uk/ brighton

THE TREASON SHOW AT ROPETACKLE

Tis the season for all things Treason! Brighton’s most infamous satirical sketch show again presents an annual round-up. That Was The Year That Wasn’t ’22 will go where the Beeb now fears to tread. With its annual Review of the Year now a festive tradition, the award-winning Treason Show team bring Brighton’s longest running hit show to Shoreham’s best venue. Who’ll get the Treason treatment is anybody’s guess, but you can be sure that nobody is immune from the steely gaze of pitch-perfect parody. Especially if they’ve been a very naughty boy. Santa always knows… www.treasonshow.co.uk

www.treasonshow. co.uk

immersive light show and your favourite Pop music videos shown throughout the venue on multiple screens.

Expect to hear the best songs from Pop Royalty, including the likes of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, ABBA, Busted and many more! The greatest tracks throughout the night that you love to sing your heart out to, as well as some of the finest Pop dance tracks perfect for the New Year celebration. Countdown clocks will be building your anticipation on the lead up to midnight, with an amazing, unmissable celebration once the clocks strike 12, welcoming you all into the New Year of 2023.

www.chalkvenue.com

ENGLISH DISCO LOVERS AT I360

Brighton’s legendary party starters English Disco Lovers will be taking over Brighton i360’s West Beach Bar on NYE 2022 for a night like no other. The action will be heading into the sky to see in 2023 in the Sky Pod, with a bird’s eye view of Brighton and the fireworks! Disco Lovers’ resident DJ Sam Moffett and Tim Walker from the Love Is The Message crew will be playing serious celebration tunes from 9pm-11.30, when the fun boards the Pod and heads upwards for the midnight shout! After landing, everything will then carry on in the bar into the night.

This is going to be a night to remember, with full production and a bespoke Funktion One Sound System, plus of course the best music in town for your hootenanny. There’s also some cheaper ground-only ticket for those who prefer to keep those feet on Terra Firma.

SECRET DISCOTHEQUE AT CHALK

CHALK will be bringing the ultimate Pop Party to Brighton this New Year with Secret Discotheque, bursting with decades of Pop! Secret Discotheque is the hottest Party in town, providing the best Pop hits from across the decades, accompanied by an

BERLIN AT THE WATER BEAR

This year Berlin returns to the Water Bear to bring you a spectacular event and say thank you for partying with them for an 8th year. 2022 felt like we were getting back to normal and there’s many fond memories of all the events and amazing people they’ve met along the way. Join them for the best in funk, house and techno, as they see in 2023 with another stellar line-up - which is to be announced very soon.

Expect as always, a vibrant community of music lovers, the freshest underground sounds and an environment of freedom of expression. They know times are hard, therefore their aim is also to keep the NYE ticket price lower than everywhere else in club land.

LOVE HOUSE COLLECTIVE AT SHORTTS BAR

After very successful Halloween and Brighton Pride specials the Love House Collective crew return to Shortts in Kemptown for their closing party of the year. With a passion for quality house music in all its various guises, and the beautiful people it attracts, they’ve confirmed an incredible line up for their NYE free party Kicking things off at 5pm is LHC resident DJ Nature Boy (AKA as Steve Buckland) with a mixture of lounge, Funk and tribal beats – plus a free shot for everyone who arrives before 6pm. Then it’s Code South’s Nick Titchner (Hard South) Nick with an eclectic selection of funk, disco, soulful, jacking and deep house. Next up is Pascal Ferrari, with a frenetic blend of dancefloor-filling bangers. From 9pm till 10pm is Love House Collectives promoter Laylah, who always brings the party alive with own unique style of pumping house and bouncy beats. Bringing you into the New Year is Ministry Of Sounds tour resident Jake Duval playing B2B with Brighton veteran John Weatherley - both promising to bring something very special to wrap up 2022. After that , Laylah will be joining the pair for a threesome behind the decks…Brace yourself folks, this will definitely be very arousing for the eyes and ears!!

www.lovehouse

NEW YEAR’S DAY AT HOTEL PELIROCCO

If you can’t make it out on NYE, or simply don’t want to stop (you know who you are – no judgement) Brighton’s coolest boutique will be hosting a special New Year’s Day bash to see those spirits soar. It’s going to be an allday affair, with brilliant party tunes supplied by DJs from local pirate radio station, Radio 4A. Broadcasting in and around Brighton since 1996, has built up a solid reputation for great music through their festival appearances and the occasional party. A friendly crowd will be keeping it rocking from 1pm onwards. So, make sure you bring those dancing shoes.

www.hotelpelirocco. co.uk

Across 4 Small ripple of distress for veal covered in dripping (7) 6 See 13 Down 9 Prejudice created by xenophobia spreading without limits (4) 10 Spots the first indications of a Christmas novelty emerging (4) 11 See 3 Down 15 Polish backing, say, is rightful for scholarship (7) Down

1/7 Alarm caused by holiday in honour of former PM? (3,3) 2 See 5 3/11 Tool that Man Ray finds important (3,3) 5/2 Water tank with almost frozen water taking up back end of boat (7) 6/8 Invite desire after taking top off sceptically (6) 7 See 1 12 Not difficult to change direction ultimately (4)

13/6A/14 Clamour to churn a dye mixture (3,3,3)

TV GUIDE

I HATE SUZIE TOO

TBC SKY MAX

It’s a Christmas show, but not as you’d recognise it. Armed with smudged make-up, a bad attitude and some awful decisions, Billie Piper gives us another welcome helping of this feckless blackcomedy. Former child pop-sensation turned actress Suzie Pickles has a new agent and a new PR. She also has a new job dancing for likes on Dance Crazee, a reality competition which dominates Saturday nights.

With an estranged best-friend and ex-husband only complicating matters, Suzie battles to regain the British public’s love. Can she navigate being a new role as single mum and restore her reputation? And will her personal life continue to spiral out of control?

FIREFLY LANE

FRI 2 DEC NETFLIX

What could possibly have ended the tight-knit, 30-year friendship of Tully and Kate? Hopefully we’ll find out what happened to the ‘Firefly Lane Girls Forever’ in season two of this drama as it hops between the 70s and present day. But first Kate must grapple with the painful aftermath of Johnny’s ill-fated trip to Iraq. Tully faces a lawsuit after walking away from her talk show, and must now start her career over from the bottom.

This leads her to search for answers about who she is and where she comes from -- including a quest to find the father she never met, against the wishes of her secretive hippie mother.

LITTLE AMERICA

FRI 9 DEC

APPLE TV+

Inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine, Little America explores the funny, romantic, heartfelt and surprising stories of immigrants who’ve made the United States their home.

Written and executive produced by Lee Eisenberg, this anthology series go beyond the headlines at a time when these personal histories are now more relevant than ever. It celebrates tales which are universally huma and emotional, each episode dramatically reenacting a beautiful and inspiring journey from a different part of the world, which should resonate with people everywhere. Powerful, empathic and sharply executed, it cuts through the static at a time when immigration has become a polarizing political issue.

EMILY IN PARIS

WEDS 21 DEC NETFLIX

Quoi De Neuf? Get ready for another dreamy slice of awkward culture clashes and brilliant friendships. Lily Collins returns as Emily Cooper in this sweet Emmy-nominated drama. One year after moving from Chicago to Paris for her dream job, our protagonist finds herself at a crucial crossroads in every aspect of her life.

Faced with two very different paths, Emily will have to decide exactly where her loyalties lie — at work and in her love life — and what those decisions mean for her future in France, all while continuing to immerse herself in the adventures and surprising twists and turns that life in Europe’s most romantic city can provide.

SLOW HORSES

FRI 2 DEC

APPLE TV+

Following a disparate team of British intelligence agents, this darkly funny espionage drama returns a second season. Our unlikely heroes have all ended up in a department of MI5 which is little more than a dumping ground - due to their various career-ending mistakes.

Led by their brilliant but irascible leader, the notorious Jackson Lamb, they navigate a confusing world of smoke and mirrors in a desperate bid to defend the realm. When some Cold War secrets come to light, and Russian sleeper agents are reactivated, the occupants of Slough House must get their heads back in the game and race against time to avert a major catastrophe.

HIS DARK MATERIALS

MON 5 DEC (TBC) BBC ONE

The final season of this BBC and HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s masterpiece moves on to his The Amber Spyglass book. There’s an epic battle coming, as Lord Asriel begins assembling an army to take on the shadowy Authority.

The greatest from every world are to risk everything in the fight against tyranny. On a more sedate note, Lyra is back with her mother, Mrs Coulter. But they’re on the run from shadowy religious organisation the Magisterium, with their leader orders her brought in “dead or alive”. She also needs to find out what happened to Roger and Will’s father. Will the Land Of The Dead offer an answer.

TOM CLANCY’S JACK RYAN

WEDS 21 DEC

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

We were a bit sniffy about this small screen outing for the iconic intelligence officer, especially as Jim from The US Office was taking the title role - leading us to robustly label it ‘Dunder Mifflin, World Police’. But John Krasinski has proved he can kick ass with the best of them, bringing a genuine weight to the action.

Now season three of this brilliant spy-thriller sees Ryan hunted by both the CIA and an international rogue faction which he has uncovered. Forced to operate in the shadows, he must race across Europe to prevent a massive global conflict and hopefully stay alive in the process.

ALICE IN BORDERLAND

THURS 22 DEC NETFLIX

A listless, jobless and videogame-obsessed young man suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo. He and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive. In this strange world, Arisu meets Usagi, a young woman who’s navigating the games alone.

Together, they set out to unravel one mystery after another as they risk their lives and confront what it means to be alive. Based on a brilliant survival and thriller manga, Alice in Borderland is directed by Shinsuke Sato and stars Kento Yamazaki (Kingdom, The Disastrous Life of Saiki K) and Tao Tsuchiya (Library Wars: BOOK OF MEMORIES, Mare).

FILM SPOILER ALERT

Michael Showalter has forged a reputation for directing subversive rom-coms, like The Baxter, They Came Together and The Big Sick, but following his acclaimed Oscar-nominated The Eyes of Tammy Faye, he’s been getting his teeth into meatier subjects. Starring Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) as Michael Ausiello, and Ben Aldridge (Pennyworth) as Kit Cowan, Ausiello’s best-selling memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies comes to the big screen.

This heart-warming, funny and life-affirming story follows the final 11-month period of photographer Cowan’s life. With Oscar-winner Sally Field and Tony-winner Bill Irwin as Cowan’s parents, we explore a touching journey of loss and a love that never really ends.

VIOLENT NIGHT

With the festive season in full effect, it’s time for another wholesome Christmas adventure. And this certainly is not it. David Harbour (Stranger Things, Black Widow) leaps to the rescue when a group of mercenaries break into a wealthy family compound on the 24th December, taking everyone inside hostage. But this nefarious gang of ne’er-do-wells haven’t anticipated preparing for a certain magical combatant entering the fray.

Described as Die Hard with Santa Claus, this boisterous action/black-comedy looks set to turn over a raft of tropes and spread some good cheer. Judging people, battling commercialisation and kicking ass… this is the true spirit of Christmas.

FRI 2 DEC // CINEMA

INDIA SWEETS AND SPICES

FRI 2 DEC // CINEMA

Alia Kapur returns to her family’s posh suburban New Jersey home after a year away at college and upends their well-ordered life with her newfound independence. Befriending Varun, the handsome son of the new owners of the local grocery store, she invites his family to a weekly dinner gathering with her parents’ wealthy friends.

She is surprised to learn that her perfectionist mother, Sheila, has an existing connection to Varun’s mother, Bhairavi. This turns to indignation when she uncovers secrets about both her parents, which push everyone towards a daring and transformative confrontation in this coming of age drama set against a lovingly framed glimpse of the Indian American community.

THE INFERNAL MACHINE

FRI 2

DEC //

CINEMA

Guy Pearce (Mare of Easttown, The Hurt Locker) returns in a bold psychological thriller, written and directed by Andrew Hunt (Frost Bite, Level). Based on a story written by Louis Kornfeld, we meet Bruce Cogburn, a reclusive and controversial author. After his only work inspires a terrorist attack, he retreats into isolation as a broken man. But Cogburn’s solitude is turned upside down when he becomes the target of an anonymous stalker.

Paranoia grows as he tries to deal with this obsessive fan, and his physical and emotional limits are tested as he is forced to confront his guilt over the events which propelled his work to the top of the bestseller list.

FILM TRIVIA

DID YOU KNOW:

The movie Violent Night was written by the team responsible for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)!

WOMEN TALKING

MON 12 DEC // CINEMA

In 2010, the women of an isolated community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. Based on Miriam Toews’ bestselling novel, Sarah Polley’s film offers a stellar cast, including Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw and Frances McDormand. After systematic abuse, a group of Mennonite women are forced to make a seemingly impossible choice. They can stay and fight the violent misogyny from within or leave and risk excommunication.

Women Talking asks unflinching questions about control, education and survival. In the face of unimaginable violence and cruelty, will they offer forgiveness or finally abandon themselves to the only existence they understand?

THE SILENT TWINS

FRI 9 DEC // CINEMA

Directed by Agnieszka Smoczyńska, and based on the book of the same name by Marjorie Wallace, this biographical drama examines the astonishing story of siblings who would only communicate with each other. Feeling isolated from an unwelcoming community, June and Jennifer Gibbons retreat into their own fantasy world of artistic inspiration and adolescent desires.

After a spree of vandalism inspired by an American boy they both idolise, the girls, now teenagers, are summarily sentenced to Broadmoor Hospital, an infamous psychiatric hospital, where they face the choice to separate and survive or die together. Letitia Wright and Tamara Lawrance star as the Gibbons sisters in this strange and tragic true story.

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER

FRI 16 DEC // CINEMA

Much discussed, and even more delayed, James Cameron’s epic science fiction sequel seems ready to hit the cinema. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore and Sigourney Weaver return for another powerful tale of fantastical aliens fighting for survival.

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water uses cutting edge technology to tell the story of the Sully family. We return to the paradise planet of Pandora, just as The RDA mining operation starts up again. So the plucky Na’vi must leave the rainforest behind them and seek sanctuary in a watery new environment.

CORSAGE

FRI 30 DEC // CINEMA

Empress Elisabeth of Austria is idolised for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sissi’ is celebrating her 40th birthday and fighting to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elisabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to the purely performative, a hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless.

She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out before her, Elisabeth rebels against her hyperbolised image and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.

QUICK CROSSWORD

Wealthy social group whose members travel frequently and widely for pleasure (3,3,3)