BN1 Magazine February 2022

ISSN 2752-5155

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Feb 2022

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THE BEST SHOWS AND FILMS TO BINGE THIS FEB

WIN it ckets to P M O T S

CULTURE MUSIC EVENTS STYLE RECIPES GUIDE ART FILM FOOD BRIGHTON // SUSSEX // LONDON

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CONTENTS 8-12

Lloyd Corporation art collaboration at Brighton’s CCA

18-20

Family days out in Sussex Here’s What She Said To Me comes to Worthing Theatre

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Windmill Young Actors Club

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BIMM and Spotify

26

Spring fashion trends

30

See the murmuration

33

Brighton Creatives - Aoife O’Connor

34

Blood Red Shoes interview

36

Sea Power interview

38

Jarki Monno interview

40

alt-J interview

42

O Hell interview

44

Mark Knight interview

46

Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents RFC

48

What’s on Brighton & Hove

50

What’s on London

52

What’s on Lewes & Eastbourne

54

What’s on Shoreham, Worthing, Chichester

56

What’s on Mid Sussex

58

Become a B Corp

62

How to get on the property ladder

64

Meet your local Ocean Guardians:

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Film guide

70

TV Guide

72

A Hermit’s Guide to Valentines

74

Mediterranean diet

76

Vegan date night

78

Meatless meals

80

Cryptic crossword

82

Quick crossword

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The latest news

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Editor’s Letter...

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BN1 chats with alt-J

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BN1 chats with Blood Red Shoes

Once again, it’s time to commemorate the guardian of overpriced petrol station flowers, St Valentine. Although which of their good deeds we’re supposed to be emulating remains a right mystery.

Catholic tradition speaks about three separate Valentines. One was apparently a Roman priest, while another was the Bishop of Interamna. They’re both buried outside Rome on the Via Flaminia, hopefully within easy reach of a late-night shop to facilitate any last-minute gifts.

The third lived in a Roman province of Africa. And that’s all we know about him.

Beyond the normative connection, all three were certainly martyred. And probably for something more spiritual than turning up drunk at a perfunctory meal designed to inject a bit of passion into a fading relationship.

Obviously, I’m being utterly cynical.

Millions of people happily celebrate this most romantic of occasions in numerous imaginative and delightful ways. But, from the comfort of your loving domesticity, do spare a thought for those who find this time of year bewildering.

It’s a period when we need to establish boundaries more than ever. What are we expecting, and what are we willing to put up with? Will a greetings card with a coquettish-looking (and worryingly anthropomorphic) puppy make me feel better about my life?

Valentine’s Day is nice. No, it is. But we should go easy with all the pressure.

And stop viewing the singleton existence as negative or even depressing. Not everyone wants a relationship. If only because it cheerily avoids being stuck in an overcrowded restaurant in the middle of February.

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Spring fashion

We also need to have honest conversations about expectations, both with friends and loved ones. If we all learn to say ‘no’ with confidence, perhaps the world would be a better place. ‘Valentine’ probably comes from the Latin ‘valens’, meaning worthy or powerful. Something to consider celebrating, rather than predictably offering up another selection of inappropriate underwear to demonstrate your undying love. (I can fit into a UK12, if anyone is interested…)

Happy Valentine’s Day

CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR IN CHIEF: Chris Sadler chris@bn1magazine.co.uk

EDITOR: Stuart Rolt Stuart@bn1magazine.co.uk

COVER: ALT J Image by Rosie Matheson

SUB EDITing team: Thom Punton charlie tomlinson

design & digital: bn1 media NEWSDESK/ GENERAL ENQUIRIES: Info@bn1magazine.co.uk BN1 MAGAZINE Unit 28, Floor 6, New England House, New England Street, Brighton, BN1 4GH 01273 022991

Advertising:

Contact: Jenny Rushton - head of sales / 07917752133 Jenny.rushton@bn1magazine.co.uk or Charlie Tomlinson / charlie@bn1magazine.co.uk BN1 Magazine is a culture, community and lifestyle publication distributed across the whole Brighton, Sussex and into London on a monthly basis - found in shops and venues. if you would like to reach a large target audience, get in contact today and see how we can help!

CONTRIBUTORS: Lucy Sheehan Thom Punton Jessie McGregor Amy Stanborough Charlie Tomlinson Stu Davies

INTERNSHIPS AND JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Want to become part of the BN1 Magazine team and gain valuable media skills or submit articles, content and images?

Various internships are available for writers, photographers, marketing, sales, creative types and enthusiasts to join Brighton’s leading culture and lifestyle magazine! Just email your CV and a little about yourself to: info@bn1magazine.co.uk @bn1magazine All rights reserved including rights of reproduction and use in any form or by any means, including the making of copies by any photo process or by any electronic or mechanical device (printed, written or oral), unless permission in writing is obtained from the copyright proprietor. All textual content, design graphics, images and specific photographs used in the magazine are copyright © BN1 Media Ltd 2021 BN1 Magazine has taken every reasonable care to ensure the information contained within this periodical is accurate on the date of publication.

It is advisable that you verify any information before relying upon it. BN1 Magazine accepts no responsibility for the consequences of error or for any damage or loss suffered by users of the information, materials or third parties featured within this magazine.

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Tim Peake Space Walk, Credit ESA and NASA

ILAN ESHKERI AND TIM PEAKE HEAD TO ROYAL ALBERT HALL Award-winning composer Ilan Eshkeri, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, has combined awe-inspiring music and spellbinding visuals from 422 km above the planet. Transporting audiences to the stars, Space Station Earth is heading out for a string of European dates, which start at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sun 15 May. Inspired by experiences of living on the ISS, this incredible concert features live music, light projections, and neverbefore seen photos and videos taken

by European Space Agency astronauts, including the Chichester-born Sir Tim Peake, who’ll provide an exclusive preshow Q&A at the RAH event.

This multimedia experience allows audiences to see through the eyes of astronauts and to contemplate our planet, the stars and the exploration of the universe.

“My music has taken to me to many unexpected and extraordinary places,” said llan Eshkeri, “but when astronaut Tim Peake got in touch to say he was a fan of my work, a door was opened to one of the most amazing and inspiring journeys of my life, the result of which is Space Station Earth.

“There are so many facts and figures about travelling to the International Space Station, but no one has ever told the emotional journey that astronauts go on. A journey that has startlingly similar experiences for astronauts from all corners of the world. And it was this

realisation that inspired me to create Space Station Earth.

“Deciding to direct the film element was ambitious for a composer. I had a sense of what I wanted to achieve and an incredible team both on location and in the edit. ESA provided unprecedented access, I got to see rocket launches, a zero-gravity flight, and a chance to get lost in their video archive, as well as the opportunity to get advice from ESA scientists and astronauts.”

Major inspirations for the work have been Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre and Steve Riech as well as Koyanisquatsi, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Fantasia.

With Space Station Earth, music, film and staging come together to create the visceral and immersive experience of going to space and looking back at our home, a journey very few have undertaken, communicated to the audience through pure emotion.

“There aren’t many words that can truly describe the beauty of seeing Earth from space,” said Sir Tim Peake, “but Space Station Earth attempts to do this, using music and video to capture the emotion of human spaceflight and exploration.

Featuring previously unreleased footage from ESA astronauts and accompanied by a live orchestra, the show creates a unique experience, one that celebrates space and unites the audience, just as exploration unites humankind.” www.spacestationearth.com

AUDIOACTIVE TO HOLD HOLIDAY ACTIVITY AND FOOD (HAF) EVENTS Sidley’s Children Centre, Bexhill-on-Sea Tues 15 - Thurs 17 Feb AudioActive are running special music creation events for young people aged 14 - 16 who receive free school meals during term time. A range of professional artists will be leading the project, which will provide free food, as well as an opportunity to rap, sing, produce and record music.

Running between Tues 15 - Thurs 17 Feb, AudioActive will also provide all the equipment at the sessions, supplying everything an upcoming artist or a first-time music-maker might need. As always, these events are open to all skill levels and music of all genres. The free food on offer will be a balanced lunch courtesy of Bagelman, and those who attend will learn about the role nutrition plays when it comes to being creative. www.audioactive.org.uk

BOOTH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY WINS GRANT TO CREATE PUBLIC-INSPIRED WILDLIFE ‘DIORAMA’ The Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton has been awarded a £50,000 grant for a community project to create a new museum display inspired by the public’s love of birds and wildlife. Participants will help to create a new museum ‘diorama’ - a scene with 3D figures that will provide scientific information for future generations.

The aim is now to engage with residents of Brighton & Hove to discover what they love about nature and their thoughts about climate change in the city. Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust staff will run a series of fun pop-up events around the city to share the treasures of the Booth Museum and encourage people to think about natural history and climate change.

The public will be asked what might be put in a modern Brighton diorama, versus what would have been seen in the past. They will also be asked about their experience of wildlife in the city in their gardens, parks and streets. Workshops and school activities are also planned. After the public consultation, the Booth Museum will create the first ‘diorama’ to be built at the museum for over a century The museum showcases stuffed British birds collected by Edward Booth in the nineteenth century and displayed in dioramas he had made, the first known examples of birds displayed in recreations of their observed natural habitat and behaviour. Dioramas have since been used in museums around the world including the Smithsonian Institute in the US. The taxidermy birds and animals will come from existing historical collections or by preserving modern wildlife which died of natural causes or by accident.

The new project aims to address the challenge of climate change faced by the natural world in the 21st century, using comparisons to cutting edge innovations in the 19th century study of British birds through the work of Edward Booth. It will demonstrate that the study of historical natural history collections can help our understanding of preserving natural history in the modern world and show that everyone can play their part in understanding the value of scientific museum collections.

CEO of RPMT Hedley Swain added: ”We are thrilled to receive this funding from The Esme Fairbairn Collections Fund for such a fascinating and exciting project. It’s an amazing chance to show how the scientific advances made by Edward Booth are still relevant and will be for another 100 years. It’s fantastic that we will be able to talk to the public who we know love the natural world so much and preserve that knowledge for future generations to study. We want to thank the Esme Fairbairn Collections Fund and the Museums Association for all their support.”

WIN TICKETS TO SEE

STOMP

AT THE OLD MARKET

STOMP make a triumphant return to Brighton & Hove this year. The global percussion phenomenon is taking up residency at where it all began, on Tues 29 Mar - Sun 1 May. This run of shows at The Old Market offers a unique opportunity to see the multi-awardwinning performance company in truly intimate surroundings.

Using instruments which are anything but conventional, STOMP is an explosive and heart-racing show like no other. Language is no barrier, as the troupe uses matchboxes, wooden poles, brooms, hubcaps and more to fill TOM with pulsating rhythms and good vibrations, as they celebrate not only the 30th anniversary of the show, but The Old Market also celebrates ten years as ‘TOM’.

The show is part of TOM’s Gig for a Gig scheme, where established artists support the next generation of talent by donating performances to TOM. As an artist-led venue, it seeks to continue supporting the next generation of performers and creators, so 100% of the profits from the shows go towards staging new performances from emerging artists.

We’re offering our lucky readers a chance to win a pair of tickets for this sensational show (two pairs up for grabs!). All you need to do is head over to our competitions page at: www.bn1magazine. co.uk, and enter a few details. It’s almost too easy.

MOST WANTED WINES CELEBRATES DIVERSITY WITH NEW ARTISTIC COLLABORATIONS

COPPERDOLLAR STUDIOS OPENS IMMERSIVE EXHIBITION:

RAISING THE SPIRITS Wed 2 - Sun 6 Feb 22 Montague St, Kemptown, Brighton

Kemptown’s Copperdollar Studios have opened a bold new show where the sights, sounds and smells take you on an immersive journey through your subconscious. Raising the Spirits reveals a place of refuge from institutional order, where the imagination can run free and where we can return to our primal selves. Let’s raise the spirits, they are ready to help raise ours…

Artist Jim Sanders, film-maker Iloobia, producer and sound designer Abraham Moughrabi, creative technologist Benedict Sheehan and performer Kt Simpson have collaborated to create a truly unique art experience, which runs from Wed 2 Feb until Sun 6 Feb. www.copperdollarstudios.co.uk

The creative forces behind award-winning, internationally-acclaimed wine brand Most Wanted Wines are launching the very first Most Wanted Collective. This consists of five diverse artists who have been given five wine labels as a canvas to express themselves freely. All with the aim to celebrate diversity and open up conversations around gender, race, accessibility and inclusivity - something Most Wanted Wines feel incredibly passionate about.

The collective includes Brighton-based artist Chris Hawkes, whose contribution presents a highly feminine yet unapologetic style as an act of rebellion against the machismo of painting.

Working with multiple visual languages, they blend figurative and abstract elements to create highly processed paintings. Ideas of the sampled image, gender, taste and queer identity are played with in their work, as they weave the autobiographical with images lifted from art history and contemporary culture. They say: “Painting was where I could express myself, start understanding my gender more and play with subjects and issues that are important.”

Since graduating in 2017 from the Fine Art Painting BA at University of Brighton, Hawkes has exhibited in London, Brighton and Liverpool - as well as completing a two-month residency in Chongqing, China in 2018, and studying at The Essential School of Painting in 2020/2021, having been awarded the Newman Young Artist Scholarship.

Using wine labels as a blank canvas to express themselves freely, each artist in the Most Wanted Collective (consisting of Hawkes, Londonbased street artist Jelly J, acclaimed street art duo Nomad Clan, uplifting Illustrator Dorcas Magbadelo and DJ, fashion designer and illustrator Pete Obsolete) has created a unique artwork with the aim to open up important conversations around gender, race, accessibility and inclusivity within the wine and art industries.

The works will appear on Most Wanted Wine’s bottles, and fans will have the opportunity to purchase limited edition prints from print-on-demand partner, We Built This City.

Most Wanted has been on the art scene for years through a series of unique collaborations including Art Battle Manchester and Cheltenham Paint Festival. They also contribute a monthly donation to Creative Debuts’ Black Artist Grant - a no-strings-attached financial offering supporting people from minority ethnic backgrounds who are systematically under-supported within the arts. www.mostwantedwines.co.uk www.instagram.com/chrishawkes

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INTEGRATED TRAVEL MAP UNVEILED AT BISHOPSTONE RAILWAY STATION An integrated travel map has been installed at Bishopstone station to encourage visitors to explore the wider community. It shows travellers a range of nearby leisure pursuits from walking, cycling and horse-riding to swimming, sailing and sunbathing. It highlights rail and bus connections to and from the station on the Seaford to Brighton line in East Sussex.

“Stations like Bishopstone are gateways to the South Downs National Park,” said Allison Thorpe, strategy lead for access and recreation at the South Downs National Park Authority. “That is why we were so pleased to work with the Friends of Bishopstone Station and the Community Rail Partnership to give people ideas for walks to the countryside and historic villages in the Downs and to show people how easy it is to explore the National Park by rail.”

The map is a joint project from the South Downs National Park, Community Rail Network, Southeast Communities Rail Partnership and the Friends of Bishopstone Station with support from Southern Railway.

They commissioned Eastbourne-based publisher Robert McGowan (Riffle & Pool Press) to produce the map. He worked with illustrator Benjamin Phillips and graphic designer Sarah Macbeth, who are both based in St Leonards.

“This project was a lot of fun to work on,” said Robert. “I think the illustrated map gives an impression of what the landscape actually feels like – how the station is connected to the beach, the old village and the Downs.”

Barbara Mine, chair of the Friends of Bishopstone Station, added: “We are so pleased to have received this integrated travel map. It puts people in the picture as to where they are and where they want to go.”

Jools Townsend, chief executive of Community Rail Network, added: “What a fantastic example of true partnership work, something Community Rail groups really do excel at. Connecting railways to their communities and the beautiful countryside which surrounds so many lines is so important to the future. I look forward to seeing the map.”

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THE DANCE SPACE

BRIGHTON & HOVE’S NEW HOME FOR DANCE TO OPEN IN JULY

THE HAWTH

UNVEILS FUNNY FEBRUARY

The Dance Space is almost ready to provide much needed creation, rehearsal and performance space for professional dance artists, and present a year-round programme of dance classes, workshops and events for the whole community.

Designed by award-winning architects shedkm, and realised with the support of Brighton & Hove City Council, National Lottery funding awarded through Arts Council England, and a host of private donors, The Dance Space is a stunning state of the art facility for dance, located in the new Circus Street development.

Featuring two accessible ground floor dance studios, a second-floor creation and performance space, two meeting rooms and a floor of office space, The Dance Space is available to hire too.

“We’ve waited a very long time to be able to finally announce this opening date and it feels incredible,” says Artistic Director Cath James. “The Dance Space will be a place where professional artists will create and present world class work, and people of all ages and abilities will be able to have a go at dance. The launch in July will mark a significant moment for Brighton & Hove, adding to the city’s vibrant and valuable arts scene and providing an important new cultural asset for the whole community to experience the joy and wellbeing that dance can offer everybody.”

When the doors open to the public in July, celebrations will kick off with a very special edition of Our City Dances, a free festival of movement. A week of free taster classes will follow, offering people of all ages and abilities across the city a chance to try a variety of dance styles.

“A key part of the rebirth of Circus Street has been a new home for South East Dance,” said Councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council. “With council officials I worked closely with the late Chief Executive of South East Dance Jamie Watton to turn the dream of a home for dancing excellence in the city into a reality. We look forward to the bright future the new Dance Space will bring for dance and movement in the city and are energised by the long-standing commitment shown by the organisation’s leadership team. This new building will ensure that dance is for all of our communities.”

From April, South East Dance will start testing the building with a small number of classes, workshops and performances to make sure the building works for its users, before opening to the public in July.

Finn Foxell

South East Dance support artists specialising in all forms, from breakdancing to ballroom, with funding, tailored advice and networking opportunities throughout their careers. As passionate believers in the health and wellbeing benefits of dance, the organisation also works hard to make movement accessible. www.southeastdance.org.uk

From Wed 2 Feb Hawth Ave, Crawley, RH10 6YZ In a bid to beat those winter blues, The Hawth is hosting a special comedy season. It brings some of the biggest and best talent in comedy to Crawley, for an unbeatable month of entertainment.

It kicks off on Wed 2 Feb with Geoff Norcott’s new show, I Blame The Parents. With less politics than his previous shows (maybe even he’s bored of it all), he’ll be exploring personal responsibility, parenting and who should take the blame when things go wrong.

Sukh Ojla presents Life Sukhs on Fri 4 Feb. Following her acclaimed debut solo run at 2019’s Edinburgh Fringe, she tries to figure out how to move forward in reverse. From dealing with mental illness to moving back in with her parents, Sukh explores mental health, identity, and living a double life in a searingly honest look at what happens when life doesn’t go to plan.

From indie discos to unflattering crop tops, Shaparak Khorsandi takes a trip down memory lane on Fri 11 Feb in It Was the 90s! It was a decade where ‘kinky’ was nurse roleplay and whipped cream, and Shaparak found herself flying about London with hope in her heart, a tenner in her pocket and spare knickers in her handbag.

The same evening sees Ross Noble’s Humournoid head to the main theatre, where he’ll be asking what happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up? Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show… You can come and see it. This is it.

The brilliant Kiri Pritchard-McLean will be telling some Home Truths on Sat 12 Feb. It’s been a big few years for most of us and Kiri is no different.

She’s moved back to her home island of Anglesey, struggled with lockdown and got herself some rescue chickens. You can expect jokes about skinny jeans, learning Welsh and white supremacy - something for everyone.

Star of Spitting Image and Steph’s Packed Lunch, and with over 10 million views of his online videos, Luke Kempner is one of the UK’s hottest mimics and stand-up comics. Now he brings his highly anticipated new show, Macho Macho Man to The Hawth on Fri 18 Feb. Luke tries to work out what masculinity really means with the help of Louis Theroux, the cast of Downton Abbey and even Jürgen Klopp.

The month is rounded off on Sat 26 Feb with Larry Dean’s Fudnut Tour. The double Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominee and star of Live At The Apollo returns with a brand-new hour of “confessional storytelling at its funniest”. www.hawth.co.uk

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LLOYD CORPORATION Innovative collaborative project brings bold new work to Brighton’s CCA

By Stuart Rolt

“We’ve always been drawn to the informal or marginal, and how the exhibition can be a space to make things visible,” Ali Eisa tells me. “These things can be everyday, but that often means people don’t pay attention to them as they would in a gallery.”

Eisa and Sebastian Lloyd Rees form the two distinct halves of Lloyd Corporation, a collaborative practice using sculpture, installation, performance and text to initiate discussions around economic and cultural structures. Mutating elements from situationist theory and culture jamming, they create works which are unwaveringly reflective of modern society. And their almost guerrilla-style approach to art has now been ‘elevated’ to the more formal surroundings of Brighton’s CCA in a compelling new show.

Carrying the verbose but brutally unambiguous title Today’s gift is tomorrow’s commodity. Yesterday’s commodity is tomorrow’s found art object. Today’s art object is tomorrow’s junk. And yesterday’s junk is tomorrow’s heirloom, the show explores the implications of individual choice upon wider communities. The stories it uncovers feed into considerably larger narratives around identity, objects and systems of exchange.

Lloyd Rees says the pair are overwhelmingly concerned with highlighting unseen issues. “We’ve been collaborating since 2010, so it’s very much part of an ongoing dialogue which has a very natural and consistent flow to it. We can make all these big interlinks.

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Some people think we’re bordering on an ad-hoc type of journalism.” With Eisa based in London, and Lloyd Rees based in Greece, the pandemic created an interesting context around the show’s development – prompting conversations between the pair about communication, distance and global perspectives.

Their starting point for everything was the innocuously impactful barrel, an item which has quietly assisted huge economic and cultural shifts – as well as providing attractive garden planters or makeshift tables in trendy bars everywhere.

From the storerooms of the ancient Egyptians to the example found in a Brighton flea-market by the pair last year, the barrel symbolises commerce, trust and movement. “It was one of those moments when we found an object and had a conversation about how it connected to a lot of our interests,” says Eisa. “Particularly around global trade and informal or illicit cultures. In the context of Brighton, it’s an object which connects to many elements of local heritage, in terms of trade, empire and smuggling.” Lloyd Corporation’s process revolves around establishing such an object which roots them in terms of research and conversation. This doesn’t necessarily mean the starting point becomes the main protagonist within an exhibition. It stands as the beginning of a journey, which will go on to embody wider themes.

Now, Today’s gift… has evolved to investigate the role of vessels and containers in our lives on numerous levels. Existing as a trusted volume for traders, that symbolic barrel has now progressed into becoming a unit of measurement for oil, despite now being rarely used to commercially transport any liquid. It’s also become part of many local cultural rituals, including the practice of dragging burning barrels through Sussex streets during bonfire celebrations. This provoked some fascinating musings in the development process about commodities and their associated structures. Particularly the new economies formed around oil during recent upheaval in the Middle East. “Everything is going through pipelines, and it’s a belonging of the hierarchy in society,” says Lloyd Rees.

“With the Islamic State in Iraq and

Syria, suddenly the hierarchy had shut down the pipelines as a functioning method, so the barrel again becomes a vessel for transport. People are just tapping straight into pipelines, and that became the infrastructure for making money. They were filling up truckloads, and that generated extreme wealth.”

These improvised ways of thinking about things have interested the pair for several years, asking what type of people develop these structures, what motivates them and the impact they have on the wider world.

There’s a wide span of different vessels being used to transport items and commodities. At the top there’s big shipping operations like Maersk, and elsewhere on the spectrum are individuals utilising various containers to establish a whole new industry. “The first kind of vessel comes from Greek mythology, with big pots and vases measuring commodities. It’s interesting to see the various developments through time.”

All of this has manifested into a show with two main installations. The sculptural half of Today’s gift… offers five monolithic assemblages, each with a different resonating reference point.

A plethora of items housed in wooden shipping crates are staged to offer a coherent sense of narrative and give the impression of abandoned belongings.

“They’re based on what we became interested in after moving from the barrel as a literal object,” says Eisa.

“We became fascinated by these abandoned storage units, which you find on sites like eBay and Gumtree, and in TV shows like Storage Wars.”

The world of auctions and abandoned items dovetails into their investigations around the barrel, proposing a range of less-abstract personal narratives – subjects like movement, circulation, loss and memory. These, in turn, factor into issues faced both by Brighton & Hove specifically and the wider global community.

One of the sculptures in the show quite specifically references the ‘beds in sheds’ rooms in London and the South East’s rental scenes. While all are rooted in a similar individual discourse, the abandoned objects prompt debates

Lloyd Corporation - Frieze (2017)

around death, wealth and transition. “It roots into this very material context of people’s lives. There’s something about how this show allows us to explore these things from different perspectives with different strategies.”

Occupying large spaces at Brighton CCA, the two complimentary works speak to each other from different perspectives of the same conversation. The second half features a slide projection of the huge image collection they’ve documented during the show’s lengthy research period, presenting themes of identity, ideology and disaffection. The pictures demonstrate how people use the communal environment to provoke their own discussions about various concerns – from notices about lost animals to stickers promoting political beliefs. “Over the last few years, the streets have been a space for anti-vaxxer propaganda, but it’s also been a broader place for political campaigning and communication,” Eisa tells me. “There’s an interplay in the show between the abandoned storage sculptures, which are really internal and private, and the images which open up a public space.” It’s indicative of Lloyd Corporation’s forensic attitude to their practice, which frequently involves walking out on the street, thinking about how specific objects are left, discarded or ignored.

From this interest in the overlooked, we’re then taken to how these things can still resonate within a cultural conversation - despite people rarely considering any

accompanying social undercurrents.

“Especially with wholesale job lot sections,” adds Eisa. “These are materials which are often directly waste, by-products or lost during shipping. We search through them to better understand certain dynamics around capitalism and globalisation.”

The Lloyd Corporation’s exhibition also works to meet Brighton CCA’s ambitions to open up studio dialogues and research materials to the public, so audiences can better understand the contexts and complicated practices. “It’s about making visible the thinking and work which goes into a show.” Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of talks, screenings and live events, including interviews with the artists.

The repositioning of found objects directly from the public environment follows on from a previous work, Person to Person. This used decommissioned wooden telegraph poles to create a forest adorned with garish leaflets and noisy fonts. “It was really interesting how people were saying: ‘I see this all over the place, but I never really pay attention to it in the rush of the everyday,’” says Eisa. They’ve also previously recreated newsagent shopfronts, with the vinyl stickers and advertisements, in their exploration of the everyday. Once again, these are such mundane sights that they’re never considered objects for research or study. “We’re probably interested less in art history than sociology and anthropology.

A lot of the work we do is active repositing, not just in a museological sense, but in an

interventionist sense. We put things into an environment as well as take things out.”

Previously, the pair had a borderline obsession with the rapid privatisation of land in London. The capital is seeing a growing number of condominiums and squares which are used by the public but owned by private companies and subject to different regulations and expectations.

“There are very specific rules of engagement and how to stimulate the economy in those places,” Lloyd Rees tells me. “It starts to become really interesting, as they start to unravel into wider issues.

You put your tap on and water comes out, but you don’t realise that Thames Water is owned by a large majority of shareholders in Saudi Arabia.” Considering these issues, and constantly firing information and ideas between each other, the pair strive to make complex or abstract socioeconomic discussions visible and relevant to us all.

Lloyd Rees’ own practice is in painting and sculpting, while Eisa’s centres on participatory work (he also runs educational programmes and lectures at Goldsmiths), so they bring very different perspectives to Lloyd Corporation. These different vantage points have helped them forge an expansive ambition about the collaboration’s identity.

“You see a lot of collaborative gestures in the art world,” says Lloyd Rees. “But many of them don’t last that long. What makes Al and I that strong is that we both continued

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come from separate places, and have separate visions, but we have an overall strand of thoughts coming together and building up this entity. These things fuel each other. It makes a very natural habitat for making work.” It’s clear both admire each other and their separate endeavours, understanding strengths and weaknesses.

These breaking down of complex narratives and placing them in a tangible space also manages to give them a human face. The intimacy of everyday objects can prompt bigger questions about capitalism, ownership, trade and movement. “These are such all-encompassing concepts, and they tie us together,” Eisa says. “Ever since technologies like the barrel were invented, that’s what facilitated this globalisation. It’s a long process. And now it’s so complex. Every conceivable thing which we interact with on a daily basis has such a long supply chain journey.”

They cite Caroline Knowles’ anthropological work, Flip-Flop: A Journey Through Globalisation’s Backroads, as a major inspiration.

Similarly using an unremarkable item as a reference point, she exposes the real stories behind the complex and spontaneous relationships which have sprung up around the planet - from Gulf oil to factories in South Korea, through distribution networks in Europe and over to the necessity of improvisation in Africa. “There’s something about these connections which can be traced, which always link the local and the global. I think our practice focussed on finding ways in how people as viewers can connect to these complex and perhaps overwhelming entanglements.” There’s a suggestion that society is increasingly struggling to cope with the enormity of what has been created. Perhaps it’s why nationalism continually rears its head with simplistic solutions.

Lloyd Rees says the social landscape has dramatically shifted over the last two decades, in terms of information and transparency. Many complex systems were once completely stabilised because there weren’t the platforms to expose their inherent frailties. Now the simplicity of sharing information out into the world has given more power to whistle-blowers. “You see certain countries try to slam down on these things because they know the impact and how it alters society and individuals’ minds. In many ways, some people would like to see us all live in a straight-forward structure without much complicity in complex matters.”

Perhaps, in some terms, the internet has started taking on the role of those public spaces. Where things become interesting is how suddenly other parties have been realising the power of the

new information structures and how they can be used to spread misinformation.

The flow of ideas has seen the actual platforms become progressively more important, and arguably culpable for what is being disseminated. “You can go from vaccines to the American election.

There’s a reason Donald Trump is banned from all the portals. It seems like a small gesture, but the man now has no way of putting anything out there. You see the impact of that, and what it does to people. Things like that are fuelling the conversation on a daily basis.”

Ultimately, when pressed to decide, the average person would prefer life was simple. If Lloyd Corporation can delve into the chaos and reveal the intimate side of wider issues, it might help us reconsider the implications of our actions. It won’t make society less complicated but will undoubtedly highlight the threads which bind us.

Inevitably there are many different elements to something as complicated as Today’s gift…, some of which offer parallels to the pair’s Local To Global, a pseudo-documentary about cryptocurrency – particularly one ‘initial coin offering’ which cynically and specifically targeted poorer people. It’s an emergent market which has been impacted by numerous such pyramid schemes, high-profile hacking cases, thefts of customer funds and lack of cohesive regulation. As crypto-assets become more mainstream, these adhoc industries are likely to have an increasing impact on mainstream financial stability.

Again, there are complex motives and stories around why people would become involved in something like that. Many were of migrant heritage, had a lack of access to capital and legitimate structures. There was also a lot of disillusionment with what they were personally getting out of capitalism.

“There are lots of different reasons as to why people are becoming disaffected,” muses Eisa. “Where does that come from, and how does it manifest into identities and subject positions? We never want to be patronising. It’s about understanding how all these phenomena come about…”

Lloyd Corporation - Frieze (2017)

Lloyd Corporation - Frieze (2017)

Lloyd Corporation - Person to Person 2020

Today’s gift is tomorrow’s commodity.

Yesterday’s commodity is tomorrow’s found art object. Today’s art object is tomorrow’s junk. And yesterday’s junk is tomorrow’s heirloom runs at Brighton CCA until Sat 16 April. www.brightoncca.art

Lloyd Corporation - Frieze (2017)

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Sheffield Park Station, Uckfield TN22 3QL

Taking in 11 miles of glorious Sussex scenery, the Bluebell Railway was one of the first preserved heritage lines in the country. It now offers one of the finest collections of vintage steam locomotives and carriages, many of which were preserved straight out of service.

Reopened in 1960, it now runs steam trains between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, stopping at Horsted Keynes and Kingscote, each preserved in different periods of history. It’s a unique opportunity to learn about the history and science of the industrial age, meet railway staff in period clothing, see original working signal boxes, and step back in time as you board these vintage carriages. www.bluebell-railway.com

Bluebells © Peter Edwards

family days out in Sussex

BLUEBELL RAILWAY

GLOBALLS

Brighton Marina

The Glowiest Place on Earth!

Globalls is proud to present Brighton's very own 12-hole indoor UV crazy golf course. Players can enjoy putting amongst wonderful life-size neon sculptures and vivid wall art. Mini-golf takes on a whole new experience indoors under ultraviolet light. Plus they have now added a slide and ball pit for hours of fun for the kids (and adults)!

Goballs has multiple golfing adventures to explore - discover the crazy limbed octopus in the Aquatica run, or run into raving dinosaurs in the Jurassic. Chill out with elephants and palm fronds in the New Tropicana theme, or discover the delights of Carnival Games… all under the same roof and gloriously glowing in a neon overture! Why not round off your trip with a visit to their very own cocktail bar while the kids run wild! Fully air-conditioned, perfect for any day of the year! www.globalls.co.uk

AMBERLEY MUSEUM

New Barn Road, Amberley BN18 9LT

Located in the heart of the South Downs national park, this fantastic and dynamic museum dedicates itself to preserving the industrial heritage of the South East. With 36 acres to explore and over 40 exhibits to visit, this is your gateway to the region’s working past.

Displays include a working print shop, which is the only one of its kind in the South of England. The BT Connected Earth exhibit shows the history of communications, with interactive displays for all ages to enjoy. The museum’s lime kilns are scheduled ancient monuments, which date back to when the site was once a working chalk quarry.

Amberley Museum is also home to traditional crafts people, with a working blacksmith and pottery onsite. There’s even a narrowgauge railway and historic bus service, which will whisk you around this 36 acre site. www.amberleymuseum.co.uk

OUT OF BOUNDS

Golfers Lane, Angmering BN16 4NB

The whole family can climb, bowl, eat and play, with a large range of indoor and outdoor action-packed activities. Out of Bounds has become one of the best family activity venues in Sussex, and has been awarded Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, this is the perfect day out for young adventurers and the young-at-heart daredevils. Attractions include Clip ‘N Climb ultimate climbing experience, sky-high, giant, bouncy nets & ball zones, intense, futuristic fun laser tag games, 18-hole, safari-themed golf course and a multi-level soft-play structure to explore, along with much, much more. www.out-of-bounds.co.uk

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WEALD & DOWNLAND LIVING MUSEUM

Town Lane, Singleton PO18 0EU

One of Sussex’s most incredible attractions, the Weald & Downland has rescued and reassembled 50 traditional buildings in a beautiful rural landscape (many of which are furnished). These bring to life the stories of those who lived and worked in our region during the last 950-years.

There are also six delightful period gardens, which chart the transition of gardens from the early 16th century through to the late 19th century, with the herbs, vegetables and plants feeding most rural households.

For those who want a deeper look at how life was led through history, there’s a wonderful programme of domestic and craft demonstrations, including cooking in an authentic Tudor kitchen, milling at the working watermill, Victorian blacksmithing in our smithy, plus seasonal demonstrations.

And dogs are welcome! www.wealddown.co.uk

WAKEHURST

Selsfield Road, Ardingly RH17 6TN

Kew’s wild botanic garden in Sussex presents over 500 acres to discover. Wakehurst is home to dramatic and diverse landscapes, ranging from managed ornamental gardens, temperate woodlands, an Elizabethan Mansion and a private nature reserve.

It is also home to Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, where you can visit the largest wild seed conservation project in the world, see Kew scientists at work and learn about the essential conservation work of plants and fungi. There’s plenty to do for all the family, whether it’s learning about the impressive botanic collection, relaxing with a coffee, exploring the Loder Valley nature reserve, or letting children run wild in natural play spaces such as Tree Trunk Trek. And children under can get in free of charge! www.kew.org/wakehurst

HOLLYWOOD BOWL

Time to perk the kids back up again and stuff some food inside them - look no further than directly in front of you as you leave the cinema - Hollywood Bowl is right across the street so you can ferry the whole family over with no sweat.

With 26 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, four VIP Lanes for the ultimate bowling experience, fantastic food and drinks in the Hollywood Diner and super stylish bar and an awesome amusements area, there’s something for all the family to enjoy at Hollywood Bowl Brighton.

I personally spent many many hours of my youth tearing up the dance floor matts and scaring friends senseless with my wild style of air hockey, before sitting down for a good hour or two in the racing chairs in the arcade section. Truely, a mainstay of Brighton entertainment, long may it live in the hearts of everyone who grew up here! www.hollywoodbowl.co.uk

FISHBOURNE ROMAN VILLA Roman Way, Chichester PO19 3QR

Discovered in 1960, Fishbourne Roman Palace offers the largest collection of early Roman mosaic floors in Britain. There’s also a dazzling range of artefacts which have been found during excavations. To further understand what the site would have looked like, there’s an extensive replanted formal garden, the earliest found anywhere in the country. This is laid out to its original plan as discovered from excavation, featuring box hedging, and features many culinary and medicinal plants available during the life of the Palace.

The Collections Discovery Centre houses in its 500,000 culturally significant artefacts in its stores.

The site still has plenty of secrets to reveal, with continuing research and archaeological excavation taking place. www.sussexpast.co.uk/attraction/fishbourneroman-palace-gardens

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Mojisola Elufowoju and Utopia Theatre present

Here’s What She Said To Me

By Stuart Rolt

M

ojisola Elufowoju and Utopia Theatre come to Worthing’s Connaught Theatre with a story which will be familiar to millions of Britons. Here’s What She Said To Me sublimely combines drama, music, poetry and movement to trace the experiences of mothers and daughters amidst a world of migration and shifting identities.

“The one idea that remained constant throughout the creation of the piece is that the key is a focus on storytelling and the idea around total theatre using both the African and Western theatre techniques,” Elufowoju tells me. The work started life in 2017, with a two-week research and development period, which assembled actors and creatives with skills in design, lighting, sound and movement to explore a language for the piece and different ways in how the story could be told.

Based around Elufowoju’s own experiences, and those of her family, these were recounted in the room to the actors, who then embodied some of the characters. Playwright Oladipo Agboluaje wrote during these exercises, working with the other artists to discover various ways of presenting the narrative. “The story was first explored as a solo piece, and we realised it was too epic for it to be told by one woman.” The finished work is an innovative performance which brings these incredible tales to life, and infuses them with a sense of undying hope, optimism and resilience. It took another 12 months before they were able to revisit the project, and by this time it had evolved into a full stage show with three women and two musicians.

Here’s What She Said To Me premiered at Sheffield Theatre in October 2020, and is now heading out on a UK tour - which comes to Worthing on Thurs 10 Feb. “The show is woven around audience participation. We had to make a number of changes to the script to ensure we are compliant with a number of pandemic-related rules in venues around social distancing.” She

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© SIMON ANNAND

agrees there may be more pressure on smaller theatre companies to stage more elaborate or innovative work, just to be noticed in a busy industry. “But, for a small company, we punch well above our weight, and we have always been very ambitious with all our projects.”

As the CEO and Artistic Director of Utopia Theatre, Elufowoju is dedicated to platforming the rich cultural heritage of Africa’s theatre.

Through this, she and her artistic team seek to dispel stereotypes and encourage authentic voices from the African Diaspora. This refers to the diverse communities of African descent which have been dispersed and disconnected from their homeland, often involuntarily, as a product of mass human movement.

This manifests in Here’s What She Said To Me through the experiences of Agbeke, Omotola and Aramide. With a narrative arcing between Nigeria and the UK, from the 60’s to the present day, three generations of proud women connect with each other across two continents, time and space. This celebratory play traces their struggles, joys, tragedies and broken dreams, in order to find healing in the present. It’s the story of a loving family and the problems they face, which should resonate across any divide.

Whether they embrace it or not, almost everyone in Britain is ultimately a product of migration. By refining experiences of human movement down to such an intimate level, the show will hopefully spark a better understanding about some wider issues. “Without a doubt. The play opens up debate and makes quite clear the link between colonialism and migration.”

Storytelling and theatre are perhaps two cultural elements which best exemplify Africa tradition.

Curiously, they seem to be broadly overlooked in the mainstream British consciousness - unlike music or visual art. Elufowoju believes this failure stems from misconception among theatre programmers about what their audiences want,

and what they think will sell. By bringing African culture, language and traditions to a mainstream audience, Utopia Theatre are challenging traditional structures. There’s perhaps an omnipresent problem with pigeonholing in the arts, and expectations to only see diverse performers in certain spaces. “There probably is, but I focus on making work and taking it to audiences in whatever space. It is the audiences that matter to me, not the space. I strive to make a difference however small. The attitudes of those who run theatres in this country will never change and I do not waste any time thinking about them.”

There seems to be a myriad of strands connecting theatre and politics. Both seek to establish power and belief, admittedly for very different purposes. “Our stories can serve as a means to connect us and help us to see a different perspective from our own. We’re shown humanity, psychology, motivations, conflict and resolution.” Party politics’ adoption of grand gestures, catchphrases and staged stunts seeks to shift perceptions. While all art has a capability for political exploitation, drama can order abstract social ideas into concepts which resonate on a personal level. It’s fuelled by empathy.

And that’s the raw power of theatre. It has limitless potential for discovery and education, while still being fundamentally entertaining. But can it also work to enhance a sense of empowerment for both performers and audiences? “Without a doubt. The story is one that advocates for this sense of agency. The issues covered in the play are very relatable and personal and actors have noted that exploring these issues have allowed them to examine their own lives. “ Here’s What She Said To Me comes to Worthing’s Connaught Theatre on Thurs 10 Feb www.wtm.uk

WINDMILL YOUNG ACTORS LAUNCH NEW THEATRE CLUB IN HANGLETON The award-winning Brighton-based youth theatre company provides weekly drama classes for 6- 25 year olds in Brighton and Hove and pride themselves on being the “go-to” club to train and make professional level theatre at affordable rates. Their weekly classes run at nine different venues across the city on most days of the week and are available to everyone. Alongside professional acting training, Windmill Young Actors stages professional shows for the public at major theatre venues in the South East, receiving the Brighton Fringe Outstanding Theatre Award in 2017.

Thanks to funding from the Sussex Community Foundation, Enjoolata Foundation and the National Lottery Awards For All programme they were recently able to start up free drama clubs for young people across the city. Besides a new club in Hangleton, which will run on Thursday evenings on a pay-what-you-can basis, they also now offer free clubs at the Crew Club in Whitehawk on Wednesdays and the Hollingdean Community Centre on Saturdays. They also offer PWYC and concession rates across all of their other clubs.

“We want local young people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to engage in the arts to look at theatre and culture with familiarity, comfort and a sense there is an open door. Many of Windmill Young Actors alumni have gone on to work in the Arts as adults.” (Windmill Young Actors) The health and wellbeing benefits of theatre were a key motivator when setting up the free clubs, particularly at a time when so many young people are at an increased risk of long term mental health challenges due to the impact of the pandemic, and significant cuts to youth services have disproportionately impacted children and young people.

Through theatre, the young actors learn better coping mechanisms and important social skills, growing in confidence and leadership in a safe and supportive environment where they can share their experiences and express themselves.

Joining Windmill Young Actors is about much more than just an acting club! Windmill’s young people make theatre and work as a community.

They are treated as artists in training and are fully immersed in the real world of theatre, working on productions from start to finish, including in technical production, directing and script writing. Students not only work with a variety of internationally celebrated scripts and playwrights, they also have the opportunity to create original productions, and each year they take part in the much celebrated Brighton Fringe Festival, and perform in public productions in acclaimed theatres venues in the South East.

“WYA lets the children discover and develop their own sense of self. This group has given my son so many gifts: creativity, laughter, friendship and above all the confidence to be himself”(Parent).

“It’s incredible how just one company can create such a big community.

That’s what I love about Windmill: it’s not just classes, it’s a community” (Student) To find out more and join one of their classes, visit www.windmillyoungactors.com or email info@windmillyoungactors.com.

Free taster sessions available.

© Ray Gibson

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BIMM INSTITUTE AND SPOTIFY FORM EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

Opening almost 20 years ago in heart of the city, BIMM Institute Brighton has become a massive part of the local music scene. Now, students are to benefit with a new collaboration with streaming giant Spotify, which sees a big commitment to enable change in the music industry through diversity and inclusion scholarships.

The BIMM Institute x Spotify Educational Partnership will offer a groupwide package across all eight colleges, including Brighton. This includes fully funded degree scholarships, masterclass events, mentoring opportunities with Spotify executives and educational resources created by Spotify, shared directly with students as part of their studies.

Martin Wright, BIMM Brighton College Principal, says: “BIMM Institute Brighton is proud to partner with Spotify to offer this exciting scholarship to a new generation of music professionals. The Spotify platform has been part of the music industry for many years and has been an excellent tool for our students to be able to get their creative work out into the world, including our yearly BIMM Institute Brighton playlist that provides an opportunity for many students to show off the artistic output from the work they create in the college.”

“Being able to join forces with a company like Spotify has been amazing. Offering opportunities to our students,” said Alumna Kashi Chellen, who studied Event Management at BIMM Institute Brighton and currently helps to run BIMM’s job matching service Talent Match. “Especially from underrepresented backgrounds – is something that we’re so passionate about so being able to bring that to fruition has been so exciting. This partnership is multifaceted. Students are being provided with three years of tuition, mentorship and resources, and making it as accessible as possible is the goal.”

With other alumni including Mimi Webb, who came 3rd in BBC’s Sound of 2022 poll, Two Door Cinema Club drummer Ben Thompson, indie rock icons The Kooks and Natasha Bent, Leading Live Agent at Mother Artists working with talent like Tom Misch, IDLES and Amy MacDonald, BIMM Institute Brighton are dedicated to helping students achieve. They can boast an array of amazing lecturers too: world-class drummer Michael Bowes, who has performed with multiple big names including Joss Stone and Tears For Fears, vocalists Rachel Meadows and Elliot May, plus Rag N Bone Man drummer Ben Thomas.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with an educational institute as well respected and successful as BIMM,” said Bryan Johnson, Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships, International at Spotify. “The exceptional work they do for the music industry is unparalleled, and we at Spotify hope that the BIMM x Spotify Educational Partnership can continue to upskill people and open doors to a career in creative industries.

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“We are especially proud to be a part of the Diversity and Inclusion Scholarships programme, ensuring that students in BIMM colleges across the UK, Ireland and Germany have access to this educational opportunity, and I am personally delighted to be hosting mentoring sessions for those involved.

Our culture at Spotify is founded on diversity and belonging, and we hope that this partnership can continue to ensure that a broad spectrum of minds shape the future of our industry.”

For over 35 years BIMM Institute have provided the creative industries with graduates who are highly motivated and well prepared for professional life, having engaged with work placements, performances, charity partnerships and industry projects throughout their studies.

This gives BIMM Institute a unique opportunity to affect change and reshape the future of the music industry and now, alongside the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service Spotify, they are delighted to offer this opportunity to develop new talent.

The Diversity & Inclusion Scholarships will be available for the 2022/23 academic year, exclusively for applicants from underrepresented groups. This includes Black, Asian and minority ethnic students, disabled students, care leavers and mature age students or those with a background of low participation in Higher Education, with a household income of below £25,000.

Every BIMM Institute college across the BIMM Group will offer 1 x BA or BMus (Hons) degree scholarship, meaning applicants can choose between various college locations including Brighton, Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Hamburg and Berlin. There will be eight scholarships in total, which will provide the cost of full tuition fees during the length of study, and all scholarship students would receive the support of dedicated careers teams in each college, an inhouse job matching service Talent Match in their final year and access to BIMM’s Fair Access Fund. Each scholarship student will also be given scheduled access to Spotify executives for mentoring sessions including Bryan Johnson, Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships.

BIMM Institute and Spotify’s educational partnership also offers a host of other benefits to students, including annual Spotify Masterclass events, and assets known as Industry Boosters, which will sit directly in students’ digital library.

Applicants for the Diversity & Inclusion Scholarships will first apply for a BIMM course in the standard way. If they meet the scholarship criteria, they will then be sent an application form from BIMM. Applications close at the end of June 2022.

To find out more, visit www.bimm.ac.uk/apply

Being able to join forces with a company like Spotify has been amazing. Offering opportunities to our students,” © BIMM

© BIMM

© BIMM Bryan Johnson Spotify bn1magazine.co.uk

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A F SHION TRENDS SPRING 2022

By Amy Stanborugh

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Disclaimer: I am not a fashion guru, but can appreciate a good outfit when I spot or sport one. Last week, walking through Pavillion Gardens, I saw a girl reading a novel on a bench in the sunshine.

I went over to her and said ‘I don’t want to come off as weird but I really love your outfit’ to which she grabbed her heart and raised her eyebrows in a heartfelt look of shock rather than embarrassment or disgust. I took this positive reaction as a cue to continue: “I couldn’t just walk past without saying you look lovely”. She was wearing fishnet tights, a bright lilac pleated skirt down to her shins, a fluffy black coat and a beret balanced on her head. The January sunshine, and this obligation to compliment a stranger got me thinking ahead of next season and what people will be wearing; how they will be expressing themselves. Below I highlight five trends that I want to stick around in Spring 2022.

GINGHAM Gingham had a moment to shine last spring however I hope it stays a little longer. I am partial to a hamper full of bread and berries, so why would I not want to dress up like a picnic blanket? Ahead of last Valentines, I bought a dress from New Look which was on sale. It is pink and white, gingham (of course) with puffy sleeves and a skater skirt. It is absolutely my dream dress, making me feel like a fairy about to dance through woodlands with a wicker basket in hand. Or if dresses aren’t your go to, gingham trousers paired with a white knit jumper on cooler evenings, or a tshirt for warmer spring days would create a look which combines cool, casual, fun but also sophistication as an alternative to jeans or plain straight-leg trousers. Gingham is a perfect, whimsical alternative to the classic (yet undeniably timeless) spring florals.

MONOCHROME Monochrome means wearing varying tones of one colour. This has always intimidated me personally, but on others it is a look which immediately appears uniform and effortlessly put together. I love the thought of rocking a lilac skirt with a blazer to match. I am thinking ‘Clueless’ vibes where checked print also makes an iconic feature.

Or if there is no need to brighten up the classroom in monochrome, the easiest way to pair your colours is through a casual street-wear outfit. A bright blue tracksuit to roam the cold in, or even a beige trouser and trench combo to grab Sunday brunch in. Remember neutral colours count as monochrome too if the thought of wandering around in grass green is intimidating. In fact - maybe that's it - I am intimidated by primary colours not monochrome! Perhaps this spring though I will brave bright yellow on bright yellow just to channel my inner Cher…

ABSTRACT SWIRLS New in highstreet stores Bershka, Urban Outfitters and Pull and Bear, there is an array of abstract swirls printed onto items, adding a hippie 70s flare to our wardrobes. I think these designs are hypnotic and interesting. Sherbert Lemons (owned by and handcrafted garments by Kelly Valli) ALWAYS slays the abstract prints in bold two pieces and jumpsuits amongst her new collection. Patterns called ‘neon lava’, ‘fruit twist’ and ‘dazzled daydream’ are personal favourites.

BERETS How do you feel like a Parisian in the middle of Brighton? Throw on a beret. Admittedly hats are not the most ‘spring’ attire. You either wear a beanie in the winter to keep your ears warm, or wear a cap in the summer to protect your eyes from being blinded and your scalp from getting sunburnt. There is no in-between - except I would argue that the beret is the perfect middle ground! A level up in class from the bucket hat, it balances on your head so that you can still have stunning curls or plaits dangling from underneath this accessory. Fair enough it takes a few attempts to get a beret to sit on your head just the way you like, but once it is on top of any spring outfit, it can make anything or anyone look city chic. A beret really is the cherry on top of a cake. (For some hat-spiration turn to Lily Collins in ‘Emily in Paris’ and you won’t be disappointed).

PUFFY SLEEVES Last but not least, we have the puff sleeve. In spring, the ‘to bring a jacket or not bring a jacket’ debate can be rife, so why not just opt for a puff sleeve instead? Long-sleeved puffy sleeves tend to be airy while other puff sleeves tend to cover at least to the elbow.

This style is reflective of Victorian dress, but modernizes the vintage style instead of appearing old-fashioned. Or I believe puff sleeves can look pretty bohemian: imagine sleeves floating in the wind as you dance around festivals. Either way, puff sleeves add just a little something compared to any ordinary sleeve. I think they look best with a milkmaid neck-line, making your collarbones and chest pop as you embrace farm-yard cuteness.

IN CONCLUSION...

Regardless of what the catwalks and highstreets demand, these are some of the styles I will be carrying into the next season. If you need me in 2022, you will find me in charity shops and vintage stores plucking out every bit of gingham in sight, or embracing Victorian sleeves. Perhaps I could even start a collection of berets for every month of the year - colours and patterns to match the seasons….

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See the Starlings

By Thom Punton Image by Thom Punton

Every season, our skies play host to an exchange of bird species as vast currents of migrations cross paths. In the winter, Brighton sees thousands of starlings cross the sea from the colder parts of Europe to hunker down and nest in our relatively mild conditions. If you find yourself on the seafront around sunset between late November and early March, you’ll hardly be able to miss their black masses beginning to form in the sky over one pier or another, twisting and blooming into improbable shapes as the sun dips below the horizon.

The exhibition sheds light on the relationship between the starlings and the peregrine falcons to whom the murmurations are but a giant airbourne buffet. The downward inclines of the starling population stats paint a bleak picture, but the artists have taken it upon themselves to help out the birds by building 100 wooden nest boxes, proudly on display on

In a natural world where every ounce of energy is needed to keep the evolutionary edge over life and death, these congregations of starlings known as murmurations stand out as an unexplained extravagance.

Seemingly, they would do well to get straight under the pier and huddle together to stay warm for the night, where they are hidden from predators – making a big spectacle over the open water leaves them extra visible to the peregrines that prey upon them. The only explanation that scientists can come up with is that they do it for play, for the sheer joy of it.

Local artists Lou McCurdy and Steve Geliot, inspired by the wonder and mystery of these natural displays, have created an exhibition currently showing at the Phoenix Gallery on Waterloo Place until Feb 20. Undercurrents explores different aspects of these birds and their life cycles in the Brighton ecosystem. There’s sculpture, photography, a sound installation and scientific data, all depicting an animal that is in drastic decline and constantly fighting the adversity of the changing environment.

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around in the placid, silent gallery with the world rushing by outside the windows, learn about the plight of these beautiful birds, maybe have a coffee in the gallery café down the corridor, then carry on down the main road to the pier to see the real thing for yourselves.

If you time it right, the sun will be setting as you approach, and there will be a few mini flocks of straggling birds whooshing over your head, coming back from feeding in town. Go onto the pier and stroll on past the sweet shops and arcades, maybe share some donuts, and wait for the cloud of starlings to coalesce over you.

It can take just a moment for a loose collection of birds to compress into one rippling mass moving as if it’s a single intelligence. There’s always a small crowd of people scattered along the railings, oohing and ahhing at the shifting patterns as if it’s a fireworks display, transfixed by the hypnotic morphing of the shapes. It’s romantic in a completely uncontrived way. The birds are performing a ritual of togetherness, seeking company and forging connections, making something beautiful and celebratory in the process.

the wall of the gallery, which will later be placed across the city. Creating new habitats for the birds is one way of preventing the population decline that has seen the murmurations dwindle to a fraction of what they once were.

For anyone looking for something unconventionally romantic to do on Valentine’s Day, here is my recommendation: take your person to this exhibition in the afternoon, wander

Whether it’s part of a romantic moment or a solitary wander, it’s an opportunity for a mindful moment, to just be still and part of nature, which isn’t always easy in a city. The murmurations are something to treasure before the majority of the birds head off on their yearly migration. By the end of February they will mostly be gone, and it’s sad to say it but the future remains uncertain for these winter spectacles, so catch them and cherish them while you can.

Centre image by © Searching For Satori

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MEET BRIGHTON CREATIVES

AOIFE O’CONNOR SOUND ENGINEER

By Lucy Sheehan

You’ve met Brighton’s trailblazing musicians, actors and artists, forging vibrant careers on the international stage with trademark originality. In this series, we introduce you to the people who make it all happen, who make Brighton the culturally renowned city it is from behind the camera, behind the mixing desk, back in the green room.

In this issue, we meet Aoife O’Connor, a Brighton-based sound engineer. Aoife’s work takes her across thousands of miles every year, from sweaty club shows to huge European festivals, and everything in between. We talked about life in a highly rewarding, highly pressurised world, where Aoife’s job is being the calm and focused conduit for an artist’s sonic vision, often for week after long week on the road.

Patience and calm! The work environment can be stressful for a variety of reasons, so being able to keep calm is essential. It also helps, when having to problem-solve, to have a clear head. My job is to provide a representation of what the artist wants to the audience.

Sometimes, this is relatively quick and easy, but sometimes you will need to make a number of changes to get to this point.

The music industry – but especially the engineering and production sectors – is dominated by male professionals; why do you think that is? How does it feel? How have you negotiated it?

This is probably the most commonly asked question I get from people. I always find it a hard one to answer as there are varying

What does a sound engineer do? Where can we spot you?

For larger shows, you will usually have two sound engineers. One will be side of stage on monitors, providing mixes for the band on stage, and you will have another at front of house (FOH) doing the mix for the audience. In smaller shows, the FOH will usually do both roles.

I’ve seen you doing sound at enormous festivals and club shows, and everything in between; what are the challenges that come from working in such diverse environments?

The biggest aspect is adapting your mix to suit the setting. When working with the same act, my job is to provide the same experience for the audience, regardless of the size of the show. The most common issue is working in different acoustic environments, as the sound varies from being in a small 100 cap to being in a 10,000 cap room or outdoors. Some of these I can control by what equipment I use and how I build the mix; others issues - such as wind at open air festivals - you can’t control, so you work the best you can around it.

What makes a good sound engineer, in your opinion?

When problem solving, quite often it’s a really simple solution. We tend to look at the more complicated solutions first.

Tell us something audience members might not know about sound engineers!

We’re not all moody! A common stereotype with sound engineers.

During Covid, I think people were aware of the artists whose shows were cancelled, but far less aware of the professionals who make the shows happen and generate their regular income from it, like sound and lighting engineers, promoters, tour managers; what impact did Covid have on you?

My entire job just stopped in an instant. I think the biggest impact was not knowing when it would come back. Most tours are planned months in advance, so with the uncertainty of what the months ahead held, many acts held off planning anything.

Even with things opening up more now, we’re still a few months away from seeing touring coming back to how it was pre-Covid.

What drew you to sound engineering? Was it always your plan?

I’ve always wanted to work in music but was more drawn to the behind the scenes aspect. I initially started off training in studio recording and used what I learned to move into live sound.

Eat as healthily as possible, and take multivitamins. You’re often travelling in close quarters with a number of people; chances are if one gets ill, you all get ill.

degrees of responses to this. In my opinion, not seeing many women in this role may make a younger woman not think of it as a career prospect. It’s not really something I ever put much thought into initially. I didn’t see myself as being in a minority when I started. Ironically, the longer I have done this, the more I’m now noticing it. How I deal with it is that I ignore that my gender has any factor in my work. I go into every job with this mindset and very quickly you can notice who perceives my gender as being a factor. I’ve mainly noticed it being seen as an ‘issue’ or heavily commented on in smaller venues, which may also be a reason why younger female engineers may be deterred from continuing in their career.

What are your top 3 touring survival tips?

Too many! I got it down to top 4 -

What’s the best thing about your job, the worst thing, and why should a young person think about becoming a sound engineer?

Best thing: the adrenaline rush you get from seeing the audience enjoying the show.

Worst thing: the audience always knows where the sound engineer is when something goes wrong. A common thing is an audience member coming to tell you. I assure you, we know there’s an issue and we’re currently fixing it.

For a young person, it’s an amazing industry to work in, where every day and show is a different experience. Also, despite what many think, it’s not a necessity to have any kind of qualification. Hard work and a good attitude are just as valuable as technical knowledge.

Protect your ears! Your entire career is reliant on them.

Sleep when you can – your body and mind will thank you.

bn1magazine.co.uk

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BLOOD RED SHOES

By Lucy Sheehan

Blood Red Shoes are back with their sixth album Ghosts on Tape, a bleak yet visceral record that proves the two piece’s trademark songwriting prowess is strong as ever. We discussed their ever important approach and process, how their lives as artists have changed across an 18 year career, and the vivid aesthetic thread that runs through Ghosts on Tape.

Ghosts on Tape is your sixth album. Is there a particular sense of pride there in being a two piece indie act having reached that milestone?

Yeah I don’t think either of us would have expected to last this long when we started! I think music is such a difficult path to take with your life and career that survival in itself is a kind of success. We’ve outlasted 90% of the artists who started out at the same time as us and I’m definitely very proud of that fact and proud that we have done it by treading our own path. As a duo I’m also proud of the fact we’ve stayed together for 18 years, which is probably longer than most marriages.

When an album’s coming together, are you just sending demos back and fourth, focusing on finding the bangers, or is there a sonic concept in mind that you’re excited to build the album inside of?

The way we make a record is to just start digging. We don’t ever have preconceived ideas or agendas, we just hit the gas and see where the car starts to veer. We’re very instinctual as people and we’ve been writing together for 18 years so we have a lot of faith in our chemistry and our process. We always end up hitting on something which is like the gateway to the album - on this one, it was morbid fascination. It’s the moment where you say “oh… THIS is what the album is. This is what we’re making.” But you have to dig for it, you can’t decide it in advance.

A lot of the imagery of your previous album Get Tragic was quite lush, it seemed to reflect the drama of the title. Ghosts on Tape has a real weird darkness to it. Can you talk us through the visual palette? What was on the mood board?

Imagery has always mattered to us and now I think we’re in a time where it’s an inseparable part of what an artist does. People lament the fact that musicians are now “content creators” but I think that’s reactionary bullshit that artists need to get over. It’s actually an opportunity. We can use imagery, moving pictures, even games if we want, to build a world around our music and songs so it seems insane not to use that to convey what you want. We spent a lot of time trying different colours until they felt right for the songs and the album title. We also knew we wanted something like an Andy Warhol-style stylised cover, but to fuck with it somehow…which is why we added a reflection of the atom bomb into the model’s sunglasses.

So it’s stylised, but apocalyptic at the same time. Just like the music.

You’re known as a two piece but around Get Tragic you brought additional instrumentalists on stage. Was that a difficult decision, and how do you maintain that two-piece live energy you’re known for?

It was a super easy decision. We started using the studio like an instrument and making records we couldn’t play with two voices and two bodies. So

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it was either use backing track or hire more people to play onstage. We chose people over laptops. Which helps preserve the chemistry and energy onstage and keep the live shows very physical.

Last year you dropped a whole new EP, all at once, as opposed to the industry standard drip feed. What was the thinking there?

There wasn’t much thinking at all. We got restless in lockdown, hung out and jammed some new ideas, then decided to release them as soon as possible afterwards.

The internet has made releasing music way faster so why not use it?

Are there any influences across Ghosts on Tape that might surprise listeners? I’m really interested in those obscure pathways, where artists translate a hip-hop loop into a noise rock track.

I mean, Tears For Fears were on heavy rotation leading up to this album being made although that’s probably not hugely surprising. But a lot of inspiration for us comes from outside of music. Like one big thing was how we did a lot of guitars. You

know “Inland Empire” by David Lynch?

There’s a scene where Grace Zabriskie is standing right close to the camera shouting “BRUTAL FUCKING MURDER”. She’s so close to the camera she’s actually out of focus and it makes you physically recoil from the screen. We deliberately recorded guitars without amps and used heavy compression to make them feel unnaturally close to the listener to achieve that same effect. So close to you that it’s uncomfortable. That idea was 100% inspired by cinema, not by music.

Have you guys nailed touring? How has the experience changed for you both since the early days?

I’m not sure if the experience has changed loads! Lots of the kind of day-to-day details are different and we’re a fuckload tighter than we were in 2007. But ultimately it’s a very similar

experience because the focus of touring is to take your songs and bring them to life and almost physically connect them to an audience. That bit is exactly the same.

You were recently forced to cancel your album tour. What can music fans do to support artists when this happens?

Buy tickets for the next one.

What kind of film would Ghosts on Tape soundtrack?

Either something about the end of the world or about serial killers. Something extreme and bleak, maybe a good psychological horror film like Hereditary or The Lighthouse.

Something where the ending just makes you think, FUCK. And you leave the cinema in silence.

Ghosts on Tape is out now. bn1magazine.co.uk

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BN1 CHATS WITH

SEA POWER

I

first saw the band formerly known as British Sea Power as a teenager when they supported The Strokes at Alexandra Palace in London in the early 2000s, and was instantly attracted to the eccentricity of their foliage-adorned stage design, as well as their yelping post-punk energy. I had argued with my friend about whether those early singles were anything more than Pixies pastiche, but when we moved to Brighton the following year, they had become the spearheads of a distinctive local scene with a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands around.

It’s been five years since the last album Let the Dancers Inherit the Party. But I’m assured they haven’t been lazy during that time. The gestation of this album has been necessarily drawn-out due to lockdowns and the band members living in different places, but they have enjoyed the process of sending each other half-made songs to work on, creating by correspondence rather than jam sessions. Most of the recent portion of the album-making process, including the mixing, was done separately.

Since those days, I’ve seen the band play many times in Brighton and beyond, and as their sound has expanded to include brass and viola, there’s always been a uniquely transporting constant to their performance aesthetic, whether it’s because of the unconventional venues or the 10-foot bear that can usually be seen rampaging across the stage. Alas, the band now find themselves entering a new era with a consciously clean break from what they were presenting when they first started releasing music.

“We'd had the songs mostly written and we'd recorded about half of them before lockdown.

I think we'd had about maybe 10 songs we'd started doing, and then we couldn't decide which songs were going to go on the album. So we got this guy Graham Sutton who's produced us before and done lots of other stuff. We got him in and he set up a studio at his house so he could mix it all from home, which was brilliant. And then we let him choose the tracks to go on the album because we couldn't, so he just picked these songs out of 20 or 30.”

In August last year, the band dropped the ‘British’ from their name. Their new album Everything Was Forever, out on February 18th, will be their first as Sea Power. I spoke to guitarist Martin Noble about the album, the name change and their relationship to Brighton. The band are scattered across Britain now, but Martin, singer/guitarist Jan and keyboardist Phil are still down here. I ask what originally brought them down.

Some of those songs began life as instrumentals on the band’s soundtrack to the criticallyacclaimed open world RPG Disco Elysium, which won them a BAFTA. The reverb-soaked nostalgia of Lakeland Echo, one of the album’s teaser tracks, originated in the game, as did Fire Escape in the Sea. Thematically, the album explores nostalgia for childhood and dealing with the past, in particular for brothers Jan and Hamilton.

“We were living in Reading because we went to uni there and the older brother of Jan and Hamilton lived in Lewes, and at the time in Reading all the venues were closing down. There was nowhere to play. It was either here or London and it was a no-brainer.”

“Jan and Hamilton lost both their parents over the last two or three years so it’s kind of looking back at that. There are some lyrics about when their dad was getting a bit obsessed with turning lights out and locking all the doors and switching all the lamps and stuff off at night.”

The band started their own monthly night ‘Club Sea Power’ at The Lift – now The Hope and Ruin – later moving it to the now defunct Freebutt.

This night played host to diverse acts including local trad folk legends, The Copper Family of Rottingdean. The wider scene was a hotbed for new artists like Electrelane, The Eighties Matchbox B-line Disaster and The Electric Soft Parade. It was still a time when record deals were to be had by getting out there, putting on nights, creating a buzz, rather than staking your hopes on enough people stumbling upon your SoundCloud page.

The video for Lakeland Echo features grainy Super 8 footage of their father, and the title refers to the newspaper they used to deliver as children in the Lake District. Their father, retired at the time, would come along with them on the paper round, as a way of spending time with his lads.

Two Fingers, the first single from the album, was also inspired by his two-fingered salutes to people on the television. It carries a double meaning: the ‘two fingers’ of whiskey as a toast, and the twofinger V-symbol of contempt. When Jan sings, ‘two fingers for the dead, two fingers for the living,’ we get a tidy encapsulation of the band’s complex relationship with history, and more specifically the history of a nation they have, in some people’s eyes, spurned.

Though they’re not connected to a scene in Brighton so much anymore, Sea Power have given support slots to Brighton bands, Squid, DITZ and recent BN1 interviewees Penelope Isles, who Martin is particularly enthused about: “I remember I saw Penelope Isles before they got signed to Bella Union and I loved them… I knew they were going to do well. They’re such a cool band.”

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Portions of the right-wing press reported on the name change, sending hoards of commenters to the band’s twitter feed. GB News’s thinkpiece on it is a cringeworthy snarkfest, erroneously describing the band as ‘Reading-based’, mocking

By Thom Punton

their lack of top ten hits and describing their ‘unBritish moment’ as ‘indicative of the toxicity of woke culture’. However, as Martin tells me, some of the band’s fans were also disappointed.

“There was definitely a portion of our fans who were upset and thought it was unnecessary. And I can see that, but it's just something that we wanted to do. When we told our name to other people we, all of us, were saying, ‘yeah, it just feels a bit shit to say ‘British’.’

And it's kind of a personal thing. No one knows what it's like for us to say it. We just thought of people who have a union jack in their front garden, like why do you need to shout about that? What's the point? Just have something else, a flag of a squirrel or something. And then you see England football fans kicking in Italian football fans as they're coming out of the gates, and so there's horrible stuff attached to it. So we thought, let's just get rid of it, get rid of being attached to a country, because we always feel like part of the world rather than insular and nationalistic.”

When the band started, the political landscape was very different: Tony Blair was still prime minister and hadn’t yet invaded Iraq, the afterglow of Britpop was still lingering, and evoking Britishness in a knowingly ironic way wasn’t as problematic.

“When we called ourselves this name, it did feel like a sort of an art project, in a way. That whole thing, I wouldn't say it was fully realised, but there was a lot to it. It was pretty dense with ideas and I thought that really worked, but then moving forwards, it's like you’re stuck with that now and if you want to do anything new and move into some new ground or write a love song or something, it

feels a bit weird when you’re called British Sea Power.”

As a fan, it does feel like a bit of a shame that the art project is over. Though the proximity of ‘British’ and ‘Power’ has felt uneasy at times, the 1940s Blighty cosplay of the band’s early days was a unique kind of escapism. As a student, I worked in the café of Newhaven Fort where the band played at a small one-day festival called Fort Rox. The bunkers and lookout towers of the venue provided a perfect backdrop to the band’s aesthetic and they went on to film the video for 2008 single Waving Flags there. But now that guarding our borders from the rest of the world is not something of the past but the crux of the

Brexit project, these historical precedents are once again relevant. When the band started, it was possible to hope that this kind of thing was becoming something of the past – after all, that first album was called ‘The Decline of British Sea Power’...

“It felt like it was the fading of imperialism, and it was sort of mocking it in a way, what it used to be, and the jingoistic types, the feeling that some people think Britannia still rules the waves, but we're just a little country. And it evoked a lot. As well as being the power of the sea and reflecting on us being a little island race, it just brought up a lot of things."

Following the reaction to their name change, the

band have stressed that they still deeply love the British Isles they were born and raised in. Jan and Hamiliton are proud to be products of the postwar welfare state, social housing and free school dinners. “We just wanted the feeling of a fresh start,” Martin says, “A band name doesn’t have to be immutable.” It makes perfect sense, and a new album that sounds as if it could be their most personal yet will be all the better for its freedom from anything that could weigh it down and skew its meaning.

Sea Power will do an in-store gig appearance at Resident Records in Brighton on Fri 18 Feb to support the release of their new album. bn1magazine.co.uk

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BN1 CHATS WITH

JARKI MONNO

By Charlie Tomlinson After getting a chance to hear Jarki Monno’s upcoming single a few weeks ago, I was thrilled to get the chance to chat to him about his creative process, writing music in lockdowns and musical inspirations. The new single, Boys Still Cry, is not one to miss and is characteristic of Jarki’s genre-spanning style.

Along with the main single release, you’ll be able to check out a performance of it on the South Lanes Sessions on March 6.

It feels like you wear your heart on your sleeve in your music. Is it a challenge to bear your emotions to the world, or is it something that comes naturally to you?

I feel that due to certain events that have taken place in my life and having had the time to process these moments (some of which have taken years), it means that at the age I am at now, I’m comfortable with most emotions and expressing how I feel. When it comes to the music side of things, it’s almost a bonus; being able to turn those thoughts into a creative piece to not only help myself but sometimes help many others means so much to me.

Especially with communication being such an important thing in this day and age, I know so many struggle to say how they truly feel at times, if there is the slightest chance that I can help somebody to come to terms with how they feel then that is all that matters to me.

How did you find the lockdowns over the last few years? Did they affect your creativity at all?

Creativity throughout lockdown really came in peaks and troughs. There were periods where I was writing songs or ideas every other day, and then periods where I couldn’t write anything for over a good few weeks - it’s seriously tough. When the one outlet you have to take some weight off your own shoulders isn’t fully functioning… Those points were when I would doubt myself the most. Of course, in due time the creative wave returns, and I feel as most musicians and artists do: we then try and ride that wave for as long as possible.

I was fairly lucky to have been able to work outside of my living space through the entirety of the lockdowns which meant I wasn’t stuck in a room trying to force projects day by day, but all the while because everything was shut

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and we couldn’t really see anybody, there was nothing to really write about except reflecting to a time before lockdown.

Your music ticks a few different genre boxes. In certain moments elements of Easy Life come through, then it’s Ghostpoet, and then next I can hear something like Yakul in there. Is writing music that doesn’t fit into one neat box something you aim to do, or does it just happen as you write?

It’s funny you say that, Easy Life are close to the top of my list for bands/artists that inspire me in what they do so to hear that you can hear glimpses of their works in mine really means something. When it comes to my own stuff, I have always wanted to be as creatively free as I possibly can be and never really wanted to be placed into one box. Different sounds and combinations have always fascinated me and I feel that plays a part in what I create to this day.

I was brought up listening to completely different styles of music, especially on car journeys. From the Gorillaz to Harry Connick Jnr, then to Black Eyed Peas to Jack Johnson, all of which I know has had some sort of role in inspiring me to date. I think having that freedom to write, produce and blend a mix of styles allows for so much more growth in what I do. There is so much music out there that resonates with me and they can come from some completely juxtaposing genres. When it comes to the actual sounds behind the lyrics, I’ll have a finished song or demo which carries the general vibe of a track for what I want it to sound like, but a lot of it is also down to my good friend and producer Sam Clines who adds a crazy amount to make it to its finished sound.

Your next track Boys Still Cry is out in early February. Having given it a listen, I love how the lyrical content deals with important and emotive topics, but the song isn’t at all melancholic. A real sense of depth and emotional maturity comes through – do you think this is something we could do to see more of in the music world?

Pleased to say that the release date shall be the 11th February and I couldn’t be more excited. I feel that the topics covered in this song can be hard for some people to listen

to if they are going through said area, which is completely understandable. But that’s why I try to keep the instrumentation around it extremely up-beat and high tempo, the idea that you could dance or cry or both to it was something I was trying to go for and think I achieved. It’s music that I think at certain points in my life I really would’ve loved to have had in my pocket to play when I wasn’t in the greatest of places, so I think myself three to four years ago would be giving me a good pat on the back right now hahaha!

In terms of seeing more of this in the music world, I feel that there is an abundance of it out there, but sometimes due to the way the music industry is it doesn’t get enough light shed on it as it should do. I’ve always been told by so many people, though, that if a song is relevant enough and holds enough to it that it will get placed into the right hands at the right time.

Sam Clines from South Lanes Studios produced the track for you. How have you found working with the South Lanes crew on this track and the South Lanes Session?

As mentioned previously, Sam is one of my best mates so to bring this track to him and see it come out like this has gone past my wildest dreams. I was one of his first (if not, I believe, his first) artists to work with over four years ago now, and to see his production levels grow each and every time I see him fills me with so much joy. To think it all started in his bedroom at his first-year student house to now having the complex he, Meg, and Luke own is truly inspiring to me. Also, with Meg being my manager, I couldn’t be more proud to see her in the position she is at now as well. She is up there with one of the hardest and driven work ethics I know for somebody to have and well and truly deserves everything coming her way. They all do, they’ve truly grafted for this, and turned what was once a dream into reality.

Boys Still Cry single release - Fri 11 Feb

Image by © Jack Morgan bn1magazine.co.uk

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alt-J

By Lucy Sheehan

A

s a project, alt-J’s fourth album The Dream was a more organic, relaxed process than you’d expect from a band who have enjoyed enormous commercial success since their 2012 debut An Awesome Wave. In fact, The Dream was consciously conceived in a way designed to mirror those early days popping round to each other’s houses to write songs and record demos. As keyboardist and vocalist Gus Unger-Hamilton explains: “We always try to get back to that magical feeling of when we were students, just practising around each other’s houses. Studios can be quite clinical, not the most creative spaces.” It was, he says, about avoiding that “submarine pressure cooker…where tempers can be frayed.” So, as you might expect from a band so in touch with their personal and musical roots, there is a real playfulness to The Dream, full of the whimsical sonic details that first attracted fans across the alternative scene.

However, The Dream also possesses an epic flavour, the origins of which, Gus tells me, perhaps lie in the lyrical content. “A lot of the songs on this album are about America. Nowhere is more epic than America, in terms of its global influence and its landscapes…the home of Hollywood and cinema.” With production frequently allowing vocals to stand alone in the mix, or incorporating an infectious gang vocal hook, alt-J’s signature bold sonic jumps are complemented by a particular confidence and joy. The rhythm session of first single Hard Drive Gold is a soul groove that breathes sunshine across the track, while the punchy drums on The Actor feel straight out of an 80s coming of age indie film.

Fans watched avidly as a series of cohesive videos for the new singles emerged on YouTube. U&ME and Hard Drive Gold both feature the running theme of a vast apocalyptic explosion, as experienced from a distance. In Hard Drive Gold a young woman dons her mother’s pink tracksuit and sprints to perform a single pole-vault, before a billowing mushroom cloud envelops her. The background of U&ME - a colourful

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VHS collage - is replete with apparent nuclear war closing in, while alt-J skateboard unconcerned in the foreground. I mention to Gus how I recently overheard two musicians speculating about the theme of apocalypse as a background event in a local studio.

“Joe loves watching public safety announcements on YouTube – ones from around the world over the last fifty years. There are some truly terrifying ones. [In the videos] there’s an unspecified event going on - whether it’s a war or a terror attack - but there’s a clear idea that the world is ending. The personal story with the background of ‘the event’ is quite a rich seam to dig. If you think about a book or film like The Road, it’s a very personal story about a man and his son, walking through America in the aftermath of something. In U&ME there’s the suggestion that we’ve sold ourselves to the devil in exchange for skateboarding skills. Are we dead? Are we zombies? With music videos you’ve got three minutes to show something. You could spend the music video explaining all the geopoloitical events that lead up to the war or the bomb going off…or you focus on how one woman chooses to spend her last five minutes on earth.” alt-J seem aware of the place they hold in fans’ hearts, and are grateful for it. “We've always been given carte blanche by our fans to be a bit weird and try new things…when we do Q&As they ask really thoughtful and interesting questions.” So, while they don’t have to juggle expectations, how do they tread their own line of pop and experimentalism? “We’re always trying to keep ourselves interested in the studio. We’re also the product of having been art students at university. Luckily, we’re fortunate to have Joe who writes such good hooks to give the songs that pop.

Don’t forget, pop music is good.”

Asked what he would change about the music industry, Gus lands on something worth remembering in the age of streaming. “I was talking

to my wife and my brother last night, and we were listening to The Strokes’ third album…I bought this album when I was 17, and in some ways it was a departure from their first two albums. But because I paid for the album and it was £15 I thought, well, I’ve bought it now I’m not going to give it one spin and chuck it. So, because I listened to it so much it really grew on me, and I realise now what a great album it is. But had that album come out and I’d had Spotify, I’d have listened to it once and gone, ‘don’t know about this, I think the Strokes have lost it.’ I do feel that the financial investment made me give it its due. It would be nice to bring back that sense of investment.

Because not all albums sound that good on a first listen, and I think we’re one of those bands. We would love people to listen to this album ten times before they made up their mind about it. But unfortunately that’s not going to happen, apart from in a small number of cases.”

A lot has changed for alt-J in the years since their early success, mostly by nature of that success. “When we started out, our aims as a band were getting signed by a small label, making an album and maybe getting played on late night radio. Obviously, then it was anything but that, and our first album was very successful. So I suppose there’s this pressure stemming from the fact that our band is now a business that we have to make successful.” They are also a sadly rare example of what an alternative band can achieve when given enough faith by the powers that be and allowed to plough their own furrow. Because of this, The Dream stands out as a beacon for reward without compromise. “We have this freedom to just be alt-J, which is an enormous privilege.”

The Dream is due out Fri 11 Feb alt-J Image by © George Muncey bn1magazine.co.uk

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O HELL

O Hell is the new solo project of PROJECTOR’s Lucy Sheehan, an electronic exploration into alt pop, experimentalism and dark soundscapes.

O Hell’s influences, including Radiohead’s Kid A, PJ Harvey’s Is This Desire and Christine & the Queens, provide a window into a project that treads a line between raw expression, a fascination with the 90s underground and explorative sonic detail. The songs are conceived and produced from her bedroom, and as O Hell says, are an exercise in ‘refusing compromise.’ We discussed her debut single DOWN, songwriting and trusting your gut.

As I understand, you’ve come from a separate project called PROJECTOR? What was the biggest shift for you doing a new solo project?

I started O Hell because around 2020 during lockdown I found myself writing with drum machines and samples, and I kind of loved the challenge of writing with very few instruments.

When you’re writing and rehearsing with a band

you’re screaming to be heard over the noise which is wicked, that’s where the energy comes from - but I also loved writing these dark breathy melodies over weird beats, kind of pretending I was Kid A era Thom Yorke. There’s some PJ Harvey and Mark Lanegan material that also transgresses into more minimal electronica, but retains its darkness - so realising you could be aggressive when you weren’t screaming your lungs out over guitars was the moment O Hell started to make sense.

How are you feeling about the progress of your last single release and video DOWN? I’m super proud of DOWN. It’s the first song I wrote for this project - it literally just turned up in my head and was done in 20 minutes from the moment I sat down at Logic. That doesn’t often happen, so I put my faith in it as a tune I really meant. There’s been a lot of nice feedback about the video. I wanted it to be aesthetically explosive and minimal by turn to present a visual up/down mood. We threw everything at

it - cars, horses, smoke flares - I wanted it to be as emotionally extreme as the song.

What’s it been like creating a new aesthetic?

Is there anything that’s inspired you? From new artists to people you work with behind the scenes?

I’m really inspired by solo artists like David Bowie and PJ Harvey who just inhabit a character for a period of time. I'm interested in the extreme characters they create. That’s why I’m O Hell, not Lucy, I want the people who hear this music to step into a world with me.

I often work with a stylist called Abi Rigby who I love because she pushes me to be out of my comfort zone. She knows that day to day given the chance I’d wear all black, so she’ll cover me in chains and yellow sheer, layered over a wedding dress and take my eyebrows. Having someone like her who can take the insane vision in my head and make it bloom is amazing.

Can you talk us through the process of DOWN? From what I know and have heard, there were quite a few changes surrounding this single but you stuck with your gut and released it as it was intended? How’d you know it was the right sound?

I had what musicians call demoitis with DOWN. I kind of knew that the song had been born pretty much fully formed, but having been in bands for years, where you really pre-produce everything hard, I felt like I should explore the ‘sonic landscape’ available to me with different producer friends. I’m glad we did that, and I love how it eventually came out, but the process taught me conviction in myself, to trust my gut.

That’s the joy and horror of being a solo artist, the final decision is yours so you better believe in it.

I love the song CAPRI SUN you wrote for the AA Sessions compilation album. Can you give us an insight into the song and its creation?

I loved making Capri Sun. AA Sessions is a collective run out of Agricultural Audio studios by my pal and producer Ben Hampson. The idea is you go there and make a song in a day with whoever else turns up. You’re not allowed to be precious and you often don’t end up playing your first instrument. We put out our second record this year with Jazz Life and it’s full of weird bangers.

That day it was just Ben and I, and I wanted to make a song as O Hell. We played around in the live room, found a drum loop that was really odd, transposed it onto a horrible drum machine and fleshed it out with loads of noisy samples. It’s not a conventional guitar/bass/ drums/keys thing. I think I’d just heard Crack Cloud and I loved the huge sonic variety that borders on erratic, especially with the vocals.

Hence the spoken word that suddenly switches to this sweet melodic chorus and then into total unhinged screaming. One of those sessions where you go ‘what have we done?!’

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Image by © Sam Morris

DOWN by O Hell is out now!

Instgram: @ohellx DOWN Cover - Image by © Annie Dorrett

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43

MARK KNIGHT

By Stuart Rolt

DJ superstar celebrates two decades of Toolroom Records “We spend a lot of time finishing people’s records off, seeing if we can squeeze any more out of it sonically, or with the arrangements.” Mark Knight is considering what’s made his record label unique. Now entering its 20th year, Toolroom Records has gone from pushing out a few lively house records, to becoming an international dancefloor benchmark. “All those details in isolation maybe don’t seem like a lot, but they draw more and more out of the basic ideas.”

His almost obsessive love of music manifested as a youngster, with him collecting music before DJing was even ‘a thing’. And it’s been those rhythms and sounds which stayed with him throughout a career DJing at the world’s biggest venues, producing an enviable ouvere of house music classics and encouraging the next generation of breakthrough artists.

When Toolroom started in 2003, everyone involved had big aspirations for exactly what the endeavour should represent. “There were these labels like Strictly Rhythm and Subliminal which were on fire, and that’s where we wanted the brand to be. I think we’ve far surpassed our expectations, but we’re always striving to grow and improve, and better, what we do.”

Coming from the position of an artist-focused record company which runs huge events to reach a wider audience, rather than a clubbing brand deciding to put out a few tunes to enhance their profile, has undoubtedly helped the brand’s evolution. “If you’re a club night trying to start a record label, maybe 5 or 10% of the audience in that club buy music. You need to get an organic growth through DJs and industry support and build on it. Then you can take it to the masses, and say: ‘Collectively, this is what we stand for.’”

The business’s Toolroom Academy programme has recently developed into a huge part of operations. This seeks to overcome many of the traditional barriers between emergent talent and the music industry. “It’s become like a steamroller which we can’t control or keep up with,” he jokes. “We’re very much aligned to what a football academy would be like. You’ve got this entry level talent, but the ultimate dream is to play for the first team. We’ve got kids coming through, who do online courses, then get one-on-one tuition, then get signed to the label, and ultimately want to play at our club events.” From a range of on-demand production tutorials, to offering the world’s first record label-based degree, this is a bold innovation in music education – creating communities and nurturing the next cohort of producers and DJs. Knight admits he’s infatuated by football as much as music, keen to take influences from both these passions to see if they can cross-pollinate. In many ways his role is like that of a Premier League manager. Constantly he’s scouting for the promising newcomers, honing their skills and offering all the support they need to bring their ideas to life on record. “It makes a lot of sense to have talent coming through the system.” One recent success of the label’s mentorship is Maxinne, who has quickly established her name in recent years - boasting an impressive slew of releases on Toolroom Records and her own imprint, Red Alert. Alongside her is Weiss, whose own output has seen him playing over 100 shows in 2019, including Creamfields, Electric Zoo, along with key showcases in Ibiza, Miami Music Week and ADE. “It’s no big deal to send us music, and we’ll get on it, listen to it and come back to you. And if there’s something there, we’ll work on it to make it the best it can possibly be.”

Toolroom was established just as the digital age started changing the nature of the dance music industry. Labels started to turn away from physical media, and a range of new platforms and portals were taking advantage of brisk development in hi-tech solutions. “That was the key to our success, that ability to grow and adapt. We did start out with vinyl, but we were one of the first people to sign on with Beatport (a dance music online store).” Toolroom were also quick to identify the opportunities offered by streaming. Their Toolroom Radio shows now reach over 13.5 million people in 60 countries across the world. Adapting to technologies, trends and fashions is key in an industry

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which seems to be evolving on a weekly basis. Things have never been so accessible, whether it’s through social media or email. But at the core of everything, he says there’s a certain pride in just being some blokes putting records out and having a laugh. It’s clearly important to maintain an organic and fun approach to what they’re doing.

When the pandemic struck, Britain’s night-time industry was one of the first commercial victims. Although, perplexingly considering the complete absence of venues playing their music, Toolroom have recently enjoyed a boom in trade. “People were just sitting at home making their own mixtapes. The clubs had been stripped away, so that was the only way to access this music. We were more focussed as well because we didn’t know what was around the corner. There was a focus on just putting music out.”

The lockdown’s brutal impact on Knight’s touring schedule suddenly meant he had some time for the album he’d always wanted to produce. Last year’s Untold Business is the translation of the numerous musical inspirations which have delivered him to this point. Using keystones from his extensive record collection, it pulls together shades of classic funk and disco to build a dizzying collection of soulful, vocal-led house music.

Featuring contributions from artists as diverse as Beverley Knight, the London Community Gospel Choir, Michael Gray and Robert Owens, it gives a glimpse of his life-long love affair with dance music. “The idea wasn’t to put out 12 club bangers, but to put out 12 songs which you can play when making dinner, or having a barbecue, or if your mates have come round before you all go out. It’s the warm-up before the main event. I wanted to do a project like that, and not be constantly focussed on writing those ‘2am moments.’” He says it's rare to find the extensive space and time to focus on a project like this, simply because he’s caught on a constant cycle of producing, performing and running the label.

Compared to some of his peers, he might not be a household name. But, if you’ve been to a club or festival in the last decade, you’ll have heard his dancefloor-oriented music. And his productions with more acts like Underworld, Faithless, Calvin Harris and his Grammeynominated work with Black-Eyed Peas have thrust him into chart territory. And then there’s the remixes. There’s a ludicrous amount of

remix work he’s done. The list of artists eager to get his epic sound lent to their records is almost endless “I like to constantly push myself as a producer and grow what I do. It’s a bit monotonous to just do club records.”

As nightlife starts to get back to business, it’s also time for Toolroom to crack on with delivering quality house music. Shows continue as an access point for people to come and understand what they’re about. This month the label returns to clubland with a special Toolroom Weekend. Staging simultaneous shows at London’s Ministry of Sound and Brighton’s Concorde 2 on Sat 26 Feb, Knight joins a range of his brightest talent to show that, even after 20 years, the label remains as ambitious and innovative as ever. Then straight after that, he’s got bookings in Montreal, Tallinn and New York.

“It’s a very global thing, but it’s really nice to do shows in your own backyard.”

For any music brand trying to establish an identity, perhaps the pinnacle of their achievements is creating ‘a sound’. “You might hear something on the radio and think: ‘That

sounds very Motown’. You associate a certain vibe with a certain label. We have that with our brand.” Knight says even his mates, who don’t work around the music industry, can still distinguish Toolroom releases amongst the static of everyday dance music offerings.

Whether a track they release is techno, soulful house or tech-house, what unites them all together is a huge drum sound and driving dynamics in the rhythm section. It might sound lively on a car stereo, but in the sweaty confines of a dancefloor, these tunes take on a life of their own. This aesthetic and forward-looking culture is what has elevated the planet’s busiest record label to the position it enjoys. “That’s something I’ve always aspired to do. It’s flexible, but there is a thread which ties it all together. They’re all held together with an ethos. If we’re going to put a Toolroom record out, it has to be that good.”

The Toolroom Weekend, featuring Mark Knight, comes to London’s Ministry of Sound and Brighton’s Concorde 2 on Sat 26 Feb www.toolroomrecords.com bn1magazine.co.uk

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BRIGHTON & HOVE

SEA SERPENTS RFC

By Lucy Sheehan

W

ant to try rugby? Loved it as a kid but never found the right place to get back into it? Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents formed in 2015 as an inclusive space for men to enjoy the sport, regardless of their ability, background or sexuality. The team has achieved a lot - both competitively and as a club with a reputation for fun, health and community. We caught up with Chairman Ian Chaplin about the challenges and joys of starting the club, why sport is important, and why you should try rugby this year.

What were the defining issues experiences that influenced the Serpents’ forming?

and Sea

In 2015, the Rugby World Cup was being held in England and two matches (South Africa v Japan and USA v Samoa) were held at the Amex Stadium. Byron Todd and I had both moved down to Brighton (and Hove) before this and were members of the Kings Cross Steelers RFC in London. There was a feeling among some in the gay and inclusive rugby community that Brighton would be a good community for a club. And though we both felt that Brighton and Hove rugby clubs would be open and welcoming to all, we agreed to see if there was enough support for a club to be formed. So we advertised a meeting to be held in a pub in Kemptown and were surprised by the amount of support the idea had. Six years later, the club continues to be a part of the LGBT and rugby communities in Brighton & Hove, in Sussex, and on the national and international scenes.

What would you say to someone thinking of playing rugby again, who’s been put off in the past for feeling like they don’t belong in that environment?

Rugby as a sport has something for everyone, as, unlike other sports, there are positions for people of all body types. You don’t have to be slim or a weightlifter to fit in – there’s space for all.

I would argue that the ‘environment’ in a rugby club is no different to the environment in the wider community in which it sits – if you’re happy living in Brighton & Hove, then you’ll probably be happy in one of the rugby clubs. Of course, it’s never easy to either start or return to a sport when you haven’t played it, or have played it perhaps at school, way before your current time and place in life.

That’s compounded by the possibility that you don’t have any friends in a rugby club (yet), so turning up for the first time can be hard work. Added to that, if you identify as

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LGBT that makes it harder, and that’s why we exist – to take away some of that stress and bring more people to the enjoyment of rugby.

We are totally open to all who want to play rugby whether gay or not, and if you have no experience of the game, we run introductions to the sport and to the concept of a sports club for those who feel it might be for them.

As an example, we are running an eight-week ‘Try Rugby’ course for new potential players, and they are currently two weeks into that with training aimed specifically at non-players, with a social aspect designed to show them the type of family a rugby club is.

What have been your highlights since the Sea Serpents formed in 2015?

I think that there are three real highlights: firstly, our first match in February 2016. This was a really wet and muddy day. A team had come down to play us from the Kings Cross Steelers RFC and they beat us 0-25. However, it was the start of a club and the friendships that have continued even when we move around the country. It showed us that we could succeed.

Secondly, I would say that The Union Cup in Madrid in 2017 pushed the club one step further; it took us to a tournament of European gay and inclusive rugby clubs and we came away as runners-up in the lower tier. It was an experience that gave our players a different insight into the community of rugby and its links across boundaries.

Finally, I would add a non-rugby event: in 2020 we joined the Brighton & Hove Pride parade with Hove RFC and Sussex Referees. This was a county-supported event to show that rugby was open to all. Prides are always fun and it gives us a reminder that people outside our own group want to see us exist, and we get a lot of support from the huge crowds watching.

There has been a drive in public discourse lately about getting men to speak up about their mental health; do you see a link between men’s health and them having communities like sports teams?

As men, I don’t think we are very good at being open about things that trouble us.

That generally makes things worse rather than better and so a supportive group like a sports club can always be a positive thing.

We are linked with a charity started here in Brighton called MenTalkHealth (http://www. mentalkhealth.uk/) and have trained mental health first aiders in the club.

Men’s sport sometimes gets bad press for

its promotion of a toxic masculinity that’s often homophobic or ableist; do you think Sea Serpents plays a part in detoxifying that?

It’s a difficult one. On the one hand, yes, the fact that others see us playing rugby must affect their perception of gay men; but the learned behaviours that are toxic need a lot more than the presence of gay men playing rugby to remove them – it needs to start in childhood.

What are some of the challenges you’ve faced as a club?

Probably starting from scratch was the biggest thing – if you’re taking over from someone else, you already have your own traditions and ways of doing things. All of that club atmosphere has to be started by you, and getting that right can often be a stress. In terms of playing, at the beginning, having enough players available for a match was hard and that’s been compounded by Covid now too. Also, we have a lot more new players compared to more established clubs and we are one level whereas a competitor club in Sussex might be three or four teams deep, and their third or fourth team may have players with 20 years of experience. It’s hard for a new player to face that in a match.

What would you like to see change in the wider culture of rugby?

Rugby has slowly started to be more active in the promotion of the women’s game. I think this is a real positive. Also, we are starting to play touch rugby, which has the benefit of being non-gender-based, rather than being a men’s or a women’s game. That can only help the socialisation aspect. We have to learn that the old days where a man would play rugby every Saturday and homelife would be put on hold for that are past – we cannot expect families of any type to play second fiddle to rugby, and this means we have to look at new and different ways to promote the game.

Where would you like to take Sea Serpents?

What are you excited about for the future of the club?

Good question! I look forward to an increasing pool of players, with a wider ability in the game – so we can continue to bring people to the game but also give the quality of rugby that more experienced players need.

Brighton Rucks Tournament Teams Photo

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brighton & hove Culture Picks

MY DAD WROTE A PORNO 06 Feb Brighton Dome

SOME CHUMS COMEDY GALA 06 Feb The Old Market

7-9 RUSSIAN STATE BALLET OF SIBERIA Feb Theatre Royal Brighton

After an HBO comedy special, 180+ million downloads, and a world tour, the awardwinning podcast is back with a new live show.

Jamie Morton, along with James Cooper and Alice Levine, delves deeper into his father’s Belinda Blinked erotic saga. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but you will not be aroused.

A one-off comedy charity gala night. Have a giggle and raise money for a Blatchington Court Trust. It features Taskmaster champion Lou Sanders, actor Brett Goldstein and Edinburgh award-winner John Kearns. There’s also local superstars Maisie Adam, Laura Lexx and William Stone. Plus a very special guest!

Building an international reputation for delivering performances of outstanding quality and unusual depth, The Russian State Ballet Of Siberia brings together a range of superb soloists and dazzling costumes. Over three days they stage uncompromising performances of Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker and Swan Lake.

CHRYSTABELL 09 Feb Komedia

KAYLA PAINTER 10 Feb The Rose Hill

BEATBOX ADVENTURE FOR KIDS 12 Feb Komedia

Recording artist, actress and muse to director David Lynch, Chrystabell is a captivating presence. Her seductive voice and striking visual presentation have drawn an ever-expanding army of fans. Her new album, Midnight Star, finds her ambitions soaring, guitars and drums replaced by synths in a fascinating shift for her creative vision.

Painter’s immersive, ever-evolving AV performances, made with visual artist Jason Baker, are a natural consequence of a holistic writing process. Creating a storm in 2019, with shows at The Great Escape, Camp Elsewhere, Bluedot and We Out Here festivals, she’s quickly becoming one of the most exciting new artists around.

Record-breaking beatboxer SK Shlomo brings back his 5 star kids, and find the next generation of superstar beatboxers. Anyone can be one of this sonic superhero’s sidekicks in a world of funny sounds, brilliant noises, and cool music, whether they’re aged 1 or 101!

ROSS FROM FRIENDS 17 Feb CHALK

HAMMER & TONGUE 17 Feb Rialto Theatre

19-20 BRIGHTON TATTOO CONVENTION Brighton Centre Feb

British producer Ross From Friends was inspired to make music by his father, who toured with a sound system in the 1980s. Since then, he’s been constantly experimenting and evolving, moving from the world of lo-fi to peak time at some of the world’s biggest clubs.

Make words not word… Brighton Hammer & Tongue present a year-round programme of poetry slams, along with incredible touring guest artists. Now they’re back for 2022, bigger and even better, with Gabriel Moreno and A F Williams, plus December’s slam winner Ben Jammin.

The annual Brighton Tattoo Convention welcomes over 300 world class tattooists, scores of traders, exhibitions and of course thousands of visitors to the south coast’s biggest exhibition centre. There’s also lots of exciting parties, collaborations and presentations.

NEW WORLDS 20 Feb ACCA

MELANIE C 20 Feb CHALK

LADY BUNNY 21 Feb Komedia

Ruth Rogers, Nicky Sweeney , Jon Thorne and Peter Adams join Joanna MacGregor for a morning show, performing much-loved classics by Gershwin, Amy Beach and Schumann. Some of the very best chamber players anywhere combine American standards with uplifting symphonic work.

The dance pop icon heads to Brighton with a brace of new songs co-written by the likes of Rae Morris, Fryars, Jonny Lattimer and Shura. A vital voice in the modern discourse on depression, body positivity and the LGBTQ community, Melanie C’s trailblazing influence has arguably never been more apparent.

The legendary warthog of Wigstock returns to the UK with Unmasked And Unfiltered, a fulllength cabaret experience with some great new parodies of Lizzo, Queen and Ariana Grande.

Throw in some amateurish puppetry, mindreading and even an original tune, and you’ve got an unbeatable evening of total entertainment.

BEANS ON TOAST 23 Feb CHALK

CABARET BOHEME 25 Feb Ironworks Studios

25-27 STEWART LEE Brighton Dome Feb

Cult folk legend Beans on Toast tours his new album, Survival Of The Friendliest. It offers some hope and light relief from an increasingly bizarre world. Joined by a new live band, he’s back doing what he loves: making friends, making memories, singing songs and telling stories.

Hosted by vocal goddess Veronica Blacklace and burlesque babe Allegra Rose, Love and Lust features the phenomenal dance troupe ‘Project Female’ plus surprise special guests.

This evening of glitz and glamour will have you dancing out of your seat and cheering for more!

Stewart Lee again unleashes his Snowflake/ Tornado double bill at Brighton Dome. From looking at how the Covid-Brexit era has impacted the culture war, to Netflix mistakenly listing his show as ‘reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again’, it’s never business as usual.

27 GZA Feb Concorde 2

JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN LIVE 30 Feb St. George’s Church

COLIN HOULT & ANNA MANN 31 Feb Caroline Of Brunswick

The iconic rapper performs his landmark album, Liquid Swords, in full. A core member of Wu-Tang Clan, GZA The Genius’ cool, precise flow and intricate, literate rhymes gave flawless technique a timeless quality.

And this 1995 album still stands as fresh and compelling as ever.

Melting Vinyl presents the acclaimed Brooklyn songwriter Joan As Police Woman rescheduled tour date for 2022 at St. George’s Church, with her trio featuring drummer Parker Kindred (Antony & The Johnsons, Jeff Buckley) and bassist Jacob Silver (Lee Fields).

A night of stand up, sketch and character with Colin Hoult and his alter ego Anna Mann, plus lots of other funny folk. Brand new material from the award-winning actor and comedian, as seen as Ken Otley in Afterlife, and in Murder in Successful, Alan Partridge and Derek.

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16-19 Feb

SHREK THE MUSICAL Theatre Royal Brighton

Bringing almost everyone’s favourite animated character to life, Shrek: The Musical tells an uplifting story which proves there’s more to it than meets the ears… Based upon the blockbuster Hollywood franchise, we once again catch up with a little ogre who finds himself in the middle of his very own fairy-tale. This unlikely protagonist sets off on a life-changing journey, along with a wise cracking donkey and a feisty Princess who has no need of rescue.

But, complicating matters is a short-tempered, short-legged bad guy, who simply wants to be King, Pinocchio the eternal wooden boy and a host of recognisable fairy-tale characters. Suddenly we’ve got musical mayhem of the highest order. Who is going to sort all of this out? We need some fabulous dance routines, rousing songs and a real hero ready to step up to any challenge.

WOLFGANG FLUR 05 Feb Concorde 2

GEOFF NORCOTT 05 Feb The Old Market

After laying the foundations for electronic dance music in 70s Dusseldorf with the legendary Kraftwerk, Wolfgang Flur now brings his Musik-Soldat tour over to the UK. There’s no underplaying the role Flur and Kraftwerk had in the evolution of music.

As undoubtedly the most important act in the electronic revolution, their pioneering influence still resonates from techno right through to pop.

Operating outside usual liberal comedic positions on social issues, Norcott has carved a singular niche for himself. With a whiff of indignant traditionalism, he’s livened up TV shows like The Last Leg, The Mash Report and Mock the Week.

His new tour, I Blame The Parents, eases off from the politics and explores personal responsibility, parenting and taking the blame when things go wrong.

SUZANNE VEGA 10 Feb Theatre Royal

SHOWTIME 15 Feb Brighton Dome

The American singer-songwriter revisits some of her most New York-centric repertoire in a stunning new live show. Backed by long-time guitarist, Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen and keyboardist Jamie Edwards, she takes us on a tour of the Big Apple.

A glittering celebration paying tribute to some of the greatest entertainment icons of all time, Showtime brings together Britain’s most famous ballroom couple.

Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag present worldclass dance, inspired by classic performers – including Elton John, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Astaire, Sinatra and Chaplin, right through to US pop megastars Beyonce, John Legend and much more.

It includes familiar songs like Luka and Tom’s Diner, alongside deep cuts from her catalogue and a few surprise cover versions.

Showtime

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49

London Culture Picks

Across THE LIVING STUDIO Whitechapel Gallery Feb

Across Feb

This free entry event - sees galleries 5 and 6 transformed into ‘live making space filled with inspirational objects, books, artistic materials and prompts for activity.’ Visitors are encouraged to ‘create their own works of art, drawing on the creative energy of contemporary artists’ studios.’

Fans of dark magic realism will enjoy The Glow, which is open until 5th March. The story, set in 1863, ‘follows a young woman with no memory who is plucked from an asylum to serve as the assistant to a spiritualist medium.’

Everyone has been told to see a Cirque du Soleil at least once, meaning it’s a slightly less anticipated show than it used to be.

But this Mexico-themed production has been described as a particularly awesome spectacle, at moments trippy, soulful and more coherent than its previous runs.

Across ARCHITECTURE TOURS Barbican Feb

Across ALL OUT GATSBY London Cabaret Club Feb

BRITS WEEK BASTILLE 02 Feb Ballie Ballerson Shoreditch

Discover the incredible architecture of the Barbican in a 90 minute tour of the brutalist landmark. The tour is lead by expert guides and takes in the estate’s secret nooks, high walks, ruins and towers. You’ll also learn ‘about the vision and ambition behind the design, and gain insight into the past, present and future of the site.’

London Cabaret Club revisit the glamour of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby. The shows promise to place you at the centre of the action, where champagne is flowing, the music is playing, and a mysterious millionaire has invited you to the most extravagant evening in town.’

BRITs Week presented by Mastercard for War Child is back in 2022, and we’re so excited to have Bastille booked in here on Wed Feb 2 for an incredible show from alt-rock’s anthemic masters. BRITs Week’s series of concerts raise money for children whose lives have been torn apart by war.

TURNSTILE 03 Feb Kentish Town Forum

MATCHROOM BOXING PRESENTS 12 Feb Alexandra Palace

YAKUL 15 Feb Ronnie Scott’s

Well respected underground hard-core act are exploding with their latest album Glow On. New singles Mystery and Blackout that blend electronica and alt are certified bangers and have something for all music fans - they’re much more than the next hyped rock band.

Tickets are bound to go fast.

Eddie Hearn for Matchroom Boxing presents Daniel Jacobs V John Ryder. The USA’s twotime Middleweight World Champion Daniel Jacobs will collide with Britain’s world rated Super-Middleweight contender John Ryder at Alexandra Palace on 12 February live worldwide on DAZN (excluding New Zealand and Australia).

Brighton’s own future-soul jazz prodigies are making their second appearance at Ronnie Scott’s. Following the success of their debut album Rise Indigo with a packed out Camden Assembly show, this is the chance to see Yakul’s jaw dropping musicianship and flair in their natural habitat.

THE WORLD OF STONEHENGE 17 Feb British Museum

PENELOPE ISLES 23 Feb OSLO

SURREALISM WITHOUT BORDERS 24 Feb Tate Modern

This exhibition unveils many of Stonehenge’s secrets, with a variety of fascinating objects that ‘offer important clues about the beliefs, rituals, and complex worldview of Neolithic people, helping to build a vivid sense of life for Europe’s earliest ancestors.’

BN1 favourites Penelope Isles are taking their lush, inventive alt pop on the road in support of their sophomore album Which Way To Happy.

Expect to hear BBC6 Music favourites Iced Gems and Terrified and come away inspired.

This show is all about the way surrealism spread from Paris out across the world. So while you’ve got big names here, the real attraction is seeing what artists in Japan, Argentina, Egypt and Mexico were using surrealism to say. Ceci n’est pas un surrealism exhibition.

ROSS NOBLE 25 Feb London Palladium

LONDON COMIC CON 19 Feb Olympia London

Until 13 Mar

Cult comedy master Ross Noble is returning to stages across the UK this February with a stop at the London Palladium. Early reviews are calling his new show Humournoid a quirky classic, exploring every nook of the human condition with trademark inventiveness.

London Comic Con Spring in 2022 will be bringing you the Stars of Film & TV for you to meet, get their autographs & have your photo taken with them! All this will be taking place at the historic Olympia London.

Last chance to see this free, unique exhibition at the British Library. Showcasing plenty of unseen material from McCartney’s personal archive, as well as photographs, it’s an opportunity for music fans to peruse everything from the early creations to his iconic classics.

ROADKILL RECORDS PRESENT FEZ 09 Mar Shacklewell Arms

Until 19 Mar

Roadkill Records present their latest signing FEZ, performing their biggest headline to date at The Shacklewell Arms with guests Baby Vanga and Andres Alcover. Expect psychedelic soundscapes of the highest calibre, ethereal yet danceable musicianship and transportive jams. With special guest DJs Ghum.

A well known drama given - what is promised - to be a visceral new lease of life, with Lucy McCormick starring as Cathy. The production was delayed over the pandemic and has a limited run just over a month, but critics have praised it as a bonkers, eccentric take, well worth seeing.

07 Mar 03 Apr

VIRTUAL VERONESE National Gallery

This amazing initiative, developed with Focal Point VR, invites you to don a VR headset, and experience some of history’s most breathtaking art in its original setting, and discover the story of its creation.

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THE GLOW Royal Court Theatre

Across CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: ‘LUZIA’ Royal Albert Hall Feb

PAUL MCCARTNEY: THE LYRICS

British Library

WUTHERING HEIGHTS National Theatre

28 Feb

MIMI WEBB O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Mimi Webb projects a voice as magnetic, massive and magical as her personality. As “the girl next door” with a hell of a vocal range, she’s quick to laugh, will let you know precisely what’s on her mind, and isn’t afraid to be heard. Originally hailing from the UK town of Canterbury, the pop singer and songwriter turns up the volume on every emotion with skyscraping runs and open-heart honesty.

Inspired by the likes of Amy Winehouse, Emelie Sandé, and Sam Smith, she started writing songs of her own at 13-years-old in diaries before eventually learning guitar. Around the same time, she enrolled in The BRIT School known for alumni such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, Jessie J and more.

Music Week also recently announced Mimi Webb as the newest addition to their BBC Radio 1’s Brit List. The prestigious offering comes after selling out her first upcoming UK Tour this Autumn and receiving widespread acclaim from Wonderland, teenVOGUE, Refinery 29, Euphoria, CLASH, FLAUNT, Consequence of Sound and more.

Francis Bacon, Study for Bullfight No. 1, 1969.

Oil on canvas. 198 x 147.5 cm. Private collection © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2021. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.

Image © frankfieber

Across FRANCIS BACON - MAN AND BEAST Royal Academy Feb

BEATRIX POTTER: DRAWN FROM NATURE 12 Feb V&A

A new and much anticipated exhibition of Francis Bacon’s most ‘profound and moving’ paintings opens this month at the Royal Academy. The show, which spans Bacon’s 50 year career, will showcase his earliest works, as well as some of his best loved pieces.

Francis Bacon - Man and Beast explores primal instincts and the blurred line between human and animal.

Beatrix Potter: Drawn From Nature looks certain to prove a highly popular ticket for families and art lovers alike. The show opens on 12th February at the V&A, and as well as celebrating Potter’s life work, will explore her vocation as a conservationist and scientist.

Created in collaboration with the National Trust.

CLT DRP 17 Feb Signature Brew

PROJECTOR 10 Mar Camden Assembly

CLT DRP play Signature Brew this month in what promises to be another ferocious performance of their highly original EDM flavoured punk. Fresh from a tour of the UK, with new releases like TORX and Ownership under their belt, fans can expect to see the band at the height of their considerable power.

Brighton’s PROJECTOR are set to headline Camden Assembly on 10th March. Their exhilarating live show, which blends the alternative ferocity of early Pixies and Sonic Youth with the lush pop sensibilities of Alvvays, has earned them spots at The Great Escape, Reading and Latitude. A must see band on their way up. Tickets via Live Nation.

Image © Blackham Images

PROJECTOR Image © Bridie Cummings bn1magazine.co.uk

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lewes and eastbourne Culture Picks

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ONE OFF COMEDY SPECIAL 04 Feb Forest Row Village Hall, Lewes

NOASIS 04 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN 04 Feb The Grove Theatre, Eastbourne

On a mission to bring world-class comedy to audiences everywhere, One Off Comedy will be performing at Forest Row Village Hall on a night you can’t miss out on!

The comics are wild - they’re hilarious - with drinks aplenty. What more could you ask?

Noasis is the definitive tribute band to Manchester’s five-piece super group Oasis.

Formed by die hard Oasis fans back in 2006, the band has toured extensively and has justly earned its reputation as the leader of the pack.

It is 1929. An androgynous figure cuts a haunting shape in the shadows of Oxbridge.

Scorned, ordered off the path; then refused entry to the library. Why? Woolf demands answers. None can be found. Adapted & Performed by Heather Alexander Directed by Dominique Gerrard

05 SOULTFIT YOGA & FITNESS DAY RETREAT Feb Soulfit, Lewes

ABYSS BOOTY CAMP 05 Feb ABYSS Brewery, Lewes

PRELOVED KILO POP UP 05 Feb Bodega Eastbourne

Soulfit are delighted to be hosting another beautiful day at Soulfit - with yoga brought to you

by Cherry, a boxfit session with Gyles, Coffee, snacks & lunch provided by Hannah at Soulfit & slow-down yoga accompanied by his sound bowls brought to you by Tobie.

If you need to shake off the sloth after a month of full-commitment festivities, ABYSS Booty Camp is for you! Led by Nozuko (by Twerk4Fitness Africa) these classes promise to get your heart racing and your booty shaking without the usual January flavour of self-punishment.

Featuring some fantastic stock at Bodega, Station Street. Come along, have a browse and relax with one of Bodega’s fantastic coffees and a bagel or sourdough sandwich with baked goods from To The Rise bakery.

Plenty of choice including lovely vegetarian and vegan options.

THE JIVE ACES BIG BEAT REVUE 05 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

DANCING IN THE DARK 07 Feb All Saints Centre, Lewes

THE JERSEY BEATS 10 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

With classic tunes from artists such as Louis Prima, Bobby Darin, Keely Smith, Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown with the flair of a rock ’n’ roll extravaganza show, this show will have you out of your seat with its larger than life bigbeat sound!

Enjoy a good boogie but can’t remember the last time you actually lost yourself in the groove? Then Dancing in the Dark is for you.

It’s about the experience of dancing with no one watching and the joy that brings.

The Jersey Beats are returning for the fourth year running. Its an evening of great music, fun and more featuring some amazing vocalists, your host Leye D Johns and the beautiful dancers - the Viva Showgirls, dont miss out on this incredible night with The Jersey Beats.

QUENTIN CRISP: NAKED HOPE 13 Feb The Grove Theatre, Eastbourne

CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY 14 Feb Depot Lewes

FUNK AND SOUL PARTY 17 Feb Lewes Con Club

Naked Hope depicts Quentin at two phases of his extraordinary life: alone in his Chelsea flat in the 1960s, certain that life has passed him by, and thirty years later, giving a performance of his one man show An Evening with Quentin Crisp in New York.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your loved one at Depot – whether you’re looking to share a romantic meal in the restaurant, or fancy the off-kilter, heartfelt exploration of relationships in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. For the classic romantics don’t miss the live broadcast of The Royal Ballet performing Romeo and Juliet from the Royal Opera House.

Join us this coming February for a review of the most loved tracks by the royalty of this genre. From Stevie Wonder to Aretha Franklin, Gil Scott-Heron to Al Green, you will hear the biggest hits from Motown to Stax come to life with a nine-piece band.

FORBIDDEN NIGHTS 17 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

THE BOOK OF DUST 17 Feb The Barn Theatre, Seaford

SCREAMING BLUE MURDER 18 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

Immerse yourself in this sexy, innovative and classy show. This new age entertainment brings you world class circus acts with our signature Forbidden tease. Get ready for your ultimate ‘Forbidden’ night out with two hours of breathtaking action, seductive choreography and our comedian compere for your entertainment.

This gripping adaptation revisits Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing. Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe. Broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.

The Screaming Blue Murder Comedy Club, now into its third year at The Royal Hippodrome Theatre, has become a regular highlight in the Theatres programme with audiences returning again and again for a brilliant evening of entertainment.

ALABASTER DEPLUME 19 Feb Lewes Con Club

DICKENS: THE GHOST OF A SMILE 25 Feb The Grove Theatre, Eastbourne

UNDERNEATH THE ARCHES 26 Feb The Grove Theatre, Eastbourne

Catch Alabaster DePlume following 12 monthly development residency concerts and three viral video clips, this ruthlessly creative approach to experimental pop music delivers easterninfluenced anthems, under spoken elements that attempt to challenge and address divisive rhetoric recently prevalent in society.

Tales with a tingle, but also a giggle! Two yarns to chill and charm! Stories with a shiver and a smile! From the creators of “Spitfire Solo”, “Bond” and “Done To Death, By Jove!” comes a double-bill of Charles Dickens’ ghost stories.

The Grove Theatre is proud to present a very special tribute to the Clown Jewels of the Crazy Gang, Flanagan & Allen. ​ Featuring their most loved sketches and songs, including Run Rabbit Run, Strolling, and of course, Underneath the Arches.

bn1magazine.co.uk

JOSH WIDDICOMBE - BIT MUCH… 12 Feb Congress Theatre, Eastbourne The guy everyone can do an impression of is back with a brand-new stand-up tour. A show that will change your life and how you perceive your place in the world. Bit Much? Fine, it’ll be a very funny night of grumbles and jokes in which Josh will finally tackle the hot comedy topics of advent calendars, pesto and the closing time of his local park.

Widdicombe is best known for the twice BAFTA nominated and multiple Broadcast and RTS award-winning show The Last Leg, as well as his critically acclaimed sitcom JOSH, Insert Name Here, QI, Have I Got New For You, A League of Their Own and his hit podcast Quickly Kevin Will He Score.

“One of the most bankable talents in UK comedy” - The Guardian “If they made frustration an Olympic sport the Last Leg co-host would win gold every time.” - Evening Standard

WATSON: THE FINAL CHAPTER 01 Feb The Grove Theatre, Eastbourne

RICHARD JONES ESCAPE TOUR 19 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

Back by popular demand following its sell-out show at the Grove in 2020, Watson returns just before its London transfer. Watson is alone.

His beloved wife, Mary, and the great Sherlock Holmes are gone. Watson tells his tale of long-buried secrets; betrayal and death; a journey across Europe pursued by the Napoleon of Crime; towards a deathly embrace at the Reichenbach Falls.

Richard Jones is a British Army soldier as well as one of the world’s greatest magicians in The Magic Circle. Having recently had audiences on Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions completely captivated; Richard is extending his sell-out tour of the UK earlier this year. New dates have been announced where he will confirm exactly what made him win Britain’s top talent show in 2016.

GROAN UPS 21 Feb Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

NATHAN CARTER 25 Feb Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne

Comedy gold from the creators of The Play That Goes Wrong, Mischief return to the stage with their new hilarious comedy all about growing up -or not! Groan Ups follows an unruly classroom on their journey from teenagers to adulthood. Looking for answers to the questions, ‘do we choose who we become? Is the story of our lives already written? Do we ever really grow up?

Quickly becoming one of the UK’s most prolific touring artists, wowing crowds with his sensational live show, Irish Country pop star Nathan Carter announces more dates for his Born For the Road Tour. One of the UK’s most exciting live performers, his showmanship is proving irresistible for fans, even scoring him a slot performing for Pope Francis in Croke Park in Dublin.

Richard Jones Escape Tour

Adrian Sherwood

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Shoreham, worthing, chichester Culture Picks ROB BRYDON 03 Feb Assembly Hall, Worthing

03 SPEAKEASY Feb Cellar Arts Club, Worthing

EMILY BURNS 04 Feb The Factory Live, Worthing

The Swansea-born national treasure brings a night of songs and laughter. Breaking through with the glorious Marion And Geoff, he’s gone on to appear in classic TV shows like Gavin & Stacey’, as well as extensive work in cinema and onstage.

Every month, three guest speakers talk on a topic close to their heart. It could be about an abstract concept or a physical object of desire; a moment in history or perhaps a tiny fragment of their life – but all will entertain, enlighten and educate - sometimes all three.

Rising vocalist-songwriter-musician. Emily’s vocals have already drawn comparison to artists such as Alessia Cara, Nao, Jessie Ware and Tori Kelly and her unique R&B Pop sound and stand out vocals are creating a strong industry buzz. Support from Tayo Sound and Fari.

04 SUPERSTARS OF WRESTLING Feb Midhurst Grange Centre

DEAN WAREHAM 05 Feb The Venue, Worthing

05 FOOLS @ FAWLTY TOWERS Feb Tottington Manor Hotel, Henfield

Let’s get ready to rumble. With over two hours of all-action, family-friendly entertainment, this evening brings together wrestlers from all over the world to take on the very best of Great Britain – all live and before your very eyes.

The much-celebrated guitarist revisits his iconic 80s band Galaxie 500, and their seminal On Fire album. Originally formed in 1987 by Wareham Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, this American indie outfit became highly influential to a whole generation of bands.

This comedy-dining mash-up follows on from the success of Only Fools and 3 Courses and Fawlty Towers. Boycie has organised a surprise 50th Birthday Party for Del Boy and has booked the function Suite at a certain hotel on the English Riviera.

08 Feb

NAN SLOANE 09 Feb Ropetackle, Shoreham

10 THE SHARON SHANNON QUARTET Feb Ropetackle, Shoreham

A drama workshop for all over 50s, this will reignite your creative spark to help you feel forever young. Participants are encouraged to have fun, break the rules, be silly and playful and look at the world with a fresh perspective unclouded by routine and social media

City Books present a reading, Q+A and signing, centred around Nan Sloane’s new work, Uncontrollable Women. It celebrates those who developed political ideas, fought battles which still remain to be won and raised questions that are still unresolved.

Best known for her arrangements of traditional Irish tunes and Irish-influenced compositions, Shannon has always been eager to explore new styles, and to meet and work with other musicians. This accordionist has achieved legendary status, and travels effortlessly between hip-hop, Cajun, country, reggae, and classical.

VALENTINES FIREWALK 13 Feb Gifford House, Worthing

13 VINTAGE TOY COLLECTORS FAIR Feb Ashington Community Centre

THE STEVIE WATTS ORGAN TRIO 18 Feb The Factory Live, Worthing

A traditional, friendly, British toy fair organised by collectors for fans of all ages. Buy, sell and swap from a large range of toys old and new - Including Triang and Hornby trains of all gauges, plus Dinky, Corgi, Matchbox, Meccano, Lego and all your favourites.

Undoubtedly providing pleasure to millions, The Stevie Watts Organ Trio some of the world’s most highly regarded session players, having worked with names like Secret Affair, Steve Winwood, Archive and The Spice Girls.

Now they bring you some outstanding skills, great songs, funk, and rip-roaring solos.

BABY & CHILDREN’S MARKET 19 Feb Shoreham Centre

24-25 Feb

24 SHIFT K3Y Feb at Jungle Nightclub, Worthing

Cheeki Monkeys pop-up market is the place where smart parents shop. With savings of up to 90% on quality pre-loved goods, this buggy-friendly event offers a great excuse to shop and have a good catch-up. There’s also loads of yummy treats, great gifts and fantastic offers for all

Creation Station’s present another of their award-winning classes. Designed to nurture and inspire your child’s creative skills and spark their curiosity. Tickets are £8.50 per child with a 50% discount available for siblings; please note parents must stay with their children.

The all-in-one DJ, producer and singer has come a long way since kicking off his career DJng on Annie Mac Presents. He launched to global recognition following the chart success of his monster-hit I Know, which fused contemporary pop and R&B with classic house and garage.

25 Feb

24-26 MATILDA THE MUSICAL JR The Windmill, Littlehampton Feb

26 CHARITY PANCAKE OLYMPICS 2022 Feb Church Street, Littlehampton

Star Ignited Performance Academy present Roald Dahl’s classic, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Packed with dance numbers and catchy songs, it’s a joyous girl-power romp.

Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of a little girl with an extraordinary imagination.

Teams of Pancake Olympians battle it out for the gold medal and £100 for their chosen charity. Teams of 3 or 4 adults/children will take part in a series of Olympic inspired events which include pancake curling, a relay and traditional pancake flipping!

AGE IS A STAGE Ropetackle, Shoreham

This is maybe the ultimate hot date on Valentine’s Day. It’s a barefoot walk over redhot wood embers (measuring around 800 degrees) in aid of Worthing’s Care for Veterans.

Basic registration is £25, but you can raise as much as you like from your experience.

SUGGS Pavilion Theatre, Worthing

Due to huge popular demand, Suggs returns to tell us more stories about his route to becoming a British music icon. If the first shows were about how on Earth he got there, this new one is about all the surprises which awaited him when he did.

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CREATION STATION

Festival Theatre Foyer, Chichester

FAIRPORT CONVENTION 17 Feb Connaught Theatre, Worthing Often credited with being the first English electric folk band, Fairport Convention formed in April 1967 and rapidly developed from playing American ‘west coast’ cover versions to an individual style.

Now, this legendary band are back on the road to celebrate their 55th anniversary, offering a mix of long-established favourites and some surprises from albums old and new - including their latest album, Shuffle & Go. Fairport Convention have won a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, and Radio 2 listeners voted their ground-breaking album Liege & Lief ‘The Most Influential Folk Album of All Time’. Melding rock with traditional English tunes and songs, this show features founding member Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals, Dave Pegg on bass guitar, Ric Sanders on violin, Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, and Gerry Conway on drums and percussion.

THE PLAY WHAT I WROTE Chichester Festival Theatre

THE NOISE NEXT DOOR 09 Feb Pavilion Theatre, Worthing

8-12 Feb

Delivering improvised comedy at its best, this energetic fivesome transform audience suggestion into scenes, songs and scenarios in the blink of an eye, with hilarious consequences. Armed with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, barbed one-liners, epic stories and musical extravagance, this team of slightly posh English blokes will have you in stitches with their fresh brand of off-the-cuff humour.

Hamish has written a play about the French Revolution called A Tight Squeeze for the Scarlet Pimple. Sean wants to continue with their double act. He believes if they perform a tribute to Morecambe & Wise, Hamish’s confidence will be restored and things will go on. But first Sean needs a guest star to appear in the play what Hamish wrote...

25-27 THE HUG Minerva Theatre Feb

DAME DOLLY DOES 26 Feb Ropetackle, Shoreham

Long Nose Puppet present a musical show for kids aged 2 - 8 years and their adults. Based on Eoin McLaughlin and Polly Dunbar’s heartwarming and funny book, a Hedgehog and a Tortoise go in search of a restorative hug.

They face rejections along the way, but find offer an uplifting tale of hope, empathy and acceptance.

Shoreham Panto’s legendary dame is back with her own interactive show! She’s ready for a production of Jack and the Beanstalk, but there’s only one problem… None of her cast have shown up. So, it’s up to boys and girls of all ages in the audience to join in with Dame Dolly and help her put on her production.

THE PLAY WHAT I WROTE

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mid sussex Culture picks

56

MONTHLY JAZZ NIGHT 02 Feb Horsham Sports Club

3-26 CAPTURING LOCKDOWN Feb Crawley Museum

AN EVENING WITH PHIL VICKERY 05 Feb The Capitol, Horsham

The mighty Fred Woods Big Band take to the stage. Playing across Sussex for over 35 years, this fab combo offers up classics from Duke Ellington, Count Besie, John Coltrane and Dizzy Gillespie. It’s free entry for members, but guests/non members are welcome.

LPK Learning and Woodard Photography display their photographs of people on their doorsteps, alongside objects which represent lockdown from toilet rolls to symbols of working from home and beyond. The Mill Primary Academy also present artwork done by pupils on their experience of the pandemic.

Rugby Union legend Phil Vickery MBE was capped 73 times for country, twice as a Lion, and lifted the Webb Ellis trophy in 2003. Hosted

by BBC’s Andy Wyman, Phil talks of growing up, his career highlights and his passion for cooking - all followed by an audience Q&A.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD 11 Feb The Capitol, Horsham

KIKI DEE & CARMELO LUGGERI 05 Feb The Hawth, Crawley

5-12 Feb

A story of flying carpets, soaring hero’s, a determined Princess and a magical lamp.

Do not be fooled by its commonplace appearance. 8 to 18, to see how this lamp changed the course of a young man’s life, a diamond in the rough.

This spellbinding stripped-back acoustic show allows each of this duo’s exceptional talents to shine through and create a wonderful and warm sense of intimacy. Join them for an acoustic journey of stories and song, which include unique covers and Kiki’s numerous own hits.

Follow the trail of hearts around Burgess Hill’s town centre businesses to find some special quiz questions. If you can answer all of them, you’ll be included in a draw to win a Valentines Hamper stocked with local products. It’s simple, fun and free!

PSYCHO BABBLE 11 Feb The REC Rooms, Horsham

LIVE MUSIC IN BURGESS HILL 12 Feb The Bandstand, Burgess hill

BLUE OASIS CLUB NIGHT 16 Feb Drill Hall, Horsham

One of Sussex’s finest alternative bands hit up Horsham for another night of guitar-based indie rock. This five piece have toured with loads of huge artists, including The Bluetones, Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Rifles, SLF, Shed Seven, The Undertones and Inspiral Carpets.

As everything starts opening-up after lockdown, live music is returning to the town centre. Hosted by Burgess Hill Community Radio and organised by Burgess Hill Town Council through the Welcome Back Fund, it’ll bring a range of local artists in to brighten up your day.

A friendly and fun club night for people with learning disabilities (and their friends and family), Horsham’s Blue Oasis Club Night is offering an evening of DJ’s, live bands, a fully licensed bar and more… Grab those dancing shoes and they’ll see you on the dancefloor!

LUKE KEMPNER 18 Feb The Hawth, Crawley

AN EVENING WITH AGGERS 19 Feb The Capitol, Horsham

19 Feb WILBUR’S WILD WELLY WALK - 3 Apr Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath

Star of Spitting Image and Steph’s Packed Lunch, and with over 10 million views of his online videos, Luke Kempner brings his new Macho Macho Man show to Crawley.

It’s a hilariously razor-sharp assemblage of contemporary impressions ranging from Piers Morgan and the PM to Ru Paul.

Legendary cricket broadcaster Jonathan Agnew MBE heads out for his first solo show. Taking us on a trip down memory lane, he’ll recount tales from a wonderful and entertaining career on the field and in the commentary box, with film footage, audio clips and photographs.

Children of all ages can give their mental and physical agility a good workout by finding hidden wellies around these beautiful gardens, practicing their yoga skills as they go!

Everyone can also enjoy some early flowering plants, including hellebores, snowdrops, viburnum, daffodils and magnolias.

IAIN’S SUNDAY SHOWCASE 20 Feb The Norfolk Arms, Horsham

PEPPA PIG’S BEST DAY EVER 23 Feb The Hawth, Crawley

TONY STOCKWELL 23 Feb The Capitol, Horsham

From new faces to old favourites, it’s another edition of this popular afternoon of fantastic local music. This time we’re being wowed by Country Rumour, Acousticatz, The Soholites (Acoustic with Brent and Laura), Anneka Shelley, Lease of Life, Charlotte French, plus your host Iain.

That mischievous Peppa Pig is excited to be going on a special trip out with George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig - it’s going to be her best day ever! This brand-new live show is packed full of songs, games and laughter.

This psychic medium demonstrates his belief that those who have passed can still communicate with their loved ones. Expect an entertaining evening of psychometry, photographs readings and psychic prediction, hopefully with the potential to instil a sense of peace, comfort and purpose.

COMEDY NIGHT 25 Feb Horsham Sports Club

ALICE IN WONDERLAND 26 Feb The Hawth, Crawley

THE CINELLI BROTHERS 26 Feb The REC Rooms, Horsham

HSC throws open its doors to four of the best top class UK circuit comedians. Compare Sean Percival welcomes the brilliant awardwinning Adam Bloom with some quick-fire wit, some immaculate skills from no-nonsense legend Angela Barnes and some sublime absurdities from the wonderful and hilarious Phil Nichol.

Let’s All Dance returns with fantastical ballet for the whole family. Stunning dancing, muchloved characters and superb music brings the famous tale to life in this inclusive magical ballet production. Come and join Alice as she enters a curiouser and curiouser world.

Championing a new generation of passionate musicians, The Cinelli Brothers are a project founded on a love of blues, soul and R&B. Nominated for ‘Blues Band Of the Year’ in 2020 and 2021, they offer an imaginative and uncompromising blend of Chess, Stax and Motown influences.

bn1magazine.co.uk

LOVE HEART TRAIL AND QUIZ Burgess Hill Town Centre

8-9 Feb

MADAMA BUTTERFLY/ CARMEN The Hawth, Crawley

Legendary opera director Ellen Kent brings two incredible productions to Crawley. Tues sees Madama Butterfly, starring the fabulous Korean soprano Elena Dee and celebrated international soprano’s Alyona Kistenyova, Maria Davydova and Ecaterina Timbaliuk. One of the world’s most popular works, it tells the heart-breaking story of a beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant.

Highlights include the melodic Humming Chorus, the moving aria One Fine Day and the unforgettable Love Duet.

Weds offers up the suspicious delights of Carmen. This evening of passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias, see international Russian mezzo soprano Maria Davydova joining Timbaliuk. This dazzling production features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies, including The Toreador’s Song, Carmen’s enticing Habanera, and Don José’s lyrical Flower Song in a setting evoking the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences.

Until 2 Apr

RADICALLY DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery

12-27 ICE-SKATING Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Feb

HMAG’s first exhibition of 2022 celebrates the work of Robin Alexander Elliott. Studying Fine Art under Frank Auerbach, his time in National Service in Yorkshire inspired him to capture the drama of the Dales on canvas. This collection captures the full scope of his travels, from the deserts of America and remora African hills, to Portugal and tiny French villages.

Sussex’s heritage railway offers up last taste of winter with their fantastic ice-skating sessions.

With a real ice rink in the unique and amazing location of their Locomotive Shed. Glide across the ice and see where the engines are prepared in the morning before they steam up and down the preserved railway line through 11 miles of beautiful countryside.

SHAPPI KHORSANDI 11 Feb The Hawth, Crawley

BARNSTORMERS 20 Feb The Capitol, Horsham

From indie discos to unflattering crop tops, Khorsandi takes a trip down memory lane in IT WAS THE 90s! It was a time when she found herself flying about London with hope in her heart, a tenner and some spare knickers. But how does the decade of binge drinking and walks of shame look now without snakebite and black tinted specs?

Now in its eighteenth season, Barnstormers Comedy bounds into Horsham with some of the best upcoming London acts. There’ll be slick gags from BBC2 Mash Report’s Steve N Allen, who’ll hit the mark with some sublime biting satire. Joining him is the brilliant evertopical musical comedian Steve Gribbin and the wonderfully chaotic and improvisatory skills of Patrick Monahan.

BARNSTORMERS

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TOP 10 TIPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES GOING FOR B CORP me of In this ti mate great cli jump anxiety, e the curv f o d a e ah your o d p l e h and ve the bit to sa planet.

By Emma Rix, Sustainability and accessibility executive at Projects, Brighton’s flexible workspace with purpose.

What is and why b Corp

B

Corp is an accreditation that highlights your business’ social and environmental accountability. They analyse the DNA of your business, focusing on aspects including your business’ environmental impact, your business model, finance records, employee rights and quality of life, engagement with local community, supply chain, diversity and inclusion, and pledges and policies for further change.

It’s like Fair Trade, organic, or LEED certification but for the whole company, not just a bag of coffee or a pint of milk. It can provide businesses with a unique and important selling point. Furthermore, gaining the B Corp accreditation shows leadership, generates press, attracts investors, engages talent and saves money.

It all starts with an assessment. When you first begin your B Corp journey, you are provided with questions split over 5 main categories: Workers, Customers, Community, Governance, and Environment. These tips will help you get in a position to pass with flying colours.

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1.

BE PREPARED B Corp is all about good environmental practice, community engagement and social responsibilities, so take note of things you already have in place, such as utility trackers, consistent charitable contributions, employee satisfaction surveys, etc.

3.

5.

7.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER You will need information on all aspects of your business practice so think about who knows what, let everyone know that you are embarking on this new project and get as many people on board as possible.

2.

Read over the questions. The initial assessment can seem like an intense challenge, however, you may be able to answer some of the questions off the top of your head, such as how many employees you have or whether or not you have a policy regarding maternity leave.

4.

KNOW AS MUCH AS YOU CAN ABOUT YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN B Corp requires you to know what percentage of your purchases are from local or minority owned businesses. Do you know if everyone in your supply chain is paid at least minimum wage and has good working conditions?

DATA CAPTURING It’s important to set up – if you haven’t already – data capture methods for your utility usage, employee attrition, recycling and local spending. You will need to be able to compare usage, data and rates from before you started your B Corp journey to how you have made positive change along the way. This will also aid you in creating sensible yet aspirational targets.

6.

BE CREATIVE It may not be easy to implement the kind of changes you think B Corp wants from you, however we have found some creative ways to make important changes throughout the team and business: 1. Implement an Amazon shopping ban 2. Create partnership and supply chain agreements which align with your mission statement and workplace policies 3. Switch branded products to ones which are already B Corp certified or sustainable and ethical brands – such as switching from Nescafe coffee to Clipper. Not only does this mean you are implementing an ethical focus on your purchasing but also highlighting good and responsible brands and businesses for your customers and employees which they can implement in their own lives.

9.

ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU CAN FIRST

8.

RECORD CHANGES Every time you implement something new – for example a policy or product change – make a note of it. Have a progress diary or timeline or something similar which will track the changes you’ve made to be more environmentally and socially accountable during your B Corp journey. Not only will this show you all the hard work you and your team have put in, but it will also help when you reapply for your B Corp application in a few years’ time.

SET GOALS AND ATTAINABLE TARGETS From the first question you answer in which you do not receive full marks, you can start to set your business targets regarding your utility usage, employee satisfaction levels or your recycling. Targets can be made on your B Corp assessment page. Keep a record of any targets set and met – or changed. Targets should be reviewed at least biannually. They should be both short-term and long-term.

USEFUL RESOURCES Unfortunately no easy-fill resources for all of this exist! However other companies out there have some excellent resources which will help you structure policy and implement changes.

1.

2.

3.

One Planet Living (oneplanet.com) 1.5 degree business guide (exponentialroadmap.org) Climate Hero - measure your business’ carbon footprint (climatehero.me)

10.

Keep monitoring, keep setting targets, keep improving, keep going! It’s all worth it when you become a part of the evergrowing B Corp community.

Make 2 0 2 2

the year of you!

What’s on offer?

With 2022 drawing ever nearer, you may be considering what your goals for the new year are and making plans for the future. The MET are offering a wide range of exciting part-time courses starting in January. These courses are tailored to suit all abilities, interests and aspirations, and with funding available for many of the courses on offer, there has never been a better time to get back into the classroom.

Professional qualifications for adults Professional courses are for those who are looking to gain an accredited qualification.

These courses can be used to advance your career, develop your existing skills, prepare for Higher Education, or as professional training for your workforce. They are taught by industry experienced tutors are who passionate about the subject they teach.

Subjects include: Human resources Accountancy Counselling Business, leadership & management Teacher training Graphic & web design

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Course spotlight ILM Award in Introduction to Coaching & Mentoring This accredited qualification offers you a fantastic introduction to coaching and mentoring.

Developing these skills can be beneficial if you are already in a management role, or if you are interested in exploring your abilities in this area.

Part of being an effective mentor is working 1:1 with your mentee, looking at their specific goals and working to build their confidence. This course will provide you with the tools, models and techniques required to become a confident coach and mentor.

Course spotlight NCFE Award in Counselling Skills The MET offers a range of accredited counselling qualifications which are the perfect first step towards a career in a helping profession. As a society we are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of looking after not only our own mental wellbeing, but also the mental health of those around us. Studying counselling is an opportunity to improve your interpersonal skills, make time for self-development, and learn about the fascinating theories and skills involved in counselling practice.

“This course has really helped to build my self-esteem and given me a sense of purpose and direction.

I really feel the course has given me the help I needed to move towards a career I’m passionate about.”

Leisure & hobby courses Looking to do something just for fun? Then one of the College’s leisure courses might be right for you! These courses are a great way to meet people with similar interests, explore a new hobby or simply challenge yourself to learn something new. Dedicated tutors will help you boost your skills, and could even encourage you to turn your hobby into a career.

Classes include: art, design & crafts; beauty therapy; computing; creative writing; history and many more.

– Counselling student

Dressmaking We know many of our readers are trying to live more sustainably. This might include moving away from fast-fashion retail, and designing and making your own clothes. Why not try your hand at one of our dressmaking courses and learn how to fix up your wardrobe! With courses at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, there are classes for all.

“Loved the course. A brilliant tutor and I hope to do another sewing course soon. Thanks for the fabulous experience.”

Photography The MET has beginners, intermediate and advanced photography classes starting throughout January. Start at the beginning if you need to learn basic technical skills before moving to the intermediate class where you will expand on your understanding of composition and genre.

The advanced course will take your skills to the next level, encouraging you to find your own personal style and produce photographic art that is exhibition worthy.

– Dressmaking student

“Most enjoyable and instructive course.

It gave me an insight into genres of photography.

Above all it was fun.”

– Photography student

To find out more about part-time courses at the MET please visit: gbmc.ac.uk/year-of-you bn1magazine.co.uk

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HOW TO GET ON THE

PROPERTY LADDER

By Thom Punton

It’s time for some real talk. If you don’t want to be paying expensive rents forever and getting nothing out of it but the knowledge that you’re lining one landlord’s pocket after another, you need to know what steps to take to escape that vicious cycle. No one wants to think about it, lawd knows most of us aren’t anywhere near ready for it yet, but your future self will thank you if you do a little bit of research into how to get to the position of buying a property. At least know whether it’s something you want to aim for.

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be an article that tells you if you stop buying coffees on your lunch break or takeaways on a Friday night, and work hard every day of your life, you can own your own house at 25. It’s not that easy.

Hard work doesn’t always equal lots of money.

Sometimes it equals minimum wage, maximum overdraft. Life is complicated. We need to have fun, we lose things, we put things off…

With the average house price rising much faster than average salaries, it can feel like the prospect of ever getting a mortgage is well out of our control. That’s why this guide is going to echo the serenity prayer used in the 12-step programme for recovering alcoholics, in helping you to have the serenity to accept what you cannot change (rampant wealth inequality), the courage to change what you can change (there are a some things, believe me!) and (most importantly) the wisdom to know the difference.

1. KNOWING WHAT YOU’RE AIMING FOR

As a first-time buyer, you’re probably looking at trying to get yourself a 95% mortgage. This means that if you’re buying a property worth £200,000, the bank will lend you £190,000 and you will pay £10,000. These can be hard to come by, but at the moment the government is running a mortgage guarantee scheme, which encourages lenders to offer 95% mortgages by compensating a portion of losses in the event of a repossession, so that may make it more likely you’ll get one. However, this scheme is only running until December 2022.

The amount a bank is willing to lend you is based on a number of factors. You will usually

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have to pass an affordability test that takes into account your income, credit history, monthly outgoings and expected future income. But the main factor, as you might expect, is your annual salary. Most mortgage lenders will consider offering you a mortgage that is up to 4 to 4.5 times your income.

Now for the maths. The average price for a onebedroom flat in Brighton is about £260,000. The average UK annual salary is about £31,000.

So that would get you a mortgage of £139,500 (4.5 times £31,000), which is clearly not 95% of £260,000. But there are other factors to consider.

2. BUYING WITH SOMEONE ELSE

If you’re buying with someone else, the calculations are obviously different. Simply put, you would add together your incomes and a mortgage lender would generally be willing to lend you 4 to 4.5 times your joint income.

If you were buying a one-bedroom flat with your partner for instance, and you were both ‘average’ earners, you would have a joint annual income of £62,000 and would therefore be eligible to borrow up to £279,000, and all you would need then is the 5% deposit – £13,000 for that £260,000 one-bed in Brighton.

It’s important to note that you could also buy somewhere with a friend. It works in exactly the same way – although a one-bed might not be big enough…

Hopefully, these figures have given you a clearer idea of what you’ve got to aim for. If they’re still daunting and even that average income is a distant reality, there are other schemes that can help you.

3. GET A HELP TO BUY EQUITY LOAN FOR NEW-BUILD HOMES

With a Help to Buy Equity Loan, the government lends you from 5% to 20% of the property purchase price of new-build homes. So if you wanted a loan for that £260,000 one-bed and it was a new-build, the government could lend you up to £52,000, which would mean you’d only need a mortgage of £195,000 (£260,000

minus £52,000 minus £13,000 deposit)

4. GET A LIFETIME ISA

A savings account with the word ‘lifetime’ in it may seem a bit unnerving but it could help you on your way to buying your first home. It is designed for first time buyers to help them save for a deposit. You can deposit up to £4,000 per tax year into the account and you will receive a 25% bonus from the government. So you can get up to £1,000 a year. This money can only be taken out to buy your first home or when you’re retired. If you take it out for any other reason, you will have to pay withdrawal fees of 25%, so you’ll lose that bonus.

Getting 25% extra of whatever you save is a pretty big deal.

5. JOIN A HOUSING CO-OP

Housing co-ops offer an alternative property ladder. If you’re looking for a life where earning as much money as possible is not what you want your priority to be, then this could be for you.

Though shared ownership is sometimes an option, the idea of joining a co-op is less to own your own property, than to achieve affordable rent in exchange for contributing to the maintenance and management of a property.

Brighton has a number of well-established coops, which vary from single-occupancy flats in the centre of Brighton to large bustling family houses offering the type of close-knit community rarely found in conventional housing. There can be a bit of a waiting list to get a place in a co-op, but once you do, you can escape the nightmare of chasing that deposit and that average salary, and the stress of having a mortgage over your head. All the benefits of renting without the downsides.

CHIBAH is a network of 14 housing co-ops in Brighton & Hove and if you’re interested, their website (chibah.org) is a good place to start.

An unparalleled setting to call home A stunning new development of 37 luxury apartments in the heart of Hove

Development by

www.roffeyhomes.com

The Tate Residences is an iconic modern masterpiece that rises over Sussex County Cricket Club, redefining apartment living. Each home offers enviable contemporary interiors, generous outside space and secure underground parking facilities, and benefits from an exclusive communal viewing terrace where you can relax with friends and neighbours.

For more details, call 01273 121976 or email info@tateresidences.co.uk Apartments available from £330k | www.tateresidences.co.uk bn1magazine.co.uk

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of your Regional Hello, I’m Stu Davies - one ainst Sewage - a Representatives for Surfers Ag king waves since marine conservation charity ma the nineties.

Meet your local Ocean Guardians: The SAS Brighton & Hove Regional Reps

W

elcome to 2022, my fellow Brightonians. I hope this new year is meeting you well. ‘Tis the season for hunkering down and making plans for the year… and at SAS we’ve been busy doing just that. We have some exciting campaign actions to help protect our local coastal environment in store for 2022. Watch this space! For now, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce my fellow reps for Brighton & Hove Surfers against Sewage. They work tirelessly as volunteers to keep our city beaches clean from plastic and sewage pollution, all year round.

Turning the tide on pollution: A quick intro to Surfers Against Sewage Surfers against Sewage (SAS) are a community of ocean activists dedicated to the protection of oceans, waves, beaches and wildlife. We fight long and hard to protect what we love, and we won’t stop until it’s completely clean, safe and protected for everyone, forever. We started in the 1990s as a surfers’ grassroots movement, responding to the dreadful state of raw sewage being released onto our beaches. These days we are not just surfers, and not just sewage! We fight and campaign on many issues, including plastic pollution, climate change, inland water quality, ocean recovery, and creating communities of ocean activists.

My fellow reps represent the Brighton & Hove Chapter. They’re a constant inspiration to me, so let’s meet them all: Andrew Coleman: SAS rep for Brighton & Hove | Brighton University Lecturer Andrew is our long-serving statesman and resident Water Quality expert! He’s surfed in Brighton and Shoreham since the 1980s and joined SAS in its first year, to campaign for proper sewage treatment in Brighton. He ended up leading local demos, going to Parliament, and water company AGMs. Before long he became one of SAS’s first local reps, then a Director.

Today he’s still active - helping SAS maintain the progress it’s made, and to secure clean seas and beaches - making sure there’s still somewhere to surf for his daughter’s generation.

He works as a lecturer at the University of Brighton and as a planning/environmental consultant, so the environment fills a lot of his life!

“My motivation is simple – I want my daughter to have a cleaner and healthier ocean. We’ve seen a huge increase in people swimming and paddleboarding over the last few years so we hope more people really do care about the health of our ocean.”

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Daisy Vasanthakumar: SAS rep for Brighton & Hove | @lowwastedaisyv Daisy is one of our newest regional reps in Brighton. She’s been awesome in helping manage our social media, setting up beach cleans and finding ways we can engage more ocean activists.

Daisy loves the sea - the sounds, and the peacefulness it brings.

In her free time, she loves to run, and is running the Edinburgh Marathon next year! She is currently working with her employer to introduce simple sustainable swaps within the company, to inspire other larger companies that it’s easy to do the same.

“I was introduced to beach cleans around 5 years ago when I first moved to Brighton and noticed the impact plastics had on our wildlife. I also attended climate and animal rights marches in Brighton and London where I used to live before: I loved it. I felt connected to a wider community with the same goals.”

Atlanta Cook: SAS Rep for Brighton & Hove | Environmental Consultant Atlanta was a North Devon Media Rep back in 2000, and then an SAS Director for a few years, before being made an Honorary SAS Life Member. She’s been a Regional Rep here since 2017, where she’s created and supported dozens of Plastic Free Communities and Plastic Free Schools in Brighton & Hove, and has led her own projects in Rottingdean. A sea lover and long-time campaigner for the protection of our seas, Atlanta works as an environmental consultant (Atlanta Cook Consulting) providing professional help to solve water pollution problems.

“I like to refer people back to SAS’s original Campaign for Clean Seas, it was very impactful and that’s why I originally got involved in promoting the campaign back in 1991” Clare Osborne: SAS Rep for Brighton & Hove | Nature Guide & SUP Instructor Also new to us in 2021, Clare is our Rivers expert. She has always loved the water and could swim before she could walk.

For her, limiting beliefs like “I am not sporty” and “I am not a good environmentalist” got in her way. When scuba diving deepened her love for the water and she started to see our human impact first-hand, she couldn’t sit back anymore. She woke up to her impact on the planet and decided to take action. So she took up kayaking and led conservation expeditions, raising awareness for plastic issues and solutions. She also created a toolkit for British Canoeing. She flipped her career from lawyer to Blue Health Coach and more recently as a SUP Instructor at SUP and Soul.

“I’m super passionate about reconnecting people with the natural systems we are part of to inspire action and radical change for our future.”

VOICES OF OUR CITY SEA WITH

SURFERS AGAINST SEWAGE

Claire Potter (pictured above): SAS Rep for Brighton & Hove | Eco Designer & University Lecturer ​​ Claire grew up overlooking Brighton beach, and she has always been obsessed with the oceans. But the strand lines she used to comb as a child for mermaid’s purses are now inundated with plastic and ghost netting that does not biodegrade. Being a Circular Economy designer has fuelled her search for solutions to the marine litter crisis, with her studio (Claire Potter Design), and utilising the Parley principles of Avoid, Intercept and Redesign.

She has also written an amazing book: ‘Welcome to the Circular Economy’ and is a key voice of authority in the Global Ghost Gear (fishing lines) initiative.

“It is a real honour to become a Regional Rep and be part of a team dedicated to creating a positive future for our oceans – because the oceans connect us all” Stu Davies: SAS Rep for Brighton & Hove | Ethical Digital Agency Founder As for me, I’ve lived in Brighton & Hove for over 15 years.

Firstly as part of the local surf community, then as an active force for change, to tackle local waste & environmental issues in our city. I help organise beach cleans & create awareness, especially around the impact that our large footfall has on our city beaches. I run an ethical marketing

agency Creative Bloom, which specialises in helping the good guys get found: we focus on helping green & ethical businesses get their message out there.

“It is no use just talking, action is required - we have to get up off of our arses and take action - to help protect our seas and oceans from the damage they face” Brighton & Hove SAS wants you!

And so dear reader, this is our call to action for this month’s column. Feel inspired to join the crew? We hope so. We’re looking for like-minded Ocean Activists to help us with our local campaigns here in Brighton & Hove. From beach cleans to political campaigning, citizen science projects, to water testing, events, media & marketing and much more. Want to help us fight the good fight?

To join us, get in touch at sasinbrighton@gmail.com We hope to hear from you soon.

Aloha

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FILM JACKASS FOREVER FRI 4 FEB // CINEMA

While the internet is now rife with people and their questionable behaviour, two decades ago the Jackass crew were considered a menace to polite society. Sparking huge controversy, this unlikely bunch of athletes, slackers and skaters delighted in the indecent and overtly dangerous.

Now Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren, Preston Lacy, and a range of foolhardy celebrities, unveil more hair-raising stunts. Prepare yourself for the sight of people being fired from a cannon or getting covered with honey to the mercy of a live bear. Loud, proud and thoroughly unsafe, Jackass symbolises everything wrong with modern society. And we love it!

MOONFALL FRI 4 FEB // CINEMA

Master of disaster Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, White House Down, The Day After Tomorrow) bounces back into cinemas to co-write and direct one of the most expensive independently-produced films ever made. This sci-fi epic sees the moon knocked from its orbit by an unknown force and put onto a collision course with Earth. Best stock up on tinned goods everyone…

Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, and the great Donald Sutherland leap into the fray. Two astronauts and a conspiracy theorist work together to attempt to avert disaster and discover these unfolding events are not what they seem. There are world-shattering secrets to be revealed.

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FILM TRIVIA DID YOU KNOW: bn1magazine.co.uk

The creation of Jackass dates back to 1998 when failing-actor-turnedwriter Johnny Knoxville thought of the idea of testing different self-defense devices on himself as the basis for an article. He pitched the idea to several magazines and was turned down until meeting with Jeff Tremaine of Big Brother (a skateboarding-related humor magazine).

DEATH ON THE NILE FRI 11 FEB // CINEMA

Kenneth Branagh twirls his moustache and takes another turn as the irrepressible sleuth, Hercule Poirot. It’s all aboard with a stellar ensemble cast, which includes Tom Bateman, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders. and Letitia Wright.

This lush reinterpretation of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery thriller sees apparent peace and tranquillity shattered on the SS Karnak. One of the passengers is found dead, and assumedly murdered. Luckily, a certain renowned Belgian detective just happens to be on hand. Can he use his very particular set of skills to find the killer, before another passenger meets a grisly end?

I WANT YOU BACK FRI 11 FEB // CINEMA

Peter and Emma are total strangers who find a strange solace when they meet. Both were dumped on the same weekend.

This mutual misery spawns an unlikely friendship, as they share genuine concern this may have signalled the end for their romantic lives.

When they see their respective exes happily moving on with new romances, they hatch desperate plots to win back their affections. Each will do whatever it takes to put an end to those budding relationships and send them running back to their arms.

An ensemble cast of Luke David Blumm, Isabel May, Jami Gertz, Dylan Gelula, and Mason Gooding take an unflinching look at love, loss and loneliness.

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MARRY ME FRI 11 FEB // CINEMA

Bobby Crosby’s popular online graphic novel gets a big-screen adaptation. Kat Coiro (Girls5Eva, Florida Girls, She Hulk) directs this romantic musical comedy-drama, bringing in the inestimable talents of Jennifer Lopez, Owen Wilson, Maluma, John Bradley and Sarah Silverman.

After learning that her on-stage partner has been having an affair behind her back, a sensational Latin pop star chooses to marry a stranger who was inadvertently holding a ‘Marry Me’ sign at one of her live shows. Improbable? Almost certainly. But we’re not going to let that spoil our fun. Big production values and a pumped-up soundtrack from J-Lo and Maluma, take a standard rom-com story to the next level.

UNCHARTED FRI 11 FEB // CINEMA

From the world of video games comes the next blockbuster action-adventure franchise. Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom) directs this adaptation of Naughty Dog’s massively popular tales of hi-tempo daring-do. Praised by fans and critics alike, the game series uses historical locations, huge production values and brilliant storytelling to create a playable homage to the golden age of action films.

Spider-Man’s Tom Holland gets acrobatic in the lead role of Nathan Drake, a globe-trotting adventurer and fortune seeker.

Mark Wahlberg plays his mentor, Victor Sullivan, as the pair set out to recover ‘the greatest treasure never found’ and follow a string of strange clues to find Drake’s long-lost brother.

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FILM DOG

FRI 18 FEB // CINEMA Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois dog) jump in a battered Ford Bronco and set off on the road trip of a lifetime. Heading down the Pacific Coast for the funeral of Lulu ‘s former handler, they soon start to drive ach other crazy.

Directed by Tatum and Reid Carolin (producer of Magic Mike, White House Down and 22 Jump Street), this is a fresh spin on the buddy comedy drama. Jane Adams, Kevin Nash, Q’orianka Kilcher, Ethan Suplee and Bill Burr join the fun, as hunk and hound get into a few scrapes and break a few laws. They’ll each have to learn how to put aside their hang-ups if they ever want to find true happiness.

THE DUKE FRI 25 FEB // CINEMA

The great Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Venus) passed away last year, and his uplifting final directorial outing perfectly demonstrates why he’s a sadly missed talent. Starring Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Matthew Goode, The Duke recounts the peculiar story of 60-yearold taxi driver, Kempton Bunton.

In 1961, this sly sexagenarian stole Goya’s iconic Portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery (still the only successful robbery in its history). He posted ransom notes, offering to return the work on condition the Government better invested in elder care. But is everything as it seems, or is the truth even more strange and complicated?

FILM TRIVIA DID YOU KNOW:

In the early stages of the Uncharted production, Mark Wahlberg, Robert De Niro & Joe Pesci were all slated to be in the movie with David O’Russell directing the film. Since then all three and the director dropped out of the project. Wahlberg would later be cast as Sully (Victor Sullivan). bn1magazine.co.uk

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TV GUIDE RU PAUL’S DRAG RACE UK VS THE WORLD

RAISING DION

Finally, something we can all be genuinely patriotic about: the BBC’s ‘yoof’ channel returns from its online sabbatical with a brace of superb new shows. Leading the way is a new version of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which will pit some of the UK’s best talent against a gaggle of international hopefuls from the US, Thailand, Canada and Holland.

The fabulous Alisha Wainwright, Jazmyn Simon and Jason Ritter star in this grounded supernatural thriller. Now renewed for a welcome second season, we’re hoping it can further develop from a bold start into something truly wonderful.

TUES 1 FEB BBC THREE

TUES 1 FEB NETFLIX

Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea and Cheryl Hole will be amongst those flying the flag, as this incredibly successful franchise seeks a Global Superstar. Amongst the judges will be Michelle Visage, Graham Norton, Alan Carr, along with a sparkling array of superstar guest judges including Clara Amfo, Daisy May Cooper, Jade Thirlwall and Melanie C.

The normal dramas of raising a child as a single mother have been amplified, as the youngster has suddenly started to manifest several magical, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son's gifts secret, with the help of Mark's best friend Pat. Unfortunately, there are always some dark forces lurking nearby, seeking to exploit these incredible new powers. Can Nicole still protect the confused Dion and figure out the reason for all these changes?

REACHER

SWEET MAGNOLIAS

Based upon Lee Child’s novel Killing Floor, here’s a hearty dose of brooding drama to get you through the winter. Adapted by the Emmy-nominated writer Nick Santora (Scorpion, Prison Break), this reboot seems intended to take a side-step from the Tom Cruise cinema outings, and stars Alan Ritchson as our titular double-hard protagonist.

Now up for season two, Sweet Magnolias follows three normal South Carolina women, best friends since childhood, as they shepherd each other through the numerous complexities of life. Offering a heady mix of drama and romance (and plenty of margaritas), it’s showing all the signs of growing into a huge hit for Netflix.

FRI 4 FEB PRIME VIDEO

We follow the new life of Jack Reacher, an elite military investigator, who enters civilian life with the barest of essentials. Exploring the nation he once served, he discovers a close-knit community grappling with its first homicide in 20 years. But suddenly he is implicated in the crime and must prove his innocence.

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FRI 4 FEB NETFLIX

Starring Joanna Garcia Swisher, Heather Headley, Brooke Elliott and Jamie Lynn Spears, this ten episode block will create as many questions as it answers. Friendships flounder, old loves end and new loves surface, as a few suppressed secrets disrupt jobs, lives and the balance of power in Serenity. Nobody is completely innocent…

INVENTING ANNA

SEVERANCE

One of the most anticipated shows of 2022 is Shonda Rhimes’ look at the life of con artist Anna Delvey. Starring the award-winning Julia Garner (Ozark), Anna Chlumsky, Katie Lowes, Laverne Cox and Alexis Floyd, this mini-series is guaranteed to thrill.

Directed by Ben Stiller and created by Dan Erickson, Apple TV unveils another innovative and thought-provoking drama. Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have all undergone a severance procedure which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives.

FRI 11 FEB NETFLIX

A journalist with a lot to prove investigates the audacious case of the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene – as well as their money. With ’plans’ for a members’ club and art foundation, the fraudster led a life filled with glamorous parties and international travel, making fools out of everyone around her. This truly is a curious cautionary tale for an image-crafting generation.

FRI 18 FEB APPLE TV+

This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the centre of an unravelling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself. This darkly humorous thriller takes an unwavering look at the increasing power of corporations over their workers – and may encourage you to thoroughly read contracts in the future.

MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

VIKINGS: VALHALLA

This lush period comedy-drama stars Rachel Brosnahan as a housewife who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy.

Set in the early ’60s, the headstrong Midge Maisel is determined to smash any glass ceiling. As we bound into season three, she has an ex-husband, fine-tuning her craft on the road and big changes for all around her.

Set a century after the original Vikings, we follow the adventures of Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Harada and the Norman King William the Conqueror. These men and women will blaze new paths as they fight for survival in an ever changing and evolving Europe. This is the explosive next chapter of the Vikings legend.

SUN 20 FEB AMAZON PRIME

We were left with Midge opening at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem, but an error of judgement has led to her being dropped from her prestigious national tour slot. Now she and her manager must put the incident behind them. Is it finally time to step up and be the main attraction?

FRI 25 FEB NETFLIX

The end of the Viking age may be drawing close, as the Kingdom of England stands tall against the Scandinavian raiders. After the death of King Edward the Confessor, a new generation of legendary heroes make claims to the English throne. Will they change history, or does destiny have other ideas?

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o t e d i u G s ’ t i A Herm

y a D s ’ e n i t n Vale

By Charlie Tomlinson February is upon us, the colder months are almost a thing of the past and spring will soon be sprung. That means that love is in the air and couples everywhere will soon be blowing up our phones with sickly sweet pictures and videos demonstrating their love - as is required, every year, on the perfectly normal day of February 14. As it is an unsuccessful hermit that finds themselves with someone else on Valentine’s Day. Generally the solitudeinclined will be found sitting in their underwear, at home, scooping salted caramel ice cream haphazardly into their gullets.

they give you more than enough love and affection!

What do you mean they only love me because I feed them? That can’t be right, they’re my babies.

Well, one of them did originally belong to my ex but… she chose me! If you start engaging in an argument with someone about how much your cat loves you, you’ve probably just bumped into someone practicing the same kind of reasonable Valentine’s Day self love that you are.

With social media’s insidious grasp reaching ever further into the public consciousness it is harder than ever to avoid this yearly deluge of affection.

Staying indoors and battening down the hatches is no longer enough… god forbid we were to simply stop looking at our phones - where else are we supposed to find our daily dose of daft cat videos? So, rather than doom scrolling through and questioning your life choices, follow these tips to keep you sane. I present to you: The Hermit’s Guide to Valentine’s Day

Schrödinger’s Human

No More Unrequited Love The dreaded day is here and the temptation to sit with wine and phone in hand, perusing the photos your ex is posting with their very attractive new partner is strong. But to this I say: “No more!” Resist the urge to comment, begging to be taken back - that’s just the wine talking. Rather than spending the day wallowing in indulgent self-pity, why not enjoy the peace and quiet.

Your housemate is out with their girlfriend all day. You have the place to yourself! Now is the time to plonk yourself down on the sofa, whack on whatever crappy film you want to watch and treat yourself to your favourite takeaway. The bonus of not having anyone to spend the day with is that you are able to eat whatever garlicky/cheesy/fishy concoction you want without having to worry about putting anyone off.

The next step is to really tick those boxes of righteous self-love. Start making posts about how you don’t need anyone else - you have your 14 cats and

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It’s probably time to call it a day on the selflove-posting once you hit the point of arguing with someone about how much your pets love you. If you can, refrain from communicating with anyone other than said cats and the bottom of your ice cream tub. The goal here is to hit a state of social-media-quantum-superpositioning. All these couples that saw your earlier posts about how great your life is all on your lonesome will be aware of your existence and rabid social media presence. Which, now having suddenly stopped mid feline-based argument, will occupy their thoughts and maybe even their conversations.

Were these posts real? Have you been hacked?

Are you ok? You seem ok, apparently loving your couch potato-y life. You are both existing at home squirting whipped cream into your mouth and on all of the dates of your friends that checked

Facebook earlier; and, let’s be honest, who can spend time with their partner without checking their phone every ten minutes, right? It doesn’t matter that you aren’t out there having a lovely date when you’re metaphorically out there on other people’s dates - even better as it hasn’t cost you a penny (maybe some of your dignity, though)!

The Aesthetic Monk Once you’ve gotten all the ice cream and bitterness out of your system, maybe you’ll stop caring about the fact that cats aren’t really suitable romantic partners after all.

Maybe. Realistically, you’ll have spent the day re-downloading and deleting dating apps on and off all day. This time, though, this time it’s different. You’ve cracked it!

Admittedly, all the desperate social media posting wasn’t a great look but now you should have realised the vibe you want to present: aesthetic asceticism. Sure they seem contradictory, but there is a reason the aesthetic comes first - you’re only as zen as you appear to be right? Light some candles, strike a yoga pose and remove that signature scowl from your face. People don’t know you spent an obscene amount of money on those candles. Who is to say you didn’t make them yourself? Hell, even claim you meditated them into existence because you’re just that close to nirvana. If you end Valentine’s Day even close to that state, then there is almost no difference between you and the couples!

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THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET - ULTRA QUICK AND DELICIOUS HEALTH FOODS

Souvlaki Skewers Prep time: 15mins, Cook time: 10 mins A quick and easy mid week meal that’ll have your mouth watering for more! Warm flat bread and cooling cucumber yogurt is one of life’s simple pleasures - enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

400g lean pork shoulder or Chicken breast, cut into 2cm chunks 1 tbsp olive oil ½ tbsp dried oregano 1 lemon, zested and juiced ½ tsp hot paprika 2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks (optional) 100ml fat-free yogurt 1 small garlic clove, grated ½ cucumber, trimmed and grated 2 Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated chilli sauce, to serve (optional) flatbreads, warmed, to serve (optional)

Saucy Butter Beans and Grilled Feta Prep time: 2 mins, Cook time: 18 mins In just 20 minutes and with basic back of the cupboard ingredients you can make this hearty and healthy meal, that’s packed full of protein.

INGREDIENTS 500ml passata

2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tsp dried oregano, plus a pinch 200g spinach 2 roasted red peppers, sliced 1⁄2 lemon, zested and juiced 100g block of feta, cut into chunks 1⁄2 tsp olive oil 4 small pittas

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STEP 1

Put the pork or chicken in a large bowl with the oil, oregano, lemon zest and juice and paprika as well as a good pinch of salt. Toss everything together to combine and leave to marinate for 10 mins.

STEP 2

Combine the yogurt, garlic and cucumber together in a bowl. Season with salt and set aside.

STEP 3

Set the grill to high. Thread the marinated meat with the peppers (optional) on four metal skewers, alternating between the pork and peppers as you go. Place on a non-stick baking sheet and grill for 3-4 mins on each side, or until cooked through and golden brown.

STEP 4

Serve with the lettuce, yogurt mixture and chilli sauce, and flatbreads, if you like (you will definitely like!)

STEP 1

Put a large ovenproof frying pan over a medium-high heat, and tip in the passata, butter beans, garlic, oregano, spinach and peppers. Stir together and cook for 6-8 mins until the sauce is bubbling and the spinach has wilted. Season, then add the lemon juice.

STEP 2

Heat the grill to high. Scatter the feta over the sauce, so it’s still exposed, drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over the lemon zest plus a pinch of oregano, then grind over some black pepper. Grill for 5-8 mins until the feta is golden and crisp at the edges.

STEP 3

Meanwhile, toast the pittas under the grill or in the toaster, then serve with the beans and feta.

By Jessie McGregor

Well done, you made it through Veganuary! The hellish month of food prep, learning recipes, ignoring the urge to eat a kebab from Franzo’s or whatever local junk food outlet keeps wafting deliciously devilish meat smells your way at 2am on a Saturday. Well… it’s over, you’ve done it and you feel, rightfully, amazing for it - your skin has never looked this good!

To celebrate, I’ve put together a treat for you - recipes that don’t require any obscure ingredients, any more than 20 minutes to prepare, and that continue the good vibes and healthy times! Inspired by dishes found in Spain and Greece, what better way to celebrate the beginning of Spring with some delicious dishes from the Med?

Gambas al Ajillo (Spanish Garlic Shrimp Recipe)

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 5 mins Yes, really, in just 10 minutes, you can make this easy Gambas al Ajillo recipe - extra juicy shrimp swimming in a garlicky olive oil sauce. Mopping up the sauce with your favourite crusty sourdough bread is a must!

INGREDIENTS

1 packet large shrimp peeled and deveined Good quality sea salt ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 10 garlic cloves, chopped 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (start with less if you don’t want it too spicy) 1 teaspoon paprika 2 tablespoons dry sherry or dry white wine Juice of ½ lemon ½ cup chopped fresh parsley

STEP 1

Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt.

Set aside for now.

STEP 2

Heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat up to 60 seconds or until the garlic gains some colour (be careful not to burn it).

STEP 3

Add the shrimp and paprika. Cook briefly, tossing regularly, and watching that the flesh turns opaque with a pearly pink colour (about 3 minutes or so; this will depend on the size of the shrimp).

Remove the pan from the heat.

STEP 4

Stir in sherry, lemon juice and parsley.

STEP 5

Transfer the shrimp and sauce to a serving bowl. Serve with your favourite crusty bread.

VEGAN DATE NIGHT RECIPES

With Valentine’s Day coming in hot on the heels of Veganuary, those that stuck through the meatless month may well be looking to continue their streak. We’ve compiled a relatively simple three-course meal to suit those vegan needs – while being fancy enough to make Valentine’s Day special.

By Charlie Tomlinson

Starter: Griddled Harissa and Mint Courgette Serves 2

1 large courgette 2 garlic cloves, grated or crushed 100ml virgin olive oil Juice of 1 lemon Handful of fresh mint, chopped finely Harissa spice Salt and pepper (Optional) Parmesan or Feta 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Cut the courgette into roughly 3cm thick slices, season lightly with salt and leave in a colander for 15 minutes to draw out some of the moisture.

While waiting for the courgette, grate or crush the garlic and squeeze out the juice of the lemon into a mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and mint to the bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk to combine.

Rub a pinch of harissa spice onto each side of the courgette slices, then griddle at a high heat until dark char lines have appeared (cook on both sides).

(Non-vegan option) Grate a little parmesan over the courgette while it is still hot, or mix in some cubes of feta once in the marinade.

Add to the marinade once coloured all over.

Can be served hot or cold.

Tastes great on its own or served with some warm, crusty bread.

Main: Butternut and Spinach Risotto Serves 2

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes 60g washed spinach 4 medium cloves of crushed or grated garlic 150g of Arborio rice 220ml of dry white wine 50g vegan butter 1 onion finely chopped 750ml of vegetable stock or vegan chicken stock Small bunch of sage leaves, roughly chopped Salt and pepper 3 tbsp olive oil Handful of crushed walnuts (Non-vegan option) Parmesan cheese

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1.

Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 while prepping the veg. Then, toss the cubed squash, 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped sage before adding to a shallow roasting tin and roast until brown and soft (roughly 30 mins).

2. Start to prepare the risotto while the squash is roasting. Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan, keep on a low simmer throughout. In a separate pan, melt half of the butter on a medium heat. Stir in the onions and cook until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the garlic, salt and pepper to the onions. Cook until fragrant.

4. Stir the rice into the onions and garlic until coated in the butter. Keep stirring until the rice is shiny with almost transparent edges.

5. Add the wine and simmer until evaporated.

6. Once the wine is evaporated, turn the risotto pan down to a low heat. Add the stock a ladleful at a time while stirring the rice. Continue for roughly 25 minutes, until the rice is cooked al dente and the risotto looks creamy.

7. Add the spinach and stir in until wilted and cooked.

8. Once the butternut squash is done, take half and mash into a rough puree while the rest is left in cubes.

9. Stir the pureed butternut into the still hot risotto, along with the rest of the butter.

Scatter the remaining butternut chunks throughout the risotto, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. (If using parmesan, also add now and stir through) 10. Add the crushed walnuts as garnish.

Pudding: Lemon Sorbet

Serves 4-6, but lasts ages in the freezer (and allows for seconds!)

225g Caster Sugar 6 Unwaxed Lemons 250ml water (Optional) 1 tbsp vodka 1.

Tip the caster sugar into a saucepan and add the water. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes then remove from the heat.

2. Finely zest 3 of the lemons and add to the sugar syrup.

3. Cut all the lemons in half and add their juice to the zesty-syrupy goodness. Add the vodka if using. Stir well and leave to cool.

4. Cover and chill the lemon syrup for 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled 5. If using an ice cream maker then it’s your lucky day. Just add 100ml of water and continue as per manufacturer instructions.

6. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the syrup into a plastic freezer box, cover and freeze.

7. After an hour, remove from the freezer and whisk to break up the larger ice crystals.

Then return to the freezer for a further hour.

8. Repeat this every 30-40 minutes until the sorbet has frozen.

9. If there are still large ice crystals, put the sorbet in a food processor and whizz for 20-30 seconds until smooth. Then return to the freezer.

10. Serve with a little lemon zest over the top.

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Magnificent Meatless Meals

By Charlie Tomlinson

Veganuary is over! The pressure is off to be a strict vegan, so now we can relax and sneak a bit of cheese in here and there…or shovel mozzarella into your face at 2am while everyone else is asleep. For those who are happy to branch out into eating cheese again, here are a couple of recipes for when you’re in the mood for a decadent meatless meal, followed by a healthy, low-effort vegan option for when you feel like behaving yourself.

Truffle Mushroom Mac and Cheese

STEP 1

Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the flour and stir well. Cook, stirring over a low heat, for a couple of minutes. Gradually add the milk, stirring well between each addition until smooth, followed by the mustard. Still stirring, increase the heat to medium and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes until thickened and smooth.

STEP 2

Once removed from the heat, stir in ⅔ of the combined cheeses and season to taste. Stir in 2 tsp of truffle oil then cover with a lid and set aside.

INGREDIENTS

40g butter 40g plain flour 700ml whole milk 1 tsp Dijon mustard 200g cheddar cheese, grated 50g Italian hard cheese, finely grated 6 tsp mild truffle oil 1 tbsp olive oil 250g pack chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1⁄4 of a 20g pack thyme, leaves only 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped 250g macaroni 25g dried breadcrumbs

STEP 3

Heat half the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add half the mushrooms and half the thyme leaves, season, and cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring now and then until golden. Tip onto a plate and repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms. Turn off the heat, add all the mushrooms back into the pan, along with the garlic and 2 tsp of truffle oil and stir together. Set aside.

STEP 4

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water for 7 minutes or until al dente, then drain. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6.

STEP 5

Add the cooked pasta and most of the mushrooms to the cheese sauce and mix well. Tip into a large baking dish (about 30cm x 20cm) and top with the rest of the mushrooms. Mix together the breadcrumbs, remaining cheeses and thyme leaves and sprinkle over the top. Season with black pepper and drizzle with a final 2 tsp of truffle oil or extra-virgin olive oil if you prefer.

STEP 6

Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

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Harissa Aubergine Pie INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp olive oil 2 aubergines, cut into chunks 2 red onions, finely sliced 2 large garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbsp rose harissa paste 1 tbsp ground coriander 400g can cherry tomatoes 250g pouch cooked puy lentils 100g pitted green olives 1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped 1.3kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks 100g feta, crumbled

STEP 1

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the aubergines for 10-15 mins until golden and softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

STEP 2

Fry the onions with the remaining oil for 7-10 mins or until softened. Add the garlic, 1 tbsp of the harissa and the coriander and cook for 1 min more. Return the aubergines to the pan with the tomatoes, lentils, olives and a can of water.

Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 mins. Season, then stir through the parsley.

STEP 3

Cook the sweet potatoes in a large pan of boiling lightly salted water for 15 mins. Drain and leave to steam-dry, then mash and stir through the remaining harissa. Spoon the aubergine filling into a large baking dish, scatter over half the feta and spoon over the potatoes. Scatter the remaining feta over the pie.

STEP 4

Heat the grill to its highest setting. Grill the pie for 7-10 mins or until the top is crisp and golden. To freeze, leave to cool completely before portioning out into small freezer-proof containers.

Chickpea Curry INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, finely sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp ground coriander 400g can plum tomatoes 400ml can coconut milk 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 large tomatoes, quartered ½ small pack coriander, roughly chopped cooked basmati rice, to serve

STEP 1

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan and add 2 finely sliced onions. Cook until softened, about 10 mins.

STEP 2

Add 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp ground coriander, then stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 mins, then pour in a 400g can of plum tomatoes, break up with a wooden spoon and simmer for 10 mins.

STEP 3

Pour in a 400ml can of coconut milk and season. Bring to the boil and simmer for a further 10-15 mins until the sauce has thickened.

STEP 4

Tip in a drained and rinsed 400g can of chickpeas and 2 quartered large tomatoes, and warm through. Scatter over roughly chopped coriander from ½ small pack and serve with fluffy rice.

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Across

Cryptic Crossword 1

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1 Gradual absorption is seen after universe initially stalled (7) 5 Mother heads opposite directions over Neil's toxic masculinity (9)

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7 Follows animals (4) 5

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8 Vegetable is fine with sides of raita (4) 10 Operation for girl dancing with a moth (9) 11 Doctors realise that man's drinking beer, right? (7)

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2 Young sage shaking in place of worship (9) 11

3 Tops of organic milk in the skip (4) 4 Slippery customer at Pavilion? (3,6) 5 Vespa fan? The Spanish make (5) 6 Crowd for second heat (5)

Across 1 Gradual absorption is seen after universe initially stalled (7)

9 Morale without embrace from me achieved by word of mouth (4)

5 Mother heads opposite directions over Neil's toxic masculinity (9)

SUDOKU 7 Follows animals (4)

8 Vegetable is fine with sides of raita (4) 10 Operation for girl dancing with a moth (9) 11 Doctors realise that man's drinking beer, right? (7) Down 2 Young sage shaking in place of worship (9) 3 Tops of organic milk in the skip (4) 4 Slippery customer at Pavilion? (3,6)HARD EASY 80

5 Vespa fan? The Spanish make (5)

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A Cynical History of Valentine’s Day

By Lucy Sheehan

Looking forward to Valentine’s Day? Can’t wait for the mysterious card on your desk, or the bunch of flowers and box of chocolates, or the achingly romantic meal? I’m here to tell you that Valentine’s Day has a history as bloodthirsty, sordid and sinister as, well… [insert ex’s name here].

wrote in his poem Parliament of Foules how both birds and humans seek their ‘match’ on St Valentine’s Day:

Hoping to meet your ‘special someone’ this Valentine’s Day? Well, you’re not special - that’s just what capitalism wants you to think - and neither was St Valentine. There seems to have been up to a dozen Christian martyrs by the name of Valentine since the 3rd century, the most recent of whom was beheaded in Vietnam in 1861. In fact, it’s uncertain whether it’s St Valentine of Rome or St Valentine of Terni who we’re celebrating. They might be the same person. There’s so little certainty about who they were that the Catholic Church discontinued veneration of him.

Scholars have suggested that the spring equinox would have occurred around this time of year in Chaucer’s age, when birds began making nests and looking for mates. Bring on then the associations with lovebirds, blossoming flowers, and brave knights exchanging poems with ladies with flowing locks before the joust. That said, we know now that knights were mostly travelling thugs who rode across the countryside murdering, brutalising and stealing, and their ladies were effectively prisoners who weren’t allowed to become literate and had the hair on their heads plucked back into a large extended forehead. So romantic.

There are also different accounts of how St Valentine was martyred. Some claim he was imprisoned by the Romans in the 3rd century for performing marriages for Christians, with the added embellishment that, before he was executed, he left a letter with the jailor’s daughter signed ‘Your Valentine’. More likely is that he was starting to irritate the Romans by going around baptising everyone. The Romans had a fairly low tolerance for that sort of thing at the time and had him clubbed to death and beheaded.

Essentially, there’s very little to connect St Valentine to love in those early days. The idea of romance on Valentine’s Day came later, and only began flourishing around the 14th century, a time we associate with courtly love, lords and ladies. The first known association came from Canterbury Tales poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who

‘For this was on seynt Valentynes day Whan every foul cometh there to chese his make.’

FUN FACT: Some Christians still pray to St Valentine to protect their love interests, but St Valentine actually has his hands full in heaven as a patron saint of something much more important: beekeeping. Given their essential role as pollinators, without whom life on earth would cease to exist, St Valentine’s priority should probably be his bees and beekeepers, and he should stop wasting his precious time seeking the perfect kiss.

We have the Victorians to thank for the bloated, globalised version of the Valentine’s Day we enjoy today. The Industrial Revolution meant the advent of large scale reproduction, and from the 1820s cards and other tat began circulating in ever larger numbers. Chocolates, perfumes, diamond rings and balloons all found their way into the

mix and the date found its way onto marketers’ schedules with increasing importance. Picture the mountain of shiny red, pink and white plastic rising up in the landfill. Picture it!

Also picture (seriously) the environmental and human impact of excessive mining for gold and diamonds: deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, cyanide pollution and the funding of brutal conflicts in war-torn countries. The cut flower industry - which skyrockets around Valentine’s Day - contributes to vast chemical pollution because of the quick production turnaround, and also uses huge amounts of water. In efforts to reduce costs, many floricultural businesses have moved to countries that actually struggle for water but have lower labour costs and less stringent environmental regulation.

Then there’s human trafficking. In the early 2000s it came to light that in the Ivory Coast and other parts of West Africa the production of cacao was regularly reliant on child labour and even child slavery. As with everything, it’s worth considering where and how the excess demand that a day like Valentine’s Day brings is satisfied.

So, when someone says, ‘no date for valentines?’

You can say, ‘Actually, I can’t condone the impact on our global ecosystem and the waste it pumps into our precious environment. Historically, we have no idea who St Valentine was, and we only associate it with romance because Chaucer wrote a poem about birds hooking up. Also it’s a construct of a capitalist agenda that fuels conflicts overseas and underpins many damaging gender roles in our own society.’ Then you’ll seem clever and ethical, which is very attractive in a person, and someone will probably ask you on a date.

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Across 1 The concept that a monarch has been chosen by God, not by the people (6,5) 7/16/23 Digital asset stored on the blockchain (3-8,5) 9 Academy award (5)

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Crossword provided by @thompuntoncrosswords - answers at www.bn1magazine.co.uk

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QUICK CROSSWORD

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Down 1 See 25 2 Preparations to prevent the spread of viruses (8) 3 Socially inept but knowledgeable people (5)

10 Early (9)

4 Affinity (7)

11 Things left out (9)

5 Conjectured (7)

12 Silly (5) 13 Not precise (7)

6 Belief or practice handed down from generation to generation (9)

15 Drop that falls (4)

7 Hard, chewy confection (6)

18 Piece of data (abbrev) (4)

8 Required (6)

20 Sluggishness (7)

14 People who came (9)

23 See 7

16 See 7 Across

24 336 hours (9)

17 Expresses dissent (8)

26 Large, long fish (6,3)

19 Thin glossy silk fabric (7)

27 Atmosphere / instrument (informal) (5)

20 One of the Gilmore Girls (7)

28 Archetypally blue thing (3)

21 Adheres (6)

29 Landlubber's affliction (11)

22 Type of jeans (6)

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25/1 Tennis player refused entry to this year's Australian Open for not having any 2 down (5,8)

Sat 7–Sun 29 May 2022 Full programme will be announced Wed 16 Feb 2022 Join Membership and enjoy one week of priority booking

brightonfestival.org

Events Announced So Far

Guest Co-Directors

Children’s Parade Hofesh Shechter Double Murder Wise Children Wuthering Heights

Syrian architect and author Marwa al-Sabouni and dreamthinkspeak Artistic Director Tristan Sharps

Open Morning Saturday 23 April 2022 10.00am – 12 noon The Droveway, Hove, East Sussex BN3 6LU T 01273 503 452 E LPHAdmissions@lancing.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 1076483

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