Clocks, sauna and other stories (#6)
TL;DR of local press and stories from Brighton and surrounding areas.
News
So much bad weather going on in case you haven’t noticed. Way too many articles about that.
The Office of National Statistics released the data of Census 2021 in an awesome interactive map. For example here’s an analysis of the “most deprived” areas, but we recommend playing around with the map yourself for some quality procrastination time.
The new Sea Lanes swimming pool, a.k.a. The National Open Water Swimming Centre® has announced that they expect to open the pool by April or May. An interview with the director, and random quotes from random people about it.
There might be snow at Christmas!
World AIDS Day is coming up on 1st December, here is an interesting interview with Simon Fanshawe, one of the founders of the LGBTQ+ Stonewall, about his memories. From The New Encyclopaedia of Brighton: “The first cases of HIV/AIDS in Brighton were diagnosed in 1982; in the following 25 years, 482 people in the town died from the condition, the majority of them gay men.”. The second AIDS memorial in UK was unveiled in 2009.
The Mayor planted two baby Japanese spindles trees on the Madeira Drive “Green Wall”. In case you missed it, last year the council completely slashed a section of the green wall considered a Local Wildlife Site and later apologised for doing that. As part of the Madeira Terrace the council will now very carefully prune parts of the “green wall” of Japanese Spindle plants.
An invigorating sauna hut in Shoreham.
The council announced an action plan to drastically improve air quality. They are also discussing measures to manage bins on pavements and tackle illegal flyposting. We are excited to see if “super bins” will appear soon.
An upcoming movie about Mercedes Gleize, a Brightonian swimmer who was the first British woman to swim the English Channel.
Pizza Rebellion, the pizza vending machines you can find at the train station, seem actually to be pretty good, according to this Business Innovation Award. Close to the vending machine you can find a new barber shop in a shipping container. Speaking of barbers, the ‘Barber of the year’ nominees are out.
The Grace TV series is still being filmed around Brighton. This time they were in Kemp Town for a murder scene. One of the characters named Kevin Spinella is an Argus reporter in the TV show, and this week he got interviewed by an actual Argus reporter.
Did you know we have a Library of Things in Brighton from which you can borrow items like drills, projectors and carpet cleaners for free until March 2023? There is also a “Green & Circular Economy Jobs Fair” you can attend if you are interested in jobs in businesses embracing sustainability.
Seal!
The Hanover Advent Calendar 2022 has been announced, its organisers are fundraising for the Clock Tower Sanctuary, a charity helping homeless young people. Also this year the traditional Burning The Clocks is coming back after a two-years hiatus. Check out this video to see what to expect.
Do you like trains and also Christmas lights? Here’s the perfect event for you.
Music
“A short film by Craig Murray based on the Blood Red Shoes album 'GHOSTS ON TAPE', out now. […] Shot in Hove, UK, December 2021” “Blood Red Shoes are an English alternative rock duo from Brighton consisting of Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell. They have released six full-length albums […]. Blood Red Shoes are labelled under genres such as alternative rock, indie rock, garage rock, and noise pop. According to their AllMusic biography, the band includes influences from punk rock and shoegazing.”
History corner
“The Aquarium, Brighton was designed by Eugenius Birch, and was constructed in conjunction with the Madeira Drive extension to the sea-wall, starting in 1869. The Aquarium was completed in 1872 and opened in August of that year. The Aquarium was originally a private venture, but falling revenues resulted in it being bought by Brighton Corporation in 1901. It is now Brighton Sealife Centre, or Brighton Sea Life. […] The Aquarium was closed in 1927 to allow for the overhaul, which included the removal of the rather gothic clock from the entrance. […] The clock can supposedly still be seen transplanted into the roof of the entrance to the adjacent Palace Pier. However, whether this is really the same clock is disputed.”
.jpg "A gothic style clock tower being demolished by a group of men.")