24 Monday Jan 2011
Posted in Books, Brighton, History, Non-Fiction
≈ Comments Off on Backstage Brighton
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Backstage Brighton, Brighton, Coronation Street, Donald Sinden, Laurence Olivier, Lucy Packham, Marlene Dietrich, Queenspark Books, Theatre
Backstage Brighton: Theatre-Going in Brighton & Hove (2010) is the latest offering from Queenspark Books, Brighton’s community publisher, specialising in oral history. It complements their previous book, Back Row Brighton: Cinema-Going in Brighton & Hove (2009.) Continue reading
30 Thursday Sep 2010
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Brighton Writes is a new blog from me, in association with Creative Future, a charity for marginalised artists and writers. I’ll be covering news from the region – and beyond – on the arts, with a special emphasis on literature, getting your voice heard and also mental health and related social issues.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, please subscribe to Brighton Writes and invite your friends.
And this website will continue as usual, of course!
23 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted in Brighton, Music, Uncategorized
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One night last week, I celebrated my birthday at the Volks Tavern, a small club on the colonnade at Madeira Drive, near Brighton Pier. It is named after the light railway that runs nearby, and is one of the most laidback, intimate venues in the city.
One of my oldest friends, Stephen Silverwood, founded Refugee Radio in 2008. I’ve listened to a few of their weekly broadcasts on the local and online Brighton station, Radio Reverb, interviewing refugees and asylum seekers living in the area. Continue reading
09 Sunday May 2010
Image by Peter Griffiths
Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille) was born in Mayo circa 1530, daughter of a chieftain. She became Ireland’s most renowned sea-raider, and her battles with Sir Richard Bingham, the Governor of Connacht, are the stuff of legend. In 1593, when English colonisation was at its peak, Grace famously negotiated with Elizabeth I at Greenwich Palace. The life of Ireland’s ‘pirate queen’ has long been celebrated in folklore, literature and song. Most recently the poet Naomi Foyle has composed an ‘epic ballad’, Grace of the Gamblers: a Chantilly Chantey. Continue reading
11 Sunday Apr 2010
Posted in Books, Brighton, Fiction, Film, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby
≈ Comments Off on From Russia With Love
Artwork by Michael Gillette
‘City Reads’ is an annual event in Brighton and Hove, beginning on World Book Day in March and concluding during the Brighton Festival in May. Each year one book is chosen, to be read and discussed by the whole community over three months. Since 2005, a variety of texts from Lewis Carroll’s classic fantasy, Alice in Wonderland, to contemporary novels such as The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack have been selected.
This year’s read is From Russia With Love, the fifth of Ian Fleming’s thrillers featuring the dashing secret agent, James Bond. Continue reading
31 Wednesday Mar 2010
Posted in Brighton, Film, Marilyn Monroe
The Duke of York’s Picture House at Preston Circus, Brighton, is the oldest independent cinema in England and celebrates its centenary this month. Like many local residents, I can ring the changes in my own life by recalling my frequent visits to the Duke’s over the last 16 years. (For more on Brighton’s cinematic past, click here.)
When I first moved to Brighton in 1994, I would often attend the matinees as it was a safe and friendly place for a single girl to hang out. Among my favourite films at the time were Hal Hartley’s Amateur and Kieslowski’s Three Colours series. And one afternoon before Christmas, I saw Marilyn Monroe on the big screen for the first time, in her most celebrated film, Some Like It Hot. Continue reading
31 Thursday Dec 2009
Photo by Tony Mould
Brighton and Hove City Council has put forward proposals to shut Brighton History Centre as part of a bid to save almost £8 million from its overall budget in the next year.
But its users claim the closure, which will save the council £62,000, will be a devastating blow.
Brighton Evening Argus, December 15th 2009 Continue reading
17 Thursday Dec 2009
Posted in Art and Photography, Books, Brighton, Film, History, Non-Fiction
≈ Comments Off on Back Row Brighton
Back Row Brighton: Cinema-Going in Brighton and Hove is the latest offering from Queenspark Books, a community publisher since 1974. Specialising in the reminiscences of local people, and writing and editing with volunteers, Queenspark has created a unique, alternate history of Brighton. It also provides a focus for aspiring writers with a number of ongoing courses, groups and workshops, and is used as a learning resource by schools in the area.
Given its cultural atmosphere and lively past, it is perhaps unsurprising that Brighton has played a part in the evolution of cinema, from the camera’s invention until the present day. Continue reading
14 Saturday Nov 2009
Posted in Art and Photography, Brighton, Marilyn Monroe
≈ Comments Off on Marilyn Spotting
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Stairs
Kitchen
Lounge
Scott Fortner has added pictures of Marilyn sightings from around the world to his Marilyn Monroe Collection. Some photos taken while out and about in Brighton are included there, while above are some more photos from inside my home.
12 Saturday Sep 2009
Posted in Brighton, History, Magazines, Witchcraft
≈ Comments Off on HerStoria
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HerStoria is a new quarterly magazine, launched in Liverpool this February. Its byline is ‘history that puts women in their place’. Women’s role in history has sometimes been overlooked, though the same could also be said for other groups such as the working class and non-whites. Focussing on their stories helps us to understand the past as experienced by society at large, and not only through the narrow perspective of ruling elites. Continue reading
