Viva Brighton Issue #84 February 2020
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VIVA
B R I G H T O N
#84 FEB 2020
EDITORIAL
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Viva Magazines is based at:
Lewes House, 32 High St,
Lewes, BN7 2LX.
For all enquiries call:
01273 488882.
Every care has been taken to
ensure the accuracy of our content.
We cannot be held responsible for
any omissions, errors or alterations.
In a city that’s famous for its digital industries
and game studios, I still prefer to pass the time
on a decidedly low-tech Backgammon board. So
I expected to feel properly behind the times as we
began looking into the local games scene for this
month’s issue.
As expected, we found a thriving game development
community that’s drawing on a deep well of diverse
talents. People like the Global Game Jammers
who gather each year for an ‘all play’ weekend of
worldwide games creation; illustrator and concept
artist Dan Lish who adds vivid colour to imaginary
landscapes; and actor Elsie Lovelock who gives
characters their voice.
But we also discovered a whole world of analogue
gaming, and not just in the dusty corners of pubs.
Places like the Dice Saloon, where hundreds of
people meet each week to gather around board
games and disappear into role-playing realms; and
a growing number of immersive Escape Rooms. We
met game-maker (cartoonist, and punk rocker) Paul
Stapleton, who turned Brighton life into a series of
BN1-inspired board games; and Hazel Reynolds,
whose ruse to pry her sister away from her iPad grew
into a business that’s sold upwards of 100,000 card
games, and counting.
Of course, all this code-cracking, strategising and
imaginative play can be put to brilliant use in the real
world too. Just ask the founders of Block Builders,
who use Minecraft to involve kids in designing the
cities of the future – and the urban planners are
listening. In this town, playing is serious business.
VIVA
B R I G H T O N
THE TEAM
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EDITOR: Lizzie Lower lizzie@vivamagazines.com
SUB EDITOR: David Jarman
PRODUCTION EDITOR: Joe Fuller joe@vivamagazines.com
ACTING ART DIRECTOR: Rebecca Cunningham rebecca@vivamagazines.com
PHOTOGRAPHER AT LARGE: Adam Bronkhorst mail@adambronkhorst.com
ADVERTISING: Sarah Jane Lewis sarah-jane@vivamagazines.com;
Jenny Rushton jenny@vivamagazines.com
ADMINISTRATION & ACCOUNTS: Kelly Mechen kelly@vivamagazines.com
DISTRIBUTION: David Pardue distribution@vivamagazines.com
CONTRIBUTORS: Alex Leith, Alexandra Loske, Amy Holtz, Ben Bailey,
Chris Riddell, Dan Lish, Ellie Evans, JJ Waller, Jacqui Bealing, Jay Collins, Joda,
Joe Decie, John Helmer, Lizzie Enfield, Mark Greco, Martin Skelton,
Michael Blencowe, Nione Meakin, Paul Zara and Rose Dykins.
PUBLISHER: Becky Ramsden becky@vivamagazines.com
Please recycle your Viva (or keep us forever).
CONTENTS
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8
Concept art for Worlds Adrift by Dan Lish
Bits & bobs.
8-21. Video game concept artist Dan
Lish stages a boardgame battle on the
cover; impersonator Janet Brown is on
the buses; Joe Decie is still trying to
get a hang of the rules; and Alexandra
Loske revisits the trailblazing Mary
Merrifield. Martin Skelton reviews footie
mag Mundial; Alex Leith catches a roofraising
game at the Islingword Inn; and JJ
Waller snaps FIFA referee Kirsty Dowle
at Whitehawk. Plus, RadioReverb ready
themselves for their annual Reverbathon
fundraiser.
My Brighton.
22-23. Paul Stapleton on the snakes and
ladders of his hometown.
Photography.
25-29. Julien Bonnin’s patchwork
recollections of a wartorn Beirut, on
display at Fabrica this month.
25
Columns.
31-35. John Helmer sits out a round of
the Rizla game; Lizzie Enfield plays word
games with a gaggle of Gaelic journalists;
and Amy Holtz is in no hurry to return to
the Amex.
On this month.
37-45. Ben Bailey rounds up his pick of
the local gigs; TOM’s Reigning Women
season brings multi-talented composer
Anna Meredith to town; and BREMF stage
‘Bora I’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
....6 ....
CONTENTS
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little-known opera La Dafne in the former
market hall. Brighton Dome hosts a pondhopping
folk fest in Transatlantic Sessions
and a talk about Women in Entertainment.
Plus, Shlomo brings his Beatbox Adventure
for Kids to Komedia.
Art & design.
46-55. Poet, painter (and occasional
mermaid) Ruby Dine is at Jubilee library,
and Towner host a major exhibition of early
works by Alan Davie and David Hockney.
Rose Dykins gets the lowdown on the
Global Game Jam, and just some of what’s
on, art wise, this month.
The way we play.
57-61. Adam Bronkhorst photographs some
hardcore boardgamers at the Dice Saloon.
Food.
63-67. A brilliant brunch at 640 East;
a recipe for a healthy fish supper from
Nutritious Fish (who’ll deliver the catch
of the day direct to your door); an epic
sandwich from Social Board; and a small
taster of this month’s food news.
53
57
Features.
69-79. We meet the founder of Gamely
Games; round up Brighton’s growing list of
Escape Rooms; hear trade secrets from the
voice actor Elsie Lovelock; and Joe Fuller
revisits the ‘cosily catastrophic’ virtual
world of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Plus, we find out about the company
mapping the city with Minecraft; an
animation school for kids; and hear from
the University of Sussex Senior Lecturer
who has done the maths on dating apps.
Photo by Adam Bronkhorst
‘Oil of Ulay 2’ (2018) by Shani Rhys James
Courtesy of the artist and Connaught Brown
Wildlife.
81. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Built
for headbanging.
Inside left.
82. The Brighton Tigers, 1958. The city’s
ice hockey team in their heyday.
....7 ....
THIS MONTH’S COVER ARTIST
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Worlds Adrift
Dan Lish has worked as a concept artist for a
range of video game companies, including Sony,
Lucas Arts, and Rockstar, where he worked on
Max Payne and Grand Theft Auto 3. He explains
that the job title can confuse people however,
and that in practice it’s similar to most forms
of illustration. “It’s
just like other kinds of
publishing and editorial.
You’re following
a brief from an
art director and
you create an
illustration. It just so
happens that the artwork
that I’m doing is 90%
digital. It’s illustration, but
following a tight brief to
be used in video games. It’s a
weird title.”
Dan is currently lead concept artist at American
games company Mythical, working on an
upcoming title, Blankos Block Party. “It’s based
on the sub-culture of collecting vinyl toys. The
player can customise their character and explore
the universe, which is brilliant because 99.9% of
the stuff I create goes in the game.”
This month’s cover depicts characters from both
classic video games and board games: “there’s
a lot going on. I felt it was punchy going for
classic games: you’ve got Space Invaders, Donkey
Kong, Bowser, chess pieces on the Pavilion.” The
dragon in the middle – adorned with our issue
number – is inspired by Dungeons and Dragons,
while the ghosts chasing the pruned patient from
Operation are from Pac-Man.
Dan’s inking technique, which he describes as
having “zillions of little ink strokes”, was initially
inspired by comic illustrators Robert Crumb and
Moebius. “I feel that it’s gone its own way now
Blankos Block Party
....8 ....
DAN LISH
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though. Mature enough to hold my own.”
Since 2014, Dan has developed a large
following for his Egostrip project, where
he creates illustrations based on hip hop
artists. “I’ll pick an artist like Rakim, a very
endowed lyricist, and I’ll take inspiration
from a lyric that was quite poignant to me.”
Dan’s work sometimes delves into the nature
of inspiration, and the creative process itself.
In his Rakim illustration, the rapper stares
into the distance, “looking into nowhere. The
borderlands, as Philip Pullman puts it. You’re
dipping into something bigger. That whole
creative journey.”
Dan has over 17,000 followers on Instagram,
and aims to contact all fans that comment
on his work. “I make sure I answer
everyone’s questions, which can be quite
time consuming. Just as a mark of respect
that they’ve reached out to me and liked
what I’ve done, or have said something really
endearing. It leads to a nice community based
around the artwork.” Joe Fuller
Dan is launching a Kickstarter project to publish
a collection of his Egostrip hip hop illustrations.
Follow him on Instagram for updates. @danlish1,
danlish.com, danlishartworks.bigcartel.com
Unannonced project for Bossa Studios
Cypress Hill Omar
....9 ....
BITS AND BUSES
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ON THE BUSES #58: JANET BROWN ROUTE 1
Janet Brown was one of Brighton’s most famous impersonators. Born in
Rutherglen, near Glasgow in 1923, Janet performed in variety shows for
World War Two soldiers, including future stars Tony Hancock and Frankie
Howerd. She then went on to work for BBC Radio Scotland and married
Peter Butterworth, who would later star in Carry On films.
Although she started impersonating celebrities such as Jessie Matthews in
the 50s, her most famous character, Margaret Thatcher, first appeared on
ITV’s The Eamonn Andrews Show, soon after Thatcher became leader of the
Conservative Party in 1975. Janet’s Thatcher proved popular, appearing on BBC’s Mike Yarwood Show, a
comedy album titled Iron Lady: The Coming of the Leader, and the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.
An obituary in The Scotsman describes her performances as ‘cool and incisive… combining a fine vocal
delivery with a detailed study of the Thatcher mannerisms’. The impersonation was mostly affectionate
however; Janet was a Conservative and portrayed Thatcher as ‘an individual character with an independent
mind’. Thatcher once asked Janet to tea at Downing Street in fact, and to stay the weekend at Chequers.
Janet died in a nursing home in Hove in May 2011, aged 87, and was buried alongside her husband Peter
Butterworth, in Danehill Cemetery. Joe Fuller
Illustration by Joda (@joda_art)
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JOE DECIE
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....11....
CURATOR’S CITY
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PIONEERING WOMEN OF BRIGHTON, PART 1:
MARY MERRIFIELD AND THE ‘MANY-FACED MONSTER FASHION’
On 15th February photographer
Anita Corbin’s
exhibition of 100 First Women
Portraits opens at Brighton
Museum. It will feature
striking portraits of British
women who were ‘first’ in their
field of achievement. There
will be several related events,
and I am looking forward to
talking with Anita about how
women have been portraying
other women in portraiture
through the centuries.
This exhibition also got me
thinking about some of Brighton’s
‘first women’. Exactly a
year ago I introduced the marvellous
Mrs Merrifield to Viva
Brighton readers, as one of very
few 19th-century female colour
researchers. Mary Philadelphia
Merrifield (1804-1889) was
a self-taught artist and writer
who spent most of her life in
Brighton. Just after the Royal
Pavilion was sold by Queen
Victoria in 1850 Merrifield
exhibited her paintings in the
first art exhibitions held in the
palace. Later she was involved
in the shaping of the natural
history collections at Brighton
Museum, became a specialist in
marine algae, wrote a popular
guidebook about Brighton
and learned several foreign
languages along the way (as
you do).
But Merrifield was a trailblazer
in another area, so she deserves
at least one more outing here.
In 1854 she published what is
probably the first ever book
on dress history, certainly by a
woman, entitled Dress as a Fine
Art, comprising essays that had
previously been published in
the Art-Journal and Sharpe’s
London Magazine. It was a
small-format publication,
illustrated by Merrifield herself,
and came out simultaneously in
London and Boston. This little
book is a fascinating overview
of contemporary and historical
fashion, focussing on many
aspects of clothing, such as
particular cuts, embellishments,
Double-page and title pages of Merrifield’s book Dress as a Fine Art (1854)
....12....
CURATOR’S CITY
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footwear, patterns, and even children’s
clothes. Unsurprisingly for a woman who
had spent the previous decade researching
colour history, there is a long chapter on
colour in fashion, and how to find the right
colours for your complexion and hair tone.
Merrifield is critical of some of the ‘absurdities’
of Paris fashion and certain ‘freaks
of fashion’ in previous centuries, and how
‘fashion, with its usual caprice, has interfered
with nature’ and ‘natural philosophy’. By
this, she means the way women were tightlaced
and strapped into stays and corsets
that were detrimental to their health and
that of their unborn children. By contrast,
she considers some Greek and Middle
Eastern costume much more elegant and in
keeping with the natural shape of a woman’s
body. Merrifield, who had seen the rise and
impact of fashion plates in 19th-century
popular magazines, encouraged women to
look critically at such representations of
beauty and body shape, and urged dressmakers
to look at the real and natural human
figure. These were strong and progressive
views in the high-Victorian age, which saw
cinched waists and corseted bodies return
with a vengeance.
Alexandra Loske, Art Historian and Curator
To acknowledge Merrifield’s contribution to
Brighton’s history there is a small display about
her at the Booth Museum of Natural History,
which finishes in March. On 15th February, at
Brighton Museum, photographer Anita Corbin
and Alexandra Loske will explore how women
have been portraying women, from the 18th
century to the present day. Followed by a tour
of the exhibition. brightonmuseums.org.uk
A typical fashion plate from Ackermann’s Repository (1820s)
Illustration from Merrifield’s book. All photos by Alexandra Loske
....13....
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BITS AND BOGS
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MAGAZINE OF THE MONTH: MUNDIAL
We’ve been reviewing independent
magazines in Viva for
five years now; year six starts
here. So, I thought, let’s do
something new. This month’s
theme – ‘games and play’–
seemed an obvious opportunity.
I grew up with the idea that discussing
the ‘games people play’
didn’t mean pitches, courts and
streets, but the delicate, individual
negotiations, and clumsy
love songs (thanks, Paul Simon), through which
we negotiate our personal and professional lives.
So, I decided to frame the review around that.
Except it didn’t go well. Every sentence was
clumsy, every thought moved me further away
from the magazines we have in store. Two things
rescued me. First, I realised I was disappearing
up my own bottom. Second, as I struggled to get
the review finished in a quiet 15 minutes on a
Sunday afternoon in the shop, someone I knew
came in and said, simply, “Stop trying to be a
clever dick, write about Mundial instead.”
Mundial is currently our most popular sports
and games mag. Its tag line is ‘reminding you
why you love football’ and, when
I picked up a copy, I realised
that the advice was spot on.
For a start, it’s so varied, both
graphically and in its content.
Every page spread is interesting
and different to look at. In this
current issue, there is a quite
brilliant photo of Robbie Fowler
in the act of scoring a goal in
2001. The first 20 pages or so
are packed with snippets about
food, gear, drinks, football grounds, random
quotes and more.
Then the longer stuff begins, and, in this issue,
that includes a really, really good interview with
Sadio Mané; another with the referee George
Courtney; Dutch soccer and walking football.
Some people come into our shop to buy a mag
that will help them while away the train ride
to London, others for something that they can
spend a month reading. Mundial does both.
Coincidentally, it’s just started its sixth year, too.
Let’s hope we keep going together. And, finally, a
2020 memo to self. Keep it simple, stupid.
Martin Skelton, Magazine Brighton
TOILET GRAFFITO #61
Do you ever just…
Here’s a fun game to pass the time on the loo. Fill in the
dots and share your most intimate thoughts with the city.
But where is this confessional cubicle?
Last month’s answer: Pavilion Gardens Public Toilets
....15....
BITS AND PUBS
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PUB: ISLINGWORD INN
It’s the night of the latest showdown
between Crystal Palace
and the Albion and I have
two questions for the young
landlord at the Islingword Inn.
Are they showing the game?
If so, does he mind if we get
some fish & chips and eat them
there?
His response is: yes, of course
the football’s on; and no, we
can’t bring food in, because
they have their own menu.
Pizzas. We decide to stay.
The Islingword is that
fine-looking classical pile on the
corner of Islingword Road and
Queens Park Road, diagonally
opposite the Pepper Pot. I’ve
been digging into its history: it
was designed and planning-approved
in 1866, but there’s no
record of it being in operation
– as The Beaufort Hotel – until
1881. In its heyday it must have
been a rather grand place to sup
a pint, a cut above the smaller
establishments incorporated
into the terraces on Hanover
hill below.
The facade still looks impressive
today – somebody’s
recently given it a slate-grey
paint job – but the interior has
got a rather tatty feel about it.
It looks like several different
designers, with divergent senses
of taste, have had a go: there
are ceramic plates on the wall,
old pictures on the ceiling of
the pool room, neon signage,
a suit of armour, and a rather
nice 50s-chic painted mural of
Hanover buildings.
The pool table’s free, and what’s
more it’s free (as in you don’t
have to pay) but we’re after
more sedentary pursuits while
we’re waiting for kick-off. We
opt, instead, to play one of the
many board games stacked
high in a cubby-hole by the
door. Have I Got News for You
fills in a pleasant half an hour,
even though the egg timer has
gone missing and we can’t find
the rules. The pizzas, it must
be said, are a bit disappointing:
frozen affairs cooked in a
mini-oven behind the bar.
No matter, they’ve got Laine
beer on tap – Ripper and
Source giving options either
side of the 4.5% mark – and as
kick-off approaches, the place
fills up with an enthusiastic
bunch of Brighton fans, who fill
the space behind us. Just before
kick-off a big screen whirrs
down, cutting us off from the
pool players beyond, and we
settle into the match. It’s a
cracking game, and a cracking
atmosphere, and I earmark the
place for future visits, when I
want to enjoy watching Albion
games in raucous company. Or
England games, for that matter:
I bet there was beer on the ceiling
during the World Cup.
Alex Leith
Illustration by Jay Collins
....17....
JJ WALLER
...............................
Kirsty Dowle is on the 2020 international list of FIFA referees and was assistant
ref at the 2018 Women’s FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley,
in front of a record 45,000 crowd. She’s captured here by JJ Waller, refereeing a
recent men’s first team match at Whitehawk FC (in front of a smaller but no less
enthusiastic crowd). The first woman to do so for 35 years. “It was generally agreed
she was the best ref seen at Whitehawk this season”, reports JJ.
....18....
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BOWLING FOR SOUP
Sat 15 Feb
THE SCRIPT
Tue 25 Feb
THE ORIGINAL HARLEM
GLOBETROTTERS
Sat 29 Feb
THE WHITNEY HOUSTON
HOLOGRAM TOUR
Sat 7 Mar
THE BOYS ARE BACK
Fri 27 Mar
THE JOE AND
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Thur 2 Apr
SIMPLE MINDS
Mon 20 Apr
JOE BONAMASSA
Sat 25 Apr
GEORGE
Thur 7 May
TRIXIE MATTEL
Fri 22 May
DANCE ANTHEMS
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Sat 23 May
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Tue 26 May
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BITS AND BOX
...............................
CHARITY BOX #46:
RADIOREVERB
RadioReverb’s first
broadcast was a twoweek
trial during
the 2004 Brighton
Festival. We built a
team of more than 50
enthusiastic volunteers
– many first-time
broadcasters – to
create a radio station
that represented Brighton and Hove in all its
diversity, open-mindedness, irreverence and
unpredictability.
Today we have 40,000+ regular listeners a
week across FM, DAB+ and online platforms,
and our podcasts reach a global audience of
750,000 and counting. Many of the original
team have stuck around, and we still adhere
to our founding principles of providing an
alternative to mainstream radio: fiercely local,
independent, and advert-free.
Our commitment to being a platform for
rarely-heard voices remains at our core. We’re
proud to have hosted the UK’s first ever trans radio
show (Time for T) and to offer the UK’s only
intergenerational radio programme, The Ruben
and Sharon Show, where mum and son compare
musical tastes and outlook on the world.
We try to keep our listeners on their toes so
they’re never sure what they’re going to hear
next, with around 50 shows available at any one
time. Some of our most popular are The Albion
Roar – about all things Albion-related; Growing
Wild, a podcast about nature; and our new book
show which is only a few programmes in but has
already built up a loyal following. Then there’s
Refugee Radio, Mental Health Matters, and the
award-winning Carousel
Radio show, made by
people with learning
disabilities.
Anyone can submit
an idea for the station
via our website. We
always welcome new
broadcasters with
fresh ideas for shows
we’re not already offering. You don’t need any
broadcasting experience. A big part of what we
do is give people in Brighton experience and
professional training in broadcasting, and many
of our volunteers go on to work for the BBC or
major independent production companies.
Apart from our premises and day-to-day
running costs we’re subject to a range of
licencing fees which all have to be paid, so
fundraising is a big part of our work. The
Reverbathon (March 9th) is our big annual
fundraiser, when we throw the radio rule book
out the window to create a day that’s unpredictable
and lively. In the past we’ve had everything
from steel drum troupes to choir performances
live on air. We’re also really grateful to our show
sponsors and generous local donors – anyone
who pops us the equivalent price of a coffee or a
pint is much appreciated.
We’re pleased to say we’ll be boosting our
transmission services early this year to reach
even more listeners outside the city. We’re
looking forward to introducing a whole new
audience to radio quite unlike anything they’re
used to hearing. As told to Nione Meakin by
RadioReverb broadcaster Melita Dennett
radioreverb.com
....21....
INTERVIEW
..........................................
Photo by Alex Leith
....22....
INTERVIEW
..........................................
MYbrighton: Paul Stapleton
Cartoonist, game-maker, punk rocker
Are you local? Yes. I was born here, and
brought up in Patcham. I did go off to university
in Portsmouth, but I didn’t like it, and I came
back after one-and-a-half days. Still, that was
the longest further-education career of anyone
in my family up till that point.
What did you do when you came back? The
reason I came back was that I was in a band
called Anal Beard and we’d just got our first gig,
supporting Sperm Ov Doom. I played in that
band for 20 years, off and on: our last gig was
at the Albert in 2015. Being called Anal Beard
didn’t really go with being in our 40s. I still play
in my other band, a folk-punk six-piece called
Pog, which formed in 2000.
By then you were a cartoonist… I started
doing lo-fi cartoon strips in the mid-90s, selling
them at comic shops and fairs and gigs. That
evolved in an online strip that I did for about
18 months called BN1, all about Brighton, from
the bowels of London Road to the peaks of
Muesli Mountain.
When did the game-making start? The online
strip segued into a boardgame of the same
name, based on Brighton life. It had a similar
irreverent tone to The Cheeky Guide to Brighton,
celebrating the offbeat contradictions of the
city. Next came ZomBN1, featuring zombies.
My latest game, based in ‘Brighthelm’, is called
Pauper’s Ladder. It’s a family-plus game, meaning
it can be played at different levels, by kids
and families, but also by seasoned gamers. The
board game scene is currently very vibrant, an
antidote to the video game industry, like vinyl
in music and hardcopy print magazines.
Is there anything you don’t like about
Brighton? The price of houses and rent has
displaced a lot of people I know who’ve had
to move somewhere cheaper. The only people
who can afford to move here now are people
who’ve come down from London, and that’s
changed the fabric of the place: greasy spoons
have turned into bistros, ironmongers into
boutique gift shops. Those of us left always
wonder how much longer we’ll be able to afford
to live here.
Where else would you choose to live? Most
likely Plymouth, where there’s a really vibrant
punk scene.
What’s your favourite Brighton pub/restaurant?
To eat, it’s got to be Planet India: it’s been
run by the same family for 20 years and they
have random prices like £5.64, and descriptions
on the menu like ‘this one used to be my wife’s
favourite’. Pub-wise I like places that haven’t
changed since the 90s: The Albert, The Heart
and Hand, The Hand in Hand. Most of all I
love The Mitre [behind the Open Market], because
it’s exactly the same as when my nan used
to take me there when I was little. In fact, if it
wanted to rebrand as an expensive retro hipster
joint, they wouldn’t have to alter a single thing
about it, apart from putting up the prices.
Interview by Alex Leith
....23....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
Julien Bonnin
Lebanese whispers
In France we have an
expression, ‘Telephone Arabe’.
The idea is that however
truthful an original message
is at source, by the time you
get to hear it or see it or read
it, it has distorted out of recognition,
and it’s impossible
to know who’s who and what’s
what. This concept is an important
element of my work.
Before starting my MA at the Royal College
of Art, I did an internship in Beirut at the
Arab Image Foundation, the biggest photography
archive of the Middle East. This nurtured
my investigation into the dissemination and
construction of intimate, personal stories.
I came across the trajectory of a photographer
who had a studio on the border
between East and West Beirut. He took a lot
of pictures of his neighbourhood. During the
civil war he had to flee, leaving all his photos
behind. There was an element of archaeology
and aura in the way these objects were passed
into our era.
Back in London, I no longer had access to
the images or the physical places that had
made such an impression on me. I had to
recreate them, using found objects, drawn from
the documentation of the Middle East in this
country, with all its distortion. I also sourced
family images, from Beirut: there’s quite a trade
in them, and you can get some relatively cheap.
One of the pieces I set up in the studio was
the diorama with the blue car (see page 27).
It’s a mixture of fiction and reality. The background
photo was projected onto the wall; the
car represents one of the many devices that were
blown up by suicide attacks
in Beirut during the war.
I’m putting together a
patchwork of different
images to see how far I
can push stereotypes of the
Middle East. And I’m asking
questions to myself, as an
image maker, as much as to
the audience.
I’m interested in oral traditions,
mythology and how different countries
are posting our stories. Media and news
outlets are fast-forwarding stories, making them
clickable and fashionable: people are drawn and
consume them like fast food.
The images will be visible through the window
of Fabrica, from the street. It is the biggest
work I have ever created, and I’m told that
over 400,000 people will walk past it. Hopefully
many of them will stop, and gaze. Maybe it will
spark an interest in the subject that will lead to
more investigation.
I’m very interested in observing the audience
looking at my work. They form their
own stories according to their backgrounds,
and biographies, and what they know about the
Middle East.
My influences? Akram Zaatari, who has done
a lot of work on archival objects and memories.
The studies of the British photographer Stephen
Gill. And the African studio photographer Malik
Sidibé. As told to Alex Leith
Julien’s Studio Aftermath will be featured in the
Fabrica ‘In Between Gallery’ window on Duke
Street until March. Julien is giving a talk in the
gallery on February 6th.
fabrica.org.uk
....25....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
‘Studio Aftermath’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
....26....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
‘Stitches’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin ‘Untitled’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
....27....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
‘Rift’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
‘Echoes’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
....28....
PHOTOGRAPHY
....................................
‘Bora I’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
‘Bora II’ from Relics by Julien Bonnin
....29....
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COLUMN
...........................................
John Helmer
Who am I?
“Do you want to play the Rizla game?” asks my
nephew, Alfie, beckoning.
“I’ve never heard of the Rizla game.”
I follow him through to the sitting room of
my mother-in-law’s house where this family
gathering is taking place, wondering what is
going on: some kind of stoner bongfest maybe?
What I find instead is a tribe of teenagers and
twenty-somethings (all relatives) sitting round,
each with a Rizla paper stuck to their forehead
on which has been written the moniker of some
famous person.
It’s a game of many names. When we played
it in the less extended, nuclear subset of my
family two nights ago we called it ‘The Whoam-I?
Game’, and we used Post-it notes rather
than Rizla papers. In general, I tend to spend
more time around office stationery than 4:20
impedimenta nowadays.
I see that they’ve added in some non-celebrities,
people known to the family. Some people have
strict rules about who can appear on a Rizla/
Post-it in this game. No
fictional characters,
for instance, only
‘real’ people.
How we play it,
even Pokémon are
allowed, though I
never get these, as I
slept through the
Pokémon movie
I took my kids to.
Commuting to
London in those
days, while still
trying to keep up
a twentysomething-style social life, as soon as I
got somewhere warm and dark, I would be out
like a light.
“No thanks, Alfie.”
The game we played a few nights previously
at home is still a sore memory. I guessed who
I was first try, due to the unreasonable amount
of hilarity and malicious laughter occasioned
when the Post-it was lettered and applied to
my forehead. It’s a running joke in the family
that I resemble celebrity chef Nigel Slater – a
resemblance I personally don’t see, but which
has been pretty hard to deny since I was
mistaken for him on Victoria Station by one of
his friends. (Serves me right for featuring the
incident in this column.)
Fleeing the game, I slip upstairs, where a
daughter and further cousins are playing not
games but music. Poppy has her flute, and
people take turns on the piano. There is even
a battered old mandolin with three remaining
strings that someone is trying to get a tune out
of. I’m passed a guitar and join in. Together we
stumble through loud, inaccurate renditions of
classics whose appeal has miraculously jumped
the generation gap, such as Leonard Cohen’s
Hallelujah, and Brian Wilson’s In My Room
(perfect lyric for teenagers).
The kids put up with my missed chords and
tendency to sing flat because they know I used to
pass as a professional musician. Poppy told her art
teacher this recently, who got all excited because
her husband apparently used to follow my band.
“He’s still got rock-star hair”, said the teacher,
looking at a photo on Poppy’s phone.
“We think he looks like Nigel Slater,” she
replied.
Illustration by Chris Riddell
....31....
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.........................
Lizzie Enfield
Notes from North Village
We are in a mountaintop bar in Tenerife: myself
and a bunch of Irish journalists, although, when
I say Irish, most of them are actually Scottish but
based in Ireland. So you can imagine the level of
drinking that takes place. On this occasion we’ve
earned a drink after a day spent hiking, along a
precipitous up and down coastal path and into
the mountains on the North of the island – a
little too up and down for some of the hardened
hacks, especially after the night before when the
drinks were not earned but nevertheless drunk.
So here we are in a bar with a theme – Franco.
There are black-and-white photographs of the
General dotted about the place, the calendar
on the wall has a different shot of him each
month and even the beer tankards hanging
above the taps sport literal mugshots. What
is it about Spain and Franco we wonder, as
we take our drinks and sit outside? In other
European countries, it’s kind of frowned upon,
this glorification of “strong and stable leaders”
– to quote the barman – but, in Spain, the body
of Francisco Franco was recently exhumed and
moved to Madrid because its former resting
place in the Valley of the Fallen, just outside the
capital, had become a shrine for the far right.
And, if further evidence that the general is still
very much revered were needed, we only need to
look around this little bar we find ourselves in.
Glaswegian-turned-Dubliner Jim (there is more
than one Jim on this trip) goes inside to buy
crisps and offers the bag around with a querying
“’tato crisp?” which in his thick hybrid Dublin/
Glaswegian accent sounds more like “Tito
crisp”. And so begins the game now officially
known in travel journalist circles as the Dictator
Snack Game. There are no rules, other than
that you have to come up with a food or drink
item with a name that can be derived from the
name of a dictator: Tito crisps, Pol Pot noodles,
Mao-mite etc.
The game continues, as we hike our way around
Tenerife and lasts well beyond the end of the
trip when the WhatsApp group, created when
everyone is pretending they want to stay in
touch, keeps pinging and revealing the latest
culinary dictatorial creation: Ayatollah Halloumi
and Fidel Castrami washed down with a bottle
of Eva Peroni anyone? I find I can no longer
look at food without wondering which dictator
can be reworked into its name. On my return
home, a friend invites me round for dinner –
mussels with linguine – delicious and, of course,
named after the Italian leader Mussellinguine
and served with a nice bottle of Chilean
Pinochet Grigio or as my Italian-speaking host
calls it ‘vino blanco’. But I’m afraid I can’t allow
him any points for that.
Vino Franco however….
Illustration by Joda (@joda_art)
....33....
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COLUMN
...........................
Amy Holtz
The truth is, I’m a Minnesotan
I don’t like football. I’m
sorry. I’ve tried, but it’s hard
to get on board with a game
that can end without anyone
winning. It’s too existential,
like war. Same goes for games
where you stop for lunch in
the middle.
Anyhow, despite this, I’m
somehow at the Amex, and
I’m trying to be a big girl
about it because my cousin,
brother and dad are also
here. They’re looking around
excitedly, a whole new world of sport swirling
in a sea of royal blue around them.
It turns out the Amex doesn’t want me here
either. This enema of fun begins with a fifteenminute
queuing exercise to get my ticket off my
phone, because, apparently, VAR isn’t the only
piece of tech that the footballing world loathes.
“I’ll need your full name, address,” says the
voice from behind the glass. I know these, so
I whizz through them, then watch for her to
place her hand, expectantly, near the printer.
“Date of birth, mother’s maiden name.”
“Are you serious?” It was only a matter of time,
me turning into Joffrey Baratheon.
She nods, an expression of pain crossing her
face as she surveys the line of bundled up men
shifting about behind me.
“Card number? Address the card is registered
to?”
I rest my head on the glass. “How ‘bout – here.
Just take my phone?” I pass it through the
window, take a deep breath, lean in again.
“Will you need fingerprints? Hair sample?”
89 years later and the official ticket is in my
clenched fist, despite my keen hope that there
would be a massive system
malfunction. Everyone else
waves us off as they’ve scored
better seats (girls apparently
have to sit in end zones) and
my cousin and I race-walk a
few miles around the stadium
to get to the gate listed on the
glossy paper.
“South West entrance. Hum.”
I look up at the door, which
reads South, then jog to the
next one which reads West.
“What devilry is this?” My
cousin shrugs. And we make, unbeknownst to
us, an unwise choice.
“It’s not scanning,” I whine, waving the
barcode frantically between the metal jaws of
the gate. The massive system failure appears
to be in operation, but then... “Ah, it worked!”
I stare at the upside-down ticket and frown.
The stewards are beckoning me through the
turnstile, so I barrel through and wait patiently
for my cousin, to the sound of cheering.
“Mine’s not scanning either,” she states,
offering a tentative smile at the gate attendants,
who’d moments earlier watched me bumbling
around. “Can you help?” she asks with the
genuine sweetness of a current Minnesotan.
A steward takes her ticket, peers at it. “No
good. You’ll have to go to the ticket office.”
“But she clearly has a ticket,” I say, “see, right
here – Brighton versus...Chel...sea? Whoever
they are. Can’t you just let her in?”
“Just let her in?” He repeats, incredulous. Like
the cattle fence now separating us is the 38th
parallel.
“Look, man,” I whimper, head against the bars.
“I don’t even want to go to this game.”
....35....
'Fantastic place, full of beautiful magazines. I just love this shop.’
the world of great indie mags is here in Brighton.
22 Trafalgar Street
magazinebrighton.com
@magbrighton
magazinebrighton
MUSIC
..........................
Ben Bailey rounds up the local music scene
ANIMAL HOUSE
Fri 7th, Patterns, 7pm, £7
An overblown modesty accompanies the
release of Animal House’s debut album Premium
Mediocre. The Brighton five-piece, who
moved here a while back from Brisbane, claim
they make “easy to digest tunes that neither
offend nor break any boundaries”. It’s a statement
that’s essentially correct yet massively
under-sells the band’s songwriting and sense
of fun. Their singles Modern Romance and Legs
out for Summer may trade on familiar aspects
of noughties indie rock, but both songs fizz
with wry humour and catchy through lines. If
the band truly thinks this stuff is mediocre, it
makes you wonder what they’ll achieve when
they really try.
DITZ
Fri 21st, Prince Albert, 8pm, £6
DITZ decided they needed to start a band after
seeing Lightning Bolt and METZ, which may
give you an idea of the intensity they’re likely
to bring to this hometown tour date. The band
combine noise rock and thrashy hardcore with a
submerged appreciation for tuneful indie, while
singer Cal manages to make a noncommittal
mumble sound as dismissive as any punk snarl.
Recent single Total 90, their first on Alcopop!
Records, tackles homophobia in sport with a
video that sees the band taking to the pitch of
Lewes FC’s Dripping Pan in rainbow shirts,
alongside members of Slaves and FUR. It’s not a
song you’ll be singing from the terraces, but it’s
tailor-made for the moshpit.
CHOPCHOP
Thu 13th, Hope & Ruin, 8pm, £8/6
That the line-up of
ChopChop includes
novelists, film-makers
and inventors should be
enough to alert you to
the fact this is no ordinary band. Each member
of the experimental quintet is also a seasoned
musician, of course, as is evident from their
bold and eccentric fusion of post-punk, jazz
and electronica. The group is led by Xelís de
Toro, a Spanish performance artist and poet
who dances on both sides of the line between
the profound and comical. Their debut album
Everything Looks So Real was recorded at The
Rose Hill and released on the venue’s new
label. Acid Box are promoting the launch gig,
which features support from Map 71 and The
Emperors Of Ice Cream.
NAOMI BEDFORD &
PAUL SIMMONDS
Sat 29th, Toy and Model
Museum, 7pm, £10
Whoever had the idea of putting
on gigs in a toy museum
was onto something. It’s an intriguing setting for
listening to live music, especially the kind that’s
always best up close. Naomi Bedford and Paul
Simmonds are BBC Radio Folk Award nominees
whose latest record – full of new versions of old
Appalachian folk songs – was a Guardian folk
album of the month last year. Naomi was a onetime
singer with Orbital; Paul was one of The
Men They Couldn’t Hang. Together they’re folk
revisionists with a take on traditional styles that
sounds both effortless and timeless. Their music
has a lived-in sense of nostalgia, which should
make it an apt soundtrack for the museum’s collection
of freaky dolls and vintage train sets.
....37....
MUSIC
.........................
Anna Meredith
Musical polyglot
There is a propulsive joy in Anna Meredith’s
music. Her debut album Varmints – a fever
dream of electronic rhythms, brass, vocals,
guitars and more – was a labour of love, created
between “some big classical pieces, and TV and
film work”.
After studying music at the University of York
and Royal College of Music, Anna has been
composer-in-residence with the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra, and has written pieces for
several Proms concerts, including Five Telegrams,
performed on the first night in July 2018. The
electronic side of her work has seen her music
reach a new audience: “It felt like a big gamble,
so I felt really grateful that its success has enabled
me to build up that side of my musical life.”
Her show at The Old Market this month – part
of their Reigning Women season – will feature
music from both Varmints and recent album
Fibs. I recommend checking out her video for
Paramour on YouTube if you’d like a taste of what
to expect from the concert: the video sees Anna’s
band performing the frenetic composition – with
deftly layered melodies reminiscent of Battles
and Steve Reich – filmed by a camera which has
been mounted on a Lego train, whirling around
a track. The line-up for the show will consist of
“a drummer, guitarist, tuba player, cellist… and I
do electronics, play a bit of clarinet and hit some
drums as well.”
After finishing Fibs, Anna decided to buy herself
a Nintendo Switch. “I’m completely, alarmingly
obsessed and it’s all I think about all the time.
I’m playing Zelda and it’s brilliant.” Fans of old
arcade games might enjoy the pulsing arpeggios
of Anna’s music. “I do like the sort of chiptune
soundworld of older video games… lots of
energy and a slightly cheap 80s/90s synthy
sound.”
Is she having more fun in the pop world? “I
don’t think the worlds are as black and white
as one being more fun than the other. It’s just
about finding the right audience, and I’ve been
really lucky that people have come with me. I
don’t think about genre much when I’m writing;
people who have come to my orchestral stuff
have then come to band gigs, and vice versa. I
feel really proud of that crossover. There’s a lot
of overlaps with the style of writing: it’s all the
same ingredients really.”
To round off an impressive decade, Anna was
awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours
list in 2019, with the medal ceremony taking
place soon after we speak, in January 2020. “It was
a total surprise, and a bit bonkers. It’s not one of
those things I ever had on my radar as something
to expect or consider. I’m really chuffed; I’ve got
to find a hat, and a two piece outfit… I’ve got to
do some serious shopping. It should be an experience,
the whole thing.” Joe Fuller
The Old Market, Feb 10th, 7.30pm
Photo by Ed Miles
....38....
CLASSICAL
.........................
La Dafne
‘A #metoo tale of its era’
“The closest natural human sound to opera singing,”
says internationally acclaimed stage director
Thomas Guthrie, down the phone from Barcelona’s
Barrio Gotico, “is actually a baby crying.”
Thomas is in the Catalan capital in order to direct
Verdi’s Aida, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, which
is about as big as it gets, opera-wise.
But he’s talking to Viva about his subsequent
project, of a rather smaller nature: a performance
in February, by young musicians, at
Hove’s Old Market, of Marco da Gagliano’s little
known 1608 opera La Dafne.
“It’s great to work in a space like the Liceu,” he
says. “But my work is the same wherever I do
it. It’s important to make the work interesting
and fun – to bring it to life – however big the
stage, however much or little money you have
to spend.”
He likens his job to that of a film director: “the
conductor deals with the music you hear, I deal
with everything you see,” he says.
La Dafne is a Brighton Early Music Festival
performance, and Thomas is a big fan of that
institution. You might remember his staging of
Monteverdi’s Orfeo, reset in the 60s Brighton of
the Mods and Rockers, also at The Old Market,
which was received with five-star reviews.
He’s not worried that the obscure nature of the
latest work will limit the audience to baroque
opera aficionados, few, let’s face it, in number.
“Deborah [Roberts, BREMF founder and director]
has done enough brilliant work to build up an
audience who are going to trust her – and trust us
– to give them a good ride,” he says, hoping that
the familiar faces will be bolstered by audience
members looking for something a little different.
And La Dafne, one of the very first pieces of work
identifiable as ‘opera’, is certainly unusual. The
libretto is an adaptation of a tale from Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, itself a retelling of an old Greek
myth. The ‘Dafne’ of the title, a young nymph,
attempts to escape the lecherous clutches of the
all-powerful god Apollo, eventually maintaining
her chastity by turning into a tree. “Being a myth
it’s the sort of story we can all relate to,” he says.
“You could say that it’s a #metoo tale of its era.”
It’s not the sort of opera you’d search out on
Spotify for a bit of background music, he admits.
“But in my opinion opera is both a visual and an
oral medium – it’s not either, it’s both, and when
they come together to tell a story, the whole thing
comes to life, which is a unique thing.”
And as for the baby-wailing analogy: “It’s something
we all have hard-wired into us. Babies don’t
cry all the time, it’s usually life or death. If they
don’t get attention, they don’t survive. And opera
is usually very much about human need. Combine
that sort of sound with a great story, and that’s
why the medium is enduringly popular.”
Alex Leith
The Old Market, Feb 8th, 3pm and 9th, 7.30pm
Photo of Thomas Guthrie by Theresa Pewal
....39....
MUSIC
.........................
Transatlantic Sessions
International folk jam-fest
From a fabric woven
tightly with nostalgia
and joyful, porch-swing
harmonies comes the
Transatlantic Sessions –
a ritual jam-fest uniting
some of the best folk
musicians from both
sides of the pond.
This year’s tour marries the evergreen house
band with fresh voices like mandolin player Sierra
Hull and Cahalen Morrison from the US and
Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel – promising
a soundscape set to rattle Brighton Dome
this month. Phil Cunningham – a Sessioner
since their inception in 1994 – can’t wait to make
the tour’s first visit to Brighton. “It’s a highlight
of our year! The original concept for the TV
series brought together musicians from Scotland
and America to explore the age-old connection
between music moving from here to there. A
bunch of us would lock ourselves in an Ayrshire
hotel and trade songs for two weeks. Then Celtic
Connections Festival wanted a live version, so we
formed a band that could work with new musicians
from Scotland, Ireland, America.”
The live show – host to previous starry guests
like Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patty Griffin
– includes around 20 performers, fashioning
new sounds from a rich and bottomless canon.
Phil likens it to a cake with great ingredients
– accordions, fiddles, whistles, guitars – and a
jubilee of voices.
“The Sessions are never the same twice. We’ve
only got two days to meet and work everything
out before we’re onstage! But that’s the joy –
everyone is so able. Aly Bain, who started the Sessions,
says that everyone
leaves their ego on the
peg with their coat. In
rehearsals, someone will
be writing a hook in a
corner, changing the
chords in another. It’s
an organic process.”
It’s a feverishly quick
turnaround to absorb over 20 tunes; a feat, even
for these most accomplished of artists. But the
method, Phil fondly states, makes for a special
kind of madness: “You get some real seat-ofthe-pants
moments; genius and uplifting. The
audience loves to see that little edge. Sometimes
it goes off the rails and it’s like watching a stunt
driver. There’s usually a wry look and giggle
winging across the stage, but we’ll always regain
control. You’re allowed to be spontaneous, to let
things fly. It’s organised chaos, but very beautiful.”
It’s what makes the show such a sought-after
experience. Its popularity a sign, perhaps, of a folk
renaissance. “At school in the early 70s, I was the
only one playing traditional music. Nowadays,
kids are hiding behind the bicycle sheds for a
cigarette – and a few tunes. In Scotland, we have
incredible young performers on pipes, harps
and fiddles. The music is enjoying a new life and
people are nurturing it. Preserving it but moving
it forward in a respectful way.”
It’s a way of life that Phil hopes will be on offer
for children for many years to come. “It’s so
important for kids to have the chance to learn
music in school; it opens the door to so many
cultural experiences, expands the mind. It’s truly
life-affirming.” Amy Holtz
Brighton Dome, 8th Feb, 7.30pm
....41....
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.........................
Women in Entertainment
A history of formidable female performances
Long before Beyoncé made
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was breaking through the
glass ceiling of Nineteenth
Century Europe. Tickets
to a concert she gave at
Brighton Dome in 1901
– recently discovered
beneath the floorboards of a local home – were
sold for 15 shillings each, which was around two
days wages for a tradesman. What’s more, says
the Dome’s Senior Programming Coordinator
Alex Epps, Patti demanded that venues paid her
takings in gold. “She was quite a badass!” laughs
Epps, who bought the tickets at auction for the
Dome’s archives. “She travelled on her own
private train, wore the most expensive costume
ever made for an opera and apparently she had
a pet parrot that she had trained to shout ‘Cash!
Cash!’ at male promoters.”
Patti is one of a host of formidable women
from Brighton’s past who feature in a talk being
given this month by historian Louise Peskett,
known for the Notorious Women of Brighton and
Notorious Women of Kemp Town walking tours.
While Patti ruled the stage, figures such as
Ellen Nye Chart, manager of the Theatre Royal
from 1876, were breaking with convention behind
the scenes. Nye Chart surprised everyone
by taking over the management of the theatre
when her husband Henry died – “A female manageress
would have been incredibly unusual at
the time,” says Epps. She introduced an annual
pantomime – inviting residents of the town’s
workhouse to see it for free – and brought popular
performers including
Sarah Bernhardt and Henry
Irving to the city. By
the 1880s Nye Chart had
paid off the mortgage on
the theatre and their house
next door and turned the
business into a profitable
and respected regional
theatre.
Louise will also talk about Victorian male
impersonator and music hall star Vesta Tilley
– whose time in the city is remembered with a
blue plaque at her former home in St Aubyns
Mansions, Hove; conjoined twins Daisy and
Violet Hilton, who were born in Riley Road,
Brighton in 1908 and went on to tour England
and the United States and appear in the film
Freaks; and sisters Elsie and Doris Waters who
were considered the most successful female
comedians of the late 1940s.
“Brighton seems to have long held an attraction
for performers,” says Epps, who is working
with a team of volunteers to create an archive
documenting the Dome’s part in Brighton’s
entertainment history. “But Louise is particularly
interested in the stories of the women who
performed and even made their names here,
from figures like Patti up to the gospel and
blues musician Rosetta Tharpe, who was dubbed
‘the woman who gave birth to rock ‘n’ roll’ and
performed at the Dome with Muddy Waters in
1964. It’s an extraordinary history for a fairly
small city.”
Nione Meakin
Women In Entertainment talk at Brighton Dome
(Founders Room), 7th Feb, 1pm
....43....
KIDS
.........................
Shlomo
Beatboxing for babes
Shlomo is a beatboxing legend who’s worked
with Jarvis Cocker, Ed Sheeran and Björk. After
too much touring he decided to do a kids’ show
to spend more time with his own. This month
he’s at the Komedia teaching children how to
make even more noise than usual.
It’s called Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for
Kids and it’s a really fun and uplifting show.
There’s a loose narrative about becoming
superstar beatboxers, and on that journey we
travel through time and witness the birth of hip
hop culture. It culminates in a mock street battle
and kids come up on stage and either battle
each other or their parents – and the crowd gets
to choose the champion.
I started making the show after I’d become
a parent. I’d been on tour for a long time and I
suddenly wanted to be home, especially at bath
time. So I thought maybe I can make a show
where I can go out in the day and be back in
time to see the little ones. I’ve been teaching
people how to use their voice for years, so it’s
really just a more theatrical and polished
version of all these stories
and exercises
and games I’d
already refined.
And it seems to
have become an endless
source of joy... people can’t seem
to get enough of it. Every tour we’ve
booked has sold out. So we’ve booked
bigger tours and bigger venues, and they’ve
sold out too.
It’s about believing in yourself
and finding your voice.
I think that’s really important, especially for
young people. We’re surrounded by feelings
of judgement and comparison, and I’ve really
struggled with this myself. It’s hard to find your
identity and to feel strong enough to stand up
and be yourself. That’s the real dream of this
show, even if it’s just on a tiny level.
Last time I was in Brighton I had a girl come
up on stage who was just bubbling with
excitement, but when I showed her what to do
she just looked at me blankly. I couldn’t understand
why. I did the sound again, and she just
stared. The third time I happened to take the
mic away from my face, and she did the whole
pattern back to me, note perfect. And I realised
she couldn’t hear anything. She was lip-reading!
As soon as she could see my lips, she smashed
it and the crowd went crazy. After the show her
mum came up to me and couldn’t believe what
had happened. It was so moving to see that.
It’s also real fun for the grown-ups, because
they’re often dragged to kids’ shows, but I know
there are so many parents now who grew
up listening to bass-heavy music like
hip hop, house and drum ’n’ bass.
So it’s nice to see them bringing
the kids down to
educate them about
these things that we
all grew up with. Half
the time the parents are
like “come on kids, I don’t
get to go out anymore!”
As told to Ben Bailey
Komedia, Fri 21st Feb,
12.30pm, £10/8
Photo by Nathan Gallagher
....45....
ART
.........................
Clockwise from top left: Ralph, Self Portrait, Collage, Changes
....46....
ART
.........................
Ruby Dine
Frank poetry
Ruby Dine has a hunger for learning new words,
which has led to the 21 year old exhibiting a
collection of her poetry – alongside collages and
paintings – at Jubilee library this month. I meet
Ruby and her creative partner, Rachel Norwood,
in Rachel’s Brighton home, where I peruse a
hardback book titled Volume One, Poems by Ruby
Dine. Ruby’s poems often centre around emotional
responses to her life: Family, for example, explores
how she loves the people in her household,
‘my tribe’. ‘Jenny is the leader of my family / She
has the Frida Kahlo power’.
Ruby had initially spent her time with Rachel
studying Spanish, but changed paths because she
“loves poetry, and loves hearing words”. Rachel
explains how she assists Ruby with her writing:
“One day for example, Ruby was writing a poem
about how hot she was. We looked up a big list
of synonyms on the iPad, and she chose which
ones she liked.”
Ruby is a prolific writer, but many of her poems
might never be released to the public. She explains
that this is because “some of my poems are
really personal” and that she sometimes doesn’t
“talk about personal feelings much” in public.
Ruby is keen to share some of her thoughts on
music, and gardens, however. Music explores Ruby’s
reaction to Erik Satie (which makes her ‘feel
sad and blue’) and Motorhead (‘head splitting!’
and ‘thunderous!’). One of Ruby’s favourite ever
lines is in Sussex Prairie Gardens: ‘I heard the
sprinkler / It sounded like beat boxing’.
Ralph, a poem about Ruby’s rescue dog (pictured
with Ruby), is filled with evocative descriptions:
‘Ralph is pencil thin / Hollow cheeked / Like
a match stick’. When real words and synonyms
don’t suffice, Ruby is happy to make up words,
exclaiming that Ralph is ‘puckeracious!’. I like
how frank and full-hearted Ruby’s poetry is: one
of my favourite stanzas is ‘I… %*$!!! hate advice
/ I don’t really know why / I think maybe I’m
allergic’. Why don’t you like advice, I ask? “It’s
just not my thing.”
Ruby has Downs Syndrome, and finds that her
poetry can be useful in “helping my family and
friends listen to what I’m saying”. During the interview,
Ruby singles out her poem Furious, which
ends with a passionate refusal to be defined by the
condition. ‘I don’t want to be Downs Syndrome
/ That’s not who I am // I am a singer / I am a
dancer / I am a poet / I am a mermaid / I am a
really good friend / I am an auntie // I am a divine
woman’. Joe Fuller
Jubilee library, 3rd to 15th Feb
poetrybyruby.com, rachellounorwood@gmail.com
Ruby with her rescue dog, Ralph
....47....
Alan Davie, ‘Seascape Erotic’, 1955
Early Works
When Hockney met Davie
In March 1958, fresh out
of Bradford Art School, the
young David Hockney visited
an exhibition of the work of
an abstract expressionist, of
sorts, the 39-year-old Scot,
Alan Davie.
“The experience was to have a
profound influence on Hockney’s
early artistic style,” says
Sara Cooper, sipping a coffee
in the Towner Cafe. Cooper is
the Head of Collections and
Exhibitions at the Eastbourne
gallery, and is telling me about
their big winter/spring exhibition,
Alan Davie & David
Hockney, Early Works.
“Hockney, who was shortly to
start his course at the Royal
College of Art, in London,
was liberated by what he saw,”
she continues. “Here was a
way to work that wasn’t tightly
crammed into some pigeonhole.
It allowed him to be a lot
freer with his painting.”
The exhibition was Davie’s
first retrospective, and a lot of
the pieces that were on show
in 1958 will be displayed at
the Towner. As will Hockney’s
responses to Davie’s paintings,
when he was experimenting
with abstraction, before
turning to the more figurative
style that came to define his
work.
There are parallels between
the two artists that the
exhibition teases out, says
Sara. “Both are producing
works of semi-abstraction, in
a similar palette. Both men
were influenced by other art
forms: Davie, who was also a
musician, by jazz, and Hockney
by poetry. They were both
....48....
ART
.........................
David Hockney, ‘Self Portrait’, 1954 © David Hockney
Photo: Richard Schmidt. Collection Bradford Museums & Galleries, Bradford, UK
David Hockney, ‘We Two Boys Together Clinging’, 1961 © David Hockney
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates. Collection Arts Council, Southbank Centre
influenced by the poet Walt
Whitman.”
Neither artist, as I glean from
a quick viewing of some of
the images that will be on
show, were afraid to make
frequent sexual references
in their work. And both are
fond of inserting figures and
letters into their paintings. In
Hockney’s case, numbers were
an obscure code for letters of
the alphabet: thus in the 1961
painting We Two Boys Together
Clinging, the figure ‘4.2’, I
learn, represents the letters
‘C’ and ‘R’, standing for Cliff
Richard, who Hockney had a
crush on at the time.
The exhibition was shown at
the Hepworth Wakefield over
the winter (2020 marking the
100th anniversary of Davie’s
birth); the Towner have a
Davie painting in their permanent
collection, and lent it to
the Yorkshire gallery. When
the chance of hosting the
exhibition arose, they jumped
at it, “to give the Towner
audience the chance to see the
early work of these two major
figures of post-war British
painting.” Hockney, I imagine,
will be a particular draw.
The surviving artist, I’m told,
(Davie died in 2014) was consulted
in the curating process
of the original exhibition at
the Hepworth, but didn’t go
and see it there. So is Britain’s
most famous living artist likely
to turn up at the Towner?
“Would he swap sunny California
for rainy Eastbourne in
February?”, smiles Sara. “Still,
he has been known to pitch up
unannounced at exhibitions of
his work, so you never know.”
Alex Leith
Towner Eastbourne, 15th
Feb–31st May, tickets £5-£11,
free to members.
townereastbourne.org.uk
Alan Davie, ‘Crazy Gondolier’, 1960
....49....
ART
....................................
ART & ABOUT
In town this month
Image courtesy of Design Council Archive, University of
Brighton Design Archives
Queer the Pier opens at Brighton Museum
& Art Gallery on the 22nd of February. Researched
and curated by residents of Brighton
& Hove, the exhibition explores the experiences
of LGBTQ+ people in Sussex over the last
200 years through an expansive collection of
personal accounts, letters, photographs and
various ephemera. Items belonging to notable
Brightonians – including Aubrey Beardsley’s
original cover illustration for volume IV of The
Yellow Book – will be on display as well as newly
commissioned photographic portraits of members
of Brighton QTIPOC (queer, trans, intersex
people of colour) community. Also opening
at Brighton Museum this month is 100 First
Women Portraits by acclaimed photographer Anita
Corbin. In this series she set out to answer
the question; ‘how will women be remembered
over the past 100 years?’ The resulting portraits
capture 100 women who have made their mark
in the fields of Sport, Science, Politics, the Arts
and Education. Continues until the 7th of June.
Untitled, circa 1994 – an exhibition of work by
Giles Round – is at Brighton CCA until the
7th of March. Working in partnership with the
Printmaking Department at the University of
Brighton, the exhibition features imagery and
research from the university’s Design Archives,
alongside new work by the multi-disciplinary
artist, designer and maker. (brightoncca.art)
On the 6th of
February (6.30-
8pm), Fabrica host
Site & Meaning
– a photography
networking event.
Working in partnership
with Brighton Photo Fringe and
Spectrum Photographic, the event will bring
together the best of the region’s photography
industry. Discover new work, connect with
industry professionals and peers, and browse
photobooks and zines at the PhotoBookShow
pop-up during this relaxed evening of discussion
and music. (fabrica.org.uk)
Photo by Julien Bonnin
Last call to register your venue for the May edition of Artists
Open Houses. Registration for this year’s festival closes on 3rd
February. If you’re an artist looking to join a house, sign up at
artists-seeking-houses.aoh.org.uk so that host venues can see your
work. (aoh.org.uk)
....51....
Contemporary
British Painting and
Sculpture
We look forward to welcoming
you to our gallery in Hove.
Flexible and affordable drawing,
painting and printmaking classes all
year round, open to all abilities.
For details of our drop-in life drawing
programme and painting & printmaking
workshops visit draw-brighton.co.uk
or follow us: @Draw_Brighton
Please visit our website for
further details.
CAMERONCONTEMPORARY.COM
TOWNER Eastbourne
Alan Davie
and
David Hockney
Early Works
15 February to 31 May 2020
CCA_VivaLewes_Advert_66x94_June2018_v1.indd 1 17/06/2018 09:08
Devonshire Park, BN21 4JJ
@TownerGallery
#EastbourneALIVE
www.townereastbourne.org.uk
Towner Members can enjoy unlimited
free access to this ticketed show.
Join for as little as £35 per year.
David Hockney, Arizona, 1964, acrylic on canvas, 60 60 ins
© David Hockney, photo: Fabrice Gibert
ART
....................................
ART & ABOUT
Out of town
On the 1st of February, Shani Rhys James: tea on the sofa, blood
on the carpet opens in the Wolfson Gallery at Charleston. In
this major exhibition of portraits, interiors and still lifes, the
celebrated Welsh artist explores the transience of being. Early
paintings stage the drama of the mother/daughter relationship,
while her recent work confronts the fragility of domestic life,
ageing and the curious infantilisation we face during old age.
(Until 19th April.)
‘Yellow Wallpaper II’ (2012) courtesy of the artist and
Connaught Brown
‘Interference’ by Susan Lynch
The Art of
Temptation
continues at
Chalk Gallery
in Lewes until
February 23rd,
offering a 20%
discount on
all work in the gallery for this limited
period. From the 24th, the first featured
artist exhibition of the New Year is Lewes
resident Rue Asher. With a background in
hypno- and psychotherapy, Rue’s abstract
and mixed-media paintings explore the
‘psychological landscape’. Continues until
the 15th of March. (chalkgallerylewes.
co.uk) Also in Lewes this month, follow
the trail of illuminated installations in
LewesLight (28th Feb–1st Mar). Inspired
by environmental stories, this year’s
contributing artists explore themes from the
beauty of moonlight, to the menace of the
growing climate emergency. Free and open
to all. (leweslight.uk)
Five exhibitions run concurrently at Hastings
Contemporary this month. Earthly Delites is
the first major UK exhibition by the Irish artist
Anne Ryan, who also curates The Studio at 4
a.m. – a showcase of work by eight emerging
contemporary artists. The Age of Turmoil: Burra,
Spencer, Sutherland features rarely seen works
by the three seminal modern British artists, and
Quentin Blake: Airborne shows a collection of
whimsical flying machines created especially for
the space by the
gallery’s artist
patron. Finally,
Drawing Life
features artwork
produced during
life drawing sessions
with local
artists, carers and
people living with
dementia, as part
of the gallery’s
ongoing Wellbeing
programme.
‘Welsh Landscape With Yellow Lane’ (1939-40) by Graham
Sutherland. Photograph Estate of Graham Sutherland
Janet Sutherland
From the 27th of February until the 1st of March, the Crypt Gallery in Seaford
is home to Litfest 2020: a celebration of words and music by a lineup of
largely local authors, poets, storytellers and musicians. There are twelve events
to choose from over the three-day festival, including Umi Sinha, Janet Sutherland,
Nicholas Royle, Alex Josephy, Wendy Atkinson, Peter Martin and Susan
Evans. Tickets are available from eventbrite.co.uk and cost £5 for individual
events, or £40 for a three-day pass. (thecryptgallery.com)
....53....
Seen me,
Seen you?
Make sure you are visible
to other road users.
Share the Roads
Share the Responsibility
f Share the Roads, Brighton & Hove
30.01 I The Prince Albert
Peaness
05.02 I Komedia
Isobel Campbell
07.02 | Rose Hill
Grimm Grimm
10.02 | The Old Market
Anna Meredith
20.02 | The Hope and Ruin
PINS
26.02 | Komedia
Benjamin Francis
Leftwich
01.03 | Folkestone Quarterhouse
Damien Jurado
05.03 I St. George’s Church
A Winged Victory
For The Sullen
29.03 | The Hope & Ruin
Pictish Trail
04.04 | Westgate Chapel, Lewes
Alex Rex
02.05 I St Luke’s Church
The Handsome
Family
02.05 | St George’s Church
Ezra Furman
04.05 | Folkestone Quarterhouse
Lau
08.05 | Folkestone Quarterhouse
Richard Dawson
ST GEORGE’S CHURCH EVENTS
13.02 | DHP Presents
Sam Lee
27.03 | atom promotions presents
10cc’s Graham Gouldman
& Heart Full of Songs
09.05 | Live Nation presents
Ward Thomas
Tickets for shows are available from your local record shop,
seetickets.com or the venue where possible.
meltingvinyl.co.uk
DESIGN
.........................
Global Game Jam
Jammin’ all over the world
Rome may not have been built in a day but,
during Global Game Jam, more than 9,000 games
are created from scratch over one weekend.
A worldwide event, Global Game Jam takes place
at the same time in 789 locations, with everyone
“jamming” together at the same time. On the first
evening, the Jam’s annual theme is broadcast to
each site via video briefing. Jammers then have 48
hours to work in teams (or on their own) to build
games. “The way different people interpret the
theme is always really exciting,” says Becky Leigh,
co-organiser of Brighton Global Game Jam. “Last
year, it was ‘home’ related – my favourite game
was a VR game about being inside a snail shell!”
At the end of the 48-hour stint, all creations are
uploaded on to the Global Game Jam’s website,
to be played and admired. Though some games
may go on to be further developed, Global Game
Jam is much more about the process than the end
result. No game dev skills are required, and it’s
not a competition. It’s about bringing your laptop
along to explore the possibilities of gaming, to
see where your imagination takes you, and watch
your vision come to life.
At Brighton Global Game Jam – hosted at The
Skiff – around 80 people take part each year. It’s
currently the largest Game Jam in the UK, and
known for its social, friendly vibe. “One of the
things you see a lot in gaming at the moment is
kind of ‘crunch culture’” says Leigh. “Jams can
sometimes lean a little towards that, and we take
a lot of pride in Brighton in telling people to go
home, take breaks, step away from your desk,
because my co-organisers and I feel very strongly
against that kind of culture.”
She adds: “What’s really nice about that collaborative
atmosphere is we get to feel part of
something bigger,” says Leigh. “Global Game
Jam streams from different sites around the world
and it kind of rotates around different places so
we can see people jamming around the world
simultaneously.”
Those who’ve never typed a line of code needn’t
worry – there are plenty of ways to take part if
you’re a novice. “A lot of people think making
games is coding or 3D modelling, but it doesn’t
have to be as complicated as that,” says Leigh.
“Anyone can open up Paint on their laptop and
draw. It might not be great, but you’ve only got
48 hours, right? We also really encourage people
to try Twine and Bitsy where you don’t have to
have any programming knowledge. It’s also about
‘how are we going to divide up this labour? What
do our end goals look like? How are we going
to progress the team?’ So we do get a variety of
more project management and writing roles as
well.” Participants may end up surprising themselves
with what’s possible – or discover they have
a hidden talent for voice acting. Rose Dykins
globalgamejam.org
....55....
Anita Corbin
100 First Women
Portraits
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
15 February - 7 June 2020
Royal Pavilion Garden, Brighton BN1 1EE
Open Tuesday-Sunday & Bank Holiday Monday 10am-5pm
Free with Brighton Museum admission, members & residents free
www.brightonmuseums.org.uk
Celebrating Britain’s
Modern Female Pioneers
THE WAY WE PLAY
This month Adam Bronkhorst met some gamers at Brighton’s Dice Saloon.
He asked them; ‘If you could play a game with anyone (living or not),
who would it be and why?
adambronkhorst.com | 07879 401333
Andrew Eaton, playing Dark Souls
‘I would love to a play a game with Hideo Kojima (creator of video game series
Metal Gear) as I would love to see his weird and wonderful mind make the game
more complicated and somehow make sense at the same time.’
THE WAY WE PLAY
MJ Parnwell, playing Camel Up
‘I think it would be to play Dixit with Charlotte Brontë, because Jane Eyre was one of my
favourite books to study, and her use of symbolism and imagery is fascinating.’
THE WAY WE PLAY
Ben Gapper, playing Dungeons and Dragons
‘If I could play a game with anyone, it would be JRR Tolkien as I would love to
hear what kind of adventures he would create in Dungeons and Dragons.’
THE WAY WE PLAY
George Clare, playing Pandemic
‘I would play Risk against Takeda Shingen. As a feudal Japanese military genius it
would be very interesting to see how he would play to conquer the world against me.’
THE WAY WE PLAY
Hannah Chipperfield, playing Photosynthesis
‘I would love to play a game with Leonardo da Vinci. If anyone can think
of a clever or creative way to play, it would be him!’
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FOOD
.........................
640 East
Brilliant brunch
Recently opened in Upper Gardner Street,
640 East are making the most of their roomy,
refurbished premises. Having started out
offering ‘coffee by day and beers by night’ from
two converted shipping containers in Canary
Wharf, they’ve since grown into a second venue
in Bethnal Green, a third in Bristol and are now
offering an all-day food menu at their latest spot
in North Laine.
Formerly home to Silo, the one-time warehouse
has kept all its post-industrial cool, but, with
the rough edges smoothed out and the surfaces
softened, it has a more polished feel. The open
kitchen now runs along the back wall with an
impressive wood-fuelled firepit at its centre.
From here brunch and breakfast is served by
day, with cocktails and seasonally inspired small
plates dished up in the evenings, with weekend
DJ sets, guest chef pop-ups and special events to
highlight up and coming culinary talent.
I first popped in one Monday night in December,
for a glass of wine and a couple of (very
tasty) small plates, and have been keen to come
back for brunch.
An extensive menu of teas and coffees is posted
in the entrance lobby, from where you can pick
up drinks and pastries to go, and we start with
some fragrant Earl Grey while we contemplate
the breakfast and brunch options. There’s something
to interest everyone, like crispy pork belly
served with pak choi and salted cucumber, or a
slap up 640 breakfast with the works for meat
lovers, and smashed pumpkin on sourdough, and
apple and ginger porridge with almond milk for
the plant-based brigade.
We choose from the ‘bowls by day’ list: A
burrata bowl for Frances and a Buddha bowl
Photo by Lizzie Lower
for me (both £9). The artisanal bowls have been
made-to-measure at nearby Potter’s Thumb
and come full of intriguing tastes and textures.
A ball of creamy, fresh burrata sits on top of a
bed of braised green lentils, with roasted beets
and green beans, all smothered in romesco
sauce. The smoky tomato sauce, mild cheese
and earthy root vegetables making for a winning
winter’s brunch. The Buddha bowl sounds a little
worthy at first glance – roasted sprouts, kale,
roasted carrots, spinach, smashed pumpkin and
grains – but the flavour is superb. The sprouts
are crunchy with singed and nutty edges. Soft
roasted wedges of sweet pumpkin and golden
carrot contrast with fresh, crunchy leaves, and
sprouted black quinoa, all dressed with pumpkin
seed pesto, a dash of sesame oil and topped
with strips of crispy fried cavolo nero. It’s a
mouth-watering combination and sufficiently
virtuous to warrant dessert. We share a generous
slice of lemon tart (£3) and sip top-notch flat
whites as we watch the comings and goings of
the Saturday market outside. It’s the perfect spot
for a very Brighton brunch.
Lizzie Lower
39 Upper Gardner Street. 640east.co.uk
....63....
RECIPE
.........................
Photo by Rowena Easton
....64....
RECIPE
.........................
Trout in lemon and thyme oatmeal
Nutritious Fish founder David Copeland and immunologist
Dr Jenna Macciochi team up on a healthy fish dish.
David: Nutritious Fish is a new service for
Brighton, Hove and the surrounding areas, designed
to encourage people to eat meals based
around healthy, seasonal fresh fish, brought
direct to your door (we deliver every Friday and
Saturday).
We can bring you whole fish or fully prepped
fish fillets, and we specialise in offering delicious,
well balanced recipes around them, which you
can consult online.
All the fish we source is UK-caught and very
fresh. In this recipe I’ve used ChalkStream®
rainbow trout from the Test and Itchen Rivers
in Hampshire. ChalkStream® are recognised
for producing to the highest standards of
welfare, food safety and environmental and
ecological care.
This winter, we’ve teamed up with immunologist
and writer Dr Jenna Macciochi, of the University
of Sussex, who has curated a series of healthy
balanced meals designed to give your system a
welcome boost. Here’s just one of them.
Jenna: Trout is affordable, tasty, and very good
for you, rich in Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty
acids which help boost your immune system by
quenching inflammation. Oats have anti-inflammatory
properties too, and are a rich source
of fibre. The pomegranate seeds contain many
antioxidants and the leeks are another great
source of fibre – great for your gut health. This
is a very healthy meal which will help keep the
winter bugs at bay. And it’s surprisingly easy to
make: this recipe serves two.
Beat one free-range, organic egg with a fork.
Dry off two large fillets of trout and dip them
in the egg. Mix half a cup of oatmeal with a
finely chopped sprig of fresh thyme and the zest
of a lemon. If your oatmeal is of the chunky
variety give it a quick blitz in a blender or NutriBullet,
so it clings to the fish better. Dip the
fish into the mix, pressing down so the fillets
are thoroughly coated. Wrap, and leave in the
fridge for 20 minutes.
While you’re waiting, boil eight or ten baby
potatoes – scrubbed but with their skins still on
– until they’re soft, then drizzle with extra virgin
olive oil and keep warm in the oven.
Pan-fry the oatmeal-coated fillets in 1 tbsp of
extra-virgin olive oil for three to five minutes
each side, until the oatmeal is golden brown, and
the fish is cooked through. Keep this warm in
the oven, too.
In the same oil, adding a little more if necessary,
gently fry two trimmed, chopped leeks until
they are softened. Sprinkle with the seeds of
a pomegranate. Serve with the potatoes and
fillets, garnished with olive oil, a light sprinkle of
thyme, and lemon zest.
You could also make this recipe with salmon,
which has very similar properties as trout.
If you’re not a fan of oily fish, the herby
lemon-oatmeal crust also works well with flaky
white fish, such as hake, or haddock, or flat white
fish such as plaice or sole. Enjoy!
As told to Alex Leith
nutritiousfish.co.uk/healthy-recipes
....65....
BUNS & BOWLS
SMOKY
all new £10 weekday lunch menu from The Coal Shed, with fish, meat, and vegan options
An
See the full menu: www.coalshed-restaurant.co.uk | 8 Boyce's Street, Brighton BN1 1AN | 01273 322 998
Join us at Polpo Brighton for 10% off
your meal and a complimentary bellini!
Offer runs until March 31st.
20 New Rd, Brighton BN1 1UF
www.polpo.co.uk | @polpo_restaurants
FOOD
.........................
Social Board
Luxury sandwiches
Social Board turn
the sandwich into a
glorious main meal
of the day. Although
one could dip in
for a quick, smaller
sandwich at lunch, I
recommend treating
a visit as a longer
social occasion and
going large.
I opt for the Italian Job (£7.99 large, £5.50
small). It’s an extravaganza of complementary
flavours: basil pesto mayo chicken and sundried
tomatoes in tasty harmony with fresh rocket,
parmesan cheese and pine nuts. There’s a generous
amount of chicken, but the sandwich isn’t
unmanageable in an overflowing-burger sort
of way, and the bread is crunchy and toasted,
tasting freshly baked.
Nammie chooses the B Right On sandwich:
another bonanza featuring Szechuan pepper
tempeh with bok choy, pickled ginger, soy, oyster
mushrooms and gochujang sauce (£7.99 large,
£5.50 small). She loves the Asian flavours, and
appreciates having a vegan sandwich option that
doesn’t rely on hummus or avocado.
We underestimated the size of our sandwiches,
but soldier on with our sides nevertheless.
The Arancini (£3.50) has lightly spiced, fluffy
rice: Nammie relishes the “autumnal, warming
flavours”. The sweet potato fries meanwhile are
piping hot, salty, and come with a nice chipotle
mayo (£3.50).
We leave feeling merrily sated, filled with delicious,
healthier comfort food. Thank you Social
Board, for giving the humble sandwich the care
and attention it deserves. Joe Fuller
21 St James’s St, socialboardbrighton.com
Photo by Nammie Matthews
A-news bouche
Pier Nine – which replaces Grosvenor
Casino on East Street – opens this month,
with a launch party from 1pm on the 1st.
Restaurants and bars are open 24 hours a
day, offering hefty Absurd Bird burgers,
baked salmon, Chinese dumplings, buns
and baos, while the View Bar offers a
sea view, craft beer,
local wine, G&Ts,
cold platters
and charcuterie
boards.
Photo by Sid Ali
On Valentine’s Day, the Hilton are putting
on a four course dinner with cocktail
pairing and entertainment, the i360 offer
three courses in the pod, with wine, coffee
and candlelight, and the Community
Kitchen host Charita Jones, aka Momma
Cherri, and her daughter Kat
for a tour of American
soul food, including rum
prawns, chicken breast
with jerk seasoning, and
Hasselback potatoes.
Swedish oat drink maker, Oatly, are bringing
a Zero Waste Latte Art Throwdown to
640 East restaurant: every coffee poured
will be turned into a cocktail on the 21st at
7pm. If you are interested in developing a
career in nutrition (or many other fields),
go along to the College of
Naturopathic Medicine’s
open evening.
12th, 6.30pm-8.30pm,
Brighton Aldridge
Community Academy.
....67....
"Never doubt that a small group of
thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world; indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead
Own it:
www.lewesfc.com/owners
FEATURE
.........................
Gamely Games
Playing their cards right
Setting up her own games company was a
gamble that paid off for former journalist Hazel
Reynolds. Gamely Games, which began in 2015
with £4,500 of Kickstarter cash under its belt,
has just sold its 100,000th game and was named
Amazon Small Business of the Year for 2019.
Their refreshing business model is based around
doing the right thing “and making people
smile”, says Hazel, whether that’s with their
hilarious range of family-friendly card games
or supporting a raft of local charities. Over two
days in October, all profits from the sale of new
game Frozen Unicorns were donated to The
Carers Centre in Bedford Place, totalling more
than £1,200.
A former trustee for the Samaritans, Hazel has
always been community-minded and, she says,
it is amazing to be able to give 10% of profits to
local charities including Chomp Brighton, and
Justlife. As a birthday treat, team members get
an extra £100 to donate to their chosen cause.
“Our aim is to have the happiest employees in
the world,” says Hazel of the company’s trade
secrets. “It’s so important to us to create an
environment where they feel supported and able
to do good in the wider world.”
Gamely hit the £1m turnover mark in December
but, for Hazel, the main benefit of their
success is knowing that their games – which
include Soundiculous, Jibbergiggle and The Pretender
– are out there getting people together.
“That figure means about half a million people
have enjoyed our games, and that feels amazing,”
she says.
Hazel was inspired to start making games for
a living after creating Randomise (a card game
where players draw, act or describe their way
to victory) in 2014, with the aim of getting her
much younger sister off her iPad. The team
now includes her husband Chris, as well as Dave
Perrins and Tina Harrington.
“The way we run our company is that we focus
on what is fun and what is good. That has led
to profits, but it isn’t driven by profits. We don’t
have to choose between being a good company
and being a profitable company,” she explains
when asked about turning down investment from
Jenny Campbell on Dragons’ Den two years ago.
“That’s what gets me out of bed in the morning:
thinking about how we can do more good stuff,
and because we haven’t taken investment, we
have got the freedom to do that.”
This year will see them considering a different
direction with a new game based on conversation
starters to “get people to open up and tell
their stories, using everything we have learned
from making games to help people to have
meaningful conversations”. They’ll also be
focusing on getting games to children who most
need them.
“We’re all putting good stuff out into the
world,” says Hazel, “and it seems to be going
really well.” Ellie Evans
gamelygames.com
....69....
FEATURE
.........................
Pavilion Perplex by Pier Pressure
Escape Rooms
The game is to get out
Like a hybrid of 90s video adventure games and
TV shows such as The Crystal Maze, escape room
games typically involve a small team of people
faced with a series of puzzles and challenges, all
wrapped up in a kitschy narrative, often with
costumed actors egging them on. The phenomenon
has gone global since it began in Japan in
2007, and there are now a dozen such games in
Brighton, all run by small start-up companies.
Bewilder Box, who have two sci-fi themed rooms
(above the Hobgoblin and the Brunswick), started
with a crowdfunder by two friends. “We played a
couple of escape rooms in Budapest on my stag
do,” recalls director David Middleton. “And I
thought, this is great – but I can do it better.”
“A really good game should have lots of different
types of puzzles that will appeal to different
people. We had a 70th birthday the other day and
it was them, their kids and their grandkids. It’s an
activity they can all do together and contribute to
– this person spotted the puzzle piece, someone
else figured out the pattern. What you want is for
everyone to have their little victory.”
Their games hark back to the retro origins of the
craze with video cameos from Norman Lovett
who played Holly in Red Dwarf and Hugo Myatt
from Knightmare. “Our goal was to take the
concept and combine it with immersive theatre,
so we added theatrics and characters and a lot
of humour. Our game hosts are all comedians
or performers and the stuff they come up with
is mad and wonderful, and that just elevates the
whole experience.”
Pier Pressure arrived later in 2018 with four
permanent games in their premises on Upper
North Street, and they’re also doing a pop-up
game at Preston Manor this month. Intriguingly,
they’ve built a small section of the Lanes for a
....70....
FEATURE
.........................
Operation Mindfall by Handmade Mysteries
game about a jewellery heist which has been rated
the best escape room in the UK.
“All our games lean on local cultural history,”
explains director Phil Harris, who started the
company with his psychologist wife, Philly.
“We’ve got a mods and rockers game and we’ve
got a 90s rave game. Another is set inside the
Royal Pavilion and it’s based on the fact it was
nearly demolished, back in 1850. So, the players
are on a mission to save the Pavilion. We’ve
recreated a couple of the actual rooms, which was
a challenge!”
Despite the buzz around escape rooms, it’s still
the first time for most punters. And everyone’s approach
is different. Stories abound about people
doing crazy things when they’re on the inside,
like breaking things that should be impossible to
break and even trying to climb the walls.
“The funniest one I’ve witnessed personally,” says
Phil, “was a couple on a first date. It was clearly
going well, as they were all over each other. They
tried going to a certain part of the game because
they thought they wouldn’t be seen. But obviously
we have cameras everywhere! And they ended up
locking themselves in. I had to go into the game
to tap in the code and let them out...”
That’s certainly one way to escape. It shows that
if you leave people to their own devices, ingenuity
will do the rest. Ben Bailey
Bewilderbox. Photo by Guy Wah Photography
Brighton’s Escape Rooms
• BEWILDER BOX: The Bewilder Box
Initiative, Judgement D.A.V.E. bewilderbox.co.uk
• READY ESCAPE ROOMS: Escape the
Vault. escapethevault.co.uk
• HANDMADE MYSTERIES: Lady
Chastity’s Reserve, Operation Mindfall.
handmademysteries.com
• ESCAPE GAME BRIGHTON:
Murder at the Pier: Revenge, Wild West Bank
Heist, Secret Agent: The Black Box.
escapegamebrighton.com
• PIER PRESSURE: Pavilion Perplex,
Loot the Lanes, Modrophenia, Raver Quest, The
Great ELFscape, Mystery at the Manor.
pierpressure.co.uk
....71....
Focusing
on you
R u b y
HEAR T
invites you to
our very first
Vintage
Fair
Counselling, Psychotherapy
and Psychological services
in central Hove
01273 921355
www.brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com
admin@brightonandhovepsychotherapy.com
Saturday 29 February 2020
11am - 5pm
Brighton Unitarian Church
New Road Brighton BN1 1UF
Vintage & Preloved clothing,
accessories & collectables
Free Admission
Café by Siobhan of
TABLE Brighton
Savoury, vegan &
gluten free options
Future dates:
13 June
17 October
2020
Email: rubyheartpreloved@gmail.com
for stall details
Award-winning independent
3 screen cinema
Next to Lewes station
Pinwell Road, Lewes BN7 2JS
01273 525354
lewesdepot.org/japan
TRADE SECRETS
.........................
Elsie Lovelock
Voice actor
Elsie Lovelock has lent her versatile vocals to
numerous video games and animations. She
tells Viva what it takes to make a living voicing
demons, witches and Pokémon.
In a typical day I’ll provide the voices for multiple
characters. You really have to inhabit each
one to make it convincing. If a character is falling
off a cliff I have to scream like I’m falling off a
cliff – even though I’m actually at my house in
Patcham in a closet I’ve converted into a soundproof
recording studio.
Sometimes games developers will send me
a lot of information about a character and
occasionally visual references too. Other times
they just give me a short description and I have to
decide what the character is like for myself.
I’m a gamer so I appreciate the importance of
good voiceovers. You can have a game that’s brilliant
in almost every way but if the voice acting is
off it really affects the experience of playing it.
Dubbing from another language is one of
the hardest things to do. You get a timedin
beat and have to match your vocals to the
mouth movements of the character on screen.
The dream jobs are pre-lays, where you do the
voice first and the animators work around your
vocals. It’s how most of the Disney films are
made. You have far more creative freedom and
fewer time restrictions.
The indie games market is booming so it’s
an exciting place to work. Wargroove, one of
the games I voiced, was recently nominated for a
Game award – which is the Oscars of the games
world. I also worked on a musical animation
called Hazbin Hotel, which was released at the end
of November and has had 20m views already.
I originally wanted to go into animation,
because I love to draw, but when I was 17 I sung
in a youth opera at Glyndebourne called Knight
Crew and decided I wanted to be a performer instead.
I did a lot of am-dram and had a band. I set
up my own YouTube channel to share my singing
and voice work. Then I started auditioning for
specific projects.
It takes a lot of mental energy to bring a
character to life with your voice alone. It can
be draining when I’m working on a horror, for
example, and I’ll have spent the whole day voicing
a character that has had her throat slit and is
gurgling blood! I have to look after my voice –
and my health generally – because I can’t work if I
don’t sound like I should.
But there’s so much variety, especially compared
with live action performance where
you’re limited by the way you look. As a voice
actor you can play almost anyone – or anything. It
never gets boring. As told to Nione Meakin
Hear Elsie Lovelock as Jennifer in the forthcoming
survival horror game Remothered: Broken Porcelain
out later this year.
elsielovelock.com
....73....
FEATURE
.........................
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Elegiac, interactive storytelling
At the beginning of Everybody’s Gone to the
Rapture, you hear a trembling voice: “I don’t
know if anyone will ever hear this. It’s all over.
I’m the only one left.” You are then free to
explore the verdant but deserted fictional village
of Yaughton, in Shropshire. In the first building
you find, you can click on a radio and hear more
from ‘Kate’, who says that “the answers are in
the light”.
Released on Playstation 4 in 2015, Everybody’s
Gone to the Rapture is inspired by the ‘cosy
catastrophe’ fiction of authors such as John
Wyndham and John Christopher, and was developed
by Brighton-based company The Chinese
Room. A Bafta award-winning soundtrack by
Brighton local Jessica Curry – who also directed
the game – sets an elegiac sci-fi tone: a wash of
piano, strings and choir, intricately mixed with
birdsong, strange echoes and radio crackle.
The Chinese Room’s first release, Dear Esther,
is considered by many to be first traditional
‘walking simulator’ game, where a player walks
around an interactive environment. IGN’s
review described it as an experiment with the
video game form, ‘with no goals, guns, puzzles
or any of the other things that you often find
in games’. Rapture is a longer, more fleshed-out
walking sim: the player tilts their controller
to launch flashbacks of conversations between
residents, depicted in glowing yellow light.
You can vary the pace at which you experience
the story. The game allows you to hare through
and solve the mystery quickly, or you can stop
and smell the roses, enjoying the beautiful
scenery and perusing parochial minutiae: flyers
on noticeboards, birdwatching books, maps, pub
menus. It’s like being able to wander around a
beloved location in a good book, in your own
time, with a license to be as nosy as you like.
Some gamers argue that there isn’t enough
....74....
FEATURE
.........................
interactivity in walking sims for them to even qualify
as a video game, but thankfully such naysayers
haven’t hindered the development of the fascinating
genre. The walking sim has given us some of the
most moving, eloquent and strange games of the last
few years, including Firewatch, which puts you in the
shoes of a fire lookout in Shoshone National Forest,
USA; Virginia, a filmic tale of an FBI agent recollecting
her first case (inspired by Twin Peaks); and
What Remains of Edith Finch, a beguiling game about
a young woman exploring her family home, while
recalling fantastical vignettes about their demises.
It’s a thrilling new form of storytelling. There is
enough autonomy to keep one entertained, but
the controls are very simple, making them perfect
for people who are unaccustomed to playing video
games. The focus on narrative, character, and environment
in walking sims – and indie games in general
– can help video games reach a wider audience.
We’ve come a long way since Pong, and the future
of interactive storytelling in video games looks very
promising indeed. Joe Fuller
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture can be played on
Playstation 4 and most PCs
Jessica Curry hosts video game music series Sound of
Gaming, on BBC Radio 3
....75....
ADVERTORIAL
RESOLVE TO
MAKE A NEW
WILL
There are compelling reasons for
making a Will and ensuring your
assets are passed to the right
people on your death; Mohammed
Ahmed explains why a new
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worthwhile.
If you die “intestate”, or without a Will, your assets
are distributed under the rigid Intestacy Rules
which specify the order of relatives that inherit
your estate. Priority is given to any spouse/
partner, then children, parents, siblings and so
on; if there are no surviving relatives, the Crown
will benefit.
The rules don’t consider the quality of your
relationships with your relatives; more importantly
neither do they provide for unmarried partners
– a problem waiting to happen for many modern
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for ‘blended’ families involving step children.
Making a Will enables you to specify who inherits
your estate, and who deals with the process of
administering your assets. Without a Will, who will
administer the estate is a matter to be decided
by the court and can cause problems and
disputes in itself.
If you have minor children, you can use your Will
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Funeral wishes, making cash gifts to unrelated
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with in your Will.
As one of the most important documents you
will ever have, you should make sure your Will
is done properly; even if everything seems
straightforward, using a professional will ensure
your wishes are correctly documented.
Mohammed Ahmed is a solicitor
in DMH Stallard’s Brighton office
specialising in Wills and estate
planning. You can contact him on
01273 744220.
BRICKS & MORTAR
.........................
Digital Worlds
Mapping the city with Minecraft
I’m not a gamer
myself, although
I’ll take you on at
Mario Kart. But one
of the joys of computer
games for an
architect is seeing
the extraordinary
environments
that are created,
whether it’s the wild, unbuildable worlds of the
future or crazy re-interpretations of real cities. A
quick internet search will show you some amazing
science-fiction environments. Have a look at City
17 in Half-Life 2. The central citadel is so tall it
disappears into the sky, but more important is
the way in which the tower’s influence creeps
outwards, absorbing and re-moulding the city in
its image. The fictional city Rapture, in Bioshock,
is another iconic example. The Art Deco-inspired
cityscape draws inspiration from early 20th
century Manhattan. Its skyscrapers loom impossibly
large, dazzling with their searchlights and
electric advertisements. The city in Mirror’s Edge
(a free-running adventure game with stunning
visuals, where you ‘run, leap and fight your way
to freedom in the City of Glass’) is more familiar,
maybe Tokyo-inspired.
On a more prosaic but perhaps more useful level,
Minecraft is a popular video game that allows
players to interact with a 3D environment. It’s
relatively easy to learn and is engaging and adaptable.
Two former University of Brighton students,
Megan Leckie and Joseph Palmer, launched
Block Builders, a Community Interest Company,
in 2014. They work with children, using Minecraft
as a tool to create unique educational experiences
and to get them
engaged in town
planning and urban
design.
Block Builders has
enabled developers,
local authorities,
schools and
educational trusts to
engage with young
people, and has helped on several projects including
Brighton and Hove City Council’s plans to
develop Valley Gardens.
“We engage people who are often excluded from
the consultation process by employing such an
easy-to-use platform,” Joseph tells me. “Children
spend most of their lives being talked to and
talked at, so it’s really empowering for them to
take control of the tech.”
Joseph graduated with a BA (Hons) in Design
and Craft in 2014 and a Masters in Sustainable
Design in 2016. He and Megan, who is currently
studying for an MSc in Town Planning, met at
the University in 2014. They have been looking
into creating a map of the entire city, and have
already modelled the Palace Pier, i360 and Royal
Pavilion using Minecraft.
On getting children involved in the planning
process, Joseph says: “A lot of people think they
are only ever going to build rollercoasters or skate
parks, but what you actually find is kids really do
care about what goes on in their environment.
They’ve got a really good understanding of it and
they are not afraid to say what they think. They
have so many great ideas, you never know what
they are going to come up with.” Paul Zara
blockbuilders.co.uk
Image courtesy of Block Builders
....77....
Press Play Films
Making your own animations
“Kids really need a space to be creative,” says
Lara Leslie. “There’s very little time for it in the
school curriculum yet it’s so valuable.” It’s one
of the reasons the Fine Art graduate-turned-TV
producer set up Press Play Films – which offers
animation and film classes for children aged from
seven to thirteen. “Animation is a great way for
kids to explore ideas and create their own worlds;
it involves drawing, storyboarding, performing and
hands-on making – and it’s a lot of fun.”
Lara spent her 20s working in TV and animation
– including a stint at Bristol’s famous Aardman
studios, where she helped make models for the
much-loved Wallace and Gromit films (“It was
actually pretty formulaic,” she admits. “You had
to mix the clay to exactly the same formula and
quantities every day”.)
When she later had two sons, she found the long
hours and busy schedules of the film industry
incompatible with family life. “I wanted to carry
on doing something creative but where I could
still spend time with my children.” She struck on
the idea of animation classes and, with the help of
a fellow animator, held a sold-out pilot in Lewes.
A few years later, Press Play runs regular afterschool
clubs, workshops in libraries, galleries and
museums and even animation birthday parties
across Sussex. Lara covers everything from
traditional 2D drawn animation to documentary
film production, as well as Lego animation,
zoetropes and claymation, better known as stopmotion.
“I particularly like claymation because it
involves so much hands-on making, which is really
where my interests lie, and it’s also really popular
with children.”
A typical class is a mix of study and practical work:
“We’ll usually look at some examples of animation
at the beginning – including some of my previous
stuff – then we do a story plan. Most kids hate
planning but it’s an essential part of good animation.
From there we make storyboards [which visually
plot out the progress of the animation] then
the models and set, before photographing them to
make the film. Finally, we’ll record any voiceovers
or sound effects.”
Examples of work made at Press Play workshops
show a huge variety of styles and interests, from
an animation devoted to biscuits to a brilliantly
surreal cooking sequence featuring Lego and
paper spaghetti. “We’re not prescriptive,” says
Lara. “The classes are really about kids having an
opportunity to try out whatever ideas are in their
brains and to experiment with different forms.”
She has found that boys in particular benefit from
the classes. “Boys between the ages of eight and
thirteen often stop wanting to create because it’s
not seen as ‘cool’. But because animation involves
technology they feel more comfortable giving it a
go and then they end up learning all the creative,
arty stuff along the way.”
Many children come back term after term: “Animation
is kind of addictive,” says Lara, “and the
possibilities are endless.” Nione Meakin
pressplayfilms.co.uk
....78....
FEATURE
.........................
Playing cupid
The maths behind dating
In the 2001 biopic A Beautiful
Mind mathematician John Nash
(played by Russell Crowe) devises
a dating strategy for his friends.
Although they all fancy “the
blonde” in a group of women, he
points out that none of them will
get her because they’ll end up
blocking each other. And if they
then turn to her friends, they’ll
be rejected because no one likes
to be second best.
So the solution is for his friends to approach the
blonde’s friends first. Known as Nash’s Equilibrium,
it illustrates that the best result comes from
everyone in the group doing what’s best for him/
herself and the group.
Nash’s Equilibrium is a central application of
game theory, which uses mathematical modelling
to understand the decisions individuals make and
how these decisions affect groups.
It’s not unusual for maths to feature in the quest
for love.Traditional approaches to wooing have
become such a minefield that it seems reasonable
to turn to formulae and algorithms, in the comely
shape of dating apps, to select potential partners.
But can a robot really play cupid?
“None of the apps is perfect,” says Dr Nicos
Georgiou, a Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at
the University of Sussex who can apply his specialism
in probability and statistics to understand
dating strategies.
“From a statistical perspective, the best strategy
for an app like Tinder is to ‘swipe right’, or accept
every ‘like’, to give yourself the largest pool of
people. However, your chances of success depend
on you being more desirable than others, while
the most desirable people who have the widest
choice often behave really badly.”
The apps that create matches
based on similar personality traits
are also seriously flawed, says
Nicos. “They don’t take human
elements into account. You don’t
necessarily want to be with someone
who has all the traits that you
don’t like about yourself.”
Once you’ve made a connection,
other aspects of game theory
come into play. If it looks like
it’s all going well and you then think you’ve been
“ghosted” (ignored) by your date, you could
become a victim of your own insecurities.
As Nicos explains: “If you’re not feeling confident
about yourself, you’ll then judge someone else
based on your own experience and make the
decision to end the relationship – which could be
the worst outcome for both of you.”
Aside from dating apps, another mathematical
example, the Acceptance Triangle, depressingly
suggests that your chance of finding the person
of your dreams (or at least better than average
according to the criteria you have set) is less than
50 per cent.
But there is a ray of light offered in Parrondo’s
Paradox, a complicated theory involving losing
strategies that counter-intuitively shows how
incompatible personalities, or personalities that
individually may seem undesirable, can have a
good relationship by strengthening each other.
“If people are easily discouraged by data they
shouldn’t go on dating apps,” says Nicos. “However,
Parrondo’s Paradox suggests that nobody
should lose hope.” Jacqui Bealing
Nicos is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s
Puzzle for Today
....79....
my vet
understands
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Karin Stratford, Brighton
The Coastway Vets hospital in central
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nurses who have experience in caring
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built warm wards and vivariums too.
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WILDLIFE
.............................
Illustration by Mark Greco
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Keep your pecker up
My New Year’s resolution was that I would try
to be more positive about the future. It’s only
February and I already feel like banging my head
repeatedly against a tree. Standing out in the
street this morning I heard a noise that reassured
me that I’m not alone.
The drumming of the Great Spotted Woodpecker
is a familiar sound throughout February, surely
earning this striking black and white bird a reputation
as one of Britain’s most famous drummers
along with Ringo Starr and Phil Collins. The
bird’s drumming serves an important function
because the Great Spotted Woodpecker realises it
can’t sing and doesn’t attempt to. Sadly, the same
can’t be said for Ringo Starr and Phil Collins.
Instead its drumroll is a percussive proclamation
that hammers home the message to other male
woodpeckers to stay away from its territory in the
treetops. It also serves to drum up support from
female woodpeckers in the vicinity who may be
looking for a pied partner.
This ‘song’ may not be as sweet as the melodies
sung by the Robin or Blackbird but it still gets its
message across. Indeed, the drumming can carry
the bird’s message across half a mile of countryside
with a male broadcasting up to 600 drumrolls
a day. Each drumroll consists of up to ten to 16
beats typically in a one second burst. Of course,
if I did attempt to take my frustrations out on a
tree in a similar way I’d suffer some form of concussion
but woodpeckers are specially designed
to avoid this by having shock absorbent tissue
between the base of their bill and their strengthened
skulls to cushion the impact.
Their incredible beak is more than just a drumstick,
it’s also a pickaxe, which allows them to chip
away at trunks to excavate their own nest hole,
and a chisel with which the woodpecker prises
open tree bark to find food. That mighty beak is
a formidable weapon too which sends other birds
on the peanut feeder scarpering pretty sharpish.
And Great Spotted Woodpeckers are becoming
more greatly spotted as it is a British bird which
is actually increasing in numbers. The pecker’s
population leapt in the 70s and 90s with some
estimates stating they have increased by 300 per
cent over the past five decades. The availability of
dead wood thanks to Dutch Elm Disease and the
availability of peanuts thanks to British bird lovers
being among of the reasons for this increase. See,
I ended the article on a positive note, maybe I
haven’t broken my New Year’s resolution after all.
Well done to me. Now to put the kettle on, put
my feet up, and turn on the news.
Michael Blencowe, Senior Learning & Engagement
Officer, Sussex Wildlife Trust
....81....
INSIDE LEFT: BRIGHTON TIGERS, 1958
.....................................................................
It’s April 13th 1958, and these guys have just
played the game of their lives. Meet the Brighton
Tigers, who’ve just beaten the Wembley Lions
7-6, to win the British League, in front of a sellout
3,000-plus crowd.
1957/8 was the most memorable season in the
history of the Tigers, who had earlier in the season
beaten Russia (in effect The Soviet Union),
the recently crowned Olympic champions.
They played their games in the SS Brighton, an
ice rink that could convert into a venue and conference
centre in the off-season. Both the Tories
and the Labour Party were to hold their annual
jamborees in the building later that year.
In the picture, the eye is drawn to the only man
not wearing ice skates, in the tux and bow tie.
This is Benny Lee, the General Manager of the
Tigers and an SS Brighton director, a canny
businessman responsible for publicising the
matches, and building the team. It was necessary
to field foreign players to achieve any sort of
success, and the majority of the Tigers were
Canadians he had hired.
One of these was goalie Tony Parisi, born at
Niagara Falls, the guy with the beard in the
centre of the picture. His facial hair was not long
for this world: Parisi, a brilliant goal-minder and
a hero of the fans, had vowed not to shave until
the Tigers had clinched the title. He had had his
work cut out all season, keeping the opposition
out: the Brighton rink was smaller than most, and
nicknamed ‘the goaltenders’ graveyard’.
Parisi had let more goals past him than he was
accustomed to that Sunday night, but he made
a great last-minute save to stop the Lions – who
had led the game with ten minutes remaining –
from taking a late-late lead. His compatriot Ron
Flinn capitalised, knocking home the puck in the
dying seconds, to give the Tigers the title.
The Tigers went on to win the British Championship
in 1960, but, alas, their days were
numbered. They continued to play inter-rink
tournaments after the collapse of the professional
league later that year; in 1965 Brighton Council
decided to demolish the SS Brighton, and, without
a home, the club folded. The memories of
Tigers fans, of course, burn bright. Alex Leith
Picture and extra research courtesy of Kevin
Wilsher, of the Regency Society, whose book The
Story of the Brighton Tigers comes out in April.
....82....
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