Brighton has some fantastic Thai restaurants – Sawadee on St James St a perennial favourite that always ranks high in any restaurant listings for the city – The King and I along the seafront with its beautiful gold painted carvings, and just by the Pavillion, Sabai – an elegant restaurant with a fantastic menu!

So Brighton can happily lay claim to having some strong credentials as far as Thai food goes – but the Thai themes are being taken much further at the Thai Festival with the opportunity to see authentic Thai dancing, listen to Thai classical music, and for the brave amongst you, even have a go at Thai Kick Boxing!

The festivities kick off at 2pm and its a great event for all the family with all the displays and food tasting opportunities!

Check out the festival page for all the timings and get along early as its bound to be a popular event!

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Hence hundreds and hundreds of broad smiles and bare bums cycling through the city last Sunday – culminating wiht a fantastic nude picnic down on the beach!

Highlighting the need for us all to get out of our cars more and get on our bikes, the event takes a light hearted approach to a very real need for all of us in the UK if we want to do our bit to Save the Earth.

The nudity, as well as being a great hook which gets peoples attention , not to mention that of the media, is also intended to visually display the vulnerability of cycle riders and hopefully remind car drivers that whilst they may be surrounded by a nice metal protective shell, cyclists are protected by very little. When its so important for us to encourage people out of their cars and onto their cycles then we need to make it as safe an experience for them as possible!

The event was part of a world wide co-ordinated effort and organised by the World Naked Bike Ride group.

Credit to Konstantinos Efthemyiou for the great picture and congratulations for completing the ride on behalf of cyclists everythwere!

If you didn’t make it this year then why not consider stripping off and showing your stand on this issue next summer!

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Brighton Pride isn’t only about the day of the park and the parade – there are great number of other events that really shouldn’t be missed. Over the last couple of years the Sunday Day Party along St  James St has actually been perhaps an even greater highlight of the weekend with literally thousands of people taking over the major part of  Kemptown. Especially after last years rain disaster on the saturday – the second day of festivities in St James Street was a real treat for everyone who was able to attend!

Brighton Prides own website is a great place to check out the calendar of events – and of particular interest this year is the Art Show at Brighton Media Centre where you can buy local artists work at great prices in the knowledge that half the proceeds will go to the Pride Charity.

They are also organising a Prides Got Talent competition at the Queens Arms which promises to be a fun series of nights.

Pride Brighton and Hove do a tremendous amount of positive work that has really promoted our city so if you see one of the collectors shaking their bucket then please give generously. Its not only the LGBT community that benefits from this fantastic week – its the whole city in terms of the boost to accommodation companies like Brighton Short Breaks, but all the restaurants, the bars, the sandwich shops etc etc. But the greatest beneficiaries of the Pride week in my opinion are the younger generation who see this whole question of sexuality and gender to be just something to associate with a reason to have a collosal party on a city scale – making us all proud to be Brighton and Hove citizens!

I’m indebted to Aspex Design for the fantastic picture of Lorraine Bowen at last years Pride.  If you need any reminding of what a great event Pride is then check out his database of pictures of Pride over the years!

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Jonathan Mitchell, after spending the last five years of his life designing for Puma – that stalwart of the sports arena and hip clubs – has settled back in his home town of  Brighton and set up a new design company Brighton Fresh Design Solutions . Whist Brighton Short Breaks isn’t usually in the business of promoting new business – I thought this was an interesting story in that its a very tangible example of proven talent choosing Brighton for their base. Especially challenging when Brighton is such a fantastic source of up and coming talent! But more employers like Brighton Fresh Design in our city means more reasons for new talent to stay – so the whole city benefits!

Brighton has a number of Further Education sites in the city – the Art College, the Universities and the other various colleges – all of which generate a huge number of talented and creative people that regularly stay on in our city to develop their own range of products and art works. This years graduates of the University of Brighton’s Faculty of Arts as showcasing their amazing output at the Burt Brill and Cardens Graduate Show this June. If youre visiting the city during thJune then why not get along there and jot down one of two names – a timely purchase could be a major investment – as past exhibitors include Rachel Whiteread and Keith Tyson – both Turner Prize winners, as well as Julien MacDonald the world famous fashion designer.

In a city that promotes so many historical attractions its good to know that it still has a firm grip of the modern and the value that creativity in 2010 brings to all our lives!

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‘Teams will be allocated a country playing in the 2010 World Cup and schools are being encouraged to get involved by designing flags and learning about their allocated country’s culture’ as is reported on today’s Brighton and Hove News.

‘On the day every player in the squad will receive a T-shirt with their country’s name on the back. Each team will play a minimum of five matches.

As well as beach football, children will have the opportunity to tackle the climbing wall and learn about how to warm-up properly and sun safety.

Councillor David Smith, cabinet member for culture and recreation, said: “Using a major world sporting event such as the World Cup or the 2012 Olympics is a great way to encourage youngsters to take part in outdoor activities.”

The TAKEPART school sports festival runs for two weeks from 19 June to 4 July. Brighton and Hove City Council’s sports development team has helped organise the event with the Nivea Sun Yellowave Beach Sports Venue and the Brighton and Hove School Sports Partnership.

As an organisation that constantly monitors local news Brighton and Hove news (see the link above) is proving itself to be a really positive contributor to this news area – offering not only news but lots of community links – so if youre planning a visit to our city make sure you check out their website!

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Caroline Lucas has made history of course as the first Green MP to be elected to the House of Commons, but Brighton and Hove have been making inroads into a greener and more sustainable future for a few years now!

One of the best sites you can explore as a visitor to the city is the Visit Brighton website and you’ll see there that the title was awarded by an Asda survey – which actually focuses on the purchasing of recycled goods, and the consumption of organic foods – ie as ‘Green’ consumers – but the Visit Brighton site also details some of the other ways the city does its bit to lead the way forward in terms of ecological responsibility.

I already wrote earlier about the fantastic Jubilee Library which was awarded the Observer Ethical Award for its design and construction – but its Brighton’s Beach that I want to particularly praise here, as no visit to our city is complete without it.

It has been awarded the prestigious Blue Flag Award – The Blue Flag Programme is owned and run by the independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE).

The Blue Flag works towards sustainable development at beaches/marinas through strict criteria dealing with water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety and other services.

It is the body’s independence and non-biased status that gives the award its true value – and it received the award based on the quality of the water as well as the cleanliness of the beach itself – which is cleaned daily. Brighton beach is also especially rich in the range of shops and stalls along the front itself – with art galleries, a museum, bars and clubs – as well as the essential bucket and spade emporiums!

The summer is forecast to be a warm one – but Brighton promises a great destination whatever the weather!

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So the potential that our long term investment could have crumbled before our eyes, with the recession blowing around the globe,  has been averted (for the time being at least) by the fact that Brighton and Hove continue to fare so well in terms of being the destination of choice for so many home hunters!

I'm the A in RDA!

The city of Brighton and Hove has fared extremely well in a number of reports  into which cities were considered the best places to live in the UK,  - consistently being in the top 3 – and that has meant that despite the recession, Brighton and Hove residential property has not only held its value, but continued to grow in the face of adversity!

Helped largely by the fact that approximately a third of the University population that graduates each year chooses to stay in the city – putting pressure on the first home market, the continued migration from Londoners looking for a better quality of life without sacrificing any of the  cultural opportunities a large city can offer, as well as all those envious people who read the statistics about how much happier than the rest of the country we in Brighton are, all means Brightonians can be more pleased with themselves than ever.

Jean Shillinglaw, Director of property specialists RDA Estates confirms that business is as buoyant as ever.

‘Whatever the state of the market, if a location is consistently the preferred location of the majority of home seekers and investors then that location will always fare better, and provide a better return than others. ‘

Truly location,location,location then!

She goes on to say: ‘ Brighton and Hove prove to be  popular both with private  house hunters looking for an aspirational life-style, but also increasingly with the buy to let investors – because such is the demand for accommodation in the city from  young professionals, quality rental properties are always in short supply!’

‘Whereas investors in cities like Leeds came unstuck due to a situation of over-supply of rental property and under-supply of tenants, Brighton and Hove is still struggling to to accommodate all the new arrivals wanting to live here, and that trend shows no signs of diminishing!’

If you’re looking to buy in Brighton and need guidance through the vagaries of the Brighton and Hove property market then  an well experienced and professional consultancy like RDA Estates may be just what you need – and if you need Brighton self catering accommodation during your search then let Brighton Short Breaks solve that issue for you too.

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

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If you’re still not keyed up on what’s on offer then check out the Brighton Festivals official website, One particular scoop that the Festival Organisers are particularly proud of is the participation of the enormously influential musician BrianEno. This year he has the role of Guest Artistic Director. In the past few years there has been a trend within the London Cultural circles to appoint a leading creative to this role – for instance The Royal Festival Halls Meltdown  Festival which has had Jarvis Cocker and Richard Thompson amongst its Guest Artistic Director in past years –  giving a very distinct and unique flavour to each years events, keeping it fresh and innovative – so that even those stalwarts who have been attending each of the last 44 years events can be sure of a sense of excitement and the promise of something new!

We’re booked up for Anouar Ibrahim, who is playing at the Dome on the 4th of May. This incredible oud player has changed many peoples perception of the instrument itself – with the unique way he plays the instrument, fusing a blend of the jazz and world music genres. This is a example of the global names the Brighton Festival can now attract – as well as providing a platform for high calibre artists to gain access to a wider audience that otherwise may not have come across such remarkable artistry.

Another event we’re very much looking forward to is Expresso, which runs for three nights from the 13th of May at the Brighton Media Centre Gallery. This innovative  piece of physical theatre is being directed by the acclaimed Britt Forsberg – an actor in her own right, but who is committing more and more of her time to developing thsoe skills in others and creating a body of work and a troupe of performers which take theatre to a whole different level. This theatre group are set to make a significant and unique contribution to the Brighton Cultural landscape!

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Located n the beautiful grounds of the Royal Pavilion grounds, its architecture owes much to the heritage and style of the Pavilions designer, John Nash, echoing and reflecting some of the grandeur and flights of fantasy that the Pavilion embodies. But its origins arent quite so lofty as the building itself once housed the stables for the Royal Residence, although possibly the most glamorous stables to exist in the United Kingdom!

As the excellent Brighton and Hove Museum website informs us : ‘Brighton Museum was founded by local brewer and social reformer Henry Willett.  He was an avid collector of pottery and porcelain and Mr Willett’s Popular Pottery showcases his collection.’

This is the best website for getting info on the opening times and special exhibitions that are housed within the museum, but the most important piece of information is this: Admission is Free! So another great way to  spend an afternoon if the weather isn’t the best, and a way that wont strain the purse!

The museum is perhaps better suited to slightly older children as it doesn’t house too many of the ‘child attention grabbers’ that so many other museums offer. However that is not to say that there isnt a wealth of material there to grab their attention – but a little and often approach might provide the ideal way to get the most out of this great local attraction.

As you would expect there’s a lot of great local history covered within the Museum and on the upper floor there are plenty of resources for tracing local history or personal family history – so another potential project for the family to enjoy on a wet afternoon!

If you’d like to arrange accommodation during the month  then check our our self catering Brighton properties and see what suits you best!

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