rent up 2%

rent will be up 2% ;
see council agenda http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000152/M00002152/AI00011920/$Item52FeesChargesReportFinaldraftDec09.docA.ps.pdf

CULTURE RECREATION
& TOURISM CABINET
MEMBER MEETING
8 December 2009
4pm

extreme knitting

katie at extreme knitting event

white air event

our chalets are secure

NATIONAL SPEED TRIALS Sat. 12th Sept

We have been told that we cannot use the chalets (again)-- the organisers of the event (Brighton and Hove Motor Club) have not give any freebies....(unlike other orgs....)


NATIONAL SPEED TRIALS, BRIGHTON

Popular annual event held on Saturday 12th Sept. Madeira Drive is closed, and many people view from the top of Marine Parade. 09:00 - 18:00, a constant roar of motor cycles and cars of all vintages, race against the stopwatch, in the direction of the Marina. Viewing is free, but a charge of about £10.00 is made if you want to access the paddock and terrace lower levels and view the entrants up close. Probably the oldest motoring competition in the UK for cars and bikes from veterans to the newest. Started in 1905 when Brighton Motor Week took place. The length of the course is currently a quarter mile and is run under the regulations of the RAC Motor Sport Association. Awards include best overall time, best time by a lady driver, best motorcycle time and best in class.
(this data from http://www.free-events.co.uk/speedtrials/speedtrials.html

more to follow (WHITEAIR)

If chalet tenants contact WhiteAir, and get confirmation e-mail, complimentary weekend tickets can be collected from the Ticket Office at the Main Gate using a copy of this email with you - in case of any query.
This will apply both during the set-up, event & break-down.

We will be able to access our chalet during the day but after consultation with Head of Security we will not be able to have access during the evening as WhiteAir need to seal off this area entirely for both security & health & safety reasons.

Sunbathing with music, watching the gulls reaching the Bocking and Kitesurfing..... what more can we ask for!!!

white air event 18th - 20th sept

all chalet tenants should have got a letter offering us tickets/wristbands for this events...
more to follow....
beach fenced off....site layout in the whiteair web site and details of when the music stops ....
traffic closed thursday thru tuesday....

sussex police promote DIY burglary prevention

tenants will have get a letter from the police advising us to get a free Burglary Prevention Pack, as well as a suggestion that a shed alarm would be a good idea.
Note this is aimed at HOVE beach hut owners, rather than tenants in Madeira Drive.

It is good that the Council and the Police are working together in this way and communicating with tenants.

seaside flowers

FLOWERS of the SEASIDE
by Ian Hepburn
(collins, 1954)

BUY IT VIA ABE BOOKS

Brighton Carnival Village on Sunday 12 July, between 2-7pm.

Brighton Carnival Village will take place on Madeira Drive on Sunday 12 July, between 2-7pm.
Brighton Carnival parade day will take place between 2 – 7pm on Sunday 12 July when it will parade from Middle Street to Madeira Drive. An expected 15,000 people will line the city streets and dance along with the 600-plus paraders from local community groups, secondary schools and businesses. The Parade ends on Madeira Drive at the Brighton Carnival Village festival site where there will be live music, Caribbean Food, stalls and a Family Area with activities for all ages.

It is not clear how it will effect the 23 chalets.............

wen enal ekib

NEW bike LANE
NEW parking LINES
whatever next?

Babbington’s Leek:

Babbington’s Leek mentioned in the poster at the Volley Ball Court nearby -- actual leek not found

some sea flora

Sea Kale on the right, Yellow Horned Poppy on the left

SALT-MARSH AND SEASHORE

copied using OCR -- no typing!! -- from Oxford Book of Wild Flowers
next stage: find the pictures....

SALT-MARSH AND SEASHORE
The plants growing in these habitats must be able to tolerate a salty soil, either the waterlogged soil of the salt-marsh, or the dry, sandy, often shifting soil of the seashore.
1. Salt-marsh. This is a quite distinct type of marsh, most often found round river estuaries. The amount of salt in the soil depends on the frequency with which tidal flooding occurs. The plants to be found are all species which cannot flourish except in a salty soil. They include Rock Samphire (p. 47), Glasswort, Sea Purslane, and Seablite (p. 57), Sea Aster and Sea Lavender (p. 137). Any of these may cover large areas, depending on the amount of silt present and the height above the low-tide level. There may also be found scattered plants of
Sea Wormwood (p. 61), Scurvy-grass (p. 69), Sea Arrowgrass (p. 103), Sea Heath and Sea Spurrey (p. ll3), and Sea Milkwort (p. 125).
2. Seashore. On shifting sand the commonest plant is Marram Grass, which is deep-rooting and can rapidly bind the sand.
On more stable sand wetted by spray, Saltwort (p. 57), Sea Rocket (p. 69), and Sea Holly (p. 179) will grow. Further from the sea there is a larger variety, including perennials such as Yellow Stonecrop (p. 15), the Ragworts ( ' p. 43), Hound's-tongue (p. 105), and Creeping Thistle (p. 153). There are also certain annuals which grow and flower early before the soil has dried out. Among these are Whitlow Grass (p. 71), Mouse-ear Chickweeds (p. 75), and Rue-leaved Saxifrage (p. 84).
Shingle beaches are as a rule too exposed and liable to shifting to make it possible for any plants to grow. There are, however, a few special plants of shingly places, such as Yellow Horned Poppy (p. 7), Wild Beet (p. 57), Sea Campion (p. 73), and Sea Pea (p. 135). These plants are perennials, have deep roots, and for the most part are low-growing.
Some plants, though not sea-coast plants, are only to be found within a few miles of the sea. The reason for this preference is not known. Examples are Alexanders and Fennel (p. 47) and Slender Thistle (p. I51).

spring is here

Sea Kale



Once I got down to the beach chalet, it was a lovely day apart from the wind: spring flowers all over the place.
Derek Jarman's retreat eat your heart out!!

Lift? What Lift?

Last week the lift was not working. It is working now, as I have just been told by the Sea Front Office. Tel: (01273) 292716
It is helpful for that office to be told if there is a problem, as they may have not been advised of it eg if the bell at the top does not work and thus the lift attendant at the ground floor (i.e. Concord 2 Bar) does not hear it.

The sellotaped signs show the various typical municipal prohibitions as to the use of the Lift eg no bikes, no kids without an adult, no impatience....
The one which says "No Lift Today" is unhelpfully un-dated.
Perhaps part of the renovation could include a neon sign showing the state of the Lift (Open/Closed), thus avoiding fruitless journeys....

how many councillors can you get into a lift?

http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/4282819.Brighton_s_historic_seafront_lift_reopens/

http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/4302274.Lift_safety/

http://www.theargus.co.uk/search/2131753.Historic_lift_essential_for_beach_access/

I was extremely disappointed to read Councillor Gill Mitchell’s irresponsible scaremongering about the safety of the newly restored Madeira Lift (The Argus, April 16). says Mary...

(but the April 16th story is not on the web site.....)

Punningly funny

see today's article in the local argus about the lift, page 17: or wait till it is on the web site.

talk about 2 old ladies locked in the (lift)......

LIFT WORKS: no bikes or kids allowed; dogs OK

LIFT WORKS NOW: no unaccompanied bikes or kids allowed; dogs OK

hours 9am to 7pm

internal refurbishment not done yet -- i say, keep it as it is inside

TRY THIS ONE

Brighton Blue or what? WARNING

Time to paint again, as per our lease: but what colour should we use? Last year I used left-overs from the contractor doing the railings, because I did not think the colour used previously one nearby huts was quite right.

One tenant tells me the following:

"When I was a Brewers, the man there was doubting it was the correct colour for Madeira Drive. I have to admit, it looked wrong on the colour chart - but the code in the council letter was what we went by.
The man in Brewers has been seeking clarification from Sue Marshall at the council but has had conflicting information sent back.
I went this morning to apply the top coat - it is Hove green/blue & not the Brighton Blue. (£16.00 down the drain).
Until this is sorted out could you post something on your blog to alert MD beach hut people to check before buying the paint.
I have spoken with Ian at Brewers & he will alert anyone going in to buy paint - he is waiting for instruction from council."

My tenancy states at clause 1 (d) "...cream (BS10C31) and/or Brighton seafront blue."
Letters dated January 2006 and 2008 states: "...BS480014 C35 Gloss (Brighton Blue) and/or ... BS10C31 (Cream) in the Dulux range."

No mention of the undercoat required......

I may be becoming colour-word blind anyway with a bit of synthesia thrown in as the colour changes with the waves.....

My doors are definitely Brighton Blue. It is silly to have had an alternative colour in the lease....
mind you, I wonder what it would be like if we all used different colours as in Blaker Street...

annual rent rise 2009/10

annual rent rise 2009/10 letter arrived today- note how it reminds us to "keep your chalet from from damage and in good condition" --

one door was recently repaired, but it is not clear who paid and who caused the damage.

next bill, by the way, is the rates -- we get a discount because we are a small business, but we are not a business for purposes of booze licensing nearby --

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i have a nice painting in my hut -- i might charge people to view it during the Festival --

and it would be good to have some performances, too --

calender 2009: events and beach closures

three events prevent us using the beach huts, though White Air 2009 will give us special passes, it seems. Fat Boy Slim may have some tickets available for tenants. The Speed Trials have never considered the matter.
Fri 18 – Sun 20 September : White Air 2009
Fri 4 & Sat 5 September : Big Beach Boutique 5
Sat 12 September: National Speed Trials

Full details are on the council web site -- http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000152/M00001813/$$ADocPackPublic.pdf

Note that there will be a booze application for the BBB 5 and residents and businesses can object: we cannot.
The purpose of objection is the ensure the security of the chalets and prevent urination all over the place. We also object againts the closure of the beach area.
The landlord have the right to object via the Property Dept. but they have a conflict of interest of course and thus though they may have some common interests with ours, they also opposite interests too eg they get a fee ect.
Thus, I will pursure the matter further: any readers of this blog can contact me on this to register interest of support.

annual rent review to £473 inc VAT

The rents are being reviewed this month, and letters with the new rents will be mailed out by the end of the month.

Beach Chalets – Madeira Drive
current rent is £401.50 plus VAT(£471.76 incVAT)
proposed 2.5% increase to £411.50 (£473.21 inc VAT)
(Note that rates are separate and will no doubt be increased -- at least, we get a discount as Small Business Rate Relief of 50%)

The full details of the review can be seen on
http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/Published/C00000152/M00001813/AI00005921/$Item69ProposedFeesandChargesfor2009AppendixA_v1.docA.ps.pdf

contact from Seafront Services
Brighton and Hove City Council
Room 501, Kings House
Grand Avenue, Hove , BN3 2LS
tel: 290000

my stuffed bird -- Vanellus vanellus

The collective term for a group of lapwings is a "deceit of lapwings." This Spur-winged Lapwing or Plover got its name because of a spur (a small claw) hidden in each of its wings. The Spur-winged Lapwing is known to sometimes use the wing-claws in an attack on animals and, rarely, people, who get too close to the birds' exposed offspring.

It is a bit broken now, when I displayed it on the fence one day and the wind knocked it over.

I found it in a junk shop years ago -- it is not a local bird. The main birds I see from the hut are: herring gulls (the ones with the red blood on their beaks - the bill is yellow with a red spot which young peck at, inducing feeding ), rooks or jackdaws (I cannot tell the difference), pied wagtails and occasional sparrows.....some terns turn up, too --

-------

The rough sleeper was still asleep outside No. 15 -- I understand he is a young guy, 20s or 30s, who said that he sleeps every night at St Patricks Hostel, but sleeps at the beach huts during the day as he finds it difficult to find somewhere to go in the cold weather.

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frozen fig bush

here is the tenancy agreement i found -- there may be later versions or indeed different ones -- the landlord may confirm later.
===================================================================

i popped down today at noon, 'cos i left yesterday's bread behind and the rodents were around -- i noticed the frozen fig tree caused by the leaky tap -- some say that that prevents the pipe from bursting when the ambient temperature is below freezing --

the rough sleeper was still asleep --

some further links

Kathryn Ferry is an independent architectural historian, writer and lecturer -- see links

first post 2009 in sunny brighton

first post 2009 in sunny brighton, 3pm saturday 3rd january -- note the rough sleeper near hut 17 -- (I remember two summers ago when a rough sleeper was knifed overnight and there was blood on the concrete.....)
my hut is No 8, where the two new concrete slopes have been laid to make it easier for wheelchairs and mobility scooters. No. 7 asked for this disabled access and when I saw the works being done I asked too.
The works have not been extended up to the middle gate yet (outside No 11), though: thus, a wheelchair cannot get to the tap -- a half finished job is no job at all, typical of an absentee landlord.
Reasons to be cheerfull, though: the tap still works, though it may need a new washer, soon.