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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 --

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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.
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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 --