24.2.05

Own It - Free advice on intellectual property, copyright, patents & licensing - : "a new service which offers free intellectual property advice for London’s creative people". Must investigate further...

23.2.05

Top painters have suited themselves: "Artists and designers have put their creative talents to use by customising suits to be auctioned for charity." How come I've never noticed this shop?

22.2.05

Bungaroosh -- great name, eh? It's what lurks beneath the render in many a Brighton house. The corner shop being renovated at the end of Gerard Street has proper brickwork at the front and bungaroosh (an early form of concrete) round the side, with the odd course of bricks here and there to hold the whle thing together.
Letter: Many literary treasurers just won't be available: "Only in Brighton could books be transported, at great cost, from the temporary Vantage Point library to the new Library - and then hurled into a skip bound for the dump" -- outrageous!

19.2.05

Smarties set to lose their tube: first they remove the cardboard insert from Bounty bars ('Mars of Slough, you've really done it now!'), then they replace the ecological combination of silver foil and paper from the packaging of Kit Kats in favour of plastic, now they're about to change the Smarties round tube to a hexagonal one with flip-top lid! At least they will be slightly greener, dispensing with the plastic lid.
The Ramblers' Association has launched a campaign to search out Elm trees -- must pop along to Preston Park and hug some of the largest and probably oldest surviving English elms.

17.2.05

Library sends books to the tip: "A huge pile of books destined for the dump were rescued by a builder working next to the new Brighton library." Outrageous. Charity shops too are guilty of only displaying 'nearly new' stock and chucking out old books.

16.2.05

Letter: Mishmash flats -- the demolition of 1930s Preston Place to make way for 'affordable' housing, ie an ugly block of flats.
Accolade for man of letters: "A signwriter whose work can be seen hanging outside dozens of Sussex pubs has received international recognition for his craftsmanship." We spotted his work on the Clarion ride last Sunday -- the Plough at Plumpton, with Polish Spitfires!

15.2.05

McLibel Two win legal aid case: "The McLibel Two should have been given legal aid by the British government to defend themselves against a libel action by the food giant McDonald's, the European court of human rights ruled today." Hurrah!
Letter: We can't afford to save pier kiosk: hmm!
Ban off-road parking (except at my house): Richard Mallender, of the Green Party, said: 'It's disappointing she [Juliet McCaffery] is doing this. The solution this city needs is not to make more space for cars but more space for different forms of transport. We need to shift from our over-reliance on cars to using buses, trains, bicycles and walking.'
'Make Mine Shoebox': a great animation about producing greetings cards by Chris Harding.

14.2.05

Fred Pipes flattering photos: added a pic of me with Steve Bell at the opening of the Leo Baxendale exhibition at Hove Museum, 11 February 2005.
Nice informed interview with Neil Innes in this Midlands newspaper.

11.2.05

The perfect cuppa: Oooo the BSI has ruled on the milk first or milk last debate. "Pour in tea on top of milk to prevent scalding the milk."

5.2.05

Letter: Outdated idea: Joyce asks "- who would use the park-and-ride and when - and what would be the environmental costs?" Park and ride, without chopping the equivalent parking spaces in the centre is a waste of time -- and would mean demolishing houses and allotments!
Expert fears park and ride could pollute drinking water: "a giant car park at Patcham, Brighton, may cause petrol and oil to seep into water supplies"