The Burning of The Clocks is a Brighton tradition that has been going on for nearly two decades. It…read morecelebrates the winter solstice and ushers in the new sun. It's typical of Brighton that this event can attract a vast variety of people, from hippies, to students, families with young kiddies, to the elderly. The event starts with a lantern parade which commences in the centre of town and finishes on the beach, just to the east of the pier. Good viewing spots can be found on Madeira Drive and Marine Parade, but do get there early as it gets pretty busy. There is plenty of music and dancing to keep the crowds entertained until the procession arrives, at which point a large bonfire is lit on the beach, and the homemade lanterns, filled symbolically with hopes and dreams, are placed on the fire to "burn the clocks" and welcome the new sun. All this takes places to the sounds on banging drums creating an evocative atmosphere. The grand finale is a huge fireworks display, lighting the sky, sea and all of beautiful Brighton. This is such a unique event, it's worth popping along to experinence it. It's a little quirky, but yet again makes me happy to live in the eclectic, if slightly crazy, Brighton!

Delicious cheese Mouthwatering bread…read moreKick-ass coffee Fruity jams Moreish marinades Fantastic fish Sizzling sausages Majestic burgers Soul food sauces Sensational fruit and veg Incredible olive oil Beautiful balsamic vinegar Cheeky chilli chocolates Sticky puddings Cute cupcakes Hearty beers & Smooth wines As you might have guessed, I'm a bit of a fan of the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival. A month long festival that takes place every September, it sets out to champion the best local food producers, farmers, market traders, chefs, bakers, cooks and restaurants in the South East. Aside from the Big Sussex Market where you can sample and buy food directly from the producers, there's free tasting sessions and demonstrations from top chefs, themed events and one off collaborations. Leading restaurants like Terre A Terre, Drakes and Due South usually offer special one-off menus too. The only downside of the whole festival is you might need to invest in a pair of elasticated pants. How else are you gonna enjoy all the gourmet treats on offer?!

The Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival runs fantastic foodie events throughout the year. The…read moretwo main events are the Spring Harvest (a 10 day festival in April) and the Autumn Festival which runs throughout the month of September. As well as huge food markets specialising in local producers and supplies, the festival host events such as Restaurant Week, live food shows and various other specialist events , working closely with local restaurants. This year, they have put on Christmas mini markets at the train station over the first three weekends on December. Unfortunately, these do appear to be a little too mini - does four stalls really count as a food market?! That said, large or small, I always seem to spend a small fortune at these events, but I do come home with a great selection of artisan food products.

Chocolate truffles Chocolate bars…read moreChocolate churros Chocolate cake Chocolake fudge Chocolate bread Chocolate pastries Chocolate fountain Chocolate cocktails Chocolate pancakes & chocolate making kits With all of the above, it's no wonder the recent Chocolate Festival in Brighton was such a success. Alongside dozens of food stalls selling chocolate related products, there was chocolate demonstrations and masterclasses. My favourite bit however, had to be eating all the free samples and discovering wonderful new chocolatiers like William Curley and Damien Allsop. Keep your eyes peeled to the website to check out when the next festival will be.

Brighton Early Music Festival celebrated it's 10th birthday this year, but I have to admit that…read moreit's the first time I've come across this event. The festival celebrates early music and food with numerous events at various beautiful venues around Brighton and Hove, including concerts, workshops and lectures. I went to see the International Baroque Players and BREMF Choir in a performance entitled Celebrating Coronations and featuring music from greats such as Handel, Purcell and Boyce. This event was held at St George's Church in Kemp Town. The music and singing were beautiful, and the stories behind some of the pieces were explained by the lead violinist, a great touch for a bit of a classical music novice such as myself. The venue was lovely, although the upstairs seating was a little uncomfortable. My only compliant would be that the ticket booking website wasn't particularly user friendly, and it wasn't clear what seats each price band referred to so you couldn't really see exactly what you were booking. Sadly, the festival's Arts Council grant has been cut this year so fingers crossed they will be able to continue running this fabulous event in future years.

"I was dreamin' when I wrote this, so sue me if I go to fast…read moreBut life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last" Wow, just Wow!! Had an amazing time at the Hop Farm festival this weekend, with Prince being the icing on the cake. What a showman, he really knows how to rock a festival!! Hop Farm Festival is now in its 4th year and for the first time was extended to three days. Organised by the legendary Vince Power this festival looks set to grow and grow. The acts range from new bands to old legends, including The Eagles, Morrissey, Carl Barat, Newton Faulkner, Aloe Black, Ocean Colour Scene, Tim Booth, Imelda May, Frankie and The Heartstrings and many more. The festival has three stages, and and comedy night once the music has finished. The facilities were fantastic - the toilets were clean and 9 times out of 10 had loo roll and hand sanitiser (i know, at a festival!). The bars were numerous and well staffed meaning that you never had to queue for longer than a couple of minutes for a drink. For beer or cider you had to pay a £3 deposit for a plastic cup which was then refundable at the end of the night - a great idea to keep waste levels down. On this note, the area was cleaned on a regular basis which was fantastic. The food stands were numerous and a little hit and miss. Great hog roast, burritos and churros but the paella and Jimmy's Farm burger were a little disappointing. Camping facilities were good and not to far away from the arena. Could have done with a few more showers but at least they were hot. This is a fairly civilised festival which seems to appeal to people of all ages. A great starter if you don't feel quite ready for the madness of the likes of Glastonbury or Reading!!

I remember an old friend raving about the Zombie walk he was going to do back when this first…read morestarted and racked it up to his general eccentric style. It wasn't until I was in the city last year supporting a friend who was doing the Time Warp Record that I appreciated how much of an event this is. It really is a zombie invasion and a great way to kick off your Halloween celebrations. People take this really seriously, from some amazingly realistic zombie costumes that would not look out of place in a Hollywood movie, to gimpy walks and mono speech with many groans etc. This really is one of those Brighton 'things' and if you are in the city on the night you really should make the effort to check it out or get dressed up and join the show. I reckon I am going to zombie it up myself this time around.

Once a year on Halloween night, a couple of hundred people wobble down from Brighton Station with…read moretheir guts hanging out, the sea by the old pier their final destination. It's the strangest procession of the undead you're likely to see this side of a Romero flick. Brilliantly quirky, for me it perfectly illustrates the city's sense of fun and drama, like an overgrown kid who still loves raiding the fancy dress chest. And some of the make up jobs are awesome. Last year Pennywise the clown took first prize in my opinion.

After initial futile attempts at buying tickets for a round of golf at Swingers, I was quick enough…read moreto grab some for a Saturday afternoon slot in an late release advertised on Twitter. I was swayed by the word of mouth and hype and £10 seemed reasonable for access to grounds and a round of crazy golf. It is a nine hole course that is advertised as a 30 minute undertaking, but in reality, the course gets bottlenecked very easily and it took us over an hour to play. It felt like good value for money, but there is quite a bit of queueing between holes (and thankfully a small bar situated in the middle). It's a fun and cleverly designed space with lots of obstacles and even a water feature on the last hole. In the spirit of crazy golf, you will be absolutely awful at it, but so will everyone else in your group, so it's fine. Just try not to get too competitive or you'll only end up frustrated! The staff on the course were dressed the part (luridly) and very chatty when we were asking about the few rules of the game. When we arrived, we were able to get on the course immediately (you are generally given a slot when you buy your tickets and you will be booked in at any time during it). The atmosphere is Hoxton-cool, lots of 20 and 30-somethings with beards and t-shirts. It's relaxed and everything is set up very professionally for a pop-up location. There is a large bar with ciders and craft beers and some resident food trucks at the back of the building. The bar overlooks the golf course, so you can park on a ledge and watch frustrated players hacking away at the Astroturf below. Once we finished our round of golf, we would have happily stayed into the evening for drinks, as the bar is trendy and there was good music playing. However the drinks were very, very expensive- we ordered a double gin and tonic and a pint of beer and it came to approximately £13. That was enough to encourage us to move on to a cheaper location for drinks. The prices for food seemed reasonable, though- about £7 for a pizza on the night that we were there. I would recommend that if you can get tickets to Swingers, you should definitely experience it. It's difficult to find the venue, so make sure you are equipped with GPS! I have never seen crazy club quite like this and it's a fun London activity that will have you laughing through tears of frustration as you watch yourself go over the allowed number of strokes because your ball is inconveniently wedged underneath a bridge obstacle...We were laughing, our neighbours were laughing and some of the more festive players were jumping up and down in good-humoured defeat. Everyone was chatting and enjoying the vibe, though.

After a few fruitless attempts I eventually managed to get booked in for an afternoon at Swingers…read morebefore they disappear again. I booked an afternoon slot on Valentine's Day which probably wasn't my best idea in the world! All in it was a really enjoyable afternoon although bad points would be the cost of the drinks and the burger I had. I can't remember the name of the pop up but it was probably the worst street food burger I've ever tried. As for the golf it was a good laugh but the 9 holes were very tame and it doesn't take long at all to get around. If you can get in I'd definitely recommend it but you'll have to be quick (and maybe take a hip flask!)

First Kiss might sound like the name of a bad teenage rom-com but it's actually a beer that was…read morelaunched at the recent Sussex Beer Fest! An annual event held at Hove Town Hall, Sussex Beer Fest is basically a platform for local producers and brewers to promote and sell their speciality beers, beers, stouts, milds, porters, pale ales, golden ales and ciders. There's tasting notes for most beers and information about which pubs, bars and off licenses stock them. This year's event included 250 different beers and attracted over 4,000 punters - suggesting there's a definite thirst for real ale. If you can't drink more than a pint or two, there's also live music, hot food and competitions to find the best local beer and beer of the year. Since tickets for this year's Sussex Beer Fest sold out in record speed I'd mark March 2011 on your calendar now. If it's your shout, I'd like a smooth, chestnut coloured lightly hopped ale with a citrus tang please. The name? First Kiss of course.

A beer festival that runs out of beer? No, No, No, No, No!!! Unfortunately, this is what happened…read morewhen we attended on the Saturday night. Ok, maybe it was my fault, I went on the Friday last year and it was great. But if you are going to sell tickets for a three day beer festival, surely the first rule is to bring enough beer!!! It wasn't a complete failure, there was some cider left, but I really wanted the beer!! Based on previous experience, I probably would have given this four stars. It's situated on the very retro Hove town hall, it's cheap (tickets at £6), the band were good, its full of men with huge beer bellys and beards (!) and it's generally a good night out (how can it not be, with that many beards and bellys!) Next year, I'll get in there quick for a Friday night ticket with all the other beer monsters!

"Only in Brighton!" some may say. But in fact you would be wrong. This event originates in New…read moreYork, but the people of Brighton have embraced it as they do all things original and quirky, and so this July I got to attend the second annual March of the Mermaids event, dedicated to mermaids, sea creatures and all things fishy! This is essentially a fun day out for all the family - there is music, face painting and prizes for the best fancy dress outfit - and boy, were there some fantastic outfits on display here! The celebrations start on Hove Lawns and proceed along Brighton seafront to the after-party at Above Audio. I have to admit that we only stayed for the first part, but it's definitely worth popping down and soaking up the fishy atmosphere! The event does also have a serious side, aiming to raise funds and awareness for the Marine Conservation Society.