This is going to be a quick Happy Birthday post for my favourite little brother (only little brother) who lives in Brighton, UK!
Happy Birthday! See, told you it’d be quick. Just kidding! Rather than talk about what I’m doing and what I’ve been up to I thought I’d include a quirky little post about Quirky little Brighton.
Not the New Brighton in Christchurch, New Zealand or the United States or Australia or wherever else they have a new Brighton but the ORIGINAL Brighton in the south of the United Kingdom!
Who better to tell you than the ginger biscuit that lives there!
First of all, who are you? (cue existential crisis)
Chris Childs.
Your little bro.
What do you do for a J.O.B?
I’m the head of bookings & promotion at two music venues in Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar and The Hope & Ruin.
What’s a typical day look like?
Answering a lot of emails, drinking a lot of coffee.
How did you end up living there?
I moved to Brighton when I was 18 to study music. Got a degree in rockin’, then just stayed.
What do you love about Brighton?
Love living by the sea, love that there’s always stuff going on, loads of really nice bars and it’s generally a really fun place to be.
If you had to pick the top 5 places to tour guide someone around Brighton where would it be?
Urgh, I hate being a tour guide.
What are your favourite places?
The beach is pretty nice, always gotta do the beach. The pier is pretty grim but kinda gotta do it as a tourist. I’d obviously take people to the venues I work at cos all the staff are great & they’re just really cool places. There are so many nice places to eat & drink, the Laines are cool too if you’ve never seen them.
What’s the best time of year to visit?
Dick Christmas lights apparently are a thing around Christmas…
Brighton is great in Summer, obviously, it gets really busy with people visiting but yeah the beach is really nice if you can find space. Pride is always fun, if not a bit nuts, and The Great Escape Festival in May is really cool too, so much live music everywhere
What other local events are going on in Brighton?
Washed Out Festival, a multi-venue emo/pop-punk/hardcore festival that’s in its second year this April. May’s a great month just for all the Fringe/TGE stuff going on.
Anything else we should know?
If you come to Brighton don’t leave rubbish all over the beach you friggin’ turds.
Okay and lastly!
Can I get a free cocktail at Sticky Mikes when I come back in November?
Oh and free vegan chips at Hope & Ruin?
Wait whaaaat.
Yeah come visit whenever!
Free shit all round!
A note from me…
Chris’s interests are obviously primarily in the music scene and all that stuff, but where there is music, art usually follows. Brighton has a cool little art scene and is brimming with really cool street art. There’s some really nice places to eat in the Laneways and hidden squares in the city. Seriously I’ve been visiting for over 8 years and every time I go I seem to find something new.
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery (located in the Pavillion)
- IO Gallery
- Two Kats & A Cow
- Of you could check out the official guide too.
The shopping is fantastic too, although nothing is particularly cheap, you can find unique and one-off items in the boutiques, arcades and vintage shops. There is everything from jewellery, famous labels, bespoke artworks, antiques, pop culture trinkets and pin-up style or Gatsby style dresses!
As for more touristy type things (which may make it sound cheesy but still not to be missed) I would recommend chilling out at the 19th Century Regency Palace, Brighton Royal Pavillion, also the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery.
If you’ve only ever heard of Brighton put it on your list! If you’ve been to Brighton, I implore you to go back and take another look, and if you live there (like Chris) I can only tell you how jealous I am.
If you find yourself looking for somewhere to play Mario Kart with a pint, or are looking for some super tasty vegan loaded fries, swing by Sticky Mikes or Hope & Ruin and say hey to Chris Childs.
We’ll be looking forward to going back sometime later this year. Can’t wait!
P.s Happy birthday again to Chris, ye olde farte!
Erin reki 