New Years eve is celebrated in a very special and unique way in many villages in the Swiss canton of Appenzell, but only in Urnäsch do they celebrate it again on January 13 (New Year’s Eve, according to the Julian calendar). The tradition of Silvesterchläuse, a custom over 200 years old has developed from simple...
Brighton’s annual festive dip took place despite Brighton’s Swimming Club officially cancelling the event on Christmas Eve. They said conditions would be ‘highly dangerous even for the most experienced sea swimmers’. The high tide and dangerous currents were likely to make the swimmers entry and exit through the heavy shore break very difficult. However, despite...
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Emma
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Dec 12, 2011 • Santas. Hundreds of them. Some in a dash, some taking a more leisurely pace, or taking their dogs for a run, on what turned out to be a fine winter morning this Saturday for 5km along the seafront in Brighton/Hove. All in aid of a good cause, money raised through the entry fee and individual...
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Emma
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Sep 19, 2011 • Fiery Foods’ Chilli Festival took place this weekend in Victoria Gardens in Brighton. Back for a 4th year, it proved to be bigger and better than ever, with new exhibitors, live music, cookery demos, lots of chilli plant, fruit and product competitions, not to mention the infamous Chilli-Eating Contest which is held over both days....
Ahoy, me Hearties! If you didn’t have a parrot, a peg leg, a hook or an eye patch, you would have felt like a right landlubber on Friday as hundreds of pirates converged, once again, on Hastings Old Town, to turn it into a Pirate town. Fast becoming one of the most popular events during...
Looking to treat yourself to a bit of exercise and a mud wrap combined into one? Look no further. There’s no need to go and spend a fortune at some poncy health farm, when you can enjoy a full body exfoliation and massage during a bout of mud wrestling at the Lowland Games. Held in...
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Emma
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Jul 25, 2011 • Swan Upping, an annual ceremonial and practical activity in which mute swans on the River Thames are rounded up, caught, marked, and then released, took place last week. Traditionally, the monarch retains the right to ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water, but only exercises ownership on certain stretches of the River Thames...
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Emma
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Jul 18, 2011 • Crystal Palace Park played host to the London Backward Run on Sunday. With about 80 entries across 3 different races there will be plenty of calves and quads aching horribly today! There was a mixed 3km & 1km backward race with cash prizes for the first 3 places, followed by a backwards fun run/walk for those...
Thousands of people headed down to the beach this weekend to visit and take part in ‘Paddle’, Europe’s biggest free beach and watersports festival. Held on Hove Lawns, it features the best in water and urban sports along with live music, kids entertainment, ‘have a go’ opportunities and numerous events. One of the old favourites,...
This weekend saw the organisers of Brighton Bookstock kick it all off by attempting to break a world record, by creating the World’s Largest Book Pyramid. Unfortunately they didn’t manage it, the record stands at 1,500 books, and they only had 900. It was a great first attempt though, and everyone had a fun time...
May Day in Hastings can mean only one thing. Time to get get dressed up in leaves and paint yourself green and parade through the old town. (Unless you’re into motorbikes, in which case you’d probably rather get dressed into your leathers and park up on the seafront.) I wouldn’t advise combining the two, driving...
Who’d have thought a whole day could be spent celebrating eels, well in Ely that’s exactly what they do on their annual Eel Day, which took place on Saturday. The day kicks off with a procession from the cathedral, along part of the city’s Eel Heritage Trail Walk and down to the Waterside, where a...
