It’s no secret that the residents of Brighton and Hove are not internet shy – nor are they shy about creating a blog or two. All this is great but seems to make my job a little harder…..

I had been searching for a good all round community blog in Brighton for a while and the problem was that it has just too many blogs to choose from – I was a bit overwhelmed! After much searching, sorting and reading I think have found a gem.

‘Unique to Brighton’ really does have a loads going on, and although it is not technically a blog it is fantastic community resource. Not only does the site list, photograph and explain all unique businesses that started out as Brighton and Hove specialists, but it has a pretty comprehensive News and Events Bulletin that does what it says on the tin and keeps a strong grip on all local goings - ons in Brighton and Hove.

Unique to Brighton started out in 2005 listing independent food outlets, and today it lists over 7 different types of business categories (impressive stuff). All the photos that accompany the listings are kept up-to-date and if you are looking to find something unique in the area then you can’t go far wrong with this website.

Currently they are campaigning with the Federation of Small Businesses to keep Trade Local in Brighton and Hove as part of the wider UK scheme. The aim is to raise government awareness in order to secure the future of independent shops in the UK. This isn’t the only local campaign that they are behind others include Real Nappy Week, Brighton Frocks and Fair Trade Fortnight.

It’s great to see an independent site rocking local so well- keep it up!

It seems that finally the English are waking up and noticing that every other surrounding country celebrates their national day, and we just seem to let it slip by unnoticed. Well not this year! The English flag is flying over Buckingham palace for the first time in years. Number 10 is also proudly flying the flag of St George, something that has not been done since the 2006 world cup! It seems that the overall message this year is to celebrate our Englishness – responsibly and in style of course.

Historic food store Fortnum and Mason have a lavish special St Georges day menu on, Borough Market is moving from London Bridge into central London to celebrate English food and Carnaby Street has been decorated with England football shirt bunting. However, on a more local note, none seem more eager than the residents of Morley in West Yorkshire who started their celebrations weeks ago. The market town dedicated a whole weekend to festivities and their list of events taking place stretches over three pages long. The English flag is flying in the local park and, coloured flowers have been planted, not to mention the St George parade and long bow competitions. The town made the conscious decision to aim for the most elaborate celebrations and it has certainly paid off, they have experienced record numbers of visitors and lots of press attention for being the most patriotic town in England!

Fear not, if you are feeling a little detached from the festivities, and in need of some inspiration then English Heritage is on hand to rectify the situation. They have created a guide all about how to celebrate the national day including fact, recipes and a breakdown of all events taking place ordered by regions.

Enjoy!

Photo by rbrwr over on Flickr

I hate to be the bringer of bad news, and recently I feel as if I am but, if it wasn’t bad enough news that the English breakfast was looking shaky now it is the turn of the British pub! It’s hard to believe this is the case, as we receive so many enthusiastic pub reviews everyday on the site – often implying that a great deal of your spend a lot of time and cash in our pubs - but it looks like your efforts are not enough.

The British Beer & Pub Association has released dismal estimates that claim that four British pubs are shutting every day! The rate of closure is fourteen times faster now than it was in 2005, and with only 57,000 pubs left in Britain compared to the 69,000 we had in 1980 the situation could be getting pretty worrying.

The problem doesn’t seem to be so much with the city pubs; it’s the decline in the trusty village pub, which is seeing a downturn in popularity due to tougher drink-driving laws and the cheap availability of beer and alcohol in super- markets. The result is pub beer sales are at an all time low - they haven’t been as low since the depression of the 1930’s.

You have to stop and ponder the loss of British identity if we lose our pubs. This isn’t a simply case of loss of a national pastime (drinking) but also another great hit to our already flimsy community. Pubs are often breeding ground for good local communities and local identities.

So, more people are swapping their twice weekly trips to the local pub in favour of a trip to the supermarket for cheap discounted beers to take home a watch alone in front of the TV, why? Come on people let’s get out a little more, keep our local boozers open – give them your money, or we will lose them for good. You never know you might even meet some local peeps!

If you’re in need of inspiration try searching pubs in your local area here, see what you get. Remember to be specific, the most popular pub name in Britain is The Red Lion, closely followed by The Royal Oak!

Photo by JL2003, over on Flickr.

Just when you thought it was safe, and somewhat trendy to eat a fry up again Giles Coren of The Times has come along to throw a giant spanner in the works – and this time the spanner is razor sharp!

It is no secret that there has been a big revival in the nations love of breakfast of late, especially the English breakfast. Here on welovelocal.com one of our most popular and thriving groups is ‘For the Love of Breakfast’ where reviewers happily share their glorious, and not so glorious breakfast experiences with each other. Every foodie review or culture capturing piece of literature that you pick up is filled with guides to the best breakfasts and brunches around - most of which are pivotal around the fried English breakfast. So what do we do now we are being told that only the uneducated (or those with a degree below a 2:1) would dare consume an English Breakfast?

There are two sides to every coin and although this particular article entices arguments around the encroachment of the draconian nanny sate on our free will, I think the issue is more one of balance. Who realistically has the time to eat a big boy breakfast everyday? The truth is we don’t - and that is just it, we’re not all truckers who’s only convenient source of food is on a roadside, and we do have a clue what we’re doing (even those of us without a 2:1). It’s all about moderation and quality and if ‘trendy’ has its way then we will continue to spend our Saturday mornings queuing up in the doorway of some painfully trendy cafe haunt for our free range, totally organic, hand reared and home grown £8 English Breakfast – and enjoy every minute of it too.

News just in from Twitter – Our very own PM, Gordon Brown is still up for a good old full English! - Go Gordon!

So on that note, I thought I would include some top places for breakfast as recommended by you:

If you’re in London why not try The Cock Tavern or the ever popular Breakfast Club. Plymouth has its own breakfast hot spot in the shape of Elviras Cafe. Brighton’s fave is Billie’s Cafe for a traditional ‘breakfast hash’. Birmingham has the Victoria Square Cafe or the crazy Mr Egg to re-fuel.

Photo by robby-T over on Flickr

With InterNational Downshifting Week 2008 starting this Saturday It got me thinking about some of the work life balance ideas around at the moment. The idea of InterNational Downshifing week is nothing to do with changing gears on your bike, or your car - it is about about taking one week of your life and slowing the pace right down, and hopefully leading a greener simpler life.

In essence, if you re-address your work/life balance in favour of ‘life’ then you will inevitably slow down, enjoy the simpler and often greener things in life more. I know many people love work etc, I am just putting the idea out there. The principle, in a nutshell is that working less will mean you will probably earn less (boo), therefore become thriftier and greener naturally (yay). Your overall consumption should decrease - and this will have a positive effect on the environment. Failing this the website has list of other things you can do to downshift - even if it is just a little, like shopping locally for a week.

This may well be a wee bit extreme for most of us but there are less radical measures you can take to get back in touch with your creative side, balance your life and possibly become a little greener. Back in December the Carsonified team took a step back from their computers and took a week out to do something creative (idea week). They came up with the fabulous hugmymac.com, they made fabric cases (hugs) for Mac Books and iPhones – the results were pretty impressive and I think they even surprised themselves.

I think the main point here is downshifting doesn’t have to mean re-arranging your entire life, it can be as simple as changing one or two things, it could make a big difference – who knows you might surprise yourself!

Photo supplied by hAdamsky’s over on Flickr.

I was over on the Wedge blog and Diana Bird’s post ‘Local Lives in New York’ was really interesting. She was talking about a new documentary film that is out called, ‘Twilight Becomes Night’. It’s a documentary about local shops and their closure in New York. Virginie-Alvine Perrette ( the filmmaker) follows the lives and stories of five Neighbourhood stores in NYC watching them in their struggle for survival against larger competitors.

It is amazing the way the short clip cuts straight to the point of shopping locally. It is also refreshing to see the way the community actively want to prevent their towns from becoming homogenized. The shop owners talk openly about ‘character of place’ being constructed by people and businesses - the idea these two things help to make an area unique and different from other geographical places. The documentary focuses on what neighbourhood shops means to local people and the larger community that they serve - when a local business is lost a part of the social fabric of the area is lost with it.

It is really moving, and although based on American neighbourhoods it’s still extremely applicable to the UK. We mirror what is happening in the US in the respect that we too, are losing local neighbourhood shops fast. I think it is a great piece of filmmaking, and anything that can help raise awareness about shopping local is all good.

We have a wealth of fantastic recommendations on welovelocal.com and with it being the hottest day of the year so far (and all I can think about is outside) I thought I’d pull out some of the recommendations that we have for great places for the weekend.

Kicking off with Komedia in Brighton, this little south coast gem has had some cracking reviews, and as a once resident of Brighton I tend to agree. Saturday is kids’ comedy day so this place really is a family affair. Don’t worry the comedy gets ramped back up to adult level by the evening and with an upstairs and down you are bound to find something you enjoy to make your evening pass.

Or if you fancy something a bit more outdoors and less related to alcohol then you could try Bristol Zoo, another attraction that has pulled in some pretty good reviews. Every weekend throughout April they have free puppet shows and entertainment – fun for all the family!

Now, Tropical World Leeds is another one that has some very nice words written about it. This place sounds quite exciting and according to Ruth H cost only a measly £3 for adults to get in! Tropical World is an indoor rain forest with tropical plants, animals and fish to go with it – what more could you want for £3?

Going up the country further, Gibside in Newcastle has made its self a good name on welovelocal.com. This is another good one if you fancy getting outside in the good weather (though Sunday is meant to snow, so best to go Saturday). This National Trust spot is pretty stunning and you could do a lot worse than to take the air here.

Don’t fear if you are staying in the capital this weekend, if you want to try something different then Friday Night Ride Cycle is looking good. Join group of cyclists and beginners as they cruise around London for fun. There is some drinking involved, so if you’re not steady on a bike without a drink probably not your best option.

We are off for an office curry now!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Photo supplied by Zenera over on Flickr

When somewhere goes to such efforts to get their message heard it is always impressive. However Digbeth, in Birmingham has gone a little bit further and created a petition site aptly named ‘Keep Digbeth Vibrant…’ and their mission is to do just that inspiring. As you would expect from this indie quarter of the city their efforts are second to none and score top marks in the imagination stakes.

Keep Digbeth Vibrant is petitioning to save a local pub from having its famous outside music silenced. The Spotted Dog is a real community hub and the potential loss of the live music is causing great concern - understandably. However these locals are not ones to sit around feeling glum – oh no, they are taking action and getting themselves a lot of attention. They have re-created their own spoof of the Stella Artois Advert, and I think that their re-make came out really well considering that they used only a digital camera and ‘a few bottles of Keep Digbeth Noisy wine’ to create their masterpiece.

I was sure that I had even seen the original advert when Dan pointed this site out to me, but after watching the video, it was such good quality that it reminded me that I had seen the original (good filming skills). Digbeth has done a great job of catching people’s attention and their community’s passion is fantastic!

Enjoy!