What's New at Avalon Brighton?

Well, here we were earlier in the summer with a rather nice car parked outside.

Our boiler problems should now be a thing of the past totally. This is because following the crisis mentioned before, I got a new one fitted! It's a condenser boiler - latest energy efficient model AND it cuts your gas bill by 30%. Marvellous, paid for it, got it fitted etc. then British Gas put gas prices up by 35% so I'm back to square one.

The credit crunch seems to bring new gloom and doom each day but recent newspaper reports have mentioned that this is boom time for British seaside resorts. Well, I'd consider Brighton to be one of the forerunners when it comes to being 'by the sea' so have we seen a boom?

I think the short answer must be 'perhaps'. We've had quiet days, manic days and normal days throughout July but it is definitely a lot better than previous years. However unlike last year there are not a lot of conferences or other big events coming up to make our autumn into a busy one so much remains to be seen. And people are not going to flock to the seaside if the weather is awful. So far, it's been a mixture of so-so and awful. we need a good heatwave to take us through August and into September before the school holidays are over.

Brighton Pride seemed the busiest ever. Each year it seems to get bigger, louder and perhaps scarier! Next year we may have a party for guests and friends designed as a refuge from the loud, clubby full-on version that's on the street. An afternoon / evening of Sinatra, Andy Williams, Petula Clark etc. will soothe the fevered brows of us older ones (that's a historical moment when I've put down in writing for the first time ever that I now belong in the older category) and either prepare us for an early night or a Canute-like attempt to hold back the years and head out clubbing. I didn't like clubbing at 20, and I don't like it now 27 years later. Night-time is for bed, daytime and evenings are for engaging in 'life'. OK - not a widely held belief inBrighton for sure.

Some amazingly negative letters about Pride in the Argus today - mostly from gay people too. I always expect letters from people who dislike Pride - or gay people in general - to start with 'I have nothing against gay people but...' and then go on to hide their prejudice behind complaints about noise, litter, disruption, poor shop sales etc. However these were lucid, well argued letters from gay people outlining concern for the huge amount of litter and number of people urinating in the park. These are both problems it's true. I used to think gay people were more aware of health and environment issues but I wonder. You only have to look at the humber of people smoking outisde two of Brighton's busiest gay bars to ask yourself whether the idea that gay guys look after themselves more than straight ones might have been a myth all along.

The other letter mentioned that the word 'gay' had been dropped from Pride. In doing so, it was true - there were probably at least as many, if not more, straight people at the festival than gay ones. But you cannot really discriminate, can you! After all those years of seeking acceptance, equality and freedom it should be a matter of pride that so many people want to join in a festival celebrating the very diversity that was up until so recently a target, a victim of discrimination and prejudice.