Well , after a lot of chat about whether the sun ’ s ever going to appear , it looks like we ’ re finally getting some . And about time too . It ’ s nearly June and I haven ’ t even tried on a linen suit yet . But in the last week , we ’ ve been out , we ’ ve been about . Really . I barely know how to spell Netflix . We went to the launch of this year ’ s Warren , we hung out with Harry Styles in Powis Square ( and we saw him ... maybe )... we ’ ve been eating and drinking on the streets like we ’ re continentals . Actually , can we still say that in our post-Brexit world ? Whatever . It ’ s just very lovely to be out .
And we ’ ve got plans . The Whistler is looking to expand . We ’ re going to put on films , gigs , events . We ’ re going to embrace this new postlockdown world . As ever , check out The Whistler website - https :// westhillwhistler . com / - for up to date news , live Festival reviews , all that . And if you see something and want to write about it , do . It sounds cheesy , but what ’ s ours is yours .
So listen . If you see a bloke in a linen suit and a straw hat , be nice to him and buy him a drink . Vodka ’ s nice . Talk . And , as ever , if you ’ ve got something to say , drop us a line . Join in . Life ’ s better that way . XXX
View From The Hill ... Nicholas Lezard
The other day a friend offered to buy me lunch . This is always nice . “ So ,” I said , “ fancy a trip to Brighton ?” What he said next surprised me , which perhaps goes to show that while we are on good enough terms to call each other friends , we don ’ t know each other that well .
“ I loathe Brighton ,” he said . This surprised me quite a bit as it happened , because not only is he very nice - I ’ ve never heard him say he loathes anything before - he is also gay , and I ’ ve always thought , lazily perhaps , that if you ’ re gay you approve of the very idea of Brighton . How wrong can one be ?
I once went out with a woman who , when I told her I was moving to Brighton , said “ I hate Brighton .” Why ? I asked . “ I don ’ t like it .” Why don ’ t you like it , I asked . “ I hate it .” At this point I realised the conversation was getting a bit circular . So I gave up and moved to Brighton . In her defence , she was very much a posh frocks from Harvey Nicks kind of woman and , I suspect , a Conservative voter , so I could see why Brighton might not have been her cup of tea , but still .
I suppose you either have this place in your bones or you don ’ t . Doctor Johnson , whose words I normally hang on , said that the main problem with Brighton was that you couldn ’ t find a tree to hang yourself from once you realised how horrible it was living here , but back in his day it was called Brightelmstone and there really weren ’ t that many trees . I wonder whether Doctor J had an inkling that there would one day be a kind of competition between London and Brighton . That people would leave the capital to come here and say “ You know what ? This place is loads better . Or at least just as good , and there aren ’ t any bankers .”
Well , you do get bankers here now , or at least rich celebrities but they tend to stick to one area and don ’ t spoil the place for the rest of us . Brighton seems to be fairly gentrification-proof , however many heartbreakingly swanky properties there are . The addresses whose names begin with “ Montpelier ” may be many and costly , but a few seconds walk away and you get to see ... well , you know , the kind of people Brighton is famous for . A colourful bunch .
This is not to sugarcoat things - the dreadful homelessness , the beggars , the addicts , the people who ’ ve had a rough time and aren ’ t going to be having a better time any time soon , but it ’ s better to have a town like this than to have a town like London that has been hollowed out by wealth . At least here , the views are free to rich and poor alike .
All of us at the family-run
Helenic Bakery have really enjoyed our first year at the Seven Dials , Brighton . Father , Goulielmos Alafouzos , daughter Katerina , and son-in-law Sotiris love the people and atmosphere of this wonderful , cosmopolitan , seaside city .
There ’ s plenty of space at our shop indoors and outside to have a drink , a pastry , a conversation !
We serve hot and cold food all day , including coffee and sandwiches , as well as our famous pastries , cakes and Greek breads which are freshly made on the premises . We also sell our fantastic made-to-order 3D birthday cakes and many Greek delicacies . Come and discover a world of delights .
Open every day ! 6am – 8pm