Beach Hut 20

Tonights carol was possibly the most appropriate one we've had so far - See Amid the Winter Snow - and those who came down to the beach had to struggle though snow and extreme ice for the pleasure of seeing Karens hut. The ice along the seafront was treacherous as it has been tramped into an icerink like sheen which made it quite dangerous to walk anywhere except along a narrow strip close to the huts which was ice free.

Hut 410 was decked out all in white to match the snow theme and featured a beautiful little nativity scene set inside an enormous ornate lantern. Everything was watched over by a guardian angel looking down from on high.

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight when it was so cold and dangerous, but a special mention must go to the couple who left their grandparents and children having dinner in a restaurant in town, jumped in a taxi to come and see the hut and get their cards stamped and then got back in the same taxi to go back and finish their meal. That's dedication for you!

All along this year has felt like a journey that we are all making together travelling closer and closer to the birth of Christ at Christmas. We hope that the weather warms up enough to encourage some more people to come out on the last few steps of our pilgrimage to Christmas over the remaining few days.

The owner of the next hut has just returned from exhibiting at the Florence biennale and is number 227.

Beach hut 19

It's taken us to nearly 20 days into the Beach hut Advent Calendar to see our first nativity scene. The carol was Away in a Manger and Carrie and Lucy created a wonderful image of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus made from different coloured tissue paper to form a hut-size screen which was lit from behind with a lovely gentle light.



Alongside this wonderful hut was a table full of goodies to add to the mince pies and mulled wine. The only difficulty was that with the temperature being -8 degrees a lot of the cakes froze and turned into mini ice-creams!

Fortunately we did have a bit of winter warmth from a small wood burner although the ice underfoot meant we all got very cold feet no matter how close we got the fire.

We were accompanied by a beautiful new moon which combined with a very calm sea and low tide and snow covered beaches to make a gorgeous calm night.


The next hut is waiting to be unveiled beside the lagoon and is number 410.

Beach Hut 18

The Beach hut Advent Calendar opens come rain or shine and tonight was no different. Despite heavy snow in Brighton & Hove, Kirsty still decorated and opened up hut 19a and some hardy souls turned out to see the display, be warmed by the mulled wine and to get their cards stamped.

The theme carol was As With Gladness Men of Old, a carol about the wise men following the star, leading onward, beaming bright. So the design featured lots of beautiful but simple stars and some high tech UV lighting to show them off to best effect. It's amazing what you can do with a good idea and some paper folding!


Next hut is halfway towards Hove Lagoon at number 341.

Beach Hut 17

Tonights hut has been a long time in the making as a local children's home has been planning this for a while. To make sure that it was safe for them they had to do a risk assessment and have had all the children making angels and stars for the hut which were all hung on fishing line to make a wonderful hanging forest. The whole thing was offset with sparkly lights set into the hut ceiling.

To complete the angel theme they had created a full size gold angel who stood guard by the hut although the wind did it's very best to blow it over. Thankfully the weather did decide to mirror the theme carol which was It Came Upon the Midnight Clear and the sky was beautifully clear although there was a very cold wind blowing down from the north bringing snow for later in the evening.

Tomorrow Kirsty from the BEYOND planning team is putting together a special light show in hut 19a.

Beach Hut 16

It was the coldest night since the start of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar but at least it wasn't snowing as it was further north in the county. The cold suited the theme which was The Holy and the Ivy which always feels like a cosy winter scene offset by the deep greens and reds of the leaves and berries. Hut 357a was framed by garlands of holly and ivy and the whole hut was lit by candlelight which made it all feel very warm.

We're still being visited by a few hardy Advent pilgrims who are determined to give themselves the best chance of winning that night at the Hotel du Vin and have managed to collect a whole set of beach hut stamps to date. But we also get a fair number of new visitors each night and it's great to meet them and share a little about what we're doing and why there are so many people out on the beach in all weathers.


Next hut is being decorated by a local childrens home and is number 403.

Beach Hut 15

Tonight we had the privilege of meeting the three kings, beautifully realised by local artist Teresa on Anne-Marie's hut. People could see the wise men from afar as three very distinct characters mounted above the door of the hut which looked like a royal pavilion with it's swathes of red cloth and glittering decoration.

The wise men were not only beautifully painted but were ingeniously constructed as all the jewels on their crowns were made from wine gums. The children who came weren't tempted to try and get the sweets down as Anne-Marie had provided home baked cookies and flapjacks to keep everyone well fed.

We were also treated to some great entertainment as a jazz guitar duo and singer came along to play us various carols and Christmas songs including our theme carol for tonight, We Three Kings of Orient Are.


The next hut is number 357a.

Beach Hut 14

The hut decorators tonight are great at high concept installations and tonight was no exception. Last year they brought us the carpet of sheep for 'While Shepherds watched...' and this year they created a set of stairs to nowhere for 'Deck the Halls...'.
This re-creation of a hallway came complete with Christmas Tree, hall mirror and side table and had a magical feel, as though these stairs could actually take you somewhere and that hut 11 could be a doorway to another world.

There was also something about the red carpet that spoke of the imminent arrival of royalty - a very appropriate message for Advent which is all about expectation for the coming of the King of Kings at Christmas.

We all sang the theme carol together a few times during the evening, in between enjoying the mulled wine, mince pies and each others company.

Tomorrow we move from Hove Lawns to just the other side (west side) of the King Alfred for hut 195.

Beach hut 13

Tonight was the busiest night so far as it seemed that the publicity in the press yesterday really made a difference and a lot of people came down to see what was going on.

The 1st Hove Girls' Brigade did a great job not only creating a beautiful hut but providing a fantastic choir who entertained us throughout the hour with a range of carols including the featured one - In The Bleak Midwinter.

Fortunately the bleak midwinter rain of earlier in the day stopped for our hour on the beach and we had a beautiful clear, dry evening.

The centrepiece of tonights display was the first appearance of the baby Jesus so far in our Beach Hut Advent Calendar along with a shepherd, a wise man and some lambs and the question 'What Can I Give?'. The only response we can make to the gift of God at Christmas is to give our heart and this little scene stole many people's hearts tonight.

One of the reasons this event is so popular is that people like to be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas and someone commented tonight that amidst all the fake sentiment and naked commercialism of Christmas it was nice to come to something genuine and truthful.

We look forward to more truth tomorrow at hut number 11 right down by Hove Lawns.

Beach Hut 12

The hut tonight was full of Eastern promise as the theme focussed on the travels of the wise men as they journeyed from the East. The chosen carol was From the Eastern Mountains which is not very well known, but for Rosie, Julie and Richard from the BEYOND team it evoked thoughts of the mystic East.

Taking their inspiration from the Shrine of the Nativity at Bethlehem they created a wonderfully rich environment with tapestries and swathes of material; candles and palms, turning the whole hut into a Bedouin tent. This was enhanced by the smell of burning incense and some amazingly atmospheric music from Reem Kelani, a Palestinian who some of us saw at Greenbelt this year. You can read more about her here and hear some of her music as the soundtrack to this film about Bethlehem today.

Lots of people came out tonight to enjoy the cold, clear evening and experience a little of the East. Some also came because they'd seen us featured in both the Times and the Telegraph today thanks to local photographer Andy Hasson who came along to a number of huts over the last week and took some really nice photographs.


Next up is hut 381 which is going to be decorated by the 1st Hove Girls Brigade troupe.

Beach Hut 11

It was a beautiful clear, cold night tonight which was very appropriate for the hut which had a clean, crisp snow theme to it. The carol was Good King Wenceslas when the 'snow laid round about, deep and crisp and even'.

Claire created a winter wonderland in her hut with snow over every surface, a winter tree and the poor man out collecting wood while good King Wenceslas oversaw the whole scene from his lofty perch atop the beach hut.

Everything was given a magical touch by the sparkly light from a spinning starball and strings of fairy lights hung around the hut.

Because it was so clear and still tonight it was possible to put a few more things out than we've been able to in the past and there was a whole table for children (and any adults who wanted) with a range of things to do including decorating biscuits.

We seemed to have a lot of new people come along today and it looks like there might be more publicity going out this weekend as we've been contacted by a variety of news organisations in the last few days keen to cover our story.

The next hut is 399 up by the lagoon and we believe it will have a very eastern theme.

Beach Hut 10

Local illustrator Mandy Taylor pulled out all the stops at hut 376 and not only created a great display but arranged for local womens Morris Dancing troupe Cuckoo's Nest to come and perform.

The theme was While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night and so there were sheep images and some hanging socks - alluding to the humorous alteration of that to 'washed their socks' that we all know about.


Mandy reflected on the theme under the title 'Glory in our everyday lives in Brighton'.



I've been thinking about the text that this carol came from (Luke 2). It says that when the angels appeared to the shepherds (just ordinary guys) the glory of the Lord shone around them. I think God's glory can still be seen shining today as ordinary people who are made in his image reflect his character. We see his glory in Brighton as we see people being creative, building relationships and communities, administering justice, working and serving others as well as in many other ways. God's glory can be seen in ordinary people in very ordinary places.

The Morris dancers then proceeded to show some of this creative spirit through their dances and even got the public involved so they could experience some of this for themselves.



The next hut is number 350.