Beach Hut 21

Earlier in our journey towards Christmas we had a contribution from the Twelve Days of Christmas in the form of a Partridge in a Pear Tree.  We also had an Olympic torch as the centrepiece to another hut which focussed on the light of the world.

Tonight brought those two themes together as we celebrated Five Gold Rings, both from the song and from the Olympics.






As we mentioned on the 16th when this song appeared for the first time, it's thought that the twelve days of Christmas is a coded way to remember key facts about Christianity.  


Five Gold Rings reminds us of first five books of the Bible, four calling birds are the four gospels, three French hens are for the Trinity, the wise men  or faith hope and love (depending who you talk to), two turtle doves are the old and new testaments and the Partridge in a Pear Tree is Jesus on the cross.  

You can find the full list of the meanings of this song here.

So we had golden rings aplenty tonight, all arranged in Olympic style in hut 225.

The next hut is 424 and will be the creation of Kirsty Tyler who has produced angel wings and a cardboard nativity in previous years.  There may also be some live music, weather permitting.

Beach Hut 20

We were In the Bleak Midwinter tonight, although fortunately the weather wasn't quite so bleak as last night.  There was a strong Westerly wind (opposite to last night) to contend with and crashing waves on the beach which was at high tide as we started our beach hut vigil, but the rain stayed away which always makes things a little easier.








Hut 341 has become a tradition in our annual advent calendar as it always features a tissue paper collage which is lit from behind to illuminate the night.  








This evening the midwinter scene depicted various aspects of a woodland winter, with a little forest hut, reindeer and a collection of assorted animals and trees.  







All of these were beautifully backlit in a darkened hut so as to emphasise the strands of colour which made up the backgrounds.

The next hut is right in the middle of the seafront, close to The View and is number 225.






  

Beach Hut 19

It was the worst weather so far tonight with a strong Easterly wind and almost continuous rain, so we had to strategically place a car to one side of the hut to act as a windbreak otherwise everything in it would have flown off to Worthing, despite being weighed down with pebbles.

O Little Town of Bethlehem had a political edge to it as Helen and Mary decided to mix the story of Mary & Joseph journeying to Bethlehem with the current situation in the land we call holy.

Bethlehem was set in the background of the hut but Mary & Joseph couldn't get to it because they were blocked by the 700 Km separation wall which Israel is constructing along the West Bank.

It's interesting to note that if Mary & Joseph wanted to make their Christmas journey today, they probably wouldn't be able to as it would involve crossing this wall and getting special permits.  There's an interesting video that highlights this on youtube at the moment which you can watch here.

Some of the graffiti on the model wall in the hut reflects what is actually painted on the wall in Israel, including the rather odd sign from the Israeli Tourist Board greeting all the visitors to the wall, including those who it's designed to keep out, with the words 'Peace be with you'.

Hopefully the weather will calm down a little by tomorrow when we're at hut 341.

Tomorrow at 8pm we feature as part of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces Christmas special on Channel 4.

Beach Hut 18

Tonight we were focussing on the circuit of the stars and the passing of the seasons with an ingenious artistic invention courtesy of local artist Nick Sayers.

Nick has created a Bicycle Spirograph which takes the principles of the pattern making game, which uses cogs to generate symmetrical drawings, and scales it up to a giant, beach hut, size.




The whole floor of the hut was taken up with the mechanism which was created from an old bike and children were encouraged to get into the hut and push the mechanism round to create a variety of patterns on the floor.

Everything was lit by one of Nick's signature lights made from hundreds of cable ties and Joni Mitchell's The Circle Game was the theme song, with its reference to childhood, the cycle of life and the turning of the seasons. 

Our next hut is number 382 and will focus on the holy land.  

This Thursday at 8pm we feature as part of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces Christmas special on Channel 4.

Beach Hut 17

Weather and beach hut theme came together tonight as they were both In The Bleak Midwinter.

To be fair the weather wasn't too bad this evening as those who come down to the beach often give the opinion that the weather is fine as long as it's not raining - any amount of cold is easier to bear than even a small shower.

Hut 11 was the epitomy of bleak midwinter as it depicted a hut-sized snow scene containing a stark and bare forest.

We're back to the west end of the huts next as we head to Hove Lagoon and hut 403.

Beach Hut 16

Amidst the showers of a distinctly changeable day, Karen Morton created an oasis of natural beauty in hut 410 tonight.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree may not immediately seem to have much of a connection with the Christmas story as told in the Bible but the tradition is that this song was developed during the reign of Oliver Cromwell by Roman Catholic parents as a way of teaching their children the basic tenets of Christian faith.



A Partridge in a Pear Tree is thought to represent Jesus because a mother partridge is said to prepared to sacrifice herself to protect her young.  Putting the partridge in a tree reminds us of Jesus death on the cross - the ultimate act of sacrifice.







We'll be hearing more about this particular song later in the Beach Hut Advent Calendar on the 21st of December.

Our next hut will be our most Easterly hut as it's number 11. 

Beach Hut 15

Brightest and Best is not one of the most well known carols but is very appropriate for Advent as we remember Jesus coming as the light of the world.






Tonight hut 177 was full of interesting colours as various fluorescent stars were illuminated by an ultraviolet light.




This was enhanced by the provision of fluorescent make-up and glowsticks for any one who wanted to take part and a beautiful glowing white Christmas tree as the centrepiece to the hut.

For the next hut we head back west and go to number 410 beside Hove Lagoon.

Beach Hut 14

Earlier in the day today it seemed like it might not be a good idea to go to the beach as the weather forecasters weren't just predicting a rough day but were telilng us to stay away from the beach for our own safety.

Fortunately as the afternoon sun waned, so did the rain and wind and by the time we got to 5.30 the seafront was pretty calm and peaceful.





Tonight the focus was on poetry and Tamsin had produced an image of Good King Wenceslas following a series of poetry workshops on this theme.  

Poets were invited to take their place as Good King Wenceslas and recite their thoughts for us all to  hear.  We hope to be able to post some of these poems here soon.


Next time we'll be at hut number 177

Beach Hut 13

We took a step back in time at hut 227 tonight which had a distinctly medieval feel.  Janina Karpinska had chosen Lullay, Lullow and Gaudete as the carols to celebrate on the seafront tonight.  

The hut was lit with a beautiful pink and green light and featured a baby to whom these lullaby songs were addressed.








A small group came together in front of the hut to sing these accompanied by Janina on the ukelele.  Added to that we had some impromptu poetry as well as a song contributed by a passer-by.







There was also a hint of Scandinavia in the air, not only because of the cold which accompanies us every night on our journey towards Christmas, but in the added celebration of St. Lucy or Santa Lucia as she is known across the Nordic countries.


The hut also featured icons created by Janina showing Mary lulling her baby to sleep.





Hut 402 is next and will feature more poetry beside Hove Lagoon.

Beach Hut 12

Hut 44 challenged us to think along with our mulled wine and mince pies as it contained a conceptual art piece which wasn't immediately obvious.

The theme carol was Angels from the Realms of Glory and the artwork was a collaboration between a number of people who had all contributed items to the work.  









They were asked to consider the earth from the angels point of view as they look down on the whole world and all the things in it that we all create.  You can see all the individual objects and why they were chosen here.

These created objects were suspended in a shape which funnelled down to a tiny tiny nativity showing the one who was born at Christmas as God with us.  



On the way to earth the funnel passed through a crown representing the Messiah - the chosen king sent by God to save his people.

Alongside this thought provoking installation we had the Cuckoo's Nest Morris dancers who performed three dances despite the freezing cold.  Later on the squeezebox player helped us all sing the theme carol before we dispersed for the evening.

Next hut is back close to The View at number 227 and promises to have a distinctly medieval flavour.

Beach Hut 11

Joy sprang to life for the whole world on the seafront tonight next to Hove Lawns on day 11 of our advent calendar. 






A team of creatives from churches across the city combined under the banner of the Brighton & Hove City Mission and ENACT, a group based at Holland Road Baptist to create a tiny world in beach hut 19a.




The whole floor of the hut was turned into a winter landscape with crowds of tiny people who had come to worship the baby born in the stable at the back of the scene.





Above them was a sky of stars and the word JOY spelled out in lights on the front of the hut.






Flags were draped from the hut to a gazebo hung with lights and flags and suspended in the middle of this was a giant photographic globe, reminding us that God came down at Christmas for the whole world.


Tomorrow we stay beside Hove Lawns at hut number 44 which will include Cuckoo's Nest, the all female Morris dancing troupe.