2nd December Beach Hut 357a

The second night in our calendar focussed on the letter B for Brighton & Hove and local artist Nick Sayers gave us a unique insight into our city through very different holes from the ones we were looking through last night.

Over the last year Nick has placed a number of homemade pinhole cameras around Brighton & Hove and left them recording imagery for 6 months. 

The most striking result of this was seeing the changing track of the sun as it varies through the seasons. 

It gave us a new understanding to say that Jesus as the light of the world or God is light and in him is no darkness at all

Here is one of the images of the Brighton wheel.

The next hut is number 311 which is being created by St. Christopher's School in Hove who will be presenting us with a plethora of Christmas words beginning with C.

1st December Beach Hut 395

Tonight was the launch of the sixth annual Beach Hut Advent Calendar and it really feels like we've come of age.  Hundreds of people turned up at Hove Lagoon to see the first of this years huts and to continue an annual tradition which has become an essential part of Christmas for many.

The theme this year is the Alphabet of Advent and we aim to work our way through the alphabet in order (omitting X and Z) until we arrive at Y for Yuletide which begins on Christmas Eve.  Tonight of course we started with A for Advent and hut 395 was set up like a giant advent calendar with four intriguing doors to open and peer into.

Inside, the back wall of the hut was completely covered with a giant mirror so that the viewers could see themselves looking through the hole behind the calendar door, and they discovered that they had become part of the nativity.  The inside of the advent calendar had a beautiful nativity scene and the holes where the doors were became the faces of Mary, Joseph, a cow and a cat depending on which door you looked through.

To some the true meaning of Christmas is hidden behind all the glitter and tinsel of consumer commerciality, but if you look hard enough you will always find the God who joins us in our human condition.

So many people turned up and wanted to see through the advent doors that a long queue formed outside the hut - the first time that has ever happened, but somehow very appropriate on Advent Sunday when we begin the season of waiting for that which is to come.

Tomorrow we're at hut 357a with the letter B.

Bonfire in the Darkness

In preparation for the rigours of the seafront every night in December, we celebrated All Hallows Eve, All Saints and All Souls on Sunday 3rd November with A Bonfire in the Darkness.  In the stormy, rainy conditions it was heartwarming to light a brazier on the promenade and bring some light into the dark night.

The rain was pouring and the wind was howling as we turned beach hut 395 into a beachside confessional booth.  Everyone who came was invited to step into the privacy of the hut and write their deepest, darkest secrets on a piece of black paper with a white pencil but to keep that secret to themselves by screwing the paper up and keeping it in their pocket.

Once everyone had completed that task we followed a torchlit procession (mostly - until the wind blew the torches out!) down to Hove Lagoon.



Beside the lagoon we took all our screwed up confessions and placed them in a custom made cardboard boat which was carefully placed on the surface of the water and set alight.  We then watched as our darkness created light and floated off into the distance.

On our return to the beach hut we were each given a white stone on which to write our name as a sign of the renewed life we wish to live and we took these stones to the edge of the beach and hurled them into the sea for a baptism in the surf.

Cleansed and renewed (and pretty damp!) we then returned to the bonfire which had become a source of sustenance for our new life with hot dogs nicely warming in the heart of the fire.

We'll shortly be publishing the itinerary for this year's Beach Hut Advent Calendar when we're hoping for better weather as we journey through advent on the seafront every night from 5.30pm - 6.30pm.

Songs of Praise

Beyond will feature today on Songs of Praise as Martin Poole talks to David Grant about various pieces of outdoor art that have inspired some of our events in the past.

4.25pm on BBC1

You can watch the trailer here.

Beach Hut 24

It's the 24th December and we're at the end of our Advent countdown to Christmas. 


Hut 79a was our last destination and the hour we spent there from 5.30pm - 6.30pm was the final countdown to the special day.

Throughout December a special clock has followed us around to every hut.  It featured 24 numbers instead of the usual 12 and the short hand stayed static pointing at the date that we were on.  The long hand always counted down our hour on the beach.


That clock took over the whole hut tonight and not only marked the time for us but also entertained us with music and song on the theme of Love came down at Christmas.  We listened to the song as played by Jars of Clay which you can watch here.
We were also treated to a great version of the nativity based on Bohemian Rhapsody called Bethlehemian Rhapsody.


Once the clock had chimed the hour we had a short reading about the wise me and the gifts they brought for Jesus and reflected on the gift of Jesus given to the world on that first Christmas.  



Everyone got given a small gift box to take home and open on Christmas Day with things in it which you cannot buy, including a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes.



Then we had the draw for the Bill's hamper as seven people has managed to get to every single hut through the month.  
This went to Steve and Karen which seemed very appropriate as Karen is due to give birth herself in January.  We wish them both joy in their new family life together.


That brings the 2012 Beach Hut Advent Calendar to a close.  We hope you have a merry and blessed Christmas and that the gifts you receive will remind you of God's gift of love.

Beach Hut 23

Tonight was busy at hut 381 and not just because there were lots of visitors to the Beach Hut Advent Calendar - but the hut itself was crowded with people.










Flo and Jon Pepper had created a host of adoring worshippers who were all gazing at the light of the world which was buried at the back of the hut.





Dressed in everyday clothing, this congregation reminded us that the people who witnessed The First Nowell were ordinary folk going about their daily lives, not exotically dressed figures from a magical land.





Our final hut of the 2012 Beach Hut Advent Calendar will feature a countdown to Christmas with a real donkey, the draw for the Bill's Christmas hamper and gifts for all in preparation for the celebration of God's gift to us on Christmas day - see you at hut 79a. 

Beach Hut 22

Amidst the howling wind, mist and bursts of rain, Kirsty Tyler created an awesome image of majesty and humility in hut 424 tonight.

The theme carol was All Hail the Power of Jesus Name which is about the kingship and victory of Jesus as Lord of all, but the installation reminded us that he came to show a different perspective on this.

First was a plain band of gold, like the simple baptism bracelets given to babies at their christening or worn in paintings of royal babies as a regal diadem.  




Then came the crown of thorns showing Jesus as the servant king who died in the service of humanity, and finally was a royal crown in all it's splendour and glory, symbolic of Jesus who sits at God's right hand.

All of these were suspended and tethered to mitigate the effect of the wind which constantly battered us throughout the evening with relentless persistence.





We're drawing close to Christmas Eve and tomorrow are in hut 381.

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.