BEACH HUT 177

Last night the hut contained a whole town, tonight hut 177 contained the massed choirs of the faithful.














O Come All Ye Faithful was the carol and Sam and friends portrayed this with rank upon rank of Christmas themed singers peeping out from behind a set of red velvet curtains, making the hut look like miniature theatre with an impressive performance going on inside.

During the evening we had an impressive, impromptu performance from some of the children who came to see the hut and decided to liven up proceedings by putting on their own show.  They sang a whole range of modern Christmas songs which told the story of Christmas and the birth of Jesus.







We were all a bit surprised by the weather which turned rather wet about halfway through the evening.


The next hut is number 403 up by Hove Lagoon.

BEACH HUT 362

Hut 362 tonight contained a whole city in miniature as the children of Aldrington school created their own version of O Little Town of Bethlehem.  The hut contained a whole city of little houses, each burning with a little light.







Floating serenely above the whole city was an enormous star, marking the spot directly above a stable which glowed with a heavenly light.  Behind the star was a simple backdrop of sparkling stars, glittering in the gloom of the night as they reflected the light from all around.











The weather was calm as well and we had another clear, calm evening which matched the peace and simplicity of hut 362.

The stillness and quiet really enhanced the singing of the school choir who performed a number of Christmas carols.





The next hut is close to the King Alfred leisure centre and is number 177.

BEACH HUT 341

It didn't feel as though we were In The Bleak Midwinter tonight at hut 341 despite that being the theme carol for the night.  It was a beautifully calm and almost warm night with hardly a breath of wind and no hint of the showers that haunted the opening of hut 225 last night.

In previous years Carrie has created hut sized artworks using layers of tissue paper and glue which when lit from behind formed a stained glass window effect.  This year she created a nativity scene using tissue paper on glass which hung at the front of the hut.

Behind this was a genuine stained glass window with a snowflake-like design on it lending an air of antiquity and authenticity to the hut.

The peaceful weather and the calmness of the figures in the nativity scene gave the evening a very special feel of peaceful meditation.  A definite antidote to the commercialism of Christmas and the rushing from one event to another that so many of us get caught up with at this time of year.

The next hut is a little further to the west at number 362 where we'll gather together to see art from Aldrington school.

BEACH HUT 225

Tonight was pretty windy on the seafront with the odd squall of rain blowing through which made keeping the details of the design in hut 225 quite a challenge.

The hut featured a whole collection of stable animals who were clustered around the manger.


Sheep and donkeys featured heavily beneath a sky filled with stars made by children from St. Andrew's school in Hove.













Despite the weather plenty of people still came out to see the hut and sample the mince pies and mulled wine.


It's looking like the weather is going to be a bit better tomorrow when we meet at hut 341.

BEACH HUT 424

Due to a slight administrative error we printed that tonight we would be at hut 364 when in fact it was 424.  Fortunately these huts are only 100 metres or so apart and everyone who wanted to see the hut tonight was able to follow the 'Star on a Stick' to the actual destination.

And it was worth the extra walk because the display in the hut tonight was absolutely beautiful.








Kirsty is one of the BEYOND team and she creates amazingly crafted and detailed artworks and tonight was no exception.

Taking the song The Angel Gabriel as inspiration Kirsty created the most gorgeous pair of angel wings entirely made out of feathers cut from sheets of packing foam.  Every feather was individually cut and crafted to for its specific place in the wings.

Because the foam is translucent the wings were lit from below and appeared to glow with their own heavenly light.

These wings spoke so eloquently of the changes that can happen when spirituality and creativity come together.  Simple, everyday materials can be transformed into something beautiful and holy.

The evening was amazingly calm and still given the winds and rain we've had over the last few days and there was an air of serenity and peace over everything tonight.








Lots of people turned up and throughout the evening ordinary people were transformed into angels as they stood in front of the wings and had their photograph taken with themselves as an angel.

The next hut is close to The View and is hut number 225.

BEACH HUT 194

Mary and Joseph visited beach hut 194 tonight, the first time this year that we've had anything that looks like a nativity scene.

A beach hut makes a natural nativity tableau as it looks so much like the traditional crib scene that we see recreated in so many Christmas cards, shop windows and church crib services.  Tonight the hut was full of straw which also gave the scene the authentic smell of a stable.









The hut came complete with a manger and a baby Jesus although of course Jesus' birth is still another twelve days away so this baby was a little premature.



The background to the nativity included an array of light up bunnies and squirrels, either alluding to  Easter or just making the scene look even cuter, although it was the children who stole the limelight as they handed out chocolates and invited their friends into the hut to become part of the action.








The next hut is the victim of a slight printing error on our part and is hut number 424, not 364 as is printed on the flyers.  There will be a sign at 364 pointing people toward the actual hut which is only 100 yards away and of course it will be marked with our marvellous 'Star on a Stick' which is raised above every hut so that the Beach Hut Advent Calendar pilgrims can follow the star to their destination hut each night.

BEACH HUT 332

It's still blowy on the seafront (although not as windy as the folks in the North of the country are enduring at the moment) and that gave a certain freshness to our Advent celebration tonight.

There were stars galore this evening as the theme for the night was the Star Carol by John Rutter. You can listen to a version of that here.










There were plenty of stars in Cathy's hut, including a starfish on top of the tiny Christmas tree and various star ornaments and patterns carefully placed around the hut.



The other stars were the amazing singers of the Dawn Chorus who turned up en masse to sing a number of beautiful acapella songs of the festive season.




The Dawn Chorus meets in St. Luke's church, Prestonville every Friday from 9.30am - 11am as well as in Shoreham on Thursdays and is a fantastic community singing group.  Their website is singwiththedawnchorus.co.uk






The next hut is number 194 and focusses on one of the most iconic Christmas carols in existence - Away in a Manger - this is probably the most well known carol ever which lends itself perfectly to the beach hut setting.

BEACH HUT 44

There was lots going on at hut 44 tonight with a distinctive Sussex theme to everything.

The carol was The Sussex Carol which is all about the good news that the angels brought of the birth of Jesus as redeemer and king.

Mandy was the artist who created this hut and she took the news theme to heart with a backdrop in the style of a red top newspaper entitled 'The Son'.  The main story of the day was the text of the Sussex carol.

On each of the doors of the hut was a crafty (in the sense of being a craft activity) interactive news feed made from small sheets of material on which people had written their good news stories from this past year.

Outside the hut was a news desk with blank sheets of cloth and people attending the hut were asked to write a few words about a good news story from their year and this was added to the news feed on the doors.

The hut was also visited by Cuckoo's Nest - the Brighton womens Morris dancing troupe who performed half a dozen dances as the wind whisked along Hove seafront, carrying the music from their accordion player down towards the two piers.

The next hut is back towards the lagoon and is number 332.

BEACH HUT 264

Tonight, hut 264 felt very much part of its environment as it was decorated with fishing nets and fish, perfectly appropriate for the stormy seashore.

The carol was a very obscure one entitled 'A Ship is coming Laden', which is a German Advent song, possibly one of the earliest known religious songs in that language as it was written in 1450.   It is a close cousin to I Saw Three Ships which was the theme of the hut last night and is an allegory of the Virgin Mary carrying the unborn child to its safe haven in Bethlehem.

Jesus grew up within a fishing community beside the waters of Lake Galilee and counted many fishermen amongst his friend and disciples and there is a long tradition of using seafaring stories as a metaphor for aspects of his life.

The main part of the decoration was a fishing net festooned with a variety of fish which completely filled the hut.  Scattered throughout the net was the number 153 which intrigued many of the visitors tonight.

153 was the number of fish that almost broke the net of the disciples when instructed by the resurrected Jesus to throw their nets on the other side of their boat.  It's also believed that in Jesus time the number of species of fish
known was 153.




So when telling this story, the writers wanted us to understand that this catch, directed by the risen Jesus, represented all the fish in the world, as Jesus comes to save all.

Our next hut is very much to the East of tonights as it is number 44 beside Hove Lawns.

BEACH HUT 196

Different types of ships came together in Hut 196 tonight, courtesy of hut owner Anna and paper artist Beth.

Three sailing ships were the centrepiece of the installation, beautifully crafted from single sheets of card with their sales billowing in the wind.

Beneath these, roaming across the golden sands were three ships of the desert, otherwise known as camels, the traditional transport of the wise men who followed the star to give the infant Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  

It was a pretty cold night but the chill was taken off by a fire burning in a brazier outside the hut.

Alongside all of this a choir sang four part harmony songs at various points throughout the evening.

The next hut is being created by the Church of the Good Shepherd on Dyke Road and is number 264.