BEACH HUT 305

Tonight was one of the most extravagant huts we've seen this year and maybe in the whole history of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar.  Not only was the hut decorated beautifully but the art experience extended across the seafront almost to the edge of the promenade.

Inside the hut 305 were tiers of paper houses made from a template produced by Mary and her team at the Metropolitan Church.









The theme was O Little Town of Bethlehem but this felt more like a city as giant cardboard houses were arranged outside the hut, each with its own light and crisply cut windows and doors.  The children really enjoyed themselves dodging in and out of these houses that were perfectly child-sized but too small for adults.







In the midst of the circle of houses was a spiral path of light, arranged on a large square of astroturf.  This formed a labyrinth and the children (and anyone else who wanted to take part) were encouraged wend their way into the middle of the spiral and collect a light in a glass and cary it with them to the outside.



Labyrinths are an ancient form of meditation and this version helped people to focus on reaching for the light inside ourselves in order to enlighten the world.

A choir sang a variety of carols during the hour that we were open and there was quite a crowd joining in, admiring the hut and getting involved with the singing.

The next hut is the first time we've ever been able to use a brick hut with all the facilities that this provides, in particular electricity.  It's number 1a and is between The View and the King Alfred leisure centre.

BEACH HUT 403

It was pretty windy on the seafront tonight but still people came out to see hut 403.

The song for tonight was a very different take on the Twelve Days of Christmas.  The hut was put together by teenagers in care as part of their art therapy group and the task they were given was to write their own version of the well known song featuring things that were important to them about Christmas.









Each of the new items in the song were represented by boxes which the children had created to illustrate the new line which they had written for the song.

We all sang the new version of the twelve days which goes like this:

1 Seagull in a Christmas tree
2 Chimps a chatting
3 Lego dragons
4 Santas Hats
5 Chocolate Coins
6 Crackers popping
7 Stars a shining
8 Racing Reindeer
9 Christmas Jumpers
10 Hot Chocolates bubbling
11 Bad jokes
12 Dollies sleeping


















We also had some poetry from one of the children.




The next hut is number 305 and will feature all sorts of interactive art experiences.

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.