Beach Hut 13

Janette Tozer has been a great supporter of the Beach Hut Advent Calendar ever since it began and has produced a painting for us every year so far. Tonight her subject was Mary and she produced a new artwork for hut number 374 which is owned by one of her art students.

The evening was cold and misty which gave a lovely atmosphere to the event as the hut glowed in the candlelight and families came towards us through the golden light of the seafront lamp posts.

We had lots of children visiting tonight and it was great to hear their shouts as they ran around the promenade and in and out of the beach huts and to think of Mary listening out for the cry of her baby when he was born and his laughter and tears as he grew up.

Janette also enlisted the help of other artists including a nun who paints icons and collage artist Jenny Buchanan.

Next hut is close to the King Alfred and is number 177.

Beach Hut 12

The 12th of December was launch night for new charity initiative I Leave My Mark who chose the theme of Gifts for their hut as they wanted to focus on the gift of life. I Leave My Mark is inviting people to make their mark by giving their fingerprint and donating £1 or more which will go to a variety of charities to support traumatised and bereaved children.



Their main event will be in beach hut 44 on Boxing Day when the hut will be open all day collecting fingerprints and donations. You can find out more about this on their website.

Debbie and her helpers managed to get a whole Christmas tree into their hut and everyone who came along had the opportunity to put their fingerprint on a small card and then hang it on the tree as a Christmas decoration. In the spirit of charity and helpfulness the tree was donated by a local tree seller and decorations by Lulu and Hitch who have been generous in their support of this new venture.

Next up is hut number 374.

Beach Hut 11

The theme tonight continued to look at the wise men who have featured a number of times in our huts this year. We've had all three wise men and we've also had Frankincense and tonight was all about gold.

The hut was sumptuous as it was all decked out in gold and reds including a treasure chest and some enormous gold coins affixed to the outside of the hut. Ann-Marie collaborated with the same artist that she worked with last year to produce an enormous painting of a gold casket atop her hut in place of the three wise men that she painted last year.

The treasure chest was full of chocolate coins but people didn't want to disturb the display and seemed more interested in the chocolate on offer along with the mince pies and mulled wine.


The next hut is number 44 and will be the launch of the charity I Leave My Mark.

Beach Hut 10

Tonight we were transported to the modern day Holy Land to consider an issue that has been talked about for thousands of years and which is still as relevant now as it was when the angels appeared to the shepherds. Tonight was all about Peace.

At that first nativity the angels gathered above the hillsides of Bethlehem proclaiming peace on earth, goodwill to all, while the people of Israel lived under Roman occupation in far from peaceful conditions. Our hosts for tonight reminded us that this is an area which is still not peaceful as the conflict and occupation of Gaza continues to be a source of unrest.

Local poet Naomi Foyle came along to read some of her poems and to inform us all a little more about the situation.

We were also visited by a local BBC news team who did a live broadcast from the hut just before 7pm allowing us to talk a bit about the way the Beach Hut Advent Calendar aims to remind people of the real meaning of Christmas as well as giving the people of Brighton & Hove a chance to be creative in homage to a creator God.

Next hut is just three huts along from where we were tonight at number 195.

Beach Hut 9

Tonight we went sailing between Hove Lagoon and the English Channel with a display that extended far beyond the doors of the hut and halfway across the promenade. I Saw Three Ships is an odd carol as no-one really knows what it means. There is no sea around Bethlehem so ships couldn't sail into the town. There is some evidence to suggest the song refers to the ships that carried the relics of the wise men to Cologne in the 12th century while others think that the three ships refer to Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

For our purposes we take them to stand for the wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus. The children at the White House had spent quite some time preparing for this hut by making the ships as well as numerous little bells hanging from rope tethering the hut to the nearby lamp post.

Inside the hut was not only the star guiding the ships into harbour but a whole crowd of pottery people also made by the residents of the house.

Next hut is number 198.

Beach Hut 8

Tonight Mandy and John turned hut 225 into an Inn, complete with pub background soundtrack, bar and even a pub quiz. Of course a hostelry like this needs a pub sign and it was easy to find our inn/beach hut thanks to the beautiful sign hanging above the door inviting people to 'pier inn' and connecting the tavern of 2,000 years ago with modern day Brighton.



This is the first time that mulled wine has been served from inside the hut as John set himself up as Innkeeper and took over bar duties for the night.


To really give the flavour of a traditional pub, Mandy had organised for local all female Morris Dancing troupe Cuckoo's Nest to come and provide some entertainment. The squeezebox and violin music along with the jingling of bells and crack of their sticks as they danced created a wonderful atmosphere. You could just imagine Mary and Joseph sat in their stable round the back of the inn in Bethlehem, listening to the jollity next door as they prepared for the birth of their son.

Next hut is number 403 and is being put together by the White House children's home.

Beach Hut 7

Babies was the theme for tonight and there was an interesting juxtaposition of images as Karen created a nursery/manger/beach hut. Of course we're still in Advent when we wait for the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day so the manger/cot was empty in preparation for the birth of the Son of God.

It's thought provoking to put yourself in the position of Mary and Joseph as expectant parents who would normally at this stage be preparing for the arrival of their baby by setting up the nursery but instead were trying to make their home in a poor stable. These thoughts brought Karen to thinking about the plight of some babies born in the winter here in the UK and the needs of the Trevor Mann baby unit at the Royal Sussex hospital in Brighton.

She has started to collect mittens, socks and bonnets for the unit and we would like to encourage anyone who would like to do something for others this Christmas to consider a small gift to the unit. You can do that online here or drop any knitted gifts in directly to the unit.


The next hut is number 225 near the Babylon lounge and there may be dancing!

Beach Hut 6

Local painter Catherine Cunningham took artistic control on the 6th night of our Advent Calendar and chose to focus on Joseph as her theme for the evening. As a painter she decided the centrepiece of her hut would be a portrait of Joseph created on the day of the hut opening and she produced a striking image which reminded some of the famous self-portrait of Van Gogh in it's composition and style.

On the floor of the hut was an acrostic using the letters from Joseph's name to spell out some of the thoughts he may have had as the provider and protector for the birth of the Son of God.

Further drama was added to the evening by the lighting which was a mix of candles, Christmas lights and flaming torches to guide Advent pilgrims to the spot on the beach which was only 4 huts away from our Sunday night location.

After almost a full week a small community is beginning to form around the nightly visits to the beach and amongst those is photographer Julia Claxton who has been capturing some wonderful images from each night. You can see her work here and get a different perspective on the progress of the calendar.

We're back up to Hove Lagoon for our next hut which is number 410.

Beach Hut 5

Tonight was the unveiling of the Choccywoccydoodah cake which formed the centre of their hut display and is also the prize for the person who attends most huts. Their theme was the Madonna and Child and the cake took pride of place within a beautifully simple hut so that the focus was entirely on the sculpture although it faced strong competition from the table laden with cake and chocolate that was manned by Choccywoccydoodah staff.


Chief amongst these was Davide who really got into the spirit of the event with a modern interpretation of an angel in a very smart white suit and glittery wings ably assisted by another member of staff as a workaday shepherd.

They did sterling work circulating around the crowd dispensing cake and showering people with glitter.

All of this was accompanied by carols from the Rainbow choir and a TV crew who are making a documentary series about the Brighton chocolatier which will be screened sometime in March on the Good Food channel which is part of the UKTV group.

Hundreds of people turned up to join in with the fun, sharing cake, chocolate, carols and an appreciation of the true meaning of Advent as we look forward to the birth of Christ on Christmas Day (not to mention the countdown towards winning that cake on Christmas Eve!)

Next hut is also by Hove Lawns, number 84 where the theme will move from Jesus mother to his father.

Beach Hut 4

As if by magic the snow and freezing cold of yesterday disappeared overnight to be replaced with pouring rain and howling winds and we all agreed we preferred the cold to the wet! The weather meant that coming out tonight was quite a trial and this was reflected in the hut which featured an enormous cross as the centrepiece. Fortunately the cross we had to bear was slightly lifted by the large gazebo set up outside the hut which not only contained the display and the light but also protected us from the rain.

The theme tonight was Jesus and the Cook family chose to show the full extent of Jesus life from the cradle to the grave, or in this case the manger to the cross. Alongside these images of life and death were some reminders of Jesus' own heritage in the form of a menorah and chocolate Hanukkah Geld as today is the fourth day of Hanukkah. The children that came were given a Dreidel sheet showing them how to make a spinning top and play the game, something which Jesus must have done as a boy himself.

The whole evening was presided over by a glittering neon star which guided the Advent pilgrims to the hut through the stormy weather.

The next hut should be very special as Choccywoccydoodah have taken over hut decorating duties and have promised a chocolate Madonna and child, free cake and lots of fun. See you at hut 79a.