One thing I love about Brighton is how many things there are to do. I've been out to three very different nights this week and had a great time at each:
- On Tuesday flashbrighton hosted a showing of Sita Sings the Blues. The film was as good as I hoped, a series of overlaid retellings of a traditional Indian story, the Ramayana. It's remarkable that such an inventive and well-produced work is freely distributed. The folks at flashbrighton were lovely and I wished for the first time that I was a flash coder. Thanks!
- Wednesday Waterstone's hosted a reading by Vanessa Gebbie and Alison MacLeod. Vanessa read a fantastic story from her new collection, which is apparently going to have two fronts like the old Ace Doubles, one side funny and the other more serious. It was lovely to hear Alison's reading, an extract from a story about the Ikea riot which persuaded me to give the collection a try. Vanessa's account of the evening is here.
- Last night was Hammer&Tongue. Abi Curtis was the local poet, reading some fantastic pieces from her forthcoming Salt collection. Also appearing was Spliff Richards. It was the longest set I'd seen from him and very impressive. His work is intricate and uplifting with an incredible delivery. There was also a great atmosphere, which made it worth the late night.
I'm also very happy because of my run yesterday. I didn't have much time and ended up running faster than usual, cutting over a minute off my best time for 4 miles. I've definitely got my speed back. At the weekend I'll find out if I have the endurance for the marathon.