A Plaque to Mercedes Gleitze

 

A remarkable female athlete was commemorated today with the unveiling of a plaque at 124 Freshfield Road by the City Mayor.  

In 1927 Mercedes became the first British woman to swim the English Channel and in the following year the first person to swim the Straits of Gibralter. Other sponsored long distant and endurance swims followed, and in 1933 Mercedes used the funds generated to set up the first Gleitze Home for destitute people. The charity's work continues to this day.

A film "Vindication Swim" dealing with Mercedes' exploits in the English Channel is to be released later this year. The unveiling ceremony was attended by the film's star Kirsten Callaghan and director Elliot Hasler (photos below).

A Plaque to Clementina Black

This plaque to Clementina was unveiled today at 51 Ship Street by Ms Frances O'Grady and Mrs Juliet Smith JP. Frances is the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress and Juliet is the Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex.

The unveiling

Addresses were given by Dr. Gerry Holloway of the Brighton and Hove Women's History group, which proposed and progressed the plaque; Dr. Caroline Lucas; Cllr. Nancy Platts, Leader of BHCC;  and Ms Frances O'Grady.

The unveiling was proceeded and concluded by the choir 'Women of Note' singing suffrage songs.

Clementina was, in fact, born a few doors away at 45 Ship Street which was replaced in the 1930s by the listed Post office building. For aesthetic reasons the planning department was unwilling to allow a plaque on the Post Office building. However the site finally chosen does have the advantage of high visibility.

Patcham Duck Fayre returns.

After a hiatus of 14 years Patcham Village reclaims Old London Road from traffic for a day and the event promises to be bigger & better than ever.

Pride Village Party consultation

A consultation opens today on the future of the Pride Village Party which has been an annual popular event in and around St James’s Street for many years.

Up until 2015 the event was not organised officially by either the council nor by Pride itself, instead, visitors independently congregated in the area attracted by the LGBTQ+ bars and clubs that exist there. Since 2015 Pride organisers have managed the PVP and have put resources in place to manage the disruption to local people including additional security personnel, street cleaning and toilets. It is now a ticketed event limited to certain parts of St James’s Street and neighbouring roads.

The council is now seeking the views of residents and businesses on the future of the PVP, including whether it should continue, where it should take place and any other changes people would like to be made to the event.

The consultation closes on 31 Jan 2019 and the responses will be reported to the Tourism, Development and Culture committee in March 2019.

For a paper copy of the questionnaire leave your name & address  on 01273 292100.

Save the Madeira Terraces - special event

Regency Square book launch

The Regency Square Area Society has just published a book to celebrate the bicentenary of Regency Square.  The book has been written by Suzanne Hinton and Gill Wales, both of whom live in the square.

The book will be launched by the ward councillor, Alex Phillips (she is also deputy mayor this year) in the north garden of Regency Square (with gazebo in case of rain) on 22 September at 11am. The books are on sale at the reduced launch price of £10.00 (cover price £12.95).

Do go along and bring your friends to enjoy the music.  Any speeches will be very short.

Day of Dance.

Morris groups from all around the south in Pavilion Gardens.

Brighton Morris

Rockhopper Morris from the Cotswolds

Berkshire Bedlam

Hunter's Moon from Eastbourne

Ditchling Morris 

Ditchling Morris

Long Man Morris, Eastbourne

Blackheath Morris

Cuckoo's Nest, Brighton

Knots of May from Lewes

Knots of May from Lewes

Suffragists or Suffragettes - who did most for Brighton?

Waterstones Brighton are hosting a fundraising evening for the Brighton Suffragette Blue Plaque Campaign. The main event of the night will be a panel discussion with Helen Pankhurst (writer, women's rights activist and great granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst), Jean Calder (former Brighton councillor, journalist and community activist) and Frances Stenlake (author and historian). The evening will be chaired by Caroline Lucas (Green Party MP for Brighton Pavillion, author and campaigner).

Tickets for this event are £3 and include a glass of wine on arrival. There will be a collection at the end of the evening to raise money for the Brighton Suffragette Blue Plaque Campaign. Tickets are available online from the bottom of this page, by emailing events.brighton@waterstones.com, by calling 01273 206017 or by talking to the ground floor booksellers.

Children's Parade 2018