Two go on an adventure to the Edge of the Sea

There are very few child free activities that me and Hubbie get to partake in any more. To be fair the ones we do tend to be out of necessity rather than choice like Hubbie cycling to work and me swimming on my own to clear my head. One of the events we make sure we book every year is the Edge of the Sea in Brighton. It's a mini festival held every August with bands chosen by Dave Gedge and his own two bands opening and closing the event. Cinerama open the two days and the Wedding Present headline both nights. We've been a few times now and have a great time so it is a regular feature in our calendar.

This year it was a little different with the venue unavailable on the August Bank Holiday so it was earlier than usual and was a one day event. We made our childcare plans with Brown Bear staying at my parents' house and Blue Bear staying with the in-laws. I packed the kids stuff and we popped some overnight things into a bag for us. We got in the car and got about 20 metres from the drive before this happened.

Uh-Oh this is not a good start ! 

After some quick thinking from Hubbie (and swift unpacking and repacking of the car to retrieve the air compressor we made it to the in-laws to drop off Blue Bear and the tyre was completely flat again. One new tyre later and we were on the road to Brighton. Woo hoo !!

Ah the great British summer 

The Edge of the Sea is an indoor festival so it isn't weather dependant, which is just as well really as this was what we were greeted with. We had planned to go to our favourite Brighton restaurant - Food with Friends - but they were fully booked so we went to Bill's instead. We last ate there when I was pregnant and celebrating my 40th with a few days in Brighton and it was nice to revisit. The staff kindly let me charge my dead as a dodo phone so that we could receive any emergency call from grandparents - thankfully none came.

My wrist stamp 

Getting to the venue for the gig was the highlight - of course - and this year we had a stamp rather than a wristband. Shame really as I love wearing a wristband for weeks afterwards and looking like I'm a bit cool. The stamp was on the inside of my wrist and each time I caught sight of it I found it really disconcerting. I realised that if I ever had a tattoo it would have to be somewhere I won't spot it out of the corner of my eye. Anyway, I digress. The venue is small, but intimate so you get really up close with the bands. The format this year meant we watched a lot more of them perform than in the past. There are two stages and they are next door to each other so you can hear the sound check in the next room as you are listening to the music. I can't really capture the decor of the Concorde 2 that well, but I was mesmerised by these bulbs that light up and dim and provide a great effect against these windows and discoball.

Look up and see !

Of course the whole point is the music and I have grown to really love this gig and the crazy bands we get to hear while we're there. Last year we heard Dream Themes - a great party band - and my favourite ever was Art Brut with the fabulous Eddie Argos. This year I was taken by The Collectress whose haunting music and quirky style really appealed to me and Jonny 8 Track, who had some technical issues, but was good natured about it and really great.

Cinerama - the opening act

The reason we love going to this event is that it's just us and we are reminded of the music that we've enjoyed that isn't the theme tune to a cartoon or on the soundtrack to a party we took one of the boys to. This year we've spoiled ourselves and have a few more gigs coming up that we're really excited about. I love The Pixies and the Jesus and Mary Chain and I can't wait until the boys are old enough to come with us. I hope they enjoy live music as much as we do.

The Wedding Present - the main event !