Not to mention the night before…

I was in Brighton, with 5000 or so of my closest friends.  The WI were in town and on Friday night, there was a lively mix of weekenders, Hen and Stag dos and us. 

Although Brighton is a seaside town, it’s not your average seaside.  For a start, the beach was pretty busy, but look.  No families, no beachwear or deckchairs here.  Strange.

We had booked to join in the fun of a “fringe event”: The Brighton Belles WI had invited us to take part in “not your average Brighton tour” on Friday night and at 6 o’clock, we assembled at the Pier.

We sorted ourselves into teams, gathered a map and a local guide (or two) and set off in search of “treasure” – a set of photographs of specific things in specific places.  I posted the results in a Facebook album and have giggled at the memory of certain situations! 

You’ll know that I don’t post (recognisable) pictures of people here on my blog so I’ll leave the fun (and Nigel’s legs) to your imagination.  Suffice to say that we saw the sights and had a great time!

The evening finished in the North Lanes Brewhouse, where a table and a bottle of red were waiting with our name on!

It was a little noisy for the likes of us, so we decided to move on in search of something to eat.  The original Bills was not so far away, so we headed in that direction and though it was good, I missed the old style abundance, now it’s become a rather more corporate affair.

On Saturday morning, we were eager to find our places and get the day started at the Brighton Centre.

Our 101st year got off to a cracking start with the usual Jerusalem, experienced by yours truly sitting in the second row, thanks to a VIP invitation this year (ooooo!)

There was the usual lively mix of thoughtful (and passionate, at times) debate and excellent speakers.  In the morning, Rona Fairhead, Chairman of the BBC Trust spoke remarkably well, impressing me with her thoughts and leaving me with the distinct impression that the BBC is in good hands for the next four years at least.  The afternoon speaker was Baroness Da Souza (above), Speaker for the House of Lords.  She too was an impressive speaker but possibly rather less entertaining.  The afternoon slot is a challenge too, being right after lunch, but there was no way I could fall asleep, sitting where I was!

After rousing choruses of Happy Birthday, Your Majesty and a Proms-style singalong, the anthems were sung and it was time to go our separate ways again.

See you in Liverpool next year, girls!