Newhaven Fort Half Term Activities

Newhaven Fort will be opening its doors this October half term, to brave souls wishing to take part in all manner of ghastly and gruesome activities and events.

There are questions to answer, riddles to solve and prizes to be won in the family quiz trail, running daily.  Tread cautiously on your quest and watch out for gruesome characters who will be roaming the vaulted chambers and spine chilling depths of the Fort tunnels.

Spooky storytelling will take place on 24th October at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm * and the ever popular Zoolab return on the 26th and 28th October with the Slithery and Slimy show where visitors will have the chance to meet snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, giant millipedes, toads and even cockroaches! Show times are 1:30pm and 2:30pm. *

Get creative by making spooky and scary treats in our Halloween workshops, taking place on 27th October at 12:00, 1:30pm and 3:00pm* and there will be free Halloween face-painting during the afternoon of the 29th October.

There are prizes to be won on 29th and 30th with a Halloween family fancy dress competition and the fun continues with a Halloween themed family disco, in the Romney Hut, from 12:00 – 3pm.

The spooky Searchlight Café will be open throughout the week where you will find a range of wholesome snacks, homemade soups and even Halloween cake, slimy jelly and witches’ brew…if you dare!

www.newhavenfort.org.uk

* Spaces are limited and must be booked in advance by calling 01273 517622.

Spooky Fun at Preston Manor this Halloween!

Come along to Preston Manor, reported to be Brighton’s most haunted house, this Halloween for a special series of new events. Experience some spooky family-friendly theatre at our Haunted House Day, meet some crazy characters and wear your most blood-curdling fancy dress! For adults there are some Halloween ghost tours, where you can explore the Manor on the most haunted night of the year. Or why not discover the secrets of a Victorian Séance over a glass of Sherry? You can even learn how to write your own story about the ghostly goings on!

Tales of ghostly sightings and supernatural experiences at Preston Manor go back through history and the reports continue with modern day sightings of non-existent visitors.  In June 2006 LIVINGtv’s ‘Most Haunted’ team filmed at Preston Manor and the TV crew experienced one of their most active nights of paranormal activity.  Yvette Fielding, the show’s host, said ‘We were thrilled by our experiences at Preston Manor. The house has a fascinating history and our investigations were more than fully rewarded. Karl is convinced he was confronted by the Manor’s White Lady!’

Writing the Uncanny: Ghost Story Workshop

Saturday 22 October
10.30am-1.30pm £12, members £11, includes admission, tea and biscuits

Take inspiration from Preston Manor’s history, contents, and ghostly legacy to craft your own ghost story that will unnerve and unsettle. Explore the nature of fear, and study Freud’s theory of ’the uncanny’.

A Victorian House in Mourning

Saturdays 29 October, 26 November
10am-5pm, Admission fee payable*

Victorian etiquette demanded that the passing of life was celebrated. See how the house looked when dressed for mourning at this unique event.
The event includes a fascinating optional talk on Victorian mourning customs, dress, food and manners at 11.30am and 2.30pm, tickets £4, members £3.

Victorian Séance

Friday 11 November
7.45-8.45pm £12.50, members £10.50

On 11 November 1896 a séance was held at Preston Manor. Séances became the ultimate fashionable Victorian after-dinner entertainment. What were they exactly? This new event explains all.
Includes a complimentary glass of sherry on arrival.

Ghost Tours

Friday 28 & Saturday 29 October 7-8pm, 8.30-9.30pm & 10-11pm
£12.50, members £10.50, book in advance

Halloween Ghost Tours

Monday 31 October
7-8pm, 8.30-9.30pm, 10-11pm £13.50, members £11.50

Creepy manifestations, horrifying experiences, and shadowy figures chilled the Victorian owners of Preston Manor. Hear their stories and decide for yourself if the house is still haunted today.

Haunted House Day: Wolfish Tales

Sunday 30 October
10.30-11.10am, 11.30am-12.10pm, 1.30-2.10pm, 2.30-3.10pm, 3.30-4.10pm
Adult £6, child £4 (8-15 years) plus admission fee*, book in advance

Experience Brighton’s most haunted house at this spooky piece of family-friendly theatre. Come in your most blood-curdling fancy dress! Suitable for adults, and children over the age of 8.

*Brighton & Hove Residents

Postcodes BN1, BN2, BN3 & BN41 enjoy half-price admission to Preston Manor, with up to four accompanying children free. Bring proof of residency, one item required per adult (eg council tax or other utility bill). Preston Manor is open April to September and for events throughout the year.

Booking

You can buy tickets by telephoning the Events Booking line on 03000 290902, in person at any of our venues, or online at www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk

Free events cannot be booked in advance unless otherwise stated.

A £1.50 booking fee may apply to some events.

Fruiting Bodies by Julia Claxton – Exhibition at Lewesiana, Lewes

In a secret gallery behind the Lewesiana Florists in Lewes the fungi are fruiting again…
Crane Kalman Brighton in association with Lewesiana Florists has hung Julia Claxton’s unique Fruiting Bodies exhibition at Lewesiana. Its the time of year for fungi foraging fever to take hold. If you like fungi, beautiful art and flowers you will love a trip to this gallery tucked away behind the florists in Lewes High Street…

Lewesiania, 85 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XN
www.lewesiana.co.uk • 01273 480822

http://www.ijulesfineart.com

“Intimate Abstractions” at the Hop Gallery

“Intimate Abstractions” and features work by Dagmar Eberts; Tilney Hardiment; June Frickleton; Fiona Robinson and Dawn Stacey. It is an exhibition of the five artists’ engaging and diverse modes of practice investigating the abstract, the narrative and the figurative.

Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am-5pm; Sunday 12noon-5pm; Closed Monday.

Image Dawn Stacey “3 Little Birds”

www.hopgallery.com

It’s All About Sharks! Brighton Sealife

A groundbreaking research project and a Jaws amnesty are just two of a host of shark-related events at Brighton Sea Life Centre this month.
The centre is supporting European Shark Week – beginning Saturday, October 15th – but continuing its shark-themed celebrations right through to the 30th.

Along with sister centres across Europe the attraction has announced that it will be supplying shark teeth from the bed of its ocean tank to a research team at Birmingham University.

“Tiny oxygen particles retained in the teeth as they develop can reveal the temperature of the water the shark lived in,” said curator Carey Duckhouse.

“The two year study supported by Sea Life will hopefully prove that this is the case across all shark species.

“The researchers will then be able to examine fossil shark teeth to learn about climate changes millions of years ago, which will provide clues as to why sudden spurts of evolution or mass extinctions occurred.”

Data from the fossil teeth may help explain why the megalodon, giant 60-foot ancestor of the great white shark, died out 1.6 million years ago after being top of the ocean food chain for 14 million years.

While the scientists focus on prehistoric marine events, the Sea Life Centre will be more concerned during Shark Weeks with man’s current impact on the seas… and in particular sharks.

Tens of millions of sharks are killed annually as by-catch or for shark fin soup and many species are teetering on the brink of oblivion.

continued
While the recent spate of shark attacks has not helped their cause, Sea Life experts argue that such incidents are invariably the result of human folly.

And shark conservation efforts have been hindered for decades, they say, by Jaws… the best-selling Peter Benchley thriller and subsequent blockbuster films that it spawned.

“Though Mr Benchley became a staunch advocate of shark conservation himself in his later life, his creation continues to damage the interests of sharks even now,” said Carey.

“Horror shark movies have become a whole new genre, the latest example of which is the Shark Night 3D film,” said Carey.

So in a bid to reduce its harmful influence a little, the Sea Life centre is offering a free return ticket to anyone who turns up in Shark Weeks and hands over a copy of either book or film.

“We will collect as many as we can and find an environmentally friendly way of destroying them,” said Carey.

Other activities during Shark Weeks include:

An underwater art exhibition
Face-painting
Special talks
Quiz trail
Colouring & activity sheets
Fact of the day

www.visitsealife.com/brighton