"I was dreamin' when I wrote this, so sue me if I go to fast…read moreBut life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last" Wow, just Wow!! Had an amazing time at the Hop Farm festival this weekend, with Prince being the icing on the cake. What a showman, he really knows how to rock a festival!! Hop Farm Festival is now in its 4th year and for the first time was extended to three days. Organised by the legendary Vince Power this festival looks set to grow and grow. The acts range from new bands to old legends, including The Eagles, Morrissey, Carl Barat, Newton Faulkner, Aloe Black, Ocean Colour Scene, Tim Booth, Imelda May, Frankie and The Heartstrings and many more. The festival has three stages, and and comedy night once the music has finished. The facilities were fantastic - the toilets were clean and 9 times out of 10 had loo roll and hand sanitiser (i know, at a festival!). The bars were numerous and well staffed meaning that you never had to queue for longer than a couple of minutes for a drink. For beer or cider you had to pay a £3 deposit for a plastic cup which was then refundable at the end of the night - a great idea to keep waste levels down. On this note, the area was cleaned on a regular basis which was fantastic. The food stands were numerous and a little hit and miss. Great hog roast, burritos and churros but the paella and Jimmy's Farm burger were a little disappointing. Camping facilities were good and not to far away from the arena. Could have done with a few more showers but at least they were hot. This is a fairly civilised festival which seems to appeal to people of all ages. A great starter if you don't feel quite ready for the madness of the likes of Glastonbury or Reading!!

Fantastic day out!! My wife doesn't like to go so I jump on a coach/bus and make a day of it…read more Great. No parking problems. It is a well produced show that is, honestly, outstanding.

I wish I could give this more stars!!! It was a spectacular display of aircraft from spitfires to…read morethe lancaster bomber and had amazing acrobat displays from the wing walkers and the red arrows well breathtaking.. So pleased we were in the are at that time!!

Chocolate truffles Chocolate bars…read moreChocolate churros Chocolate cake Chocolake fudge Chocolate bread Chocolate pastries Chocolate fountain Chocolate cocktails Chocolate pancakes & chocolate making kits With all of the above, it's no wonder the recent Chocolate Festival in Brighton was such a success. Alongside dozens of food stalls selling chocolate related products, there was chocolate demonstrations and masterclasses. My favourite bit however, had to be eating all the free samples and discovering wonderful new chocolatiers like William Curley and Damien Allsop. Keep your eyes peeled to the website to check out when the next festival will be.

Held the last weekend every August, the Brunswick Square Festival has been going strong since the…read more1970s. Started by local residents, it has grown from a bit of a village fete into a micro-festival. Local businesses set up temporary bars and hot and cold food stands whilst there's usually farmers / traders selling fresh organic vegetables, fruit, herbs, plants and produce. To create a festival feeling, there's a stage at the bottom of the square with live music from local bands playing everything from rock, pop and hip hop to dub. There's also dancers and about two dozen stalls selling everything from secondhand furniture, clothes, books, records and bric-a-brac. Last year, there was even a spiritual tent where people could enjoy massages and reiki. The whole event is free and locals are encouraged to take their own blankets, sit on the grass and make an afternoon of it.

I lived in Brunswick Square for 3 months and didn't hear about this festival, until one Saturday I…read morewalked out and the entire square had been converted into a fun little festival. If you're within walking distance, it's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon; there's music, fun things to buy, fun things to eat, and a lot of interesting people to meet!

Delicious cheese Mouthwatering bread…read moreKick-ass coffee Fruity jams Moreish marinades Fantastic fish Sizzling sausages Majestic burgers Soul food sauces Sensational fruit and veg Incredible olive oil Beautiful balsamic vinegar Cheeky chilli chocolates Sticky puddings Cute cupcakes Hearty beers & Smooth wines As you might have guessed, I'm a bit of a fan of the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival. A month long festival that takes place every September, it sets out to champion the best local food producers, farmers, market traders, chefs, bakers, cooks and restaurants in the South East. Aside from the Big Sussex Market where you can sample and buy food directly from the producers, there's free tasting sessions and demonstrations from top chefs, themed events and one off collaborations. Leading restaurants like Terre A Terre, Drakes and Due South usually offer special one-off menus too. The only downside of the whole festival is you might need to invest in a pair of elasticated pants. How else are you gonna enjoy all the gourmet treats on offer?!

The Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival runs fantastic foodie events throughout the year. The…read moretwo main events are the Spring Harvest (a 10 day festival in April) and the Autumn Festival which runs throughout the month of September. As well as huge food markets specialising in local producers and supplies, the festival host events such as Restaurant Week, live food shows and various other specialist events , working closely with local restaurants. This year, they have put on Christmas mini markets at the train station over the first three weekends on December. Unfortunately, these do appear to be a little too mini - does four stalls really count as a food market?! That said, large or small, I always seem to spend a small fortune at these events, but I do come home with a great selection of artisan food products.

Where to start with this classic event? Well ..... it runs over the three day August Bank Holiday…read moreweekend every year and is held at The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells' pedestrianised Georgian precinct. It's organised by a guy called Paul Dunton whose support for local musicians is close to obsessive. He runs two gigs a week at The Grey Lady already and then has this event where local bands play original music for free to maybe 1000 people all weekend. I mean 12 or so hours a day of organised free music in a beautiful location - what a civic superstar!!!! He even gets use of the bandstand! The result is a happy crowd of dancing, drinking, eating people packing out the Pantiles and stuffing every retailers tills with Bank Holiday cash, all listening to a diet of non cover version songs by their peers. IT IS FANTASTIC!!! The last couple of years they've even given out free compilation CDs of the various artists. Yes, free!!! I cannot recommend you attend enough. My favourite combo? Easy. Origami Dinosaur. Funky/rocky/kooky excellence. You MUST make time to come along.

Brighton Early Music Festival celebrated it's 10th birthday this year, but I have to admit that…read moreit's the first time I've come across this event. The festival celebrates early music and food with numerous events at various beautiful venues around Brighton and Hove, including concerts, workshops and lectures. I went to see the International Baroque Players and BREMF Choir in a performance entitled Celebrating Coronations and featuring music from greats such as Handel, Purcell and Boyce. This event was held at St George's Church in Kemp Town. The music and singing were beautiful, and the stories behind some of the pieces were explained by the lead violinist, a great touch for a bit of a classical music novice such as myself. The venue was lovely, although the upstairs seating was a little uncomfortable. My only compliant would be that the ticket booking website wasn't particularly user friendly, and it wasn't clear what seats each price band referred to so you couldn't really see exactly what you were booking. Sadly, the festival's Arts Council grant has been cut this year so fingers crossed they will be able to continue running this fabulous event in future years.

As a new resident of Kemp Town, this was my first carnival and with it being right on my doorstep I…read morereally had to check it out. 2 minutes walk from my quiet street and I was surrounded by crowds of people, bars, food carts and stalls selling clothes, jewellery and all sorts of other delights. Song each side street there were different stages with a wide range of performers and music styles. I really had so much fun and really enjoyed the atmosphere. Roll on Pride Festival and the street party!!!!

I thought the morning's carnival parade was going to be a bit of a let-down when I saw that there…read morewas only one float. It started about forty minutes late too :( Luckily all turned out well as there were plenty of groups on foot. All very colourful and lively. Later on in the day there were eight music stages, plenty of food stalls and trucks and thousands and thousands of people (although not enough to be really annoying). I'm not quite sure how this the first Kemptown carnival I've ever been to but I'd certainly go again and hopefully the weather will be more Rio than Brighton.

BOO! "eekk" Tulley's…read moreFarm has been a family business since the 1930's. Starting off as a traditional farm, it later specialised in fruit and veg, with pick your own options when the farm was opened up to the public. In the 1990's they opened up a farm shop and a tea rooms and over the last 15 years they have branched out to putting on festivals to celebrate Halloween and Guy Fawkes night among others. Shocktoberfest is a Halloween extravaganza that has been growing and growing. There are now six main attraction in the park, all of which are greatly toned down in the day time for the kiddies, but are pretty damn scary at nighttime, even for us grown ups! Yes, I knew that there would be people in fancy dress jumping out of dark corners at me, how scary can this be? Very! In fact, so scary, I was screaming like a five year old child! There are six main attractions as well as smaller fairground-esk stalls and plenty of food and drink options (no alcohol though). All of the six attraction involve people dressed as spooky characters who interact with you. There is no touching, but I have heard rumours of some of the staff being punched by scared customers! Haunted Hayride is the attraction with the longest queues - we waited for about an hour to see this. It's worth the wait though as you are driven around on a trailer attached to a tractor. Many scary ghosts and ghouls, including the much feared Woodsman, jump on to the trailer with you as you travel around and interact with you. The scenes they have created here are fantastic. My favourite (and most scary) excursion was Its Curtains Maze, which featured clowns in a very disorientating maze. I'm not normally scared of clowns but I think I may have developed a new phobia after this experience! Hell-ements is the newest attraction. You have to feel your way around this maze as they make you do it with a bag over your head - not good for the claustophobes! It features the elements of earth, fire, air and water, but the scariest part of this one is not knowing what is in front of you! The other attractions are Field of Screams, Haunted House and Creepy Cottage - all of which are petrifying in their own individual ways! Shocktoberfest is a must-do for all the family at Halloween time. Tickets are reasonably pricey but it's a great experience, particularly if you like being scared stiff!

I don't scream like a girl. I'm a man-yeller. My female voice somehow turns into this, low,…read morethroaty weirdness when frightened. And I was man-yelling all up and down this joint. Schocktoberfest takes place in Tulley's Farm, and it's a fantastic little (big) place. Makes me want to come back for a visit when it's not all scare-i-fied to see how things run on a normal occasion! There are 6 "scares" you can visit if you purchase the X-Scream pass. Two of them, the Haunted Hayride and Creepy Cottage come standard no matter what level of ticket you purchase. Gemma has already done a fantastic job of describing these "scares." My favorite by far... if favorite can be used as a word for "omg holy jeez I'm so freaked out!" was the Hell-ements. Having a bag over your head that you can only see through to a certain extent with actors creeping up beside you and snarling and velociraptor-screeching is truly creeptastic. And the Twisted Maze... to Hades with you, creepy clowns! We also paid a couple pounds to slingshot onions and shoot corn out of cannons. All the additional fun and games around are £1 each. They also have a lovely tarot reader/clairvoyant named Tia who will read 5 cards for £5. Which I had done, and which was pretty spot on! There's lots of food throughout the farm, so don't be duped into buying the crummy burger from the first set of stands when you walk in. They even had a full hog roast which I so wish I had room for, but I was too full of crummy burger! Seriously, a great night out. Helpful note: if you book ahead online, you save £3.