Shoppers at a Sussex supermarket were surprised when Tony Blair's wife Cherie popped in to have a chat and a cup of tea. Mrs Blair joined Hove Labour candidate Celia Barlow yesterday to visit the Co-op in Nevill Road, Hove, and promote the importance
Those readers wanting a close shave might like to know Sweeney Todd has opened his shop in Southwick and is doing a brisk trade in a cut-throat business. This classic Stephen Sondheim musical is being presented by Brighton Theatre Group and while it is
While most tourists visiting Brighton and Hove will take in the beach, Palace Pier and The Lanes, some are opting for a more original destination. The city's sewers date back to the 19th Century and tours down to the depths are proving remarkably popular
Families will continue their battle against ball bearing (BB) guns by campaigning at a bank holiday market. People on the Whitehawk estate in Brighton were plagued last year by young people firing BB guns. Youth workers, police and residents united to
Tony Mernagh thinks the proposal for a park-and-ride site at Braypool is a question of animals versus people (The Argus, April 26). It is actually a question of cars and pollution versus people and health. It is true, the park-and-ride scheme has been
Neighbours are fighting plans to extend a huge landfill dump near a school and keep it open until 2016. Lidsey Landfill, on the A27 two miles north of Bognor Regis, covers 107 acres which was farmland until 1990. It is due to reach capacity by early 2006
It seems even more pupils from the Queen's Park, Elm Grove, Kemp Town, Hanover and Whitehawk areas are disappointed at not getting a place at their chosen secondary school this year than in previous years (The Argus, April 23). There are few feeder primary
I sympathise with the letter from Patricia Downes (Letters, April 23) - the taxi driver should have stopped. But I found her final sentence - "did you not think you might have hit a child?" - disturbing. It implies the driver still wouldn't have stopped
Your article about increasing attacks on NCP parking wardens (or "money wardens" as they are known locally) reflects the anger motorists feel about a stealth tax which primarily benefits a private parking company. Traffic wardens used to penalise inconsiderate
The Sussex players have already nicknamed new recruit Johan van der Wath 'Balboa' because his burly frame puts them in mind of the main character in the Rocky films. Van der Wath was unable to deliver any knockout blows during his first bowling spell
The Brighton and Hove Older People's Council (OPC) is continuing its campaign to stop the Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) proposed closure of the Brighton-to-Watford train service to "improve" Brighton mainline services. The Watford service is vital
Eastbourne Borough moved to the brink of the Conference south play-offs as goals from Andy Atkin and Yemi Odubade earned them a vital win against Weston-super-Mare last night. Garry Wilson's side now need just a point from their final game at home to
Ethical cosmetics specialist Body Shop put the rest of the retail sector in the shade after surprising investors with buoyant sales and profits figures. The Littlehampton-based company, which has restored fortunes with a rebranding based on a Made With
Unique Sussex coastal habitats will be damaged by rising sea levels unless a new approach is taken to save them, the National Trust has warned. The conservation body has published a report called Shifting Shores, which says damage to the coast caused
Brighton and Hove has joined a growing list of cities demanding cash from chewing gum makers to help clean it off the streets. Removing blobs of gum from pavements costs taxpayers £25,000-a-year, and the city council has now joined 26 other local authorities
Forget the Bedingfields - the Wainwright family is the ultimate musical dynasty, even if they are a little on the dysfunctional side. Martha is the daughter of singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III and folk star Kate McGarrigle. She's also sister to
Kasabian's guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno seems to find the fact that the Brighton Centre has a capacity of more than three thousand rather funny. "How many people can you fit in that one?" he laughs. "A year ago, the last time we were in Brighton
The Brighton Festival Fringe programme has just gained an unprecedented last-minute addition. Nigel Kennedy, whose brilliantly bold style has sustained a 25-year career as the world's leading violin virtuoso, has found a gap in his two-year schedule.
These Canadian art-rock funksters are back with a second album Elevator, named after the turbulent year in which it was created. "There were so many ups and downs that went into making this record," says lead man Steve Bays. "It was a manic period, a
With her trademark shriek of "Rickaaaay!", Patsy Palmer became a household name playing loud-mouthed Bianca in EastEnders. Since she last played the role in 2002 on the hour-long special Ricky And Bianca, Patsy has struggled to achieve the same level
The traditional circus line-up of clowns, strongmen and lion tamers may seem somewhat anachronistic in an age of computer-generated special effects, yet the circus is very much alive with about 35 troupes still touring the UK. Of these, one of the most
Although he is one of the greatest novelists this country has produced, the perception of Dickens today has been tainted by countless bland stage and screen adaptations. It may have been extremely popular when first published a century and a half ago,
(Cert PG, 108mins): Starring Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel, Bill Nighy, John Malkovich and the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Bill Bailey. Directed by Garth Jennings. Dedicated to the memory of its creator, Douglas Adams
(Cert 12A, 100mins): Starring Samuel L Jackson, Ice Cube, Willem Defoe. Directed by Lee Tamahori. Samuel L Jackson reprises his supporting role in the sequel to smash-hit spy caper xXx, with Ice Cube replacing leading man in Diesel as the gung-ho hero
Albion manager Mark McGhee today pleaded for patience from the travelling army. The Seagulls will have up to 3,000 fans roaring them on at relegated Rotherham tomorrow in their quest for Championship survival. Albion's 12 victories this season have all
Nobody knows more about tense endings to the season than Richard Carpenter. If you want somebody in your ranks accustomed to joy and pain at the climax of the campaign then Albion's experienced central midfielder is your man. Carpenter has been involved
Alan Ayckbourn is one of the most prolific dramatists of present times and the second most performed writer in subsidised theatre, just behind Shakespeare. But not all his plays are brilliant and Joking Apart is not one of his best. A note in the programme
Councillors unanimously rejected plans to demolish a former bingo hall and turn the site into flats. It was said elderly people who used the hall in Portland Road, Hove, for more than 20 years would have been left with nowhere to socialise if the Thirties
Two hundred people from two blocks of flats have signed a petition against the reorganisation of a warden service. Brighton and Hove City Council is reviewing the team which maintains council estates and properties across the city. The wardens, who live
A chef has denied deliberately stabbing a cyclist during a confrontation involving his wife and children. Jason Murray, 26, told a court yesterday John Banks was "on him" before he could step back. Murray, former head chef at the Grand Ocean Hotel, Saltdean
Graphic accounts of the appalling head injuries 13-year-old Billie-Jo Jenkins suffered have been described to an Old Bailey jury. Her skull had been shattered, leaving parts of her brain exposed on the patio where she had been attacked. Billie-Jo's foster
Just two months ago, new vehicle bays were painted on this road as part of a controlled parking zone. Now those carefully placed lines have disappeared beneath a thick layer of tarmac. Devonshire Place in Kemp Town, Brighton, now requires fresh markings
A sharp rise in acts of criminal damage has prompted police to launch a crackdown on youths. Police are considering imposing a dispersal order in Portslade after 100 more acts of damage were reported between September and March compared with the same
It was amazing your reporter who covered the Lewes vs Newport County football match (The Argus, April 23), didn't mention the extraordinary conditions this match was played under. I arrived with my young son at Lewes Station at about 2.30pm to find it
Punch and Judy man Mike Stone took his final bow yesterday at a funeral as colourful as one of his infamous shows on Brighton seafront. Mr Stone - known as Sgt Stone - died on April 19, the day after his 54th birthday after a battle against liver disease
Nominations for the hidden heroes of Sussex have come flooding in during the past few weeks. This is the fourth year of The Argus Achievement Awards, which we launched to honour the men, women and children who have made a difference. There are hundreds
It's like the Famous Five without Timmy, or the Wizard of Oz without Toto. Young actors rehearsing for a production of Oliver! are facing having to perform without one of the show's key characters. Mowden School in Hove has 100 children and ten staff
A soldier who rescued nine colleagues while under heavy fire in Iraq has been given one of the British army's most prestigious medals. Terrence Thomson has received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross - outranked only by the Victoria Cross - for his heroism
A journalist who befriended waifs and strays was brutally killed by a young man he tried to help. Jonathan Kendrick, 56, suffered horrific injuries when he was repeatedly attacked with a hammer and a screwdriver at his home in Waterloo Street, Hove. Police
A woman's ex-lover barricaded her out of her own home by dumping heavy industrial containers in front of the doors. Lucy Pettett, 37, came home from work to find her front and back doors blocked by the two huge immovable crates. Her friend and one of
Could somebody tell me why the Diego Garcians, who are here as refugees, can claim Jobseekers' allowance, when they haven't paid a penny into the system? My husband has been refused it because he is "one year short of class-one national insurance contributions
I am concerned by the number of front gardens being turned into concrete car parking spaces. The suburban environment is for people and wildlife. Losing gardens to concrete obstructs the natural seepage of rain water through the soil, which can cause
In March 1893, Gladstone was in Brighton. The then prime minister wrote about a Mr MacCurran, "an individual now in confinement" who "made his way, unimpeded, to the window of my Brougham with a loaded pistol for the purpose of dispatching me. At the
Sussex all-rounder Robin Martin-Jenkins is reaping the rewards for a more composed approach to his batting, according to his coach Peter Moores. Martin-Jenkins made an unbeaten 66 against Nottinghamshire yesterday - his highest score for two years - as
Nobody knows more about tense endings to the season than Richard Carpenter. If you want somebody in your ranks accustomed to joy and pain at the climax of the campaign then Albion's experienced central midfielder is your man. Carpenter has been involved
Albion manager Mark McGhee today pleaded for patience from the travelling army. The Seagulls will have up to 3,000 fans roaring them on at relegated Rotherham tomorrow in their quest for Championship survival. Albion's 12 victories this season have all
Food giant Waitrose was fined £15,000 yesterday for selling goods more than two weeks past their sell-by dates. A total of 15 products were found to be between one and 16 days past their sell-by dates at stores in Hailsham and Crowborough, magistrates
A clothes shop has been fined £2,000 for selling fake Calvin Klein boxer shorts. The counterfeit underwear was found at Leading Labels in The Waterfront, Brighton Marina, following a swoop by Brighton and Hove City Council's trading standards team. An
Despite the reality TV origins of these scantily-clad poptarts it would appear that the media is not one of their favourite things. "Don't ask us any questions about tabloid stories," says Newcastle girl Cheryl Tweedy - she of the assault conviction after
One of the most successful shows to come out of Ireland, Spirit Of The Dance has now been seen by 30 million people worldwide, and demand is still high enough to keep the ten award-winning troupes constantly on their toes. Mixing Irish Dance with passionate
Few dances or musical styles are as dramatic and exciting as the tango, which has been closely associated with the fires of passion since its development in Argentina at the turn of the 19th Century. This show sees the UK's leading tango dance couple,
There is no mistaking Alison Moyets distinctive, bluesy voice but her musical style has come a long way since her power ballad days. She kicked off her concert to a sell-out crowd with a melodic and soulful version of Michel LeGrands Windmills Of Your
(Cert 15, 90mins): Paul Kaye, Mike Wilmot, Beatriz Batarda, Kate Magowan, Pete Tong. Directed by Mike Dowse. The movie which opens the Festival Fringe's film season, documents the extraordinary true story of legendary DJ Frankie Wilde, who fights his
