The Apprentice: What could I find from the Brighton episode?

Candidates in the BBC's reality game show The Apprentice took to the streets of Brighton for the episode that aired on Thursday.

The 14 hopefuls were assigned a task to buy nine obscure items with a link to Sussex for the best price and within a time limit.

The Argus's answer to Lord Sugar, better known as my editor, decided to find out how I would fare at the challenge.

I was given two hours to find as many of the items as possible.

The list

1. 1kg of fresh asparagus
2. A nautical barometer
3. A puppet from a Punch and Judy show
4. An ombre lace frontal
5. 50 palourde
6. The 1974 Eurovision winning song at 45rpm
7. A dozen Sahara desert roses
8. A resin life cast of a body part of a team member
9. A Sussex trug.

The stopwatch started, and the pressure was on.

With no mobile phones or assistance from the internet, all I had was years of Brighton knowledge up my sleeve to guide me.

The eclectic range of items meant, naturally, my first port of call was Snoopers Paradise in Kensington Gardens.

I explained the challenge to its helpful staff, who, with their analytical understanding of the many stalls in the shop - signposted me in the general direction of nautical barometers and Eurovision-winning singles.

Sadly, what I first thought would be a one-stop-shop turned into a no-stop shop as the peculiar products were not in stock.

All hope was not lost though, as the staff's knowledge extended beyond the four walls of the chaotic store and they gave me a series of suggestions for my next port of call.

Alan Childs (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

In 1974, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at Brighton Dome and won by Swedish pop band Abba with Waterloo.

The North Laine is a rich vein for independent record shops and The Apprentice teams visited Across The Tracks in Gloucester Road to secure their copy of the hit.

Great minds think alike so my next stop was the very same, beautifully presented record shop.

I explained what I was after to owner Alan Childs, asking if he could "Gimme, gimme, gimme an Abba single". However, it appeared The Apprentice's team Apex must have secured the last record in stock.

• Read more: The Apprentice: All the Brighton locations the candidates visited

I wasn't going to give up easily, though after six record shops and a multitude of charity shops later, I called it a day.

The quest for Abba had taken me to the Open Market off London Road, where my attention shifted back to the other items on my list, mainly due to the distinct aroma of seafood as I passed Andrews Fish Shop.

The Snoopers crew had kindly told me that palourde was shellfish so I queued up and explained the task at hand.

I asked if they stocked any palourde, undoubtedly butchering the pronunciation in the process.

"It's just clams." I was told.

This was hardly the mystery delicacy I was expecting but it did mean I secured my first item of the day, well over halfway into the challenge.

The shop had the option of frozen or unfrozen clams (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

This was the motivation I needed to keep going and not two minutes later my eyes lit up as the second purchase of the day was in sight.

Greengrocer Tropical 4 You in London Road stocked over a kilogram of fresh asparagus, which felt as close to ambrosia as I might get.

Never before have I been so excited to hold up asparagus (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

I then had a leisurely perusal through the variety of shops in the Open Market in a bid to find nautical barometers, puppets and lace frontals, among other miscellaneous goods.

I was conscious the clock was ticking though, and the importance of timeliness in business is something I shouldn't let go to waste. My relaxed browsing cost me, as a glance at my watch informed me I had 25 minutes left to find the remaining seven items.

I decided to cut my losses and make my way back via the mystical Gaia's Magick in Sydney Street. I had learnt from the TV episode not to repeat the mistakes of Team Apex by searching for a dozen Sahara desert roses in florists.

They are in fact crystals, formed in North Africa over several months, and are sold in the "Metaphysical supply shop" in the North Laine.

My final finding of the day (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

With a sense of fulfilment, I returned to the office with one minute to spare but only three of nine items secured.

Hopefully I won't be getting fired any time soon...