We live in the Brunswick Town Conservation area, and feel very lucky to do so. I have always adored the beautiful Regency seafront and am now thrilled to find that I can walk out of my house and be right on top of it. The tall imposing buildings that face the sea and line the sweeping squares are grand and beautiful painted in their uniform mellow yellow (Sandtex Classic Stone Gloss in Hove Cream) and studded with the odd Blue Plaque.

I always walk home along the front whenever I can because I love looking at the historical scenery, you can really imagine the monied of the age taking carriage rides in front of the sea just to be seen. You always notice something different or interesting going on in the area, despite being conserved architecture these impressive edifices are still full of life and local colour.

I know most of these buildings are now flats and it seems that people are moving in and out all of the time. But recently I stumbled across what seemed to be a house clearance as large amounts of furniture were straddling the pavements – beautiful old pieces from a bygone age. I stopped to watch for a while and was thrilled to see huge dining tables and drinks cabinets being lifted out and glancing up the mosaic hallway saw a beautiful chandelier being dismantled, everything spoke of twinkling dinner parties held in the 1920’s and I was whisked away to a more romantic frame of mind. As I imagined the kind of folk who would be holding grand parties in their seaside homes I remembered that behind the squares and seafront are a myriad of smaller streets and homes that housed their staff! The area was definitely designed as a self contained little hub dedicated to the wealthy of the early 19th Century complete with artisan mews, churches and pretty public areas.

As I look through the long mullioned windows (without wanting to seem nosey obviously) to try to glimpse an occasional mezzanine, long dining table or chandelier I find I am more likely to see a baby buggy or plasma screen TV, but it still never fails to impress or delight. In the recent sunshine I nodded to a woman as I passed who was relishing the weather and her fortunate position as she took lunch sitting on her step, complete with china plates, cutlery, pudding lined up and a glass of chilled white wine.

I sometimes notice that residents - obviously loathe to throw anything away - have left something out for you to take if you need it, these altruistic neighbours leave an eclectic mix of items free on their step. I have only lived here five months and have already been able to take my pick from boxes of books and tiles, tins of paint, cushions, blankets and a lovely lamp base.

If you look down into the fenced off basement areas you’ll see many decorate their curtains and windows and people are making the most of their little sunny, outside spaces, I’ve spotted surf boards, canoes, playpens, statues, garden furniture, a water feature and someone was recently tending to a mini poly tunnel full of sprouting edible delights!

People in the area are obviously passionate about their neighbourhood and I often see notices on lamp posts and get leaflets through the letterbox letting us know about local picnics, meetings, clean-ups and there is even a little festival lined up for August, and if anyone knows of how we can get more information about what goes on in the area then I would love to hear from them. People campaign for less estate agent boards and more flowers in the road, it seems the conservation is not just about getting the right paint out every five years.

One of our loveliest regular encounters these past five months has been visiting a huge German Shepherd dog who frequented the wide bay window of a house near Embassy Court, nearly every day I would walk past and say to Baby or Dog (whoever I had with me) ‘Lets go see the big doggy’ and we would stand outside his house and wave at him as he looked enigmatically out to sea or just dozed in the abundant sunlight, and I had often noticed others doing the same. This week however, as I neared the usual house and said the usual to Baby I realised that the dog was absent, instead of being greeted by a big toothy grin or a snoozing hound I saw a memorial plaque informing me that ‘Kito Loved It Here’ and a couple of cards wishing him ‘Peace’, accompanied by a huge photo of the dog in said sunlit window. I can’t tell you how immediately choked I was, my hand flew to my throat and tears stung my eyes. I said to Baby ‘I’m so sorry darling but the big dog isn’t here anymore’ and realised that a regular welcome sight from my daily trips out had now gone. As a dog owner myself I hurried home to give my own pooch a hug, happily he lives another day to enjoy the gorgeous area that we live in. The beautiful seafront, that we are so lucky to have, will never lose its charm but sadly this week it lost a little character.