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Zara Baker looks into the allergy that really gets up people’s noses

Picnics in the park; a long walk along the South Downs. Summertime is here with lighter evenings, warmer temperatures and a huge desire to get outside and play. But when you suffer from hay fever, it can seriously dampen your enjoyment of the summer months. It is also far more common than you may think: around 20 per cent of the UK population suffer from an allergic reaction to an otherwise harmless substance: pollen.
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July is set to be a scorcher as Stanmer Park welcomes Razorlight & Mark Ronson for the first ever Shakedown Festival

Become part of music history this summer when Brighton is set alight by a supercharged selection of some of the best artists on the planet. On Saturday 9 July 2011, Stanmer Park will be transformed into festival heaven with the arrival of Shakedown – the biggest and best one-day music event the city has ever seen.
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We are going up!
The hangovers are clearing and a sense of euphoria still lingers after The Albion clinched promotion in a thrilling match against Dagenham and Redbridge. On a night full of madcap defending and goals galore, the enjoyable chaos of Albion’s 4-3 victory means that The Seagulls will be playing in the Championship at their fabulous new stadium next season. It really is an amazing dream come true for Albion fans.
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Brighton Foodies Festival sets your taste buds tingling with the very best food & drink

The first in a series of seven UK Foodies Festivals bursts into Brighton at Hove Lawns on Saturday 30 April, marking the start of the taste-tingling summer celebrations which launch over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

The festival visited Brighton in 2009 and will return with a mouth-watering showcase of food and drink, new featured live cooking demonstrations, hands-on masterclasses, pop-up cook schools and celebrity culinary talent.

This is all packed into a three-day festival filled with almost 100 of the country’s best food and drink exhibitors.
Top chefs from the region, including Michelin-starred Neil McCue of The Curlew, Brighton favourites Sam Metcalfe of Sam’s of Brighton/Sevendials and Michael Bremner from Due South, will cook their favourite seasonal dishes live in the Chefs Theatre and share cooking secrets, hints and tips.

“The locations of the festivals have been chosen due to the population of local chef talent and the great variety of fresh local produce,” says Sue Hitchen, Foodies event director. “We are excited to bring Foodies back to Brighton and are delighted to kick off our biggest foodie season yet in the lively coastal town.”

Visitors can partake in the pop-up Cook School, where they will enjoy hands-on cooking and tasting sessions, with guidance from top chefs and food experts. For budding young chefs the Cooking With Kids Theatre allows future foodies to get messy and try new cooking experiences.

The Drinks Masterclass Theatre will host, ‘mixing and shaking’ or ‘nosing and tasting’ sessions, where visitors are led though the complexities of speciality beers, wine and cocktails.

Almost 100 exhibitors will showcase the finest local, seasonal produce and speciality food and drink. Visitors can sample and buy while meeting artisan producers. A dedicated ‘Free From’ Marketplace will introduce visitors to these products, with tasting sessions and advice on living a gluten, dairy or allergy free lifestyle.

The new Great Taste Market, from the Guild of Fine Foods, will feature stallholders whose products have won a prestigious Great Taste Award in the last three years.

Visitors can indulge in dishes from around the world in the Restaurant Village, accompanied by a glass of bubbly or seasonal cocktail from the stunning Bar Pagoda Tents, while enjoying a line-up of live music entertainment.

Foodies Festival, Hove Lawns, 30 April–2 May 2011, £10/£8, tickets from Seetickets: 0871 230 5573 and online at www.foodiesfestival.com