Andrew Kay gets a good talking to at The Swan in Kemp Town

As a new resident of Sussex Square Mr R and I are gradually getting our bearings and finding where and where not to go. Lidl is up there and unlike some I shop there without wearing a Hermés headscarf and Jackie O’s. I also like Mama’s Café in Whitehawk where the breakfasts are excellent.

But top of our list right now are Hudson and Bridges at 237 Eastern Road which we gravitated to whilst moving for coffees and light lunches and The Swan which is owned and run by the same team. You might remember that I reviewed the Swan a while back and gave it top marks for simple food served well in stylish surroundings for an affordable price. And since then we have returned and had equally good food, still sensibly affordable and great wine at decent prices too. They seem to have grasped the fact that in times of recession we are all tightening our belts, well at least those of us who can tighten our belts, I have run out of belt to tighten of late.

Last week we went along to a special event at The Swan, the sixth in a series of supper talks aptly titled Up Your Street, hosted by Chris and Gary and delivered by the lovely Rose Collis, she of The New Encyclopaedia Of Brighton, an excellent tome on the history of our great city full of facts and fun too. That indeed is the Collis way, loads of info delivered with charming informality and with plenty of anecdotal chuckles along the way. If you want your history dry, in every sense, then try elsewhere but for me the combination of humour, good food, wine and an excellent speaker made for a great night out.

We shared our table with two very nice ladies and chose our food from a special menu which had been created for the evening. Mr R had a honey-roast carrot and butternut squash soup with light rye bread and I had the rarebit bites, a rich mix of cheese and Arundel ale toasted on sourdough bread. Both were excellent and warming too, as it was the first really cold evening so far this winter.

To follow we both chose the chicken and chestnut mushroom casserole with rustic mash and steamed autumn greens. The casserole was good, the chicken falling apart and deep red with wine, the mash well seasoned and creamy and the kale and broccoli perfect. One of the ladies had the asparagus, broad bean and roasted garlic risotto and salad and declared that it too was good.

Conversation by this point filled the busy room as people chattered away and it was with difficulty that Mr Gull managed to quieten us for the main event. For her final talk in the series Rose was tackling Sussex Square and Sussex Mews. We settled back and listened whilst she delivered her talk. It could have been dull, I mean really dull, leaden and fact filled with dates. It was not. It was funny, informative and entertaining. Sussex Square has had more than its fair share of rich and famous residents, and an endless list of hilariously named girls schools and girls school mistresses and more than its fair share of nobility. Our own home was once destined to be home to Queen Victoria’s mother but it fell through. I hasten to add that we live in what was the pantry and the boot boy’s cupboard and not in one of the grand apartments. Desserts arrived during the latter part of the talk, good old fashioned trifle and a hot fruit salad both of which went down very well.

Having arrived at just after 6.30 I finally left at 10.45, very happy indeed to have heard the talk, eaten so well and met some very nice new people.

In response to a call from a regular reader I will try to include an indication of prices where I can in future and no better way to start than here. The event cost £22 a head which included three courses, the talk and a half bottle of house wine. Now in today’s difficult financial times that has to be seen as a very good deal indeed; food, drink, education and entertainment. Hats off to Chris, Gary and the lovely Rose Collis. We have already booked for their next event, an evening in celebration of Charles Dickens in Brighton on Tuesday 20 December at 7pm, a collaboration between Rose Collis, Gary Blair and Emma Kilbey with dramatic readings of his work.

The Swan, 9 Rock Street, Brighton, BN2 1NF, 01273 606138 swanbrighton.wordpress.com