From the editor: May maneuvres

It’s Brighton Fringe and Brighton Festival time! Time to head into May with our heads down and brochures in hand, fully prepped for the Artists Open House trails and Great Escape bonanza too, as well as various other colourful and shiny mini festivals, heading out into the big wide Brighton world with the entertaining city as our oyster. With this in mind, I’d like to offer a few tips for the month ahead.

First off the bat, prepare. Yes, I know you’ve pored over brochures, websites and recommendations, but have you looked out of the window? May is a remarkable month in that usually we go into it muttering that British winters never seem to end and asking if anyone thinks the old-fashioned galosh will ever make a comeback as a fashion item. Cue to a whirling dervish of activity through the month, then blinking and asking how long the sun has been in town and if he might turn it down a tad. April Showers have no respect for the demarkations of the calendar, and neither do June sun spots. Pack for every kind of weather – you may be out all day. Take layers, take a lightweight umbrella, and take plasters in case the shoes that are fine for walking to work in are not up to the task of all day revelry.

Secondly, invest in a water bottle. One that’s easy slip into your small rucksack. Invest in a small rucksack. With a canvas bag scrunched up inside of it in case you need to grab an impromptu family picnic for the beach. Making sure you don’t dehydrate and have the things that help you be flexible with your plans is invaluable.

And thirdly, pop a powered power pack into that small rucksack. Keeping a charged phone at all times means you hear about the latest must-see shows in time to pick up the very last ticket.

Enjoy! And may the queues be forever in your favour.