THE FESTIVAL AT BRIGHTON
BRIGHTON is truly en fete. On Monday her flags, gardens, freshly painted houses, light-encircled lamp-posts and banners gaily wel- comed visitors to the opening of her six-weeks' festival. The centre of it all is inevitably that most fantastic specimen of British archi- tecture, the Royal Pavilion. As one approached its facade of Indian columns and domes, one could almost hear the buzz of a last- minute rush as organisers and workmen hastened to complete the final touches.
This is the Pavilion's third festival and naturally the most ambitious and spectacular of all. In the Banqueting Room, under the " Eastern sky " and water-lily chandeliers, the table is set with gold plate. The Great Kitchen, with its 500-piece batterie de cuisine and tables loaded with mounted game and fish, is presided over by a well-known chef. The Drawing Room contains the famous " Dolphin Suite " ; the Music Room, the enormous Aubusson made for Catherine the Great ; and the King's Bedroom, its original writing-desk lent by H.M. the King and especially sent for the occasion from Windsor Castle. Royal personages, private owners and antique-dealers have all combined to make this rich and fascinating display. The last- named have also organised their own exhibition 'in the near-by Corn Exchange—once the Royal Riding House—in which is also to be held the Regency Ball. This is the first Antique Dealers' Fair ever to be held in Brighton. It is charming in its intimacy and high in the quality of its exhibits. In the Art Gallery is a special exhibition of the work of that Regency painter, Sir Thomas Lawrence ; at the Theatre Royal, Cecil Beaton's first play The Gainsborough Girls; and as the Festival unfolds there will be other temptations such as the Regency Cricket Match, the Firework Display and a Pageant of
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