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The Little Black Book of Hotels is available now in Hardback from Amazon, currently at £10..

Check out the piece! Also don’t forget that if you are visiting from London, the high speed rail line to Ashford cuts the journey time to 90 minutes….

Now we are in store for the first ever Battle Contemporary Fine Art Fair, a prestigious new event to showcase artwork from London and the South East and which kicks off in September. We’ll be hosting a satellite sculpture exhibition at The George in Rye as part of the fair, so watch this space for more soon.

Ahead of this, here are our recommendations of great places our guests can see and buy art in 1066 country:

The Rye Art Gallery - just down the road and hosts work of regional and national importance. We buy quite a lot of art for the hotel here which we’re always asked about.

Weekend Gallery -  gallery representing really diverse mix of artists in Hastings which runs an international art exchange programme with a gallery in Idaho.

Hop Gallery - Really champions local East Sussex artists through a very fast-moving and dynamic programme of exhibitions. In Lewes, well worth a daytrip from Rye!

Burton Gallery - another one in Hastings. Really accessible range of illustration, paintings and applied arts.

The Towner - cutting edge visual arts centre in a stunning modernist venue in Eastbourne, which has links with the Tate. Pictured above.

If you know of any more great galleries, do get in touch by leaving a comment.

Artist Anthony Gormley’s Critical Mass, one of his most famous works, is landing on the roof of beautiful cultural venue the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. You can expect 60 lifesize cast iron bodies looking out on you from above – unsettling stuff!

Photo: Nigel Green

Highly recommended, and on the roof between 8th May to August 2010. The venue, De La Warr Pavillion, is fast becoming one of the most important arts centres in the south of England – check out their programme at http://www.dlwp.com/

If you’re coming to The George in Rye in the next few weeks and want to get cosy, we’ve plenty to get you going:

- DVDs to enjoy in-room.
- Cashmere-covered hot waterbottles
- Lambswool blankets
- Vintage Penguin paperpacks
- Big mugs of hot choc
- Warming baths with REN rose oil

Check out all 10 hotels here and come down if you fancy warming up in deepest darkest February!

Jake and Dinos Chapman, who stirred up the British art scene in the 1990s and who went to school in Hastings, so their work is coming back home. We won’t pretend to be art critics; if you want an intro to their work, here’s an interview on YouTube from ArtPatrol TV:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a great exhibition to have locally, so stop in if you fancy a trip over to hastings. More on the gallery website.

But we have to say that Juel is one of the most wonderful treasure-troves around, selling  jewellery that you’d never find anywhere else. Most of what they sell is handmade in Europe and each piece is unique. This is not where you go for a silver neck chain, this is where you go for someting that will make a real statement.

We’ve also just found out Juel are offering a hire service so you can make like Cate Blanchett and head off to a party wearing something seriously special (pearl choker below a case in point) knowing that it’s not cost you very much. Sadly Juel don’t provide a security guard to protect you on the red carpet, but maybe next year.

You wouldn't wear this when popping out for a pink of milk...

Given that they specialise in being ahead of the curve, we asked Juel co-owner Judith Herbert about the cultural movements influencing what you’ll see in the shop:

“We don’t follow seasonal trends because we adopt a ‘futurist’ approach -  we look at key events -  like anniversaries of  famous artists and designers – that have a great influence on design in our environment, from clothing to interiors and architecture. These movements become reference points for the jewellery we buy for Juel.

So at the moment in jewellery, you’ll generally be seeing elaborate designs around, which stems from the Victora and Albert museum’s current Baroque Exhibition, also abstract designs which take a cue from all the Picasso revival’s that are going on.

“For next season, we’re anticipating a 1950s and modernist revival, and Juel is also going to be reflecting the Art Deco period with a strong contemporary edge.

“Another movement, linked to the recession, is the revival of ‘Art in Design’. We want to offer products that will stand the test of time, and that offer versatility – people are being more cautious in buying new clothing, so this season we are having great success with vibrant colours that lift and enhance neutral outfits. Sometimes it is more prudent to purchase accessories than to replace items in the wardrobe. Several new looks can be created using accessories, say with a simple black dress. It is a formula used always by stylish French women.”

So there you go: make like the French and don’t bother with a new frock, all you need’s a necklace (though make sure it’s Art Deco!).

Juel have shops in Battle and Rye, and say hello to Judith next time you’re in. She might even show you that pearl choker.

www.juelaccessories.com

Fiona has lived all over the world – she is a Border Scot but spent periods of her childhood in Nigeria and Central America. Her artistic talents went through the roof as she grew up, and so Fiona headed off to the Royal College of Art, where she studied alongside Quentin Blake.

Though Fiona continues to travel heavily, she now lives near Rye in the countryside, where she practices oil painting, portraiture and runs an annual festival of painters. Some of her recent work comes from her time in Morocco, The Alhambra, among tribesmen and women in Pakistan and at sea (she sails an ocean-going yacht).

So, whether you’ve never picked up a paintbrush in your life, or are an artist yourself who’d like to develop your skills, come join us for the art break. Find out more about Fiona on her website, and as a taster, here’s her account of Robin Knox-Johnston’s round the world boat trip, taken from the website:

Conversation with Courage:

“There is a sense in Robin Knox-Johnston that he could never have been ordinary. The first man to sail single-handed non-stop round the world in Sulhali, his boat he built in India. He set out on the last round-the-world race at the age of 67. In this painting I saw the strength and courage of this man. Someone said, “O Robin? He’ll be all right. In the middle of the gale, he’d just make himself an Irish Coffee and fight it. And he’ll win.” The brush strokes took on the tempo of the wind. It had to be got down. A sense of urgency. But then, I saw him, casually surveying the wreckage. Knowing what had to be done next. Then sailing on, all alone. Eventually, I thought, most of us have to do that. We all have Gale Force 10’s sometime in our lives.’” – Fiona Graham-Mackay