EARLIER this year Brighton lost one of its true characters.

For those of you who didn’t know Brian Ralfe, he was a real one off.

Born and bred in Brighton, he saw the town go through all sorts of reinventions until the town matured into a city.

From wooing “kiss me quick” seaside trippers to entertaining stags and hens, Brian was there throughout having a lot of fun along the way.

Among the jobs he took on were baking, taxi driving, a stint in the military and he was a friend to the stars as well as dabbling in politics.

He wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But right up until his death in March he was part of what made Brighton such a unique place.

In later years his energies were focused on hosting the Alternative Pantomime, a fortnightly production which brought the drag queens of the city together for a show which turned the sea air blue.

It was rude, crude and, for those who could handle all the innuendo, a lot of fun.

And, despite selling thousands of tickets and raising tens of thousands of pounds for charity since being founded more than a decade ago, it’s always had its knockers (pun intended....).

A few years back Brian contacted me out of of the blue to say the Alternative Pantomime wouldn’t be going ahead.

The official reason was a mix up of dates with the Brighton Dome, which runs the venue formerly known as the Pavilion Theatre, where the panto was performed.

At the time, it was claimed the show’s two-week run was too long to fit in around other bookings.

After a few protestations and intervention from a few politicians, a new slot was foundand the show went on.

Now, two years on and the same thing is happening.

In Brian’s absence, his good friends Lee Tracey and Steve Honeysett have taken on the responsibility of organising the show.

Lee and Steve both say they pencilled in the confirmed dates in their diary.

But when they met officials last week, the pair were told that the venue was not available on those days.

Now to give the Dome’s side of the story. In a statement its chief executive Andrew Comben said a meeting last week was the first time it discovered the agreed dates did not work.

Mr Comben went on to say that given the two week run of the show and the Dome’s packed schedule, it was difficult to fit it in.

Those are the facts.

But what’s also missing is the Dome’s apparent dislike of the Alternative Pantomime.

The initial issue around the dates first came about when the Brighton Dome was in the middle of rebranding the Pavilion Theatre into the Studio Theatre.

The aim was to turn it into a place where new talent and emerging shows were encouraged.

The Alternative Pantomime, consisting of a bunch of middle to later-aged men dressed up in drag telling rude jokes, simply does not fit into this mantra.

So some could say it seems clear why Dome officials might be being difficult.

But the Dome relies heavily on public subsidy, not least the hundreds of thousands of pounds it receives from Brighton and Hove City Council for being “guardians” of the listed building complex in the Pavilion Gardens.

In total, a third of its annual income comes from public funding.

And with that comes a responsibility to cater for all, not just a select few.

Looking at the upcoming events, there are puppet shows, social commentary plays and contemporary dance – so plenty for the educated middle classes.

But nothing with real mass appeal which would get the millions watching Britain’s Got Talent leaping off their chairs.

Sure there’s a bit of swearing.

But the one thing the Alternative Panto does is get bums on seats – providing guaranteed income to the Dome during February, one of the quietest months in the arts calendar.

And if the interpretive dance shows representing the moon’s relationship with the sea and poetry readings by authors standing on their heads while eating oatcakes are to continue and thrive without relying on public subsidy, then every now and again the Dome will need to embrace the odd popular show.

Sure it may not be their cup of tea.

But perhaps they should take a leaf out of Brian’s book, and think about catering to the wider tastes of the city.

After all, if there’s anything we can take from his legacy it is that life is nothing if you take yourself too seriously.