There is no need to go down to the woods if you want a big surprise. Brighton's Churchill Square shopping centre has all the ingredients for a Teddy Bears' picnic.

Free honey-flavoured porridge is being served by Sheila McDonald and her business partner Linda Nandlall at Bar Juicy.

Sheila, a former medical representative and Linda, a qualified midwife, opened the bar in a converted tram outside the centre late last year after seeing how successful the format was in other parts of the world.

Sheila said: "The first one I saw was when I was on holiday in Eilat, in Israel, and in this country I saw one when I was visiting York.

"It struck me the trams would be ideal in a tourist town, so I contacted shopping centres across the region without any luck.

"Then I tried the shopping centre closest to home, Churchill Square, and was given the opportunity to open the juice bar.

"Bar Juicy got off to a very good start but, at first, the tram had to be towed on to the square every morning and then moved off in the evening. Now the site is permanent and connected to all the services.

"I wanted to offer something a bit different. Although the juices and soup are very popular, I thought porridge would go down well on chilly winter mornings.

"But I didn't want just ordinary porridge. One of my suppliers put me on to a range of organic porridges that had proved very popular with commuters in London and I've gone for the honey and cinnamon flavour.

"This is not the porridge that a lot of people may remember from their childhood.

"It's not a grey lumpy mass that cooks for hours and weighs heavy on your stomach. It's light, smooth and very tasty, just the thing for a winter morning. Even people who have never tried porridge before find they like it."

Sheila's sons, Rory and James, help out in the enterprise. Rory is currently taking a year out of university and James is an environmental scientist.