We have endured much talk of the miracle which will be wrought by making a city of Brighton and Hove.

The symbolism is deft, then, that - in the real world - Mr Fanshawe's celebratory japes on New Year's Eve were blown away by the weather, with the loss of money which could have gone some way to improving life for, shall we say, the autistic children at Palmeira House.

If Mr Fanshawe to lift his eyes from the perennial press release upon which he is apparently engaged and instead view life as it really is, then he would surely pause to consider the effects of the downturn in the American economy.

These will reach our windswept shores before long and my prediction is that a high proportion of Brighton's cafes and restaurants will be the first to put up the 'to let' signs.

-James Fitzgerald, New Church Road, Hove