Coming back off holiday lends a certain perspective to the world, I always think.

Clearly there are tans to be shown off, watch marks to be brandished about or, if you're particularly good friends, swimming trunk lines and endless photos to bore your friends with.

"That's me and Corky with a nun and two Vietnamese people we met in a cave . . . that's the portable bidet I wanted to buy and that's an accidental picture of my foot." And so on to gaping yawns, even from one's nearest and dearest.

But the first major thing you notice on returning is that all of us are individually completely redundant.

I mean life seems to splutter on quite happily without us.

Now this either depresses me terribly or happily reminds me that nothing happens as the result of any one person but only in collaborations. Which is actually rather heartening, not to say humbling.

The other thing that always strikes me coming back to Brighton and Hove is not that we are perfect, not that the town or the council or local businesses have got everything right, but rather there is an enormous energy and, at the moment, real commitment to grab the opportunities offered to the town right now.

And above all, that our town is a really lovely place to live.

On the problem front, sure SITA is making a mess out of the rubbish.

They are not living up to their contract. They promised to deliver and all they do is fail to collect.

But the council, forced we should remember by legislation to outsource the contract to a private operator, seems to be battling manfully on our behalf to force SITA to abide by their commitments.

The arrival of the new homelessness tsar in town is an enormously positive step towards tackling some of the underlying causes of street homelessness, which I mentioned last week.

This Rough Magic was undeniably not what it could have been. Their vision clearly far outstripped their ability to make it real. Maybe it was produced by SITA.

But - and here's the point - even so, the night of thousands of people on the seafront further expanded the possibilities for more imaginative events there - and even on the sea - in the future.

And more than that, they might well happen in Brighton and Hove when they simply wouldn't in Blackpool or Clacton. Where else in Britain would it have even got off the ground? Where else would a council beachfront staff have collaborated with a commercial sponsor like Red Bull and a bunch of (albeit unfocused) artists to make it happen?

You don't have to have enjoyed it to recognise the tremendous joint effort involved. And we shouldn't forget, it was also the most profitable night on the seafront anyone can remember.

On a more cerebral level, practical discussions have also started between about 45 businesses brought together by The Place To Be, the Regeneration Partnership (who plan what are called the regeneration budgets, which is Government money that contributes to schemes as diverse as the Dome to working with local community projects) and the council.

The aim of these sessions is to use the extensive research about the local economy to debate solutions to the problems identified. All very dry you might think.

Inevitably it's about transport, about the need for the right kind of office space, about attracting investment and so on. But actually it's not dull at all because these people are talking about what really matters for their businesses and therefore their lives.

They are battling over the prosperity of the town. And naturally they don't agree.

But they all show extraordinary commitment to the town and thus to finding solutions from their contradictory demands and views. A few want out-of-town office developments and associated car parking. But more are committed to the regeneration of the centre and want park-and-ride, more pedestrianisation and investment that will lead to a renaissance of the heart of the town.

The plan is to ever widen these conversations and plan an event in the near future where as many businesses and agencies and groups can come together and debate the main economic and regeneration priorities for Brighton and Hove.

What clearly emerges is the sense that the town is on the cusp of great things and of being a secure economy. It's also clear that not only do we need to raise our game but that many people are up for that.

We are the place to be but soon we will be an even better one.

It's good to be back.