Latest news with #CliffsPavilion
Daily Mirror
04-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Seaside town with 241 hours of sun in May crowned 'beer garden capital' of UK
When summer approaches and the sun pokes its head out from behind the clouds, British people love to flock to their nearest pub — but where is the best place in the UK for beer gardens? If there's one thing us Brits love in the summertime, it's a pint or cocktail in the sun. Beer gardens are a firm favourite when it comes to where to enjoy the warmer weather — and as we enter May and the sun comes out more regularly, many of us will find ourselves on the hunt for a pub with the perfect outside space to gather with friends and family. But where in the UK has the best beer gardens? Looking at a range of factors like drink prices, average temperatures, amount of sunshine compared to the amount of rainfall, and the number of beer gardens, credit card brand Aqua dubbed Southend-on-Sea in Essex the winner. Crowned the 'beer garden capital in the UK' as a result of the research, Southend-on-Sea has a whopping 281 beer gardens per 100,000 people. The resort town, which is home to nine beaches and the longest pleasure pier in the world, also boasts the 'most sunshine of any city in the UK'. In fact, Southend residents soak up an average of 241 hours of sunshine in May, and the second-least amount of rainfall with 41.6mm measured in the month. Those hoping to head to a beer garden in Southend are in luck because the price of drinks is also something the area can boast about. Pints are priced on average at £4, cocktails at £8 and soft drinks at just £1.12. Southend is known for its award-winning Blue Flag beaches where you can paddle in the sea, enjoy fish and chips on the shore, and take in the scenery. On the Southend-on-Sea pier, which stretches for 1.33 miles, you can enjoy fishing, explore the museum, or take a trip on the pier railway. Other activities in the resort town include days out at Sealife Adventure, watching a show at the Cliffs Pavilion or Palace Theatre, and mooching around the art galleries. For adrenaline junkies there is Adventure Island, a free-admission theme park for the whole family. If you fancy a stroll after soaking up the sun in a beer garden, you can head to one of Southend's many parks, which offer space to play tennis, basketball, or football. Meanwhile, its nature reserves, such as Two Tree Island Nature Reserve, Barling Magna Wildlife Reserve, and Belton Hills Nature Reserve, present the chance to explore the local wildlife and scenery. Next on the list was Portsmouth, which came in second place when it comes to beer gardens. It has an average temperature of 12.8C in May and 682 pubs per 100,000 people. In third place was Crawley in Sussex, which has an incredible 2,312 beer gardens per 100,000 — the highest of any location in Aqua's analysis. However, it had 206 hours of sunshine in May on average, so couldn't quite beat Southend-on-Sea for first place.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Police called out after fight at Essex comedy gig
Police were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in the audience, which reportedly led to a man being assaulted. Inquiries are ongoing after the altercation at the end of standup comic Paul Chowdhry's performance of his Englandia tour at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend. Theatre management said a 'small number of customers expressed their frustration' towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening. Police officers attended the scene after reports of a disturbance. An Essex police spokesperson said: 'It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted. No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing.' Chowdhry recorded footage on his phone while he was being heckled on stage, which he posted to Instagram. The comedian playfully swore at his heckler and said: 'I'm gonna take a picture and make sure you're never gonna get back in.' Chowdhry also captured some of the disruption in the crowd afterwards. 'Big fight is broken out after the show,' he said in the video. 'It's properly kicked off out here this evening. There was some riots here and now some people are probably kicking off tonight … I want to keep out of harm's way because I might get jumped.' In a statement the comedian added: 'We live in a time when some people feel entitled to disrupt live performances, affecting the experience for everyone else. Let me be absolutely clear: I do not condone violence in any form. 'Live entertainment should be a space where people come together to enjoy and engage – not to create conflict. Hopefully, nothing like this happens at the O2 Arena in London this Thursday – it's a little trickier managing 10,000 people.' A spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operators of the Cliffs Pavilion, said staff 'responded swiftly to defuse the situation'. They added: 'We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. 'We will not hesitate to take action, including liaising with the police, should this be deemed necessary. We would like to remind all our customers to be respectful to each other, to performers and to our staff at future events.' It was reported that staff appeared to physically restrain an audience member while he continued to shout. Chowdhry is not the only comedian to have an issue with hecklers in recent weeks. Peter Kay threw two rowdy audience members out of his show at the AO Arena in Manchester, saying the repeated disruptions had made it impossible to continue.
The Independent
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Police called to comedy gig as fight breaks out over heckler
A comedy show in Essex descended into chaos on Saturday night, requiring police to be called after a fight in the audience. The altercation, which reportedly resulted in an assault, followed Paul Chowdhry's performance of his "Englandia Tour" at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend. A video posted to Instagram by Chowdhry himself captured a portion of the incident. The footage shows several audience members engaged in a heated argument in the stalls area of the venue. While the exact trigger for the fight remains unclear, it appears to have stemmed from a heckler disrupting the performance. Essex Police confirmed they attended the scene following reports of a disturbance. ' Big fight is broken out after the show. It's properly kicked off out here this evening,' he said. 'There was some riots here and now some people are probably kicking off tonight.' Aiming the camera at one woman dressed in black, looking frustrated and pointing in multiple directions, he said: 'She's kicking off.' Some audience members attempted to intervene and calm others down. 'I want to keep out of harm's way because I might get jumped,' Chowdhry said during the video. Responding to the incident, a spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operators of the Cliffs Pavilion, said they were aware of the incident. 'A small number of customers expressed their frustration towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening,' they said in a statement. 'Our team responded swiftly to defuse the situation,' they added. 'We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. 'We will not hesitate to take action, including liaising with the police, should this be deemed necessary. 'We would like to remind all our customers to be respectful to each other, to performers and to our staff at future events.' Essex police were called to the disturbance at about 9.35pm that evening. An Essex Police spokesperson said: 'It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted. 'No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Police called as fight breaks out after heckler disrupts comedy gig
Police were called to a comedy show in Essex after a fight broke out in response to a heckler. A man was reportedly assaulted following the brawl after Paul Chowdhry's Englandia Tour performance finished on Saturday. A video posted by Chowdhry on Instagram showed part of the scuffle, in which several audience members could be seen arguing in the stalls of the Cliffs Pavillion on Station Road in Westcliff-on-Sea, Southend. 'Big fight is broken out after the show. It's properly kicked off out here this evening,' he said. 'There was some riots here and now some people are probably kicking off tonight.' Aiming the camera at one woman dressed in black, looking frustrated and pointing in multiple directions, he said: 'She's kicking off.' Some audience members attempted to intervene and calm others down. 'I want to keep out of harm's way because I might get jumped,' Chowdhry said during the video. Responding to the incident, a spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operators of the Cliffs Pavilion, said they were aware of the incident. 'A small number of customers expressed their frustration towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening,' they said in a statement. 'Our team responded swiftly to defuse the situation,' they added. 'We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. 'We will not hesitate to take action, including liaising with the police, should this be deemed necessary. 'We would like to remind all our customers to be respectful to each other, to performers and to our staff at future events.' Essex police were called to the disturbance at about 9.35pm that evening. An Essex Police spokesperson said: 'It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted. 'No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing.'
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Heckling at Paul Chowdhry comedy gig in Southend ends in scuffle
Police said they were making inquiries after reports that a fight broke out and a man was assaulted at the end of a comedy boiled over on Saturday after the routine by stand-up comic Paul Chowdhry at the Cliffs Pavilion in Westcliff-on-Sea, management said a "small number of customers expressed their frustration" towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the officers attended and they said no serious injuries were reported. Chowdhry recorded footage on his phone while he was being heckled on stage - and also filmed some of the disruption in the crowd afterwards - before later sharing it on his social media a statement he said: "We live in a time when some people feel entitled to disrupt live performances, affecting the experience for everyone else."Let me be absolutely clear: I do not condone violence in any form."Live entertainment should be a space where people come together to enjoy and engage - not to create conflict."Hopefully, nothing like this happens at the O2 Arena in London this Thursday - it's a little trickier managing 10,000 people."During the heckling, the comedian playfully swore at his tormentor and shouted "I'm gonna take a picture and make sure you're never gonna get back in." A spokesperson from Trafalgar Entertainment, operator of the Cliffs Pavilion, said: "A small number of customers expressed their frustration towards another customer who had been heckling the act throughout the evening. "A physical altercation broke out. Our team responded swiftly to defuse the situation."We take the safety of our audiences, staff and performers very seriously and condemn acts of violence and discrimination in the strongest possible terms."Staff appeared to physically restrain a man in the audience while he continued to shout. A spokesperson from Essex Police said it was called to the venue at about 21:35 GMT."It was reported a fight had broken out and a man was assaulted," they said."No serious injuries were reported, officers attended and inquiries are ongoing." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
