Brighton seafront gale blowing
Cooler than last week. Guildford to Gatwick rain. Cloudy all day, but warm.
I needed a timetable. Queue out of ticket office into the station forecourt. No timetables on display.
FCB run the passenger waiting room. Useful literature for free, including what appears to be a monthly book on Brighton, Viva Brighton. Never seen before. There was also a newspaper or magazine for North Laine which I had not seen before. On the front page, a book about North Laine due out soon.
Popped into Grocer & Grain. Always a delight to visit. Two different suppliers of coffee beans, cakes, fruit and vegetables. Sadly I have not seen the owner for several years.
Straight down the main road to the sea front.
Taylor St Baristas closed last year. Now boarded-up. What a tragedy. Loss of a great coffee shop. Why not have let the staff and customers take it on as an open coop? It was though not in a good location. North Laine would have been a far better location.
Street Kitchen
Street Kitchen
A pop up soup kitchen half way down the road. A sad sign of the times.
A gale blowing on the seafront.
Brighton iSore
Along the seafront as far as the Brighton iSore. Not ony iSore and eyesore, also the glass base.
This used to be an attractive area. Many stalls. Including an excellent book stall. What happened to them?
Then, having walked so far, on to a food festival at Hove. Not impressed, tacky food stalls would expect at a tacky seaside resort. I expected what I once found near the Brighton Pavilion a few yeas ago, quality foods, though it outgrew its space.
A stall selling farm produce, apples, apple juice, plums, sweetcorn, was the only interesting stall. At first I thought it was the stall which is always on the Guildford farmers market, but no. I picked up sweetcorn and plums.
A I walked past, a cookery demonstration in a tent. On my way back, sampled the food. Potato cakes, and what I think was spinach and venison. The venison, if that was what it was, was like good beef.
On the sea front, near the pier, guy on guitar, another on drums, they were good.
It was then make my way to Iydea in North Laine for late lunch.
On my way, passed a trio, guy on bass, guy on guitar and a female vocalists. They were good. Did I wish to buy their CD? OK. I bought two signed copies of Rhythm of the Lanes by So Quartet. I assume I saw playing were SO Trio. Lovely cover, the location in The Lanes where I found them playing.
SO, Sara Oschlag, a Danish vocalist resident in Brighton.
I had a chat with Sara Oschlag, suggested she be on bandcamp. She directed me to her website. As I always find, an attempt to reinvent an inferior wheel. If on bandcamp, she can embed on her website, and as I said, tell people on bandcamp, then people can tell their friends.
Sara Oschlag would be an excellent addition to Staycation Live in Goldaming.
North Laine as always very busy. Busy because no chains, lots of interesting indie shops.
A Mod rally, lots of scooters. Mods as in Mods and Rockers. Brighton in the 1960s was the venue for pitched battles on the beach between Mods and Rockers. The Mods appeared to be in their 6os if not 70s.
Lunch at Iydea. As always excellent. Pleasant enough to sit outside.
I came across a guy called Windy. He was stood by a beautiful mandolin with inlaid mother of pearl. I asked was it for sale, and how old? He seemed affronted that I could even suggest it be for sale. He said he was selling a CD, A Call to Arms. Did I want one? I took a risk and said yes. The mandolin he said was from the 1950s, not as old as it looked. I suggested he be on bandcamp.
A couple of cookies from a little bakery.
Apples and peas from Infinity foods. Both excellent.
Coffee from Bond Street Coffee. Not impressed. Lacking in atmosphere, poor choice of cakes, as though added as an after thought. I asked for wifi password. Was told no wifi. Coffee was at best average. Date slice was good. Beans are roasted by Horsham Coffee.
Krema in Farnham makes better coffee, though may not be using the same beans.
I sat outside and ate my apple. I set off to buy more.
Long chat with Deliverooo delivery guys. Same exploitation as Uber, serfs working for an app.
Too late, Infinity Foods now closed.
Back down the seafront.
Grilled smoked kipper in a bun. I did not much like. I should have had a crab sandwich.
Back to North Laine to Pelicano Coffee and Tea House. Reasonable coffee, always excellent cakes. Pleasant atmosphere, friendly baristas. A marked contrast to Bond Street Coffee.
Pelicano roast their own coffee, the beans are on sale, the cakes are made locally.
Back to the seafront, walk to the end of Brighton Pier.
With no timetable, all I could do was walk back to the station and hope to pick up a train.
I was surprised at the number of people about. Usually Sunday night is quiet.
Shocked by the number of homeless settling down for the night in shop doorways.
Departure Display showing many cancelled trains. Luckily a train in a little over 15 minutes. To the ticket office to buy a ticket and pick up a timetable.
Train packed.
At Gatwick, a mass of people trying to get on the train.
How can Gatwick expand, when it cannot cope now?
- PHOTOS Sunday in Brighton (more photos to be added)
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