Sunday 13 September 2009

Love Letter


Sometimes, I love Brighton. Despite the pretentions, the attention seeking clothing, the rich people from London who become enamoured of it’s ‘cool boho-ness’ and move down, then determinedly price the said quality out, and make clear there it shouldn’t be anything that’s unsuitable for the eyes of little Jocasta and Huxley.
I love being able to browse a fabric shop stuffed with fabulous cotton prints and that the shop staff didn’t mind that I was walking round stroking bolts whose colours were particularly pleasing to touch. I love even more that my mother is going to make me (and hopefully teach me how) a cupcake dress.
I love having a pub lunch from somewhere where the staff aren’t forced to dress and act like clones, the food is delicious, good value and actually home made on the premises rather than ‘home made’ in a factory in Middlesex by underpaid labour of dubious legality.I didn’t love the caterwauling that passed for singing coming from some right-on festival at the Quaker Meeting House, but I loved that the festival was allowed to happen.

I loved finding new graffiti, and that Brighton is a city whose street art references the decapitated wives of Renaissance monarchs. (If you know that’s not Anne Boleyn, do correct me.) I love finding a street market selling a mixture of local produce, vintage clothing and costume jewellery, funky household bits and bobs, vinyl records and poetry. I love that when I was photographing the tomatoes and a guy reached out to try one, he apologised profusely and sincerely and I made a joke we all smiled. I love that the poet wasn’t a pretentious eejit, and said he was glad to see people laughing, rather than thinking we were mentalists. I love that the street was full of people doing what they loved and ignoring people who say there’s no point in writing, or making crafts, or small scale food production, because there’s no money in it.

I love that I got the train home regretfully, but inspired.


14 comments:

  1. And I loved reading this post and tripping around Brighton with you here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There seems to be something going wrong with the world when caterwauling comes from a Quaker Meeting House. On the other hand, the world seems ok when one has the opportunity to read such a gentle, peaceful, heart-warming post. I'm glad I came here today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm glad you both enjoyed the post! I think they were using the gardens of the Meeting House for a festival of some sort - it was slightly incongruous! Sometimes it's so easy to get bogged down in the negative, it's good to record when something is enjoyable.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nice snapshots from Brighton, enjoyed reading your post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great photos. Maybe we need to live a life that's not about money, although if you don't have any, it's rough. Money is freedom from assembly line work and I wish it weren't.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I enjoyed the trip to Brighton and al of your photos. It looks like a very nice place.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I never did visit Brighton when I lived in England. Maybe next visit...

    Love the graffiti!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love your fun photos and post. The fresh tomatoes make me jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi J, I love how you now devote your photography for photography sake. I think in tho home environment, you are not so much oblige to do the tourist photography for recording a trip. Your photos are so much more artistic now.

    ReplyDelete
  10. great photos and I always love visiting Brtighton - is it still London-on-Sea??

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ah sheesh...got mates in Brighton whom i aint seen in years. You've just reminded me how much i love and miss them.

    Time i got my ass back to right on Brighton. I'm gonna phone them this evening. Thanks for inspiring that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. mstb - I have yet to meet a single north american who has visited Brighton! You should, it's absolutely my favourite place here.

    gaelyn - I had to work hard to resist popping one into my mouth, they looked delicious. The slighly odd look the stall holder gave me as I photographed helped me control myself though...

    Grace and Bradley - Thanks, I've been trying out different subjects since I came home to see what interests me the most.

    Catherine - if you're a Londoner, maybe. To locals its a bit like London's antithesis.

    naldo - a pleasure! get yourself some rock presto!

    ReplyDelete
  13. stumbled upon your blog via links, loving your photos! will come back to look some more at UK via your eyes :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a super place. I love the graffiti.

    ReplyDelete