Friday, August 15, 2008

Thoughts on Brighton

So as you may have seen from the match report, Mrs Akela and myself spent a few days in Brighton this week and I just thought I'd share a few thoughts with you.

Brighton is a city of contrasts, a traditional Victorian seaside resort it has got everything that you expect to go with it, the pier, the seafront, the beach, the arcades, the tacky sea front shops etc. It is also of course the heart of Britain's gay scene and their are a million and one smart and very nice bars, restaurants, clubs etc and loads of funky little shops to go with it. Disappear into the north Laines area and you are in for a great time, especially if you love second hand book shops.

Those are the well known sides to Brighton and the sides that it is keen to emphasise, and rightly so. If it hadn't been for the dreadful weather it would have been a brilliant short break as it was it was a struggle just to keep warm, never mind eh? There is however a bit of a darker side to the place. Go off the beaten track and there is a constant feeling that there is some serious poverty under the surface that is somehow kept away from the tourists. I was shocked at how many people were sleeping rough, genuinely. They were everywhere. And others who were clearly alcoholics or into something stronger.

It is unfortunately something that you see in so many prosperous areas across the country. The centre may get regenerated but somehow there always seem to be those that are left behind and its a crying shame.

2 comments:

Putz said...

did you read my make believe vacation to brian's beautiful head?

Anonymous said...

Brighton is now little more than a "white flight" colony for the London middle classes who see the existing population (the people you see "off the beaten track") as vermin occupying a space that should rightfully be theirs.

There's actually a proposal to "gate" an entire street in town to ensure that the "wrong" sort of people can't access it.