Beauty pageant at Black Rock

The Black Rock Lido, a once beloved fixture of Brighton’s seafront, opened its doors on 8 August 1936. The Art Deco building boasted a 165 by 60 foot pool filled with over 330,000 gallons of crystal-clear water. More than just a swimming spot, the lido offered sunbathing terraces, a top-notch restaurant, a paddling pool for children - and a venue for beauty pageants! One such gala - from 60 years ago - was captured in a Michael Gillings film, now freely available to view at the British Film Institute website.

According to Tim Carder’s Encyclopaedia of Brighton, the name Black Rock probably came from a large rock or cave that existed at the foot of the cliffs, though it may have arisen because colliers were forced to unload their cargos outside the then town boundaries to avoid local coal taxes. Precisely for that reason, Black Rock was chosen in 1818-1819 by The Brighton Gas Light and Coke Company to build a coal-gas production works. Carder notes that some terraced housing followed, as did the opening of an inn, The Abergavenny Arms. In 1901, Volk was granted permission to extend his railway east from the Banjo Groyne all the way to Black Rock.

The lido, in its heyday, drew up to 80,000 visitors annually, hosting impressive swimming displays and even being considered as a training ground for Olympic athletes. The pool continued to operate during the war years, and after the war it hosted beauty pageants. The BFI online has a fabulous film of the 1965 pageant. Here’s the caption: ‘Michael Gillings’ remarkable film, made on a breezy day, sees would-be beauty queens parading for the judges at the 1965 Miss Brighton contest. The contestants strut along the poolside at Black Rock Lido, though the wind plays havoc with their elaborate bouffant hairdos. The contest continues later in the day, though now in sunshine, to a packed audience. After much posing in line-ups a winner is eventually chosen and photographers and officials swarm around her.’

Unfortunately, the pool’s glory days were numbered. The 1970s brought the construction of Brighton Marina, which spelled trouble for the once-popular swimming spot. Construction dust and noise drove visitors away, and attendance plummeted. Structural issues emerged, with the pool developing cracks and beginning to tilt. By 1978, the lido had shut its doors for the last time. It was demolished the following year.

For decades after, the site lay dormant, an ugly buffer between the Marina and the joys of Brighton Beach stretching miles to the west. Various redevelopment ideas have come and gone, but none took hold. Brighton & Hove City Council does have ambitious plans to rejuvenate the eastern seafront - see, for example, ‘Fantastic new refectory’ - but the site of the pool remains no more than a car park. Memories of visiting the pool as well as old photographs can be found at My Brighton and Hove.

Hamish Black’s Afloat

A little more than 25 years ago, a striking sculpture appeared on Brighton Beach, captivating the imagination of passersby with its unique form and thought-provoking concept. Hamish Black’s Afloat, a bronze work that reimagines the world as a floating torus, has stood the test of time, becoming an iconic landmark that continues to inspire locals and tourists alike.

Born in Braintree, Essex, in 1948, Black grew up assisting in his family’s blacksmith business. This youthful apprenticeship led to a deeper interest in making forms with metals. Aged 16, he began to study art, seven years in all - at Eastbourne School of Art, North East London Polytechnic, and the Slade School of Art. He preferred to sculpt in metal but also realised works in wood and ceramics, often using an additive process, a form of assemblage in three dimensions, as opposed to the reductive process of the stone or wood carver.

Throughout his career, Black was committed to art education, teaching at various institutions including Brighton Polytechnic, West Sussex College of Art, and Wimbledon School of Art. In the mid-1980s, he began a significant collaboration with renowned sculptor Sir Anthony Caro, which lasted for 25 years. He resides in East Sussex, but there is little sign in the media of any recent projects - his personal website has remained unaltered for some years.

Back in 1998, as part of his One World Series, Black created Afloat, commissioned by Brighton & Hove City Council and funded by the Arts Lottery. The work ingeniously transforms a traditional globe into a bronze torus, with continents drifting across its surface, allowing viewers to gaze through the world itself - both out to sea, and in towards man’s urban landscape. Afloat is 2.5 metres in diameter, weighs 2.2 tonnes, and was put in place on the seaward end of the East Street Groyne by a crane, with Black overseeing the installation. Just as the sculpture soon became known as The Donut, so, too, did the groyne become known as the Donut Groyne. 

Apart from Afloat, Black’s contributions to Brighton’s artistic landscape include works like Tree House, crafted from elms felled during the 1987 storm, and Brighton Light, a steel fabrication for the University of Brighton. 

Meanwhile, according to Brighton council, Afloat is now often the place for assignations, even proposals of marriage.

The most important factor

After yesterday’s exuberant enjoyment of the city’s beach and bathing facilities (see Feel free to whoop), let us go back 240 years to the 1780s, when there was no lesser craze for salty water, nor any less of a connection between the sea and the town’s fortunes. Here is the introduction to a history of Brighton as found in A History of the County of Sussex. (The image - from the same source - is captioned: Brighton from the East Cliff 1875).

‘The County Borough of Brighton contains 10,503 acres and includes the ancient parishes of Brighton, Preston (part), Patcham, Ovingdean, and Rottingdean. The original parish of Brighton lay on the southern slopes of the Downs near the centre of the bay which stretches westward from Beachy Head to Selsey Bill. It was divided by the valley of the Wellesbourne, now occupied by the Steine and the Level. To the east of the valley the cliffs rise steeply from the sea; the soil is all chalk, but the under-cliff, which has been eroded by the sea, may have been an alluvial deposit. The Downs behind the town rise to some 500 ft above the sea-level and the main roads from London and Lewes crossed them to meet to the north. Many towns in England underwent a great transformation in the 18th century, but in some ways the process at Brighton was unique. The sea has always been the most important factor in the history of the town. It has been from the earliest times both its great enemy and also its chief means of subsistence. The fisheries absorbed the greater part of the population; arable farming was limited, and sheep-farming, though profitable, did not employ many men. In the early 18th century the town passed through a period of great depression, when by a curious stroke of fortune the sea brought back prosperity. In the first place this was due to the fashionable craze for sea-bathing as a cure for innumerable ills, but permanently it was the result of the changed attitude of English men and women towards the sea. A quotation from one of the earliest guide-books to Brighton, published in 1780, marks this change to the modern point of view.’

‘The salubrity of the air, the excellent quality of the water, the pleasing healthful and convenient situation of the town, its moderate distance from the metropolis, the unrivalled beauty of the circumjacent country, and many other advantages, both of nature and art contribute to give Brighthelmston a superiority to the other watering places. . .  On the place called the Clift there is a range of buildings commanding a fine prospect of the sea.’ 

This latter quote comes, originally, from the late 1780s guide, A Description of Brighthelmston and the Adjacent Country or The New Guide for Ladies and Gentlemen using that place of Health and Amusement - this is freely available to view online at Internet Archive. A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 7 (ed. L F Salzman, 1940) is also available online, at British History Online.

Feel free to whoop

What a bustle, what a myriad colours, what a cacophony in the sea this lunchtime, with hundreds of individuals bracing the winter waters (approx. 8 °C) for the Big Swim 2025. Friends and families were there too, in abundance, on the pebbles - enjoying, weatherwise, one of the most pleasant days of the year so far. (See also  Definition of exhilaration.)

According to the organisers - PinkNicky at Sea Lanes - the aim of the event was to celebrate International Women’s Day and to ‘create a noisy, colourful spectacle on the beach’. Another aim was to gather 1,000  swimmers across the South coast - on Brighton Beach but also in Dorset (where a parallel event was hosted by Land and Wave)..

Here’s the planned timetable for the Brighton event (to see a video of last year’s event click here).

11.00 Sponsors/Partners/Volunteers Welcome and Briefing

11.00-11.45 Swimmers arrive - Bird&Blend will be handing out tea samples (don’t forget your mugs)

11.45 Welcome and Safety Brief

12.00: Warm Up

12.10: Group Photo and Drone Coverage

12.20: Swimmers enter the water - Please do not enter the water until you hear the safety signal

1.30 Event closes - Please go to Sea Lanes event space, if you need to warm up. Please feel free to enjoy your picnic on the beach.

And here are Nicky’s suggestions for spreading ‘a little happiness’

- Bring snacks to share

- Say hello to your fellow swimmers

- Hug your swimming neighbours on the beach

- Feel free to whoop with delight as you enter the water

- If you see anyone on their own, please make them feel welcome

- Wear your most sparkly outfits

- Take a selfie and use the hashtag #thebigswim

Sand between their toes

Beach sports company Yellowave has been given permission by the council to turn an old toilet block - but once an Art Deco bowling club house - into a cafe and office on Hove seafront. The project forms part of the 15 million seafront revamp to create Hove Beach Park - see Not the Mary Clarke Park. 

Yellowave - which has successfully operated a beach sports facility in Kemp Town for nearly 20 years - was awarded the lease for a second sand sports centre in the city, at Hove Beach Park, last October (see council press release). The new centre will include three sand courts for beach volleyball, beach tennis and footvolley, alongside a multi-use area which can be used for 5-a-side beach soccer, life saving training and fitness. It hopes, it says, that by 1 August 2025, ‘the first players should be enjoying sand between their toes’.

According to Brighton and Hove City Council’s planning report on the project, it received 111 representations in favour, and 91 against. Some residents expressed concerns about the privatisation and commercialisation of public space as well as the effect on the Sackville Gardens Conservation Area. However, according to the Brighton & Hove News, councillor Julie Catell explained: ‘Where a development proposal would lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage site, this should be weighed against the public benefit including, where appropriate, the optimal environmental use. The heritage officer is of the view that this is the case here and welcomed elements such as the active use and repair and restorative works to the former public toilets, the fountain and the upgrading of an under-used site.’

Councillors asked why a private company would be managing the site. The council’s seafront manager Toni Manuel said that the council had indeed looked into running it in-house and using a leisure company. She explained: ‘Somebody who’s operating a padel court may not necessarily be an expert in delivery of sand sports and vice versa. After much deliberation, we decided upon the single independent operator model.’ It is worth noting that, earlier this year, local residents tried, unsuccessfully, to object to the council allowing the bowling club - recently relocated to the new sports hub nearby - a so-called club premises certificate (see Rock ‘n’ roll at the bowls club). 

With regard, specifically,  to conversion of the toilet block into a cafe, the council’s planning report had this to say: ‘The locally listed Public WC Art Deco building (former Kingsway Bowls Club Pavilion) is an important set-piece of Western Lawns seafront, and whilst it has a general form common in the local area with a rectangular footprint interspersed with lines of beach huts and the locally listed decorative wall, it has a unique façade appearance.’

Helpless before the froth and foam

On Brighton Beach - 

A man stands alone, apart, upon a sea wall

Waiting for what, he does not recall

For the majesty of nature to touch his spirit?

For long-forgotten memories to stir his soul?

For the largest wave to take him to the deep?

Time has wrought him older than his age

For what, for why has it brought him to this stage

As well-worn as the stones beneath his feet

As troubled as the worried waters in his view  

As wise and foolish as each imagined quest 

And does this ocean prospect halt his pinings

Bring him answers, cut short the longings?

Still fixed he is, a rock among the restless

Still as thoughtless as a mighty gale

Still ever helpless before the froth and foam

Loop-the-loop

The loop-the-loop Turbo Coaster at Brighton Palace Pier - opened in 1996 - is getting on, nearly 30 years old. Originally named Zyklon, the ride’s name was soon changed after concerns were raised by Jewish groups regarding the historical connotations of the term. Since then, Turbo has become a well-recognised part of Brighton Beach’s entertainment offerings - despite a checkered history of maintenance issues and reports of rider discomfort.

Turbo’s compact steel track - a Pinfari ZL42  - runs for 365 meters, rising to a height of 11 meters. The ride (max 12 riders) lasts only one and a quarter minutes, but, most dramatically, it features a vertical loop.

Some enthusiasts consider Turbo one of the less enjoyable roller-coasters in the UK.  According to ThemeParkJames, for example, in common with many Pinfaris, Turbo is ‘a bit rough and ready’, and ‘feels a bit graceless as it charges around the track’. It adds, ‘the over the shoulder restraints can induce some shoulder and head banging during the loop and at other points along the circuit.’ More widespread criticisms can be found at CaptainCoaster.

Moreover, Turbo has suffered its fair share of problems.  In February 2003, the ride suffered damage from a fire, leading to a closure for repairs that lasted two months. The following year, it was operated, with passengers, while a section of its track was missing. The owners, Brighton Marine Palace Pier Company, were found in breach of public safety regulations and fined more than £37,000 (see the BBC). In early 2013, Turbo was dismantled and sent away for extensive renovation before being ready to roll again in late March.

Turbo (aerial photo from Google Earth) may not be considered a top-tier coaster in terms of ride experience, but it is considered Instagrammable. This is not only because of its location, an enduring part of Brighton’s seaside aesthetic, but because the ride’s loop is so well situated for photos. 

Back in the 1980s, the ZL42 was a particularly popular model offered by Pinfari, located in Suzzara, Lombardy, because of its exceptionally small footprint. The company was liquidated in 2004, and the brand was sold to Interpark Amusements. There’s a few other ZL42 roller-coasters around the world, including: Looping Star (Wonder Land, Egypt), Magic Loop and World Express (both in Venezuela); Ali Baba Coaster (Gloria’s Fantasyland, Philippines); Superman Coaster (Jawa Timur Park 1, Indonesia).

Cuttlefish and their bones

Walk along Brighton’s pebbles and you’ll soon find yourself kicking out at brilliant-white oval-shaped objects that seem to be littering the beach. If you pick one up, it feels unnaturally lightweight. These are cuttlebones, as everyone knows, the internal shells of cuttlefish. They are not the most useful or interesting of beach finds, though they can be ground into powder for polishing, and jewellers have made moulds for casting metals. Today, most commonly, they serve as dietary supplements for pet birds. However, A.Z.L, my 13-year old son, likes turning them into art! This is his Cuttlebone Helter Skelter. Other artists like to carve them into shapes and scenes.

Each spring and summer, common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) migrate to shallow waters to breed, leaving behind thousands of eggs hidden among rocks and seaweed. Shortly after spawning, the adults die, and their remains drift with the tides. Their soft bodies decompose quickly, but the cuttlebones - made of lightweight, porous calcium carbonate - float on the water’s surface before washing ashore.

The prevailing southwesterly winds push them toward shore, where they land on Brighton’s pebbles rather than sinking into sand. Unlike driftwood, which might get swept back out to sea, cuttlebones tend to linger, their ghostly forms drying in the sun. Sometimes, you’ll find them with strange marks - tiny holes left by hungry seagulls pecking at the last traces of flesh.

Cuttlefish are fascinating creatures, according to Wikipedia, sometimes called the ‘chameleons of the sea’ due to their incredible ability to change colour and texture in moments. They use this skill to mesmerise prey, communicate with each other, or simply disappear into their surroundings. Though they have eight arms like an octopus, they also have two longer tentacles that strike out to snatch fish, crabs, or shrimp. Despite their intelligence and complex behaviour, their lifespans are surprisingly short - most live only a year or two before nature takes its course - adding another cuttlebone to the Brighton shoreline.

Over time, these bones have found strange uses beyond the sea. For centuries, people have ground them into powder as a polishing agent, while jewellers have used them to make moulds for casting metals. Artists have used them to carve objects of beauty - see Stephen Hughes’ work in South Africa’s Highway Mail. Today, most commonly, they serve as dietary supplements for pet birds, providing much-needed calcium for beak and bone health. 

Cuttlefish, of course, also have ink stores used to deter predators, but they also have long served man for different purposes, as a dye (to make non-iridescent reds, blues, and greens) and for food (to darken and flavour rice and pasta).

Guest: Brighton Beach, The Bluff, Durban

Brighton Beach, the third of this column’s guest beaches, is a scenic coastal area located on The Bluff, south of Durban’s city centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Supposedly renowned for its unspoiled beaches and tidal pool, as well as being nearby the world-famous surf spot Cave Rock, it has an interesting history but, currently, seems a little down on its heels - local news headlines are far from positive, but investment is forthcoming.

The Bluff promontory, where Brighton Beach is situated, is a remnant of an extensive coastal dune system that formed between two and five million years ago. This natural formation plays a crucial role in shielding the Port of Durban from the Indian Ocean, forming the port’s southern quayside. 

The Facts about Durban website reveals the area’s interesting history as given by Peter Whitaker: ‘When my father first came to the Bluff in the 1940s Bluff Rd was a sand track and lined with trees. Mr. Grey who owned Greys Inn, a hotel, roughly opposite Splash pools (and not the Harcourt hotel which came much later) used to take a team of oxen down what is now a footpath from Airley Rd to Brighton Beach to help pull the old 1920/30 cars up, so that people could have lunch at his Inn before the long drive back to Durban. Mr. Grey owned a large part of the Brighton Beach area, which is why Greys Inn Rd was named after his Inn, and he also left a large area of the valley in trust to the people of the Bluff, as a recreational area [. . .].

The Bluff had many separate areas as it developed, each with its own problems and characteristics. The North had the Whaling Station smell, the South the Oil refinery smell (not pollution, just a smell), the centre had a swamp with mosquitoes and sometimes you got the benefit of all three in varying proportion. We were a mixed community then, we had Indian fisher folk in houses on stilts built out over the waters of the bay at Fynnlands (as well as some other areas), the Zanzibar’s at Kings Rest, and over at St Francis Xavier in Sormany Rd and down to where Moss Rd is today, a large Zulu community. A number of Bluff roads owe their names to the first farmers who subdivided to make the stands that we live on today. Some of the original farm houses still remain, you just have to know where to look. Then for many years we had Clover dairy (complete with cows) opposite the reservoir in Dunville road it eventually became a depot and then was sold off.’

In 1938, the Durban City Council commissioned and officially opened a floodlit tidal pool at Brighton Beach, enhancing its appeal as a popular picnic and leisure destination. As the photo (accompanying Whitaker’s history) shows, the beach was still very popular in the 1960s. However, for years now, it seems to have been somewhat run down. Last year, finally, the eThekwini Municipality allocated R1 million to refurbish the promenade, the pools, the walkways, and the lifesavers club. The project is part of a larger effort to enhance the coastal experience for residents and tourists in the area. 

Unfortunately, of late, there has been a series of distressing news events. In February, rescue teams recovered, at Brighton and other nearby beaches, the bodies of two women and two children who had been swept into a canal during recent floods. The Southlands Sun reported, also in February, that a 15 year old girl, Slindile Duze, went missing, last seen in Brighton Beach. Meanwhile, the Brighton Beach police are looking for Sindisiwe Nkila and her seven-month old baby, as well as for information about a disoriented man brought into the station who thinks he might be called Sevahn Solomon. Last November, the paper reported on the likely drowning of a teenager ‘in an area without lifeguard supervision at Brighton Beach’. In January, the eThekwini Municipality and the Sharks Board temporarily closed several beaches, including Brighton Beach, to reinstall shark safety gear. 

Nevertheless, I read, Brighton Beach continues to be a cherished destination for both locals and tourists, offering a blend of natural beauty and recreational activities. There is a shipwreck about 3 km offshore, believed by some to be a whaler due to its sunken bollards; and the area is advertised as home to a variety of wildlife, including monkeys, mongooses, and marine life like dolphins and whales. Average temperatures range from 20°C (June to August) to 28°C (December to February). Sea water temperatures are not much different through the year (20°-26°C)!

Brighton half marathon at 35!

Congratulations Seyfu Jamaal - an Ethiopian-born athlete - who won this morning’s Brighton half marathon in a record course time of 64:30 - see BBC Sussex. Congratulations also to Christa Cain who won the women’s race and John Hinkinbottom who won the wheelchair race. The 10,000 strong event, organised by the local charity Sussex Beacon, has grown significantly since its inception in 1990, and is known for its attractive flat seafront course. This photo of Jamal was taken shortly after the start of the race, when he was already flying in the lead.

Born in 2000, Jamaal fled political unrest in Ethiopia and arrived in the UK in 2018 as a victim of human trafficking. On settling in London, he joined the Heathside running club, where he consistently delivered outstanding performances. In 2019, he was ranked number one in the UK for under-20s in both the 10,000 meters and the half marathon. However, his asylum application was rejected by the Home Office, and he faced deportation. Thanks to his contributions to the community and athletic potential, he won an appeal to remain in the UK. His time this morning was just a minute shy of his half marathon best.

A first such half marathon event in Brighton was initially organised by a small group of individuals, and the funds raised from the inaugural race in 1990 helped build The Sussex Beacon, a local HIV care charity. Starting with only a few hundred runners, and now in its 35th year, the event has become one of the largest half marathons in the country. The previous men’s course record was 1:04:56, set by Paul Navesey in 2019; and the women's course record is 1:14:27, set by Eleanor Davis in 2017. Over past years, the Kiwi Paul Martelletti stands out as a four-time consecutive winner of the men’s race. 

It’s worthing noting that, in 2012, the race had to be re-measured after organisers realised the course was 146 meters too short. Thousands of runners who thought they had set personal bests actually hadn’t completed a full half marathon distance.

Here, once, long ago . . .

Here is the third of 25 stained glass window designs on the Palace Pier which AI and I are using as inspiration for some of these BrightonBeach365 daily posts - see Stained glass window 1 for background. This one depicts a coastal scene with sandy beach, a patchwork blue sea, and white chalk cliffs topped with green hills - reminiscent of the iconic Seven Sisters near Eastbourne. A seagull soars in the turquoise sky.

Limerick starter

By the cliffs where the wild seagulls glide,

And the waves kiss the shore in their stride,

Stands a view bathed in light,

Stained in blue, gold, and white,

A bright window where memories still hide.

Here, once, long ago . . . (in the style of Virginia Woolf)

The sea, endless, undulating, the light on it like fragments of glass scattered, shifting, uncatchable. She stood on the cliff’s edge, the air thick with salt and memory. Here, once, long ago - or was it only yesterday? - she had stood with her mother, small hand in the larger, fingers pressed into the cool linen of her dress.

‘The tide,’ her mother had said, ‘comes and goes. Just like us.’

Now the tide was low, revealing sandbars slick and golden, the blue water folding over them in sheets of silk. The white bird, fixed in its motion, rose, dipped, hovered - no, not the bird, the light. Or was it her thought, circling, returning, never quite alighting?

She had left. The city had swallowed her, the rhythm of trains and traffic erasing the lulling hush of waves. And yet, here, in this moment, the sea reclaimed her, drew her back into itself, as if she had never been gone at all. The sky stretched, the cliffs stood, the bird soared, unchanging. Only she, trembling, felt the passage of time, the slow etching of years upon the mind like wind upon the chalk-white stone.

She stepped forward, down the winding path that led to the shore, her boots slipping slightly on the damp earth. The wind pressed against her, urging her on, carrying with it the scent of seaweed and brine. She remembered running down this path as a child, feet bare, pebbles sharp beneath her soles, her mother’s voice calling her name, half warning, half laughter.

At the water’s edge, she bent, fingers skimming the foam as a wave retreated. The cold shocked her skin. A piece of sea glass, smoothed and pale, lay half-buried in the sand. She picked it up, held it to the light. Blue, like the window in the old chapel on the hill. Like the sky before a storm.

Footsteps behind her. A voice - soft, familiar.

‘You always did love the sea.’

She turned. And for a moment, the years dissolved like the foam at her feet.

Now you see them . . .

Brighton Beach is justly famed for its starling murmurations during the winter months. Usually as dusk approaches and before roosting for the night, many thousands of these birds swarm and swoop through the sky - between and near both piers - dancing together in what look like carefully-choreographed ensembles, thus creating the most mesmerising patterns. Crowds of humans gather on the beach and the pier, cameras in hand, to capture the sight. And the photographs they take can be made yet more photogenic (startling even!) with either of the piers in the background and/or the setting sun.

NOW YOU SEE THEM . . .

These two photographs were taken a few minutes apart last evening(the sun drops fairly quickly below the horizon line at this time of year). I was not able to capture the beautiful shapes made by the murmurations - though wonderful videos and gorgeous stills of them can be found elsewhere, such as on Facebook and Instagram. However, the above photo gives a sense, maybe, of how each bird twists and turns through the sky, painting the air with movement - pure, wild, and apparently weightless - to form a scene both serene and dramatic, a fleeting moment of natural beauty.

NOW YOU DON'T . . .

According to The Woodland Trust, thousands of starlings all swirling and swooping together means one thing: safety. The sheer volume of birds confuses predators like peregrine falcons and makes it much harder for them to pick off individual birds. The characteristic shapes of a murmuration come from the rapid changes in direction. Starlings have extremely fast reactions, so when one bird changes speed or direction, the birds around it do too. This also allows the birds to move within the murmuration itself, meaning that no one bird spends too much time at the edge of the group, where they’re vulnerable to predation. When roosting, apparently, they also like to snuggle up together for a warmer night.

Apart from Brighton, other famous murmuration sites include: Shapwick Heath, Somerset Levels (where six million birds were recorded in 1999); Aberystwyth Pier, Ceredigion; Leighton Moss, Lancashire; Fen Drayton, Cambridgeshire; Minsmere, Suffolk; Newport Wetlands, South Wales.

A bit of pizzazz

‘We want to bring a bit of pizzazz to the seafront. It is the city’s shopfront and councillors want it to fully express the ambition they have for an inclusive and fun place for all.’ This is the Rt Hon Lord Bassam of Brighton - once a Brighton squatter - explaining why he is seeking volunteers to join an independent Seafront Development Board to help shape a vision and encourage investment in ‘our treasured seafront’. Bassam, a previous leader of the council and a member of the House of Lords, was appointed chair of the new board just four weeks ago.

The council says it is looking for board members with a range of skills and experience including: expertise in business, tourism or culture; an interest in the seafront (for example owning a key asset); expertise in urban design or another relevant specialism; and/or being able to represent a particular interest or group. Volunteers will be expected to commit for one year at least, and attend four meetings as well as site visits and openings. 

Lord Bassam is well placed to bring a high level of expertise to his new role. Although never having been elected an MP, he was created a life peer and then served in many different government roles, including Chief Whip in Gordon Brown’s government (from 2008), and Opposition Chief Whip (from 2010). He resigned in 2018 after an expenses scandal (in which he was ultimately judged to have been negligent rather than dishonest). Soon after, he was appointed chair of a parliamentary select committee on the Regeneration of Seaside Towns. After an initial report in 2019, and a government response, there was a follow-up review and a government policy paper.

Bassam has an interesting background. He grew up on a council estate in Great Bentley, Essex, and studied at the University of Sussex (and the University of Kent, earning a Master’s degree in social work). He was a far-left anarchist and squatter in Brighton, co-founding the Brighton and Hove Squatters Union which advocated rights to occupy unused properties. In January 1976, according to Wikipedia, Bassam led opposition to the eviction of a family from a house on West Hill Road, stating, ‘We will gladly vacate the premises if we are assured that the family at the top of the housing list is given the house to live in.’

See Tony Greenstein’s blog for a flashback to Bassam’s early political days in Brighton (inc. the photos here)!

HOVE LAGOON in murals

At the far western end of Brighton’s beach, by Hove Lagoon and just behind the sea wall and beach huts, can be found a very lively community-hearted area of leisure facilities. There are water activities in the lagoon itself, but also a vibrant cafe, a new skateboard park, and cool kids’ playgrounds. The area is particularly rich in mural art, some dating back at least a quarter of a century. In particular, the letters of HOVE LAGOON have been muralled onto the north side of the wall. My photos here show two of the letters, one taken in October 2016, and one taken last weekend.

In 2000, Brighton artist Steve Riske collaborated with local youngsters to create a 400ft mural along the raised sea wall. This initiative was part of the Splash and Paddle Appeal, a community-driven effort to revitalise the lagoon area. Notably, Hove-based actor Nick Berry was the largest single contributor to the appeal, donating £7,000 to support the project.

In July 2016, renowned street artist Aroe, with the support of local councillor Robert Nemeth, led a project to paint a mural on the wall of Hove Lagoon, starting at the skate park end. This collaboration aimed to enhance the visual appeal of the lagoon and to engage the community in the process. It included a stretch of mural spelling out the (giant) letters of HOVE LAGOON. I photographed all the letters that year (2016) - see my Graffiti Brighton blog.

The letters were redesigned and repainted, again with Aroe as the lead artist, in 2024. I have here included photos of two of the recently-painted letters alongside their original design from 2016. The new “V” mural, featuring a woman’s profile adorned with flowers, was created by @kiki_graf.inc.; and the recent Poseidon “O” mural was created by local artist Mick Mowgli. Here’s a full list of the 2024 artists responsible for each letter. 

H: SNUB23

O: Molar

V: @kiki_graf.inc

E: Drren101

L: Killerpete

A: I Am Sprite

G: Guy Favela

O: Mick Mowgli

O: Travels in Tequila

N: Aroe

Many thanks to Friends of Hove Lagoon for their help in confirming this information. Incidentally, FoHL are holding a fund-raising auction of ‘amazing artworks’ soon, on 15 March.

Brighton Beach Cowboy

The tide had pulled back, leaving a scatter of pebbles and seaweed tangled like a woman’s uncombed hair. Jeb Coulter stood at the water’s edge, boot heels digging into the wet sand, staring down at the thing half-buried beneath the wrack. It was a revolver, or at least the ghost of one, its shape worn smooth by salt and time. He bent down and picked it up, turning it in his hand. The weight was gone, its cylinder fused, the barrel plastic. Still, the sight of it sent a shiver down his spine.

It had been years since Jeb last held a gun. Years since the night he rode out of Abilene with his brother’s blood on his hands and a Cherokee war party at his heels. He had made it to the coast, crossed the ocean to escape his past, and found a different kind of frontier along these windswept shores. But some things, it seemed, could never be outrun.

He turned at the sound of footsteps crunching over stone. A man in a long coat approached, the collar pulled up high against the wind. Jeb recognised the stride before he saw the face.

‘Figured you might turn up sooner or later,’ Jeb muttered, slipping the ruined gun into his coat pocket.

The man stopped a few paces away, close enough for Jeb to see the jagged scar along his cheek. ‘You know why I’m here.’

Jeb nodded. He had known for a long time that his past would come calling. He had betrayed the Comanche chief who took him in as a boy, abandoned his tribe when the Army came, and left his own blood to die on the plains. The man standing before him was proof that debts were never truly settled.

‘I ain’t the same man I was back then,’ Jeb said. ‘And that thing ain’t a gun anymore.’

The man smiled grimly. ‘Don’t matter. You know what’s gotta be done.’

Jeb sighed, his breath misting in the cold air. He looked past the man, out to where the waves rolled against the shore, dark and endless. He could run again. Try to disappear into the mist. Or he could face what was coming, the way a man ought to.

His hand fingered the ghostly revolver in his pocket. Useless. Just like trying to change the past.

The wind howled, carrying the cries of gulls and ghosts alike. Jeb squared his shoulders.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘Let’s finish this.’

With thanks to ChatGPT, and apologies to Elmer Kelton.

Brighton Beach - western end

Walk westward along the pebbles of Brighton Beach, past the piers and the i360, and you will eventually reach a somewhat rusty metal fence barring your way - marking the western end of the public beach (see also How long is Brighton Beach). It’s not impossible to climb over the fence, or walk around at lower tide times, but a tatty blue sign announces it is a ‘Private Beach’ and asks whoever happens to reach the railings to ‘Please kindly respect our privacy’. You can see the backs of the much-extended and windowed terrace of expensive houses stretching towards Shoreham, with the power station chimney in the far distance.

The houses here at the western end - all actually closer to the sea than any other residences along Brighton Beach - have long since been nicknamed Millionaire’s Row, though their postal address is Western Esplanade. Originally termed Aldrington Beach Bungalows, the area comprised simple seaside retreats. By the 1920s, these properties were officially designated as Hove Seaside Villas. Unlike typical public seafronts, they were developed on private land, featuring a private road and unique access to private beaches down to the low water mark - a distinction that sets them apart from most other coastal properties. The privilege was later formalised through legal agreements, and these were further solidified with the council in 1984.

Western Esplanade has been (and/or still is) home to numerous celebrities and prominent figures: Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook), Zoe Ball, Adele, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, comedian David Walliams, and actor Nick Berry. A few properties have changed hands in recent years confirming the Millionaire’s Row tag: 4 Western Esplanade sold for £3.25 in 2022, 2a Western Esplanade sold for £1.5m in 2023, and 8 Western Esplanade sold for £2.9m last year.  

These beach houses are set to benefit from a major £35m project - Brighton Marina to River Adur Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Scheme - involving Adur District Council, Shoreham Port, the Environment Agency, and the Western Esplanade Management Company (acting for the Millionaire’s Row owners).  See also Brighton and Hove News.

The scheme is aimed at enhancing coastal defences along the 10km stretch between Brighton Marina and the River Adur with the primary goal of mitigating the risks posed by climate change and rising sea levels to residential houses (i.e. Millionaire’s Row) and commercial properties (including Shoreham Sewage Pumping Station and Shoreham Power Station) along the coastline. It involves constructing rock revetments, repairing and strengthening flood walls and defences (some 15,000 tonnes of granite rocks to be heaped on the beach), replacing inadequate structures, and installing new timber groynes.

Coming soon: Brighton Beach - eastern end

White arrows dropping from the sky

Found this morning on the pebbles in Hove - one bedraggled, dead northern gannet. Where did it come from, and how did it meet its final fate? One photographer has described these birds diving as ‘white arrows dropping from the sky’.  Unfortunately, not this one any longer,`

Northern gannets (Morus bassanus) are large, striking seabirds - with white body and black wingtips - which live in huge colonies on rocky cliffs and islands. Typically, they remain most of the year between late February and early October when they set out on a long journey to winter on the west coast of Africa. 

The northern gannets breed in their colonies between April and June, building nests from seaweed and other debris. The female lays a single egg, and both parents take turns incubating the egg for about 44 days. Once hatched, the chick is fed regurgitated fish by its parents; it fledges at around 10-12 weeks old. However, young gannets do not reach sexual maturity until reaching 4 or 5 when they join the breeding colonies and begin the cycle again. Average lifespan is 17 years, and their wingspan can reach 1.8 metres. They feed by circling high above the waves, before folding their wings back and make spectacular dives into the water headfirst to catch fish. They have special adaptations, such as air sacs in their chest and strong skulls, to withstand high impacts. 

The most significant colonies of northern gannets are located in Scotland. Bass Rock is the world’s largest: it had over 75,000 pairs (i.e. 150,000 individuals) as of about ten years ago. However, it was badly hit by Avian Flu, and the population was thought to have dropped 30% in 2023. Other larges colonies (over 10,000) also exist at St Kilda and Sula Sgeir (Outer Hebrides), and Ailsa Craig (Firth of Clyde). Elsewhere in the British Isles colonies are sited at Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast, Grassholm in Wales, and Little Skellig in Ireland (the latter with over 30,000 breeding pairs). 

Northern gannets are currently classified as ‘Least Concern’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, though they do face threats from climate change, pollution, and entanglement in fishing gear. Possible causes for the death of the gannet in these photos are: natural causes, i.e. old age, disease, or injury; exhaustion after severe winter storms; food shortages; pollution, which can weaken birds and make them more susceptible to disease; Avian Flu. More information can be found at Wikipedia and the Scottish Seabird Centre.

Richard Creagh’s website includes some spectacular photographs of northern gannets, as well as his own testimony of observing them (from 2017): ‘Gannets are the largest Irish seabird, with a wingspan just short of two metres. They are beautiful birds to watch, and what really sets them apart for me is their stunning dives. Ever since I first noticed them that afternoon in West Cork I’ve been drawn to those white arrows dropping from the sky in pursuit of fish. Diving from as high as forty metres gannets hit can hit the water at 60mph.’

Interestingly, there’s a comment on the same website from Stephen O’Melia who recalls watching northern gannets while swimming just along the coast from Brighton at Worthing: ‘It was around 3.00pm, about 90 minutes after high tide when a gannet approached a couple of women floating in the sea. It made an attempt to attack them but was eventually driven off by a third swimmer. But it circled round and attacked again. It later approached two other swimmers before flying off. This took place about 30 to 50 feet from the shore. I have never seen a gannet in Worthing before, and none of the other swimmers had either. No one was hurt but it was the persistency in the bird's approach which was surprising. We wondered whether it was unwell.’

Ruff’s beach photographs

This fabulous photograph of Brighton Beach was taken nearly 130 years ago by George Reuben Ruff, commonly referred to as George Ruff junior, He was born around 1858, and appears to have inherited his father’s interest in painting and photography - his father had turned professional a year two after George was born. As a young man Ruff Junior studied painting in London, producing mainly landscapes and still life. At the time of the 1881 Census, he is recorded as an ‘Art Student (Painting)’.

By the early 1890s, Ruff was back in the Brighton area taking photographs as a so-called Gentleman Amateur (with independent means). He made his home in the Preston area of Brighton but, by 1893, was living at Cambridge Villa, not far from Thomas Booth’s Natural History Museum on Dyke Road. In the 1901 Census, he was recorded at that address living with his wife Mary. In 1903, the couple adopted a young girl named Dorothy, and then they also had a son.

In the 1890s and the early 1900s, Ruff junior wandered along the beach and esplanade of Brighton’s seafront, armed with the recently introduced portable camera, snatching pictures of children paddling in the sea, boys and girls playing on the beach and other animated scenes. He also captured seaside entertainers in action. One photograph, taken in 1904, shows Professor Reddish entertaining holidaymakers on the West Pier by ‘flying the foam’ , a stunt which involved diving from the pier head on a bicycle. 

In 1905, the Ruffs moved from Coventry Street to a house a few streets away in Chatsworth Road, near Dyke Road Park. Ruff is assumed to have died in 1913 - as, thereafter, only his wife’s name appears on the voting lists.

Spartacus-Educational has an excellent history of Ruff Senior and Junior along with many examples of their work. This snap of Ruff Junior himself can also be found at that same website. However the photograph above, taken in 1896, of children on the beach - with a crisply realised image of a bathing machine and its reflection - comes from the book Palace Pier, Brighton by Albert Bullock and Peter Medcalf.

Vegetated shingle

In recent years, much progress has been made with the Black Rock Rejuvenation project but, specifically, I am curious to know how the council is progressing its plans ‘to increase the amount of vegetated shingle at the eastern seafront’. My photographs show the allocated areas fenced off from public access earmarked to allow new growth. Although there are signs of green growth, it doesn’t appear that the planned biodiversity improvements are yet thriving.

It is now nearly five years since Brighton Council’s Black Rock project was given planning approval. Achievements since then include junction upgrades at Duke’s Mound to improve pedestrian and cycle safety; upgraded crossing points and improved existing crossing points on Volk’s Railway; refurbishment and opening of the Reading Room (see ‘Fantastic new refectory’; and a new 3-metre wide boardwalk running from the existing Volk’s Workshop in the west to the Volk’s Station at Black Rock.

Council exhibition boards to be found on display in the area give plenty of information about the various aspects of the project. One, in particular, is titled ‘Black Rock Rejuvenation - Improving biodiversity’. This states:

‘The Black Rock rejuvenation will deliver significant environmental and ecological improvements, making the eastern seafront a more sustainable, accessible, and attractive place to visit. It will include the creation of an ecology trail along with removing invasive non-native species from the Kemp Town Slopes and reintroducing native plants, wildflowers, and chalk grassland. It will also seek to increase the amount of vegetated shingle at the eastern seafront. Some of it will have to be relocated to facilitate the realignment of the sea wall. However, with the additional area to be replanted and seeded there will be a net gain in biodiversity through the provision of 1.5 hectares of vegetative shingle alongside the new beach boardwalk.’ The board also shows some examples of ‘native species that are likely to form part of the reseeding and replanting’ in the first phase (see below). 

Patches of green growth can be seen in the cordoned off areas of shingle, as in the photographs above, but a lot of the growth seems to be more weed-like than a biodiverse selection of shingle flora. Time, hopefully, will allow the kales, poppies, rockroses and buck-thorns to spread and flower.

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