Saturday, February 8, 2025

The Green Gecko

The alien, who had chosen to disguise itself as a small green gecko, was experiencing some serious second thoughts. It had picked the shape after extensive research into Earth life forms (which largely consisted of an out-of-date wildlife documentary narrated by a man who sounded like he personally disapproved of evolution). The gecko, it had concluded, was small, unassuming, and possessed the ability to stick to surfaces. What it had failed to account for, however, was Brighton Beach. 


[With a nod to ChatGPT, and apologies to Terry (Pratchett). See also The Red Spider.]

Instead of warm, welcoming jungle, the alien had landed amongst an inhospitable terrain of sharp pebbles, aggressive seaweed, and something that looked suspiciously like an old shoelace with ideas above its station. Worse, a blustery wind kept trying to dislodge it, sending it skittering across the stones like a very confused lizard-based pinball.

Its mission was simple: assess Earth for potential invasion. But already, the gecko-alien suspected it would have to file a very different report than planned. The locals - seagulls, mostly - were vicious, psychotic creatures with a talent for aerial bombardment. The sea was clearly attempting to eat the land, and what little it had not consumed was covered in bizarrely shaped pebbles that, if you squinted just right, looked disturbingly like screaming faces. The crowning glory of the place, however, was the Great Knotted Thing.

The gecko-alien eyed it warily.

A mass of black seaweed, dried kelp, and an alarming amount of turquoise string had somehow assembled itself into a tangled, eldritch horror nestled between the stones. A strand of something - possibly rope, possibly something worse - twitched ominously in the wind. The alien extended a cautious claw to poke it and immediately regretted the decision as a strand of the Thing looped itself around its leg with unnatural enthusiasm.

There was a long pause.

The gecko wiggled.

The Thing tightened its grip.

On its home planet of Glorp Minor, where everything was logically structured and neatly categorised (right down to the appropriate screaming frequencies for different bureaucratic mishaps), this kind of unexpected development was unheard of. Here, however, the world seemed to be held together by inexplicable chaos and questionable knots. It was terrifying. And, in a small and entirely unwelcome way, a little thrilling.

The gecko-alien redoubled its efforts. It had faced the horrors of intergalactic space travel. It had spent three days trapped in a malfunctioning disguise generator and lived to tell the tale (although it now had a deep and lingering fear of being turned into a sentient teapot). It was not about to be bested by some uppity string.

After several frantic minutes, during which it somehow ended up even more entangled than before, the alien made a decision. It took a deep breath, deactivated the disguise, and stood up in its full tentacled, many-eyed glory. The Thing twitched once in defiance before wisely deciding to let go.

The alien sighed, turned on its communicator, and made its report.

‘Mission assessment: negative. This planet is a health hazard. Also, the local flora appears to be sapient, aggressive, and organised. Recommend immediate evacuation and strong intergalactic warning signs.’

With that, it activated its emergency teleport, leaving behind nothing but an untied knot, a very confused seagull, and a Brighton Beach that was none the wiser about its close brush with conquest.

Friday, February 7, 2025

A rumble below the cocktails?

There’s a right construction bustle going on along the Madeira Drive beach front near Yellowave and Sea Lanes. Most of it stems from the work - now well under way - on Phase 1 of the Madeira Terrace restoration. See Madeira Terrace restoration - hurrah!. But there are also road works that have just started on the narrowest stretch of Madeira Drive; and, at the Jungle Rumble cafe, the owners are extending their roof terrace over the Volks Railway! 


Since the start of works on the central 28 arches of Madeira Terraces there has been much activity along the seafront road, especially in and around the new commercial centre focusing on Sea Lanes and Yellowave. But that little area has got even busier with digging up of the road to allow a new electricity cable to be run from the nearby substation to the construction works area under arches. ALS Civil & Mechanical Engineers is responsible for the works, presumably sub-contracted by JT Mackley & Co.

A little further along is Jungle Rumble, a cafe and mini-golf establishment; both are next to the council’s popular Peter Pan Playground. The cafe, in particular, has grown in recent years, with a roof terrace in 2022, and the winning of an alcohol licence. See Brighton and Hove News


Now, as these photos show, the cafe looks to be nearly doubling the size of its roof terrace. And, it is doing this by extending its roof out over the Volks railway lines. Time will tell whether rooftop cocktail drinkers might experience a rumble below. (Aerial image is a screenshot taken from the Jungle Rumble website video.)


Thursday, February 6, 2025

Five years since Covid-19 hit Brighton

It is five years to the day since the first confirmed case of a coronavirus was registered in Brighton. Five days later the virus was officially named Covid-19 by the World Health Organisation. On 9 March, only eight persons in Brighton & Hove had been confirmed as contracting the virus. On 23 March the government announced a widespread lock down regulated by fairly draconian rules. Though the news hardly connected directly with Brighton Beach, the fact is that we - my wife and two children - navigated sanely through lock down largely thanks to daily early-morning trips to the pebbles.


In 2021, the Argus published an article reflecting back on the start of it all.

Today marks one year since the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Brighton and Hove. On 6 February 2020, the government announced that a British national had contracted the disease. About an hour later, it was established the patient was from Brighton.

For most, the virus was nothing more than worrying news reports from China - images of medical personnel in hazmat suits dousing down Wuhan’s streets with disinfectant. But, a few days later, those jarring images were being taken in the city. Footage appeared of a bio-hazard technician as he cleared the County Oak Medical Centre. The Carden Hill GP practice had been closed because of an ‘urgent operational health and safety reason’. Soon after, another coronavirus case was confirmed to be a Brighton and Hove resident and the story exploded. National and international media descended on the city, asking whether the country was ready for a pandemic as further cases were confirmed. The city became the nation’s opening fight with the virus. It was a first-glimpse of the UK’s battle with Covid-19, which has now claimed more than 100,000 lives across the nation.’

Later, it was established that the virus had not been passed to anyone in the city at the time, but that four individuals had caught the virus from in the French Alps. Moreover, the Argus reported: ‘The diligence of the so-called “super spreader” who promptly identified himself as a potential virus patient, as well as the track-and-trace efforts from Public Health England, had saved the city from becoming the centre of an epidemic. The Lombardy region in Italy would soon prove how devastating a localised outbreak of the virus can be.

The five photos above are of my family at roughly monthly intervals. The first one - on the left - was taken two days after lock down, as some kind of spontaneous response to Covid-19. I’m not sure why I staged it - and the subsequent photos - in that way, though it’s likely I wanted to landmark the astonishing and deadly turn of events suddenly impacting all our lives. 

Here are two entries from my personal diary.

11 February 2020

‘The Coronavirus, now officially called Covid-19, continues to cause headlines, and particularly here in Brighton, as this city has become the British hotbed for the virus. Two surgeries have been closed, and several schools have reported that some individuals are self-isolating. As yet, there doesn’t seem to have been a case that was actually contracted in this country, but it’s early days. Some tens of thousands of people have been infected, and over a thousand have died. But, equally, there are thousands dying from ordinary flu across the world, and it’s quite difficult to keep a sense of perspective. At present, it seems every individual who gets the virus in this country is being tracked, and helped, but we’re talking a dozen or so cases, what happens when hundreds and thousands have the disease, then it’s no longer containable, and everyone must take pot luck.’

Saturday 18 April 2020

‘Half of humanity under social distancing curbs’ reads one headline this morning. Another, more local and of intense interest to us, reads ‘Coronavirus: Brighton council closes Madeira Drive to cars’. Most likely this will bring an end to our early morning jaunts to the beach. We’ve had four weeks of near-daily visits to the seafront, during which I’ve done my yoga exercises, Hat has exercised or run, and the boys have practised skateboarding and football. I might try to find alternative parking - on Marine Parade perhaps - but even if I do we’re going to be spending 10-15 minutes walking either way, and there won’t be a place to skateboard or football probably. Alas. The Council says it’s proud to be taking this action, aimed at giving those doing exercise more space - i.e. along the road as well as the pavement (which is already one of the widest in the city).’

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Guest: Brighton Beach, Menasha, Wisconsin


Brighton Beach in Menasha, Wisconsin, first gained any notice in the late 19th century when Curtis Reed opened a resort hotel there in 1887. The Brighton Beach Hotel, built in 1899, became a focal point for social activities, hosting picnics, band concerts, and other outdoor events. The hotel underwent two renovations but ultimately closed and was demolished in 1927 due to competition from other local attractions like Waverly Beach. David Galassie’s blog Menasha has some excellent local history posts, one of which includes an advertisement from the time of the hotel; and The Wisconsin Historical Society has several relevant old photographs. This post also includes two screenshots from Google Maps.

“The summer resort deluxe”
BRIGHTON BEACH
On Beautiful Winnebago Lake
The Best Beach. The Best Fishing.
The most accessible Resort in the State of Wisconsin

Fine Steamboat Landing
3 cent fare from Menasha, Neerah and Appleton.
Half hourly electric service in each direction making
connections [with other] railroads
Furnished cottage to rent with electric light, water works, telephone.
Cabaret, dancing and a score of other entertainments
Write for reservations, etc.
P.O. ADDRESS - MENASHA, WIS
JOSEPHY STEIDL., Prop
.

Following the hotel’s closure, the area transitioned into a residential neighbourhood. Over time, several elegant residences were constructed by wealthy and influential residents: the Dr. Harold O. Hansen Residence, built in 1937 at 1045 Brighton Drive, being the most noted. This Colonial Revival-style house, constructed for $12,000, replaced a more modest structure and initially served as a fishing and hunting retreat. 

Today, Brighton Beach continues to be a desirable residential area, with homes available for sale and rent along Brighton Beach Road, many with frontages on to Lake Winnebago. While the original resort is long gone, the area still offers recreational opportunities close by at the Municipal Beach: Located at 1515 Brighton Beach Road, this 1.4-acre parcel provides public access to Lake Winnebago. The beach features an unsupervised swimming area, with a water depth ranging from 2 to 9 feet (Lake Winnebago only has a maximum depth of 21 feet).



Tuesday, February 4, 2025

A catshark that is a dogfish

Found on Brighton Beach: a small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) often called a dogfish. No, it’s not sunbathing, it’s dead, probably having been scavenged (yet not consumed). Sunlight does, though,  cast a warm glow on the fish and its pebble resting place.

The slender, elongated body has a pale, creamy underside and is covered in small, dark spots. Its gills can be seen through the open mouth, and its pectoral and dorsal fins are clearly visible. The tail appears slightly curled.

The small-spotted catshark is a small shark, so named due to the dark spots and blotches covering its skin. Individuals typically grow to around 60-70 cm in length, though some can reach up to one metre. Like all sharks they have very rough skin, covered in hard ‘dermal denticles’ - which literally means ‘tiny skin teeth’. If rubbed the wrong way, the fish feel very coarse like sandpaper but this provides them with an effective chain-mail like protection. 

Catsharks are predators and feed on crabs, molluscs and other small fish. When threatened, they curl up into a donut shape - probably to look bigger and harder to eat! They are highly common around the UK, harmless to humans, and live in sandy, gravelly, or muddy seabeds. As with all sharks and rays, their egg cases are known as mermaid’s purses; these have tendrils that anchor them to seaweed or rocks until they hatch.


What about this odd confusion of names? Wikipedia gives several other names for the small-spotted catshark: sandy dogfish, lesser-spotted dogfish, rough-hound and morgay (in Scotland and Cornwall). In the early days of animal classification, naturalists like Linnaeus initially grouped most sharks under the Squalus genus (Latin for shark). Over time, scientists refined their classification, moving this particular species into the Scyliorhinus (catshark) genus in the early 1900s. However, fishermen have traditionally used the term ‘dogfish’ for any common or abundant small sharks, regardless of their actual scientific classification. 

So, if you like, you can be both a dog(fish) person AND a cat(shark) person at the same time - though not a catfish, which is something entirely different!



Monday, February 3, 2025

Arnold Bennett in Brighton

Here is Arnold Bennett, the most successful British author of the early 20th century, writing in his diary exactly 115 years ago today.

3 February 1910

‘The other morning I watched the sea-gulls helping the scavenger to scavenge the remains of the daily fish market on the beach. Rain. Strong wind. They could not alight. They had a lot of balancing and steering to do. They dived again and again for the same bit of offal, missing it, till they got it. Then each prize-winner sailed off against the wind with difficulty towards the Palace Pier, and out of my sight somewhere; but some seemed to swallow the piece en route. I was watching them alight in the water the other day; all did exactly the same; a planing descent, then, close on water, 2 or 3 half-flaps, a raising of the head, and they were afloat.’

Bennett was born into a large family in Hanley, Staffordshire, in 1867. Aged 16, he left school to work for his solicitor father, but in 1889, he escaped to London where an interest in journalism led him to become an editor, and then editor-in-chief, of a magazine called Woman. His debut novel - A Man from the North - was published in 1898, and gave him sufficient confidence, a couple of years later, to give up his day job and become a full-time writer. 

From the outset, Bennett adopted an unmistakable style, aligned to the French realists, aiming to depict a real and gritty - rather than romantic - view of life, with all its everyday and banal activities, not least when connected with poor social conditions. At the turn of the century, he moved to Paris, then buzzing with literary and artistic talent, where he stayed for the best part of a decade. During this time he met and married Marie Marguerite Soulié. 

In early 1910, Bennett and Soulié stayed for a few winter months in Brighton at the Royal Albion Hotel as the guest of its flamboyant proprietor Sir Harry Preston. Bennet had done all his research for a new book, to be called Clayhanger, and he used his time in Brighton to write most it, averaging about 1,000 words a day. The novel was published before the end of the same year, and, by early 1911, he was writing a sequel, Hilda Lessways, part of which would be set in Brighton.

Bennett’s authorial skills were put to use during the war, by the end of which he was in charge of propaganda in France. He separated from his wife in 1921, and the following year became involved with Dorothy Cheston, an actress, who bore him a daughter. Though he continued to churn out novels, their critical reputation declined during the 1920s, his literary style coming to be seen as old-fashioned. Nevertheless, his non-fiction was much sought after, and he was famously the highest paid literary journalist in England, with a weekly column in the Evening Standard. He caught typhoid on a trip to France and died in 1931.

Bennett began keeping a diary in 1896, and continued to the end of his life. The excellent journals, which were inherited by Dorothy Cheston, are said to contain over a million words. They were edited by Newman Flower and published in three volumes by Cassell in 1932-1933, titled The Journals of Arnold Bennett 1896-1928. In his introduction, Flower says Bennett’s diaries show him in the manner of a modern Pepys; elsewhere, though, they are considered to have been inspired by the famous French diaries of Edmond and Jules De Goncourt, themselves very influential in the realist/naturalist movement.

Here is another extract from Bennett’s diary written in Brighton.

5 January 1910

‘This morning at 9:45 I began to write ‘Clayhanger’. I felt less nervous and self-conscious than usual in beginning a book. And never before have I made one-quarter so many preliminary notes and investigations. I went out for a little recess, and at 1:30 I had done 1,000 words, which was very good for a first day.

We went to the Aquarium after tea, and heard mediocre music, and saw first-rate fishes, etc., living long under highly artificial conditions. The seals and alligators seemed to be intensely bored and sick of life, but perhaps they weren’t. Then I came back and wrote half an article for the ‘Nation’ about the Hanley music-hall.

Earlier in the afternoon I went out and viewed the shore, and the launching of fishing boats. All kinds of activity in progress, spoiling to be described. But now that I am on my novel I am tied up again for six months from anything really swagger in the way of description.

Weather misty. No visible round trace of the sun. The hotel is haunted by barrel organs. In fact in various ways Brighton seems to be what London was. Its architecture is old Belgravia and Tyburnian.’

And, finally, here is an extract about Brighton not from the diaries but from Bennett’s novel Hilda Lessways:

‘The putting-on of brakes took her unawares. The train was in Brighton, sliding over the outskirts of the town. . . Hilda saw steep streets of houses that sprawled on the hilly mounds of the great town like ladders: reminiscent of certain streets of her native district, yet quite different, a physiognomy utterly foreign to her. This, then, was Brighton. That which had been a postmark became suddenly a reality, shattering her preconceptions of it, and disappointing her she knew not why. She glanced forward, through the window, and saw the cavern of the station. . .

Her first disappointment changed slowly into expectant and hopeful curiosity. The quaint irregularities of the architecture, and the vastness of the thronged perspectives, made promises to her romantic sense. The town seemed to be endless as London. There were hotels, churches, chapels, libraries, and music-shops on every hand. The more ordinary features of main streets - the marts of jewellery, drapery, and tobacco - had an air of grandiose respectability; while the narrow alleys that curved enigmatically away between the lofty buildings of these fine thoroughfares beckoned darkly to the fancy. The multiplicity of beggars, louts, and organ-grinders was alone a proof of Brighton’s success in the world; the organ-grinders, often a man and a woman yoked together, were extraordinarily English, genteel, and prosperous as they trudged in their neat, middle-class raiment through the gritty mud of the macadam, stolidly ignoring the menace of high-stepping horses and disdainful glittering wheels. Brighton was evidently a city apart. . .’ 

The caricature of Bennett above (by Oliver Herford in The American Magazine) was sourced at Wikipedia, The book cover here is one of many different editions available at Abebooks.

More about Bennett and his diaries can be found in my book Brighton in Diaries (History Press, 2011)


____________________

Sunday, February 2, 2025

It is winter after all


Dawn and a low tide on Brighton Beach

Sands uncovered squelching under foot

Ripples rather than waves gently rolling to the pebbles

Wind but a breeze yet a cold edge to its freshness

It is winter after all



To the east, two piers, one visible through the other

Silhouette structures, rusting geometries

A lone metal detectorist, equipped and earnest

Patterned reflections, dark and grey

It is winter after all




To the west, a rising sun so gold it could be rich

Laying down its lights and beams for all to see

And a column of fiery blazing sand 

Inviting you to walk that way, to burn

It is winter after all

 



 

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Stained glass window 1

In the beginning, piers were built as landing stages for boats, though they evolved into promenades where people could enjoy the sea and the sea air without getting wet. However, there is another way of looking at piers: as the elongation of beaches. In this, I am with Rachel Carson who wrote, in her 1955 book The Edge of the Sea: ‘A pier is but a pathway for those who wish to walk where the land meets the sea, a man-made extension of the beach’s timeless conversation with the tide.’


Thus, just as I have defined the limits east and west for BrightonBeach356 - see How long is Brighton Beach? - I am now stating my intention to consider the piers as part of Brighton Beach, a la Carson!

Moreover, I am also revealing an intention to run a series of posts inspired by the much over-looked stained glass windows in the Palace of Fun building on Brighton Pier. There are 45 windows, though two have slats rather than glass, and there are 24 designs in two sizes. Most designs appear twice, and the duplicates are sometimes reversed or with a slight detail change. 

These beautiful and characterful stained glass designs seem to have been cheapened by their amusement arcade surrounds, and forgotten over time - I can find no evidence of them being designed or installed, I will, however, have more to say forthwith about these windows. Meanwhile, over the 365 days of 2025, AI and I will endeavour to let each one inspire their own daily post. 

A limerick starter

Two windmills stood high on the hill,

Turning round with a whistling thrill.

They spun day and night,

With the sea in their sight,

And they never, not once, stood still!

The Windmills and the Sea (in the style of D. H. Lawrence)

The wind rushed over the rolling hills, bending the grasses with its force, carrying the scent of the distant sea. Mary stood at the crest of the land, watching the twin windmills turning - slow, steady, relentless. They had always been there, just as her father had always been at sea, just as her mother had always stood at this same window, waiting.

Below, the land curved in smooth undulations of green and brown, reaching towards the edge where the cliffs met the vast expanse of blue-grey water. The tide was coming in, waves curling against the rocks with a kind of eternal purpose, much like the windmills.

She had grown up in their shadow, listening to their groaning creak as they spun in the wind, their movements as inevitable as the cycle of seasons. They stood like sentinels, watching over the land and the sea alike. But today, Mary felt a change. There was something different in the air, a charge beneath the steady rhythm of the blades slicing through the sky.

A figure moved near the base of the western mill - Samuel. His presence always unsettled her, a shadow in the otherwise predictable landscape. He was a man of the land, thick-shouldered, hands rough from work, and yet his eyes carried something deeper, something searching.

‘You’re watching the sea again,’ he said as he came closer, wiping sweat from his brow.

She did not turn. ‘The tide’s changing.’

He followed her gaze. ‘It always does.’

She wanted to tell him about the feeling in her chest, the stirring that had begun to take root ever since she had received word of her father’s ship - lost. Not wrecked, not sunk, just. . . missing. Somewhere beyond the horizon. She wanted to tell him that she felt as if the windmills, steady and ceaseless, were whispering something new today.

But instead, she said, ‘One day, I will leave.’

Samuel’s hands tensed at his sides. ‘And where would you go?’

She exhaled, watching the windmills, the sea, the endless sky. ‘Anywhere the wind takes me.’

A gust of wind rushed over them, and the great wooden blades groaned, turning, turning - just as they always had, just as they always would.

And yet, for the first time, Mary felt something shift.

Friday, January 31, 2025

‘Big move forward’ for Alfred

After more than 20 years of proposals, plans, financial crises and hot air, a new £47m plan for rebuilding the near derelict King Alfred Leisure Centre, agreed last July, is on the move. Brighton & Hove City Council has just announced the appointment of Alliance Leisure to lead the design and build of the new Alfred. Alliance Leisure is described as the ‘UK’s leading leisure development specialist’ having delivered more than 260 such projects in the last 25 years.


Originally built in 1939 as the Hove Marina, the facility was ready to open its doors when World War II broke out. The Royal Navy immediately commandeered the building, transforming it into a training centre, and as such it was commissioned as HMS King Alfred (after the King that is often given credit for founding England’s first navy). Initially,  after the war, the swimming pools were filled with filtered seawater. However, this salty setup was decommissioned in 1977, and after a £4 million redevelopment, the pools reopened in 1980 using fresh water. 


In the mid-1980s, three water slides were built onto the east side, feeding into a plunge pool. These were named ‘The Black Hole’, the red ‘Aqua-jet’, and the yellow ‘Twister’ for beginners. They gave the building a good deal of external character. Unfortunately, though, they did not last well: health and safety concerns led to their closure in late 2000 and their eventual removal in 2009. Some say, they were gobbled up by the (mini-golf) dinosaurs that now roam freely on that side of the building. 

Over recent years, the centre has attracted numerous redevelopment proposals. In 2003, ambitious £290 million plans by Frank Gehry, including two twenty-storey towers, were accepted but later dropped due to the 2008 financial crisis. In 2016, new redevelopment plans by Haworth Tompkins were selected, featuring 560 flats and ‘world-class leisure and community facilities’, but these too fell by the wayside.

In April 2023, plans for a new leisure centre emerged, including an eight-lane 25-metre competition swimming pool and an eight-court sports hall. In August 2024, the council approved plans to demolish the existing centre and replace it with a new £47 million complex, scheduled for completion in 2028. 

Alliance Leisure has now just been the appointed delivery partner under the streamlined procurement procedures (in place under the so-called UK Leisure Framework). Announced partners include: GT3 Architects, civil and structural engineers Engenuiti, the engineering consultancy Van Zyl & de Villiers, and Hadron Consulting as technical project manager.

Councillor Alan Robins said: ‘I’m really pleased to have Alliance Leisure on the project. I’ve seen what they’ve delivered elsewhere - and they understand the challenges that are unique to the sector better than anyone. [. . .] The 80-year-old King Alfred Leisure Centre is beyond the end of its life and challenging to operate, but it remains one of the most well-used facilities in the city. We’ll continue to do what we can to keep it open for as long as feasible, while we progress our exciting new plans.’

See also the council’ Sports Facilities Investment Plan 2021-31, and a superb history of King Alfred’s with many old photographs at Judy Middleton’s Hove in the Past website.

Given that the leisure centre is only a pebble’s throw from the pebbles, and taking a lead, perhaps, from Sea Lanes further east, the new building could embrace the idea of large windows to the south, allowing swimmers to feel part of the great salty setup beyond. 

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Brighton’s first ever RNLI boat

According to the RNLI web page on the history of the Brighton Lifeboat Station, it is 200 years ago this very day (30 January) that the newly-launched Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) established its first lifeboat on Brighton Beach. And it was only last year that the RNLI as a whole celebrated the 200th anniversary of its founding - it used this 1904 colourised photograph of the then new lifeboat at Brighton in its publicity for the occasion. In 2024, the organisation boasted 238 lifeboat stations (UK and Ireland) and more than 240 beach lifeguard units. Moreover, the RNLI claims its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives over the last two centuries. (See also RNLI to take over beach safety.)

Brighton’s very first lifeboat, according to Wikipedia, was a 22-foot vessel designed by Henry Greathead and transferred from Newhaven. It was not, however, well-suited for local waters and by 1816 had fallen into disuse. In 1824, the RNIPLS was founded. Early in 1825, it established a Brighton branch and, on 30 January, installed its first lifeboat, housed in a cave near the Chain Pier. The facility was closed in 1837 due to construction of Madeira Drive. Subsequently, various organisations - including the Brighton Humane Society and Brighton Town Council - operated their own private lifeboats.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which succeeded the RNIPLS in 1854, opened a new station in Brighton in 1858 with the town council providing a space on the beach, opposite the Bedford Hotel and close to the West Pier. The first lifeboat here was a 30-foot self-righting vessel, but, according to Wikipedia, was never named, and only made three service launches. The station was moved in 1868, and then again in 1886 after the building of groynes on the beach (which hampered lifeboat movement). The new station this time was located on the Western Esplanade, between the piers, employing two of the spacious arches that were being constructed as part of seafront re-developments.

Arch 109 was used to house the RNLI’s lifeboat whilst arch 110 was used to store equipment. Meanwhile, the town council operated its own lifeboat from arch 111. The site was used continually until 1931 when the RNLI withdrew and consolidated its operations at a newly-built station in Shoreham with a motor lifeboat. Thereafter, Brighton had no lifeboats for more than 30 years, but, in 1975, donations by patrons of a public house in London called The Rising Sun, helped purchase a new boat, housed east of the Palace Pier. This served until a station at the new Marina was in operation.

Since 2011, Brighton Lifeboat Station has employed an Atlantic 85-class inshore lifeboat named Random Harvest. The station averages around 60 rescues annually within two miles of its base at the Marina.

The old arches - since the 1930s - have been occupied by Brighton Sailing Club. On the wall between arches 109 and 110 is a very worn plaque, more or less unreadable today. It records the lifeboat Robert Raikes which, in 1867, replaced three lifeboats that had been serving the town. Raikes was the founder of the Sunday School movement, and part of the funds for the boat had been raised by Sunday School children. Apparently, on the back wall of one of the arches there still remains a large ring anchored into the masonry, used to haul the lifeboat back into the arch.



Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Not the Mary Clarke Park

The Kingsway to the Sea project in West Hove is making significant strides, with the new outdoor sports hub looking good and nearing completion. This ambitious £13.7 million initiative, primarily funded by a £9.5 million grant from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, aims to rejuvenate the beach and seafront zone between the King Alfred Leisure Centre and Hove Lagoon. In 2024, the name Mary Clarke Park only just lost out in a vote to rename the project area.


The outdoor sports hub is set to become a focal point of the whole development. It will feature a new cafe with a terrace, public toilets, changing facilities, and a new home for the bowls club. Beyond the sports hub, the project encompasses a revitalised park stretching from Hove Lagoon to the King Alfred Leisure Centre, offering dedicated spaces for various activities. There will, of course, be new greens for bowling (a sport which dominated the Western Lawns since the Edwardian era). But there will also be a croquet lawn, padel tennis courts, sand courts, a new skate park, and a 150-meter-long pump track. 

Approximately 40,000 square meters of green space will be restored, Morgan Sindell, the constructors say, with new trees and flowers planted to achieve a Biodiversity Net Gain. The design includes new gardens serving as oasis areas, providing tranquil spots for relaxation amidst the bustling seafront. A new, accessible route will run through most of the park, allowing visitors to navigate the area without needing to venture onto Kingsway or the Esplanade. New benches, too, are being installed among the mulch, grass tufts, and young trees. With wooden slats and an orange-painted metal frame they reflect contemporary public seating trends, blending natural materials with vibrant, durable metals.

Local organisations - the West Hove Seafront Action Group and the West Hove Forum for example - have actively participated in shaping the Kingsway to the Sea project. And, early last year, the public were involved in voting for a new name for the area. Hove Beach Park came top with 23% of the votes, beating Mary Clarke Park into second place (19%). Which is a shame, because Mary Clarke Park has such a nice ring to it; moreover, Clarke was a key Brighton figure in suffragette history: she was the younger sister of Emmeline Pankhurst; and she died two days after leaving prison, becoming the first suffragette martyr in history.


Tuesday, January 28, 2025

The Red Spider

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a pebble-strewn beach, particularly one as lively as Brighton’s, must conceal treasures of singular peculiarity. It was on a brisk and clear morning, with the waves curling gently against the shore, that Miss Cordelia Calder - an accomplished young lady of both artistic disposition and sensible manners - happened upon an object so extraordinary as to defy reason.


There, amidst the dulcet tones of the sea and the chatter of Brighton’s fashionable promenaders, lay a red spider, crafted not of flesh and limb, but of knotted cord. Its crude appearance might, to an untrained eye, have been dismissed as flotsam, but to Miss Calder, it bespoke a story yet untold. With a sense of gentle curiosity, she stooped to retrieve the curious artefact, feeling a slight but distinct chill as her fingers closed around its threads.

It was not long before she perceived that the beach itself seemed altered. The ordinary murmur of the waves grew distant, replaced by an eerie stillness. The pebbles at her feet glimmered faintly, and the horizon shimmered as though the veil of reality had been lifted. Miss Calder, though accustomed to the occasional oddities of seaside leisure, could not but feel a tremor of unease. Yet her natural composure prevailed, and she continued to examine the spider with interest.

Presently, she was startled by the appearance of a figure - an elderly gentleman of dignified yet sea-weathered countenance, his coat stitched with patches that seemed to glisten like the scales of a fish. He regarded Miss Calder with an air of benevolent authority.

‘Madam,’ he began, in a voice that seemed to echo with the cadence of the tide, ‘you have stumbled upon the Red Spider, a keeper of dreams and a weaver of destiny. It is no small thing to hold, for its threads bind those who encounter it to the whims of the sea.’

Miss Calder, though perplexed, replied with characteristic civility. ‘Indeed, sir, I find myself most intrigued by your account. Yet I am at a loss to comprehend how so small and unassuming an object could wield such extraordinary influence.’

The gentleman inclined his head. ‘It is the nature of the sea, Miss Calder, to conceal its grandeur in humble forms. The Spider has lain here for many an age, awaiting one with the vision to perceive its worth. It offers a choice: to remain in your present life, unaltered, or to embrace its power and embark upon a journey of imagination and consequence, one that will forever alter the course of your days.’

Miss Calder, though possessing a practical mind, was not insensible to the allure of adventure. She considered the gentleman’s words with due deliberation, her artist’s soul stirred by the prospect of a destiny intertwined with the fantastical. At length, she spoke.

‘Sir, I am grateful for your counsel, and I confess my heart is moved by the promise of such a journey. Yet I would not take this path without the means to share its wonders with others, for it is my belief that art and imagination must be devoted to the enrichment of society.’

The gentleman’s weathered features softened into a smile. ‘Your wish is wise, and it shall be granted. Take the Spider and, with it, the gift to weave the dreams of the sea into your art. Use it well, and the world shall be all the richer for your vision.’

With a bow, the gentleman vanished, leaving Miss Calder alone once more on the beach. The Red Spider lay in her hand, its cords warm now, as if infused with life. Though she returned to her lodgings that day with no outward sign of adventure, her subsequent works - a series of paintings and tales suffused with the ethereal beauty of the sea - captivated all who beheld them, securing her place among the foremost artists and authors of her time.

And the Red Spider? It remained with her, a silent guardian of a dream once dreamed and a secret now held.

With a nod to ChatGPT, and apologies to Jane.

Monday, January 27, 2025

161, what have you done?

Strolling along the wide Hove esplanade is always a pleasure. This morning, there was a roaring wild sea on the one side, with many a pebbles having been thrown up on the walkway, scattered, and of course the uniformly aligned and very colourful beach huts on the other. It’s hard not to notice that despite a rainbow selection of colours on the doors, there’s little in the way of pattern. All doors are either a single colour or have vertical stripes of varied or less varied colours. 

However, I found one exception this morning - beach hut 161. My immediate thought was - what have you done? Yes, it has stripes, but there’s another pattern going on too. Is that a selection of coloured pebbles scattered across the stripes, trying to organise themselves into vertical lines, trying hard to comply with the rules?

Brighton & Hove Council, of course, has a regulation on the look of beach huts. Pre-2021, they all had to be exactly the same colour, but the rules were changed so that now the roof and upper sides must be painted in a specific turquoise colour, while the Plinth and lower sides must be painted in a specific red colour. Doors, however, can be painted in any single solid colour or vertically striped in multiple colours. Good luck 161, in your endeavours to fit in and yet not fit in.

Meanwhile, it you are thinking of getting your hands on a Hove beach hut, you would probably need to pay upwards of £20,000, that’s if you can find any for sale. Moreover, there’s an annual license fee currently standing at around £500, and a transfer fee which has recently increased to 10% of the sale price or four times the annual licence fee, whichever is higher. Renting could be an option but that would cost you £1,731.89 annually!





Sunday, January 26, 2025

The Meeting Place progress

Right on the old boundary between Hove and Brighton and on the beach, sits a much loved cafe - The Meeting Place. It’s been through several transformations during nearly a century of serving teas, and is currently close to re-emerging in its new build form, modern, sleek and designed to fit aesthetically within the location.


Originally established in the 1930s a few feet on the Hove side of the boundary, the Meeting Place cafe was little more than a small wooden kiosk. In 2002, due to preservation orders preventing expansion on the Hove side, the café relocated a few feet east to a new building on the Brighton side of the border. Over the years, the cafe has featured in several books, films, and TV dramas, including the television series Poirot. A documentary was produced for the Brighton Festival, capturing the story of the beloved old kiosk before its demolition.

The establishment remained under the same ownership until 2021, when it was bought by Hikmet Tabak and Bulent Ekinci. The duo put forward plans to rebuild the cafe as a two-storey building with a roof terrace, but this was opposed by The Conservation Advisory Group and deemed too large and intrusive. The plans were revised significantly - by dropping the two-storey design and roof terrace, reducing the floor space, and decreasing the seating capacity. These plans were approved in June 2023, and construction started a year ago this weekend - see the cafe’s Facebook page (scroll down for a feast of cakes and other dishes). Architectural plans, maps and proposed visuals are all available in the council’s planning proposal documents.

In a statement (reported in the local news) prepared by the owner’s agent, Lewis and Co Planning, the applicants said: ‘To preserve the important character of the conservation area, the proposed cafe would be single storey in height so as not obstruct the sweeping views along the seafront and towards the Regency terraces and squares. As the proposal would replace the existing, somewhat dated and tired-looking cafe, it is considered that there would be a neutral impact on the setting. Although the footprint would be larger, the proposed replacement building has been designed with simple clean lines and finished in a muted colour palette to reduce the potential for it to compete visually with the Edward VII Memorial [Peace statue], the setting of which provides for clear views of the statue against expansive skies and the sea.’

Construction is nearing completion as can be seen by the top photo from recent days. In the meantime, a temporary structure a few feet to the west - a brief return for the cafe to Hove and to its more basic roots! - has been doing good business. The chalkboard menu offers gourmet burgers and fine illustrations.




  


Saturday, January 25, 2025

Odd one out

One of these photographs is not of Brighton Beach pebbles. But which is the odd one out, and why? 







Thanks to Gary ©gwpriester Eyetricks for one of these.







Friday, January 24, 2025

Incredulous and angry

Oh the irony, the i360 irony! Brighton & Hove Council has agreed to release the security on its £51m loan debt and rolled-up interest in the failed i360 business. Concerted efforts were made to find a buyer before it went into administration late last year - see i360 stranded sky with sky high debts - but without success. Writing off the debt, the council concluded in an urgent meeting last night, was the only way forward, leaving the administrators, Interpath Advisory, free to negotiate with an as-yet unnamed buyer.


A full report of the council meeting and write-off decision can viewed at the Brighton & Hove News website. The council leader Bella Sankey was reported as saying: ‘If the i360 can operate again then it can help bring in business rates. And if we proceed with the recommended buyer that has come forward, the city council will get a small share of future revenues. While this may be the least-worst option, I understand why residents are so incredulous that this situation has come to pass - I’m incredulous and angry.’

Sankey also suggested that a derelict i360 would become like the West Pier but without its ‘rugged rustiness’ loved by many. The ironies of this situation, of course, are as visible as the i360 tower itself. Part of the rationale for the original project was that it would generate funds for the West Pier Trust, which owns the West Pier ruin and the land on which the i360 sits, and that it could lead to a rebuilding of the West Pier - ha ha! Now, though, the rusting West Pier still stands, a warning to all those involved with the i360 of where abandonment can lead. And yet, that abandoned infrastructure has also deteriorated, one might say, into one of Brighton’s major tourist attractions.

It is worth noting this from the council’s report to last night’s meeting: ‘Restarting operation of the attraction is important, and not just for the visitor economy. Any option that sees the attraction abandoned would result in a significant and extremely visible blight - not just to the beach but in key views across the whole city. The practical reality is that demolition of the attraction could, potentially, end up falling to the council and could also come at considerable cost.’

And here is the (rather optimistic) conclusion to that report: ‘The i360 has been a catalyst for regeneration benefits in that part of the seafront, and it has positively contributed to the city’s tourism economy since 2016. However, these benefits have come at considerable cost to the public purse, and the money could have been used to deliver other public benefit. The new owners come with a clean slate and are not linked to the previous ownership and are not in any way responsible for the previous harm to the public purse. As such they and the i360 should be supported to be a success so has the potential to generate revenue that the city council will share into the future.’

We wait to learn who next will take on the sky-high attraction. (NB: The photograph above dates from 10 years ago during the construction phase - does it bring a headless chicken to mind?) 

Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Pavilion pivots 90°

Two hundred years ago, give or take a few months, this incredible image of Brighthelmstone beach and town was engraved by William Bernard Cooke after a watercolour painted the year before by the great John Mallard William Turner. The original watercolour is owned by Brighton & Hove Museums, though is not on permanent display because it cannot be exposed to light for very long.


After having been in private collections since 1830, the original watercolour came up at an auction in New York in 2012, and was purchased with help from the Art Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and private patrons. An essay on the painting by Dr Alexandra Loske, Art Historian and Curator at the Royal Pavilion, is available on the Museums website. She explains: ‘It was of utmost importance to secure this gem, as it is one of the few paintings by Turner that shows the Royal Pavilion.[. . .] In our watercolour Turner took a few compositional liberties for the sake of the ‘picturesque’ appeal of the image, for example turning the Pavilion by about 90 degrees to ensure the whole of its east front can be seen.’

Loske continues: ‘Compared to other paintings of Brighton by Turner our watercolour provides a surprising amount of detail. Many buildings of Brighton can be identified, among them St Nicholas’s Church, the Duke of York’s hotel, and Marine Parade under construction. The most prominent building is the recently finished Chain Pier, a bold cast-iron structure that seems to be withstanding strong waves and stormy conditions and is gleaming in the sunlight. It pushes its way into the composition with all the pride and confidence we see a few years later in other great cast iron structures, such as railway bridges and stations.’

The painting is both small and detailed because it was meant to be engraved, as it was, in 1825, by Cooke. He used this and other Turner originals to illustrate his book Picturesque Views of the Southern Coast of England (freely available to view at Googlebooks). 

Prints based on the watercolour - such as my own, which, as you can see, I’ve so artfully photographed against the white iron railings of the pier and the white foamy waves beyond - were also published individually.




Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Art, activism, and advocacy

Found on a beach bench in Hove - a mermaid, exquisitely painted on stone. On the back is written: ‘Mermaid by PR. Please visit Morgan Rocks on FBook + post a pic + Re Hide. Thanks.’

Morgan’s Rocks is an initiative of Morgan’s Army, a South Wales charity supporting families of children diagnosed with cancer. Morgan Ridler was but two and a half when diagnosed with a large adrenal tumour in 2021. Despite an initially successful treatment, the cancer returned, and soon spread. Tragically, Morgan died in June 2023. His parents, Natalie and Matthew Ridler, established Morgan’s Army with the aim of ensuring that no child or family faces the battle against cancer alone. There’s more about the organisation on Facebook.

The Morgan’s Rocks campaign is ‘a global stone-painting initiative’ designed to raise awareness for childhood cancer and spread Morgan’s legacy. These rocks, each unique and heartfelt, are hidden to be discovered and re-discovered, with the aim of creating ‘a global tapestry of solidarity and awareness’. 

‘As these stones travel far and wide,’ the organisation says, ‘they carry with them Morgan’s legacy, ensuring that his story and the broader narrative of childhood cancer reach every corner of the world. It’s a beautiful blend of art, activism, and advocacy.’ The many journeys of these painted stones can be followed on Facebook.

Meanwhile, this mermaid, has been re-perched, on Brighton Beach, ready for her next adventure. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

The beaching of ‘Athina B’

Forty-five years ago today, Brighton Beach saw one of its most astonishing spectacles on record: the beaching of the merchant vessel Athina B, just east of the Palace Pier. Having suffered engine failure, the 3,500t vessel remained on the pebbles for a month, becoming a tourist attraction, and needing a police presence to deter looting. After the cargo had been removed by a mobile crane, she was refloated and towed to a scrapyard, Medway Secondary Metals, Kent, where she was scrapped. Her anchor, however, was eventually presented to the local authority, and given a plinth on the promenade close by where the ship had been beached.  

The Athina B had had a mixed history. Built in Hiroshima and named Kojima Maru, she was launched in 1968. She was then re-named twice before being reflagged (Greece) and re-named yet again, Athina B

The vessel had left the Azores on 1 December laden with 3,000t of pumice (which has widespread uses in agriculture, construction and manufacturing) heading for Shoreham-on-Sea. On route, however, she developed faults with the generator, gyro compass and radar, and stopped at La Rochelle for repairs. She arrived at Shoreham on 20 January but high winds meant she was unable to enter the harbour. Her engines failed, and a Mayday call was issued. Four lifeboat missions were required to rescue the crew and the captain’s family. Coxswain Ken Voice led the operations in the Shoreham lifeboat, Dorothy and Philip Constance, and was later awarded the RNLI Silver Medal for his bravery. The vessel, herself, began drifting east, eventually beaching on the pebbles five miles east of the harbour entrance.

The spectacle quickly attracted tourists, local and from further afield. British Rail advertised special away-day trips to see the wreck and Volks Electric Railway ran a special out-of-season service. Some of the visitors have recorded their memories on the My Brighton and Hove website. Gerry Hay, for example, says: ‘I was a Brighton cop at the time. I came out of the Palace Pier Police box early hours having had a ‘break’, only to see the ship on the beach. Thought it was a bad dream.’

And Mike Robe, who was in fact the captain’s brother-in-law, remembers there were lifeboat crewman injured: ‘It seems a hell of a long time ago now. However, I can remember every single part of it to this day, so it must have made an impression on me and indeed all of us that took part in the rescue. And there were many of us: two Lifeboats and shore helpers, coastguards, police, ambulances, Shoreham Community Centre, and W.R.V.S. Tug Meeching. It was a combined effort by all the services. Many people don’t realise that there were Lifeboat crewmen injured aboard the Newhaven Lifeboat that night.’

Various photographs of the wreck to be found online. The top one above was taken by Clive Warneford and can be viewed on Wikipedia; and the one below it is a photograph donated to Brighton & Hove Museums

The aging plaque on the anchor reads: ‘The Athina B was beached in a storm at this point on the night of 21st January 1980. Her crew were successfully taken off without loss of life thanks to the bravery of the men of the Shoreham Lifeboat. In a major salvage operation her cargo was discharged and the ship was refloated on the 17th February 1980. The ship’s anchor was presented by Medway Secondary Metals Limited in whose yard the ship was finally broken up. John Leach - Mayor of Brighton, 26th September 1980’






Monday, January 20, 2025

New BrightTEN running event

Brighton Beach hosted, for the first time yesterday, Sunday, a ‘BrighTEN (Brighton) Seafront Run’ organised by UK Running Events Ltd. The company describes itself as specialising in mass participation running events across the UK. It’s most well-known for managing ‘Inflatable 5k’, ‘the world’s largest inflatable obstacle race’. This has already been put on in more than 20 locations around the country - and will be coming to Brighton in October.


More than a 1,000 people took part in yesterday’s run, an event ‘designed to help participants kickstart their New Year resolutions and to include scenic routes past landmarks such as the historical Burnt Down Pier, the iconic i360 Tower, and the Hove Promenade’. Indeed, the run routes - 10 mile and 10 km - took in more or less the whole extent of Brighton Beach starting and finishing on Hove Lawns. The 10 mile run was won by Sam Cook with a time of 55:15 while James Brewster and Lewis Reeves came second and third respectively. The 10 km was won by Joe Halter with a time of 36:51.

UK Running Events Ltd was founded in 2016, and currently has two directors: Martin James Barden and Jayne Louise Barden. Its estimated turnover as of December 2023 was given as £282,000. Two further events for Brighton are planned this year: Trail runs (through the South Downs and along the coast) of 50 mile, 50 km and 23 km, on 13 September; and the Inflatable 5K on 18 October. (‘Run Rebel’ - as in the photo of yesterday’s podium - appears to be a brand name for the company’s trail runs.)

Assuming BrighTEN continues to operate next year, it will join a growing list of annual running events in the city. These include Brighton Marathon (April), Brighton Half Marathon (March), and Race for Life Brighton (June).