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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Snapshots of Storm Eunice

Storm Eunice, which hit Brighton four years ago today, was an extremely powerful extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds. A red weather warning was issued on 17 February for parts of South West England, with a second red warning issued on 18 February, the day the storm struck, for London, the South East and East of England.

Eunice is considered to be have been one of the most powerful storms to impact the south coast of England since the Great Storm of 1987. It set a new record for the fastest wind gust recorded in England at 122 mph (196 km/h) at The Needles, Isle of Wight. A Getty Image photo of Brighton Pier was shown on the BBC website (coincidentally, very similar to my photo above). Elsewhere in the country, the storm caused the deaths of three people.

The storm wreaked havoc across a large swathe of Western, Central and Northern Europe; millions of people were left without power across affected areas, and many homes had sustained damage. The UK was particularly hard hit, with 1.4 million homes left without power at its peak.

On the day, Brighton and Hove City Council issued a news release: ‘Brighton and Hove’s beaches can be extremely dangerous in stormy weather with violent waves coming from different directions, coupled with freezing temperatures and high spring tides. Our seafront team patrol the 13km (eight miles) of our seafront and look out for the safety of the public but we urge people to keep well away from high waves and rough seas.’

From my personal diary, 18 February 2022

‘Eunice has come and gone. I cycled down to the sea front which was quite a challenge (but on returning it was like being on an electric bike!). The sea was furious, with enormous waves rolling in so high that they were at the level of the pier, and if you’d been standing on the pier boards, the sea would have been washing over your feet. The pier was, of course, closed. Large danger signs were out on the beach, deterring people from getting too close to the surf crash. There were quite a few people around, not enough to call it a crowd, and most of them were taking, or trying to take, photos. Sheltered on the east side of the pier, it was fairly comfortable to stand and watch the roaring, boiling sea, and the foam ride along the pier sides, and under, but on the west side, it was too windy, and too wet, as sea spray was more often than not filling the air. Very exciting to see. I took a few photos myself, but was afraid of the camera getting wet.’

#palacepier #BrightonBeach365 #BrightonBeach #Brighton #BrightonLife #VisitBrighton #BrightonUK

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 west, 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 east, 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

 

 

The carnivorous whelk

Herewith, as promised a couple of days ago and with little adornment, is the life cycle of the common whelk (Buccinum undatum).

Whelks reproduce annually, with spawning occurring between October and May. The process begins when water temperatures drop below 12°C. Females attract males by releasing pheromones, and fertilisation occurs internally. After mating, females move to hard substrates like rocks, shells, or stones to lay their eggs. The eggs are deposited in small, spherical protective capsules, which are stuck together in a sponge-like mass. Each capsule can contain up to 2,700 eggs, and a single female may produce 80-150 capsules.

The embryos develop within the egg capsules for 2-5 months. During this time, many of the eggs serve as food for the developing embryos, with only about 1% successfully developing into juveniles. After 4-5 months, fully formed juvenile whelks hatch from the capsules in winter. Newly hatched whelks measure about 3 mm in shell length. They then grow slowly, reaching 10-15 mm after one year and 21-26 mm at two years. They typically reach sexual maturity between 4.7 and 7.5 years of age, at a shell height of 45-70 mm.

Adult whelks are carnivorous predators and active scavengers. They use chemosensors to detect food in the water, extending a tube called a siphon to funnel water into their sensory organs. Their diet includes polychaete worms, small bivalve molluscs, and carrion. Common whelks typically live for about 10 years.

Unless, of course, they are caught for eating by carnivorous humans.

Brighton & Newhaven Fish Sales operate several boats that catch whelk (among other fish). The Evie Mae, an under-10m multipurpose catamaran, engages in whelk fishing during the warm summer months. One of its fishermen, Kier Foster, was quoted recently as saying: ‘There’s not much of a market here for these [local catches]. It’s best to cook the whelks, slice them up and send them to China where they go for £30 a kilo.” 

Nevertheless, you can buy fresh whelks on Brighton’s pebbles in the summer thanks to Frazer Leigh Smith’s Brighton Shellfish & Oyster Bar where they are served with vinegar and pepper. Delicious - if you like the sort of thing!

Tales of a Victorian sewer outlet

Brighton’s Victorian sewer system, constructed in the late 19th century (more or less 150 years ago), was a remarkable feat of engineering, one that revolutionised waste management in the town. The project, designed by Sir John Hawkshaw in collaboration with Sir Joseph Bazalgette, involved building a seven mile long, brick-lined sewer to transport sewage along the coast four miles beyond the borough boundary, to Telscombe Cliffs. This extensive network, spanning approximately 48 kilometers, was hand-dug by Victorian bricklayers using pickaxes, wheelbarrows, and steam-driven cranes.

Several outfalls like this one beneath the Palace Pier Groyne were integrated into the city’s coastal structures. The groyne  was originally built in 1876 and called Aquarium Promenade Groyne (before being enlarged and named Albion Groyne). Originally designed to discharge stormwater, these outlets also carried raw sewage during heavy rains. The practice persisted, it seems, until the 1990s, when the sewage infrastructure underwent significant modernisation, one involving the construction of a huge storm tunnel, measuring five kilometers in length and six meters in width. Where once the overflow outfall discharged directly into the sea alongside Palace Pier, thereafter water dropped down a 100 foot shaft into the new storage tunnel. 

Even more recently, a £300 million wastewater treatment plant was built in Peacehaven, which now treats all of Brighton’s sewage to near river-water quality.

Subterranea Britannica (or Sub Brit) has a good history of the Brighton sewers inclusive of a first hand report of ‘a gentle stroll round the town sewers’. Much of the Victorian engineering - which of course is mostly underground - can be witnessed on these walking tours, as offered by Southern Water (though currently there is no information about them on their website). You can virtually accompany ex Green MP Caroline Lucas on one tour thanks to YouTube.

Intriguing hints of the city’s industrial archaeological heritage can be spotted above ground - such as this one under the Palace Pier Groyne. Don’t you think it has a kind of industrial beauty with its combination of rusted iron grid, hints of smooth spirals in the tunnel, and textures of rough, weathered concrete?

Joe Stoner on the MyBrighton&Hove website has shared this impish anecdote about about his father and the outlet: ‘In the early 20th Century my father and his mates used to get the tourist, on the pier, to throw coins to them as they swam which they dived down to retrieve. They dived down and used to hide in its large exit hole by the Palace Pier until the tourists thought that they’d drowned and were SO relieved that they weren’t dead they threw bigger denominations of coins!’

And then Stoner also remembers himself in the early 1960s with friends kayaking past the groyne. ‘I used to wonder,’ he says, ‘WHY there were so many durex in the sea there when ALL Brighton’s sewage was pumped under the Under Cliff Walk to Telscome Cliffs where it went out to sea. NOW I know that as an overflow it was cheaper to “let it flow” into the sea where we kayaked and swam! Some things never change, eh?’

Madeira Terrace restoration - hurrah!

At last, hurrah, restoration work on the Madeira Drive terraces - such a major feature of the sea front east of Brighton Pier - has begun. Well, in fact, work began late last year, with vegetation and rubbish clearance, but now the refurbishment of 28 (of 151) arches and the construction of a new lift is underway with hope of the first restored section being opened in 2026. It’s been a long haul for the council since it closed the entire length of Madeira Walk, the upper deck, and some of the staircases nearly a decade ago. 

Originally designed by Brighton Borough Surveyor Philip C. Lockwood, the terraces were built during the late Victorian era to capitalise on flourishing seaside tourism. Extending to 865 meters, the terraces were the longest continuous cast-iron structure in Britain. The covered promenade - offering visitors shelter and stunning views - formed part of a larger complex with Madeira Walk, the Madeira Lift, and the Madeira Shelter Hall - all elements sharing a cohesive architectural style and color scheme (the very familiar turquoise). Between the wars, the terrace was extended to connect with the aquarium; and during post-war years, the attractive extent of Madeira Drive became a magnet for big events and large crowds - The Brighton Speed Trials, for example, and the Veteran Car Run.

Decades of inadequate maintenance, however, led to safety concerns and the closure of some areas as early as 2012; more sections were progressively shut until almost all of the structures were fenced off by 2016. By 2021, the terrace was considered to be in a state of ‘severe disrepair’, with parts at risk of collapse. The council has struggled to raise the finance necessary to undertake such a huge refurbishment job - in 2016, the cost was estimated at £25m. Although it twice failed to secure any Lottery finance, the Council has bulked out its own contribution with funds from Historic England and a crowdfunding campaign. It’s worth noting that 100 odd documents are associated with the planning application for this project - Brighton & Hove City Council.

Following a public invitation to tender, civil engineering contractor JT Mackley & Co. was appointed to undertake the first phase. Mackley specialises in tackling challenging coastline schemes and claims it has experience of working on world heritage sites, scheduled monuments and listed buildings. Other project partners include: Purcell (conservation architects), HOP (local engineers), Landscape Projects, and Stantec (lighting and design). Here is the latest project update from Mackley, which is impressively detailed.

‘With the area now demarcated, the site made safe, and our welfare cabin and services installed, Mackley’s role in the restoration project has begun in earnest. Working closely with ecologists, we have started the process of safely removing the excess vegetation from the Green Wall and this work will continue into the New Year. We have retained the nutrient-rich soil for future planting and have successfully taken a number of cuttings including some from the mature Japanese Spindle plants and the Hoary Stock, one of rarest native plants found on the green wall. The plant cuttings and soil have been taken away and placed in storage, protecting them from the works so that they can be replanted in the future. The team have also made progress removing old cabling and Yorkstone paving from the wall and have started removing the tarmac and benches from the upper promenade. Our next step is to apply paint-stripper to the bolts on the cast-iron arches, which are thick with multiple layers of rust and paint Once this is removed, and we can undo the bolts, we will begin the process of dismantling the 28 arches included in Phase 1 of the project. Each arch has numerous sections, all forged independently, and each piece will need to be cleaned, tested, and examined by our specialists To make sure we put them back In the exact same spot, we will employ a complex system of tagging as they are taken apart.’

Further information and updates on the restoration project are also available from the council.

i360 stranded sky high - with sky-high debts

Less than 10 years since a mirrored doughnut carried its first passengers high into the sky, the infamous i360 has become stranded there. The 162-meter observation tower opened in 2016 as a bold, futuristic addition to Brighton’s seafront. Designed by the creators of the London Eye, it promised stunning views from its observation car (the doughnut on a stick!), and a boost to local tourism. However, the project quickly ran into trouble, plagued by technical issues, long queues, and underwhelming visitor numbers. 

A click on the company’s website now provides no more than a brief stark announcement: ‘Steve Absolom and Will Wright were appointed Joint Administrators of Brighton I-360 Limited - in Administration (the ‘Company’) on 20 December 2024 and as a result the Company has ceased trading immediately. Please direct all queries to Brightoni360@interpath.com.’

The structure, reportedly, cost £46m, partly paid for with a whopping £36m loan from the Public Works Loan Board via Brighton & Hove City Council. The then council leader, Simon Burgess, predicted the facility would ‘transform the city’ and generate significant revenue. For its first five years it was glamorously sponsored by British Airways, but early technical faults and financial difficulties seemed to bode less than well. 

In December 2022, the attraction defaulted on its council debt, and in November 2024, Brighton i360 Ltd filed for administration - citing (rather lamely don’t you think) rising costs, unfavourable weather, and the cost-of-living crisis. On 20 December, it closed abruptly, with all 100 plus employees made redundant. Brighton & Hove City Council announced an inquiry into the closure, and it revealed that the owners owed the council a staggering £51 million. The council, which pays £2.2 million annually for the loan until 2040, faces significant financial repercussions. Deputy leader Jacob Taylor described the investment as having been ‘a financial disaster for the council.’

And a long-term eyesore to boot. It seems I was calling the i360 an eyesore before it was even completed. Here’s an entry from my diary, a few weeks before the opening.

20 July 2016

‘The i360 is soon to open, I read in the ‘Argus’, and tickets have gone on sale for the 20 minute ‘flight’. It’s owned or operated by British Airways, and has some slick advertising and promotion, but I take exception to the idea that it’s a vertical ‘pier’, and that where Victorians walked out above the sea, we can now walk on air. That might have some truth if the floor were glass and transparent, but I’m pretty sure it’s not. The pod can hold up to 200 people - that wouldn’t be much fun would it. And £13.50-15 for an adult ticket! For 20 minutes entertainment, and nothing more than a view. A) piers were never that expensive, and B) there was no time limit, and C) most piers had/have different kinds of entertainment, things to see/do. Pah! is all I can say. And I’ve come to see the tall column, with its teeny-weeny pod when seen from afar, as a bit of an eyesore.’

In 2015, during construction of the i360, there was some very colorful wall art on the surrounding fencing. I photographed it for my blog Graffiti Brighton. Here’s a sample.