Washing tub drawn by geese!

This day in 1851, 14 March, Arthur Nelson, a clown with Cooke’s Royal Circus, sailed from the Chain Pier to the Albion Hotel in Brighton in a washing tub drawn by three geese - allegedly! The stunt, if performed that day, would have been part of the circus’s promotional activities for performances in the town. It is true that the circus came to Brighton a few times, and it is true that Nelson was one of the circus’s stand-out acts - he was nicknamed King of the Clowns after all. But there is, in fact, no written evidence that I can find of him performing the goose act in Brighton - except for the single sentence in the Brighton History website. Some six years earlier, though, it is very much on record that Nelson’s goose stunt caused such crowds in Great Yarmouth that a bridge collapsed killing 79 people. 

Nelson was born around 1816 in Bristol, the son of a musician, which likely provided him early exposure to performance arts and public entertainment. He began his professional life as an actor in provincial and minor theatres throughout England, as well as performing at traditional annual fairs. During these early career stages, he developed a specialisation as a ‘talking’ or Shakespearean clown, distinguishing himself from the purely physical comedy practitioners of the era. His transition, then, from theatrical acting to circus performance marked a significant career advancement - the circus world of the 1840s was experiencing a golden age of innovation and popularity.

In 1842, Nelson was engaged for the first time at Cooke’s Royal Circus, one of Britain's most prestigious circus companies. He quickly became a favourite with the Cooke family, suggesting his performances were well-received and commercially successful. Somewhere along the way he took on the moniker King of Clowns. It was during his time with Cooke’s that Nelson adopted what would become his signature performance: being towed in a washing tub by three or four geese along rivers or on the sea. This unusual act was not Nelson’s original creation but rather an adaptation of a ‘benefit stunt’ previously performed by another entertainer named Dicky Usher. However, Nelson’s rendition became so popular and so closely associated with his persona that it effectively became his trademark. The spectacle of a clown floating in a tub pulled by waterfowl drew enormous crowds whenever it was performed.

Nelson’s playbills from this period provide insight into how he marketed himself and his performances (see this Sotheby’s Playbill Lot). In promotional materials from around 1842, he was advertised with woodcut vignettes depicting him in full clown makeup and costume, accompanied by bold declarations such as ‘Mr. Nelson Will Sail in a Washing Tub!! On the River Tyne. . . Drawn by Four Real Geese’.

Tragically, on 2 May 1845, Nelson was performing this stunt in Great Yarmouth, sailing down the River Bure towards the suspension bridge when, under the weight of so many spectators, the bridge gave way. Some 79 people, mostly children, lost their lives having either drowned or been crushed by falling bodies and sections of the collapsing bridge. Wikipedia has more details about this tragedy. 

Thereafter, Nelson is known to have continued performing the stunt, so the Brighton History statement for 1951 may well have been true: ‘March 14  Cook’s Circus clown, Mr Nelson, sails from the Chain Pier to the Albion Hotel in a washing tub drawn by three geese.’ But, as I say, nowhere online can I find any confirmation of this. Nelson died at the age of 44 - around 1860 - from gangrene of the leg while touring with Pablo Fanque’s circus.

Brighton Beach - eastern end

While the western end of Brighton Beach is characterised by the private properties of millionaires - see Brighton Beach - western end - the eastern end is dominated by the Marina’s solid infrastructure and a massive sea wall. Along the wire fencing that separates beach from concrete, are a series of memorials, colourful yet looking somewhat tired with age. Nevertheless, these collections of plastic flowers, wreaths, photographs, messages, hearts and figurines remain as poignant reminders of young lives lost all too early.

Here at the east end of Brighton Beach, there’s a sprawling expanse of tarmac and concrete. Generally known as Black Rock, parts of the area  are under development - See Beauty pageant at Black Rock. The beach itself stops abruptly at the giant sea wall, 1.5km long, built in the 1970s as a protective barrier but which has become a defining element of the Marina’s landscape. At high tide, waves often crash dramatically against the wall, sending up towering sprays of seawater, often visible along the beach as far as the Palace Pier. At low tides, the wall reveals a rugged, algae-covered base that attracts seabirds and marine life.

Between the sea wall and Marina infrastructure, there’s a high wire fence, and on it can be found several memorials, such as the one for Jordan Jamieson who died right there. In March 2017, he was attempting to find a shortcut from the Marina to the beach with a friend, but failed to fully jump a cross a two-metre gap, and fell two storeys. Emergency responders provided immediate assistance, and an ambulance arrived. He was transported by land to St George’s Hospital in London but, despite medical efforts, he died on 14 April. See The Argus for news reports.An inquest concluded that his death was a tragic accident. The coroner noted that Jordan was ‘fearless and adventurous’, reflecting the sentiments of his friends and family.

A number of memorial events to remember Jordan followed, and his father undertook various challenges to raise funds for St George’s. The memorial at the site of the accident was established ‘In loving memory’ of Jordan and simply stating, ‘You will always be our angel’.

Another set of memorial items - for Daria Nerush - can be found nearby, also on the wire fencing. Born in 2006, and a student at Roedean, she died aged 16 in 2022.  Her sixth form tutor, Phliippa Borsberry is quoted at Love2donate as saying: ‘I am missing Daria so much in tutor times and in our 1:1 slots, it was great to be her sixth form tutor. I will always remember Daria and the conversations that we had. I will particularly remember how kind and caring Daria was with her friends and her wonderful sense of humour.’

The Flintback Drifter

All in one day, amazing, walking along the Brighton pebbles, I found four different varieties of the Flintback Drifter. Unusual to see at the best of times, but four was like winning the lottery. There must have been a storm in the Channel, or some such peculiar weather system to have caused such a windfall of marine rarities.

The Flintback Drifter is a little-understood marine species that perfectly mimics flint stones, lying motionless among the pebbles of tidal zones. It is believed to be an evolutionary marvel, capable of remaining more or less inert for decades before gradually shifting into a more animate state. For those new to the species, here is a fact file.

Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata (disputed)
Class: Lithopoda (proposed)
Order: Cryptosiluriformes
Family: Silicamariidae
Genus: Silicamaris

Species (numbered as in photos)
1) Silicamaris dormiens (Dormant Flintback Drifter)
2) Silicamaris lithomimus (Stone-Mimic Flintback Drifter)
3) Silicamaris vivens (Living Flintback Drifter)
4) Silicamaris mutabilis (Transitional Flintback Drifter)

Size: 20–50 cm (depending on life stage).
Color: Varies from deep grey to mottled black and white, mimicking natural flint and beach pebbles.
Texture: Hard, rock-like exoskin with occasional glossy fractures resembling chipped stone.
Body Structure: Appears almost featureless at rest but reveals faint ridges, a ventral mouth slit, and sensory pits when active.
Habitat & Distribution: Found exclusively along shingle beaches, particularly in Sussex, UK. Prefers intertidal zones, where it can remain still among pebbles, rarely moving except at night or during storms. Some reports suggest it may also drift along deeper seabeds, using its flint-like exterior to deter predators.
Feeding: Although widely thought to be pebble-eaters, they are slow-moving filter feeders, absorbing nutrients through microscopic pores when submerged. Some speculate it may consume small marine organisms using a concealed underbelly mouth.
Movement: Almost imperceptible. Shifts position by subtle expansions and contractions of its dense, flint-like tissue.
Defense Mechanism: Extreme camouflage. When disturbed, it remains motionless, indistinguishable from real stones.
Life Cycle & Evolution: Begins as Silicamaris dormiens, indistinguishable from a common flint stone. Over time, it may transition into Silicamaris lithomimus, showing faint organic features. Eventually, it develops primitive limb-like ridges and becomes either Silicamaris mutabilis or Silicamaris vivens (though marine biologists dispute whether these are two distinct species). Flintback Drifters may live for hundreds of years, growing at a nearly imperceptible rate, though much about these creatures remains unknown.

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