Brighton and The White Rose
My partner and I returned to Brighton yet again. Most the areas in Brighton are quite rough, but it's still a much friendlier place than London, which is why we're there every so often.
Sometimes we cross paths with celebrities and established record producers, who gravitate to the same little row of clubs we prefer to frequent. A guy was stood at the bar in Centre Stage, and he looked so damn familiar. Where did I know him from? I was about to start a convo with him, thinking maybe it was someone I'd worked with many years ago. My partner recognised him as quite a famous newsreader (I try not to watch much TV). Some Instagram influencer rocked up to Legends the following night, with a fawning entourage. I still haven't the slightest idea who he is.
The night life is pretty good in Brighton. Usually there are drag shows in Centre Stage, Charles Street Tap and Legends. It's not really my thing, but Ceri Dupree occasionally had me in stiches. The Dame Edna Experience wasn't bad, but I'd already drunk two bottles of wine and sat through as many drag shows by that point.
Closer to where we were staying, there's The Bell Tower. It used to be a sort of quiet cocktail bar called 'Daddy Long Legs', but that got renamed and it's a busy pub. The prices are extortionate - £26 for a round that would have costed around £13.60 anywhere else! And it was standard pub gin! How on Earth could they justify that?
I know I've bitched about the Marina here before, but the Wetherspoons wasn't too bad. We actually managed to get food without needing to travel to the other end of Brighton, and it was surprisingly good. All the house boats that were moored up last year (or the year before) were gone. They probably weren't selling too well, or perhaps the mooring costs were too expensive.
In Kemp Town there's one of the quieter bars frequented by an older crowd, and occasionally by Leather Men. Being a relatively short girl, I'm a little out of place there, but I go there because it's quiet. Boy, was it rough there on the weekend, though! The bar hosted some Fetish Sunday event, and someone decided it was a good idea to have the windows wide open, with all sorts going on in full view of everyone passing by, in the middle of the afternoon. My partner and I just happened to be in the cafe across the road, trying to cure my hangover before the night's event. Some guy walked up and down the street, exposing himself, before entering the bar.
My reaction was of annoyance and frustration. We all have our fetishes, but most the LGBT community don't want to be associated with those who air theirs and expose themelves in public. Some people don't seem to understand the far-right use that as a pretext for the kind of shit we're now getting with the Online Safety Act and for getting literature removed from libraries.
Other places
Most the seaside towns in the southern part of Britain seem to be run down, their high streets lines of charity shops, betting places, Turkish barbers and cafes.
Worthing is one of the better towns, just a short distance West of Brighton, and it's not too disimilar to Eastbourne. The high streets are a bit rough, but there are a few gems here and there. Not much was happening on the pier, which is a shame because the buildings on it were distinctively of a late-1920s or early-1930s design. There is a large restaurant building at the end, and we had a meal there.
The enigmatic white rose
Normally I'm on the lookout for silver-pearl fruit knives in the antique shops - there are still quite a few in circulation from between ~1780 and ~1930. The oldest I have was made in 1862, and it's in very good condition. This time I happened upon a white rose lapel/tie badge in an antique shop, in Eastbourne. I can't tell much from the hallmarks, other than it's white enamel on silver, and it was made in 1973 by a company I recognised as having crafted, until a few years ago, insignia for an assortment of secret societies. This particular badge doesn't belong to any organisation I know of, but it doesn't appear to be a fashion accessory either. I should keep it safe, but I wear it.
The white rose has a special significance for me, but that's another story for another day.