Britain

Brighton beach may be famous the world over but it’s actually full of stones that disappoint all the English who come down for the weekend with their bucket and spade. The sea is filthy and the seafront area is kind of garish but the sky can be beautiful in the evening and in the summer it’s a cool place to hang out and get stoned. Down by the disintegrating ruins of the West Pier there are market stalls and good places to sit and chill.

Brighton used to be the biggest hippy town in England with a thriving gay culture and counter-culture scene. Empty buildings were squatted and turned into alternative community centres and the road protest movement drew much of it strength from Brighton. Things change, of course and its proximity to London (50 minutes by train) mean that it’s effectively beocming a suburb of the capital.

Accordingly prices have risen and the soaring rent prices have squeezed out many of the more interesting types and made way for the gentry instead. There’s still a good chunk of people studying alternative medicine and running writer’s workshops but the town is on its way up.

In town the Lanes are the home of what’s left of the counter-culture. You can buy vegetarian shoes and hemp hooded tops, organic chocolate and sign any number of petitions against Global Warring. You can walk back and forth all day in the Lanes, loitering in the second hand record and book shops, drinking herbal tea in alternative cafes.

The nightlife can be pretty grim and mainstream with the usual alcohol and violence so integral to a good night out in England. People give out flyers all day long though in the Lanes and there are some interesting club nights around.

Out towards Hove things get more middle class and spacious with long sweeping avenues and large apartments. When asked if they live in Brighton, people often reply “Hove, actuallly’. Still the acupuncutre clinics come thick and fast here and many people live in Hove to get some breathing space from Brighton.

Head out any further and you’re in the depths of the south coast waiting to die with the rest of the old folks.

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