From Bognor to Brighton

Monday 19 February 1996. The weather forecast for the week says snow will move in from the east. We decide that it would probably be best to go east today, before the weather comes too close!

A glance out of the hotel bedroom window before we venture down to breakfast shows us this dredger battling against the current as it makes it's way into the shelter of the harbour.

This is the delightfully deserted beach of Bognor Regis, whose inhabitants obviously were too wise to set foot out of doors. The sun was undoubtedly shining but the temperature was hovering around the freezing point. We didn't stay too long on the beach, I have to confess. I taped the surf onto Capt Slog (my portable cassette recorder) for a short while, but then a freezing cold wave submerged my trainers and the shock made me lose interest in sound effects...

Fran wasn't all that sympathetic as I explained what happened! We wandered back up towards the Promenade and found a cafe that was open. I thought the sign for ice-cream was a bit optimistic but we had a coffee in glass cups that instantly brought memories of the 1960s back to me. Of cafes with jukeboxes and milky coffee in glass cups and saucers and the sound of the Espresso machine behind the counter... So after the coffee we reminded ourselves just how cold it was and decided to bid farewell to Bognor Regis, reflecting that there was probably more life in the empty lobster pots!

After a warm in the car we found ourselves in Brighton, where I marvelled at the splendour of the Royal Pavilion, built at the whim of the Prince Regent, later George IV. It gave him an excuse to get out from the under the gaze of disapproval and spend his time cavorting with his mistress, Mrs Fitzherbert, or eating and drinking himself into a right royal stupor.

We toyed with the idea of walking round the Pavilion but a Closed sign changed our minds for us and we went off in seach of other equally splendid ways of keeping warm and amused. George spent a fortune - several fortunes - on it both inside and out with rooms wallpapered in specially produced Chinese-inspired designs. Only a couple of streets away from the seafront, Queen Victoria was later to hate it and the constant passing curiosity of locals and tourists.

We had a look round the town, which was pretty much deserted and very very cold. We came back to the Seafood Restaurant later for some tea.

The Palace Pier. Apart from a short length nearest the Promenade entrance it was closed, as was it's companion pier a bit further west and most of the seafront attractions. Shame really because I wanted to see the museum of antique amusement arcade machines. We found somewhere to have a coffee. Plenty of warm drinks and even the odd snack or bowl of soup were necessary to keep warm. Despite the sun which had been out for most of the day, the temperature was still stubbornly down towards the freezing point!

We went round the Sea Life Centre which I thought was supposed to be the biggest in England. lt may well be, but most of it was blank corridors with not even a poster to brighten up the walls let alone a fish tank. Most of it looked like the old dingy cinema that the building was originally designed for. Walking through the glass tunnel made me realise how spoilt we had been going to Sea World in Florida as here there were many more people in the tunnel than fish outside it. The biggest shark looked as though it would choke on a toe...

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Brighton Evening Walk

Thursday 20 April 2006. In Brighton on my own for the night. I have a wander around outside the Pavilion and find somewhere to eat.

This is such an extraordinary place. Built, in three stages, for the Prince of Wales, subsequently Prince Regent and King George IV it was started in 1787 and subsequent enlargements were undertaken before the building finally took the shape it is today in 1823.

Removed from the close scrutiny of his family George used it for numerous liaisons with his favourite, Maria Fitzherbert, eventually marrying her in secret as her being a Roman Catholic he was legally forbidden to marry her under the terms of the Royal Marriages Act of 1792.

It is a glorious (or appalling depending on your tastes) mix of Indian, Islamic, and Chinese influences and George was much satirised in contemporary cartoons and press for his outlandish tastes and gluttony. It was sold to the town of Brighton by the Government in 1853 for Queen Victoria, who had described the town's locals in 1841 as "very indescreet and troublesome". Perhaps the arrival of the railways, swelling eager sightseers may have influenced these comments a little. It was used as a military hospital during World War One, for men who had lost limbs.

Fed and watered, I had a walk up the mostly deserted seafront. These are the sad remains of Brighton's West Pier, destroyed by fire thought to be caused by arson in 2003. It had suffered damage in 1987 during the great storm of that year and access to the pier had been blocked due to safety reasons in 1991. There were two severe fires in March and May of 2003, both thought to be arson attacks and high winds caused the centre of the pier to collapse into the sea in 2004.

The pier seen in the distance is the Palace Pier.

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Miss Franny's Fabulous Fridge Magnets

The last time I showed some of Miss Franny's fridge magnet collection was way back in July. This time I show some of the UK places commemorated on the bits of plastic that disguise our fridge.

This one covers the entire county of Somerset and was bought this year when we spent a long weekend with friends near Wells.

Whilst I'm not going to put up photos of every place mentioned on it - actually there are some places we haven't been yet on it - I'll cover the top right and the one below it. We've been to Cheddar lots of times taking photos of the same unchanging scene every time. The thing that changes is the style of cars in the car parks, so... guess the year!

Weston-Super-Mare was a regular holiday destination place during my early teens. We first went in 1967 but it's a while since we stayed there. I think the last time I visited was in June 2004 whilst on the road for work and whilst it was a June evening, it was cold and dull so that I remember the weather more than the town.

This one is for a very specific place. The British Museum in London is a fascinating place to wander round and anyone with an interest in history and cultures will find time going very fast indeed when you are in there.

I remember it with the open courtyard, but for quite a while now it has been roofed with glass. This looks even more spectacular from outside provided you can view it from a vantage point such as the 17th floor of the Centre Point building.

The King Arthur magnet could have come from any corner of England, or from the centre of it. So many places claim to be the site of his birth, his battles, his city of Camelot...

I even wrote my own version a few years ago which is available for Kindle e-readers.

The fridge magnet came from Tintagel in Cornwall, where the famous castle remains are a few hundred years after the historical Arthur was supposed to have lived. Tintagel features in my book as the home of Merlin.

A 3D sculpted fridge magnet from the Prince Regent's opulent and exotic Royal Pavilion at Brighton. A real mix of styles it comes across as an Indian palace from outside and a Chinese one inside. Well worth a visit.

My photo was taken one night whilst I was travelling for work and due to run a workshop at Brighton University the following morning.

The Polperro fridge magnet shows the entire county of Cornwall and therefore makes finding Polperro quite hard unless you already know where it is!

It's one of my favourite places in the whole of England and despite the fact that it seldom changes, my camera always gets a thorough work-out when I'm there!

A look at foreign parts in the next article about Miss Franny's Fabulous Fridge Magnets!