Brighton Pier - more rides

These people were having great fun on this ride. Basically the mechanics shifted from whirling round at top speed, to spikey, slower movements. Not sure which is worse!

Madness on Brighton Pier

You'd never find me doing something as crazy as this!

Two people are strapped in, lifted to a great height over Brighton pier, lulled into a false sense of security by the slow ascent, and then the crane like device travels at top speed seaward. My language when I was standing underneath it was unrepeatable - goodness knows what's screamed when the people up there start their high speed descent.

Maybe something like: *?!#?@% *(£!

Brighton Pier

For the next few days I'm going to post a few images from Brighton Pier.

It's a bit of a crazy place and you have to be in the mood. But visitors as well as residents like to give it a go from time to time.

You'll find deckchairs, fish and chips, doughnuts, scary rides, beer - a whole collection of British seaside past and present.

To kick things off, here are two girls enjoying one of the covered rides on offer.

Jet Skier in Brighton

Speed freaks or what!

I watched 3 guys yesterday on their jet skis, really playing to the crowd. It was pretty exciting mind you and they were having a fantastic time!

Sussex Bluebells

The bluebells are a stunning feature of our English woodland in the Spring. They almost come overnight and you wish they would stay longer.

I took these photos on yesterday's dog walk with Georgie and Jessie. If you'd like to see some of the doggy photos from the day, you'll have to jump across to my Wordpress Blog.

The Red Door

I spotted this beautiful garden gate on one of my strolls through Brighton. You can look through the heart into their front courtyard garden and then beyond to their front door. What a lovely way to enter the house.

Skywatch Friday - Brighton sky

We took a walk one evening last August and it was the most beautiful sky. This is very close to where we live.

Visit other Skywatch Friday participants

Twittens in Brighton

This is Camden Terrace, one of the twittens in Brighton. 'Twitten' is an old dialect word, used in both East and West Sussex, for a path or alleyway, which is still in common use.

There are a number of twittens in Brighton and in the festival time (May) you can go on a historical walk exploring them.

Most of the houses in Camden Terrace were built around 1830/1840ish for the workers on the railway. The properties are all higgledy-piggledy: a variety of plot sizes, different orientation, some detached and some not.

Very unique and very attractive.

Elsewhere in the UK, such alleyways are termed twitchells (north-west Essex, east Hertfordshire and Nottingham), chares (north-east England), ginnels (northern England), opes (Plymouth), jiggers (Liverpool) and snickelways (York).

In the Netherlands tussen has a similar meaning.

Thanks to Wiki for the info!

Bicycles at Brighton Station

Although Brighton is a very hilly city, many people use bikes to get around. There's a strong eco-friendly vibe amongst the inhabitants and well, it's got to be better than being stuck in traffic.

These pictures show the front of Brighton Railway Station and the masses of bikes which are always kept there. Brighton to London is a mere 49 minutes away, and the last train home from London is 1am. This makes it an ideal place to live for musicians and actors working in the city. They can have their home by the sea but continue working in the capital.

Actors who have enjoyed the Brighton life include Laurence Olivier, Charlie Chaplin, Albert Finney, Dame Flora Robson, Dame Anna Neagle, and the comedian Max Miller.

I wonder if they left their bikes in front of the station?!

Open Road - 2 Things Challenge

Opening a bag with one hand and driving with another can be dangerous; proceeding to take a photo while you're driving is madness; doing all this in a blizzard, well, it's asking for it!

But last April in Brighton we had one day of freak weather. Just as we thought summer was on its way, we had a day like this. And I couldn't let the day pass without a 'road photo' so I snapped this as I was driving home along the A27.

I really must just get on with life and stop thinking, 'that'll make a good photo!'

Part of the 2 Things Photo Challenge - this is for the 'Open Road' week.

Shop names in Brighton

Brighton is a creative place that's for sure. Almost every shop in the North Laines is quirky and unusual. Here are just a few of the shop names close to where we live.

And Vegetarian Shoes, in case you're wondering, are shoes made not of leather (hence the name) but of a synthetic Microfibre material used for yachting upholstery. It looks and feels like supple leather, but it's 'breathable'. They're based in Gardner Street in the North Laines of Brighton. I own a pair and they're very comfortable!

Toying with the sea

These boys spent ages getting as close to the end of the groyne as they could before the sea came in. A great game - but they had to be quick!

What on earth?

Something's afoot!

Brighton Marina for Skywatch Friday

This is Brighton Marina. I used to teach a boy here on his yacht and after one of the lessons, I popped my head out to clamber off the boat and this was the view. Luckily, I had a camera!

Visit other Sky Watch Friday participants

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP)

I spotted this guy doing a stretch of Stand Up Paddleboarding at the weekend. One of the fastest growing sports to hit the UK, Brighton seems to have a number of enthusiasts. According to the Stand Up Paddleboard School in Cornwall, "SUP is healthy and invigorating and promotes balance, strength and general fitness."

I'll stick to taking the photos for now!

The Deckchairs

Relaxing in a well-used deckchair on a warm Spring day! No matter that they're really not that comfortable and rather narrow for many people. It's tradition - and Brighton beach has many of those :)

Spring Flowers

Spring is a beautiful time for flowers and the Brighton flower shops are doing good business.

Here are two shops proudly showing off their wares, one of which has the inviting sign.

It makes me want to get out in the garden and do some work on our patch.

Easter Monday

Loads of people down on the beach today. Really nice summer vibe even though it's still only April. For the last few years, April has been the summer, so we better make the most of it. We had ice-cream :)

Double click image to see what's really going on.

Gong Showers

Brighton Beach is a wonderful combination of the old British seaside vibe - rock, beach balls, ice cream etc - and the new world of healing, feel good, alternative arts.

The practioner of the 'Gong Shower' was a very friendly, positive woman. Thank you for letting me photograph your poster and when you get your website up and running, send me your link!