Hanging Out In Brighton And Surrounding Areas

As I previously mentioned on here, I recently visited Brighton again for a week. This time however, I stayed in Hangleton which is still technically part of Brighton, but not in the centre. I rented a room I found on air bnb and the house was very close to the bus stop, so I was able to take a bus directly through Brighton if I wanted to. If rent wasn't so exensive and I didn't want to keep travelling, I would look at moving there. Apart from the usual street-furniture and grabbers, I quite like the area. I can get more done there than I can in other parts of England. I found food shhopping and shhopping in general without plastic or very much packaging at all very easy. When I bought a cucumber from a fruit and vegetable stall in Hove I had the stall-owner take off the plastic and yes the biscuits I bought from Infiniti Foods (the vegan/vegetarian supermarket) were in plastic packets inside a cardboard box, but those are the only real irritations I can think of off the top of my head. I even managed to get bread without packaging! Yay! The buses for the most part have spoken announcements and I can only think of one that doesn't. The only other thing I don't like about walking around and navigating is the road-crossings because I find them utterly confusing. I find the atmosphere of Brighon really happy and people are more accepting it seems. For the most part, people don't care who is gay straight bi or otherwise, or even if I tell someone I have multiple partners, no one bats an eyelid. Yet in some other areas of the country people would be weirded out by anything that is not straight and monogamous. I was walking down George Street towards Blatchington Road in Hove and heard at least 2 buskers. I like listening to those guys and some are actually pretty good. There's also a man who hangs out on the corner and tells everyone to have a nice day. I've seen him a few times there and peopple stop and talk to him at times. Judging by his accent I would say he spent lot of time in the north of England or south of Scotland, but then what do I know about accents? :) If I see him again I think he would be a genuinely nice person to stop and talk to perhaps. George Street is a pedestrian area, so I like being able to walk along without too much risk of being chased by cars or other vehicles. I'm told there are cafes and things along that street. Another semi-pedestrian area in Brighton itself I like is Kensington Gardens, just round the corner from North Road. Again there are cafes and tables and chairs and benches there and everyone seems relaxed and happy and peaceful. I like the fact that there's the yarn store Yak in Brighton too, so I went to the knitting social on Thursday and got to catch up with one or two people who have sort of got used to me being around. I guess they missed me. When they weren't working or doing anything, I also got to hang out a bit with the ladies who live at the bungalo I was renting the room in. My host Lou or Louisa made some candles one afternoon and another time we went out (because she and her lodger were going out anyway) to the Range. The Range is a shop sellling all sorts of things. It seems to sell things for the home as well as craft items. I bought a sketchbook for my work for the business. The book is spiral-bound and the pages have perferated edges, so I can take out the pages if I don't neet or want something anymore. I'll be using it to put test pieces in so squares I knit to measure for size. I'll write notes in it saying the number of stitches and rows as well as the yarn name and company. I'm going to put pictures of the finished designs in the book as well, so a cool thing I think to do would be to put the picture on one side of the page along with a short text about the pattern, then the yarn tension test things on the back. That's always assuming everything doesn't fit on the same page. And so to end on a musical note before I finish this post - on my bus journey to the coach station or near it, I heard what sounded like a band playing in one of the squares the bus stopped at. I'm not sure why they were there, but thhey sounded pretty good. Oh I did also go to the Brighton Museum on Monday, but got very bored sadly. I walked in and started touching one or two pieces of furniture to get an idea of the shape and textiles and things used, the staff did not want anyone touching anything at all. I don't understand why if it's not behind glass, because it's perfectly reachable but just happens to have a sign on it saying "do not touch". After that I had someone guiding me and describing things, but it just isn't the same.

Back To Brighton

I've booked my coach ticket back to Brighton on Friday, so now to find a place to stay. Apart from the grabbers and navigational issues, I find Brighton and Hove to be a fairly pleasant place. Yes there are a lot of people who don't have anywhere permanent to be through no fault of their own, but that I think is mainly because places are pretty expensive in the area from what I understand. That being said though, I find the people are more open to discussing pretty much anything that goes and I can get more done there than I can in other parts of England. I plan to go to Harriet Of Hove (the zero waste shop in Hove) while I'm in the area. I hear they've added some new items so thought I would go and take a look, as well as the fact I can get fresh bread from there. Their supplier is one of the local bakeries which is always good. Last time I was in there, I bought the bread without packaging if I remember right. Also of course there are vegan eateries and at least one yarn store that has a knit night every week. I like the beach too and I think there will be fewer people on the said beach now summer is coming to a close. That means I don't get to disturb anyone. I can look at rocks and things all day. Grandad told me they only put pebbles on that area of beach in the 1980s saying something to do with the water level of the sea. Apparently before that it used to be sandy. This makes little sense though, because Western Super-Mare has the nickname of Western Super-Med for a reason. The sand there is like mud or even quicksand. Then again I don't know, because I did meet someone who builds beaches and when I asked what they meant by building a beach (I just assumed a beach was there because it felt like being there and the ocean made it like that), they said they go with a vehicle and pick up the pebbles and sand that storms have thrown around and put it back, levelling it out in the process. That being beside the point, Brighton is en route to at least 2 airports if you go the right way, so that's fine by me.