Brighton and hove: a city for all

Last time I put images of women by the sea as part of the People By the Sea Project in Brighton. This I am putting men by the sea. If you want to know why they were there, you will have to wait until I get my exhibition set up in Brighton.  

My new project in Brighton: 'People by the sea' As part of my project, I ask local people why they repeatedly visit the sea. As you can imagine, some people get drawn to the sea to swim; for others, it is a time for reflection, space to meditate, and to absorb personal trauma. With this post you are getting a sample of images of women by the sea. I hope that the project will reveal why they repeatedly come to the sea through my lens. I use a medium format camera to make the individual look more real.  

Brighton West Pier A ruin by the coast of Sussex in Brighton was once a  pleasure pier; now, a skeleton of history left as a decaying monument.   You will notice the landmark monument when leaving Brighton Station and heading to the Sussex coastal line. It becomes an object of wonder once you are by the sea.   History in summary It was designed by Eugenius Birch, a renowned nineteenth-century seaside architect, civil engineer and expert in designing seaside piers and created in the 1860s to attract tourists to Brighton after the arrival of the railway to the city in the 1840s. The number of visitors peaked just before the First World War when it attracted nearly 2 million per year. After the Second World War, its popularity declined. Once, a place of concerts was  replaced by funfairs and tea rooms. Its future was looking bleak.  A local company later took over the ownership of it, but the firm filed for bankruptcy due to the sheer cost of mainta...

Hidden away on Preston Road, Brighton, you will find a small 'bar'. At a tiny Japanese bar, you will experience one of the most authentic Japanese ramen noodles and other side dishes. As you can see from the video, Goemon Ramen Bar is just small yet very popular. I saw a long queue. At first, I was trying to understand why the queue was so long. After 10 minutes of queuing, looking at the menu, and tasting my ordered ramen noodle and a starter, I realised why I was willing to lick my plate after I emptied it with my chopsticks. There were three of us around a petit square table. We ate a starter, a ramen noodle dish, and a bottle of beer each. Altogether the bill came to £64.00. Not bad price since Brighton's price is very similar to London's and other major metropolis. I definitely recommend it! 

Why visit the Booth Museum? If you come to Brighton for a long weekend break and you are not solely here to party, why not absorb yourself in the Booth Museum of National History? And it is free. If you want to see over 300 stuffed birds from all over Britain, you would find them in the setting of their natural habitat.  The Booth Museum was opened in 1874 by naturalist and collector Edward Thomas Booth. He was mainly interested in birds and his ambition was to collect examples of every species found in Britain.  You could also find displays of extinct species such as the dodo and thylacine.  To add to your senses, you can also find over 650 types of butterfly.  Who is Booth? Edward Thomas Booth was a naturalist and keen on all aspects of natural history.  He was born in 1840 to a wealthy family.  He spent his early life in education in Brighton and later at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was asked to leave Trinity College because he spent...

When I first visited Brighton as a tourist from London, it dawned on me how striking Royal Pavilion looked. Although it was scaffolded at the time, I could still imagine its beauty. When I visited the Pavilion as recently as  Sept 2022, I saw the full view of the Pavilion with my naked eye, in broad daylight under the late summer sun, I realised the true beauty of the building like never before.   Right in front of the Pavilion was also  a small pond. I could see the shimmering reflection of the building as you can see from the YouTube video above. Without thinking too deep into its history, it reminded me of images my mother showed me when I was a young boy of the Taj Mahal.  Although,  I had the fortune of visiting Delhi in 2004 yet couldn’t travel to Agra to see it with my own eye. Don't ask me why not. To me, this place is nearest to the Taj Mahal in Britain. Historical Owner The history of the Pavilion is linked to the British Royal...

  Brighton & Hove Pride Festival 2022 to be inspired globally! If you have not visited Brighton & Hove LGBT Pride Festival in 2022, you certainly missed a city in a party mood for a whole weekend. Regardless of so many family and worldly commitments, I made sure I did not miss   the festival since the end of so many national lockdowns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pride helped me to connect with a community as a gay ethnic minority man residing on the coast of Sussex.    Due to my inner insecurity,  I always felt like a minority within a minority due to my linguistic, religious and ethnic upbringing; but as time went on, I accepted that I am part of a  local, national and international LGBT+ community.  It was essential that I was at Brighton & Hove Pride Festiva l to film and write about it as part of   my blog . Being part of the global LGBT community helps me to recognise that there are communities who are being...

Swim by Sussex sea requires planning You may wonder whether Brighton & Hove sea is clean...Well, the Environment Agency classified it as ' Excellent ' in 2019 for the bathing period 2020. You can see from the video, I have not only been tempted to swim in the sea, but I  swam in a wetsuit in the middle of June 2022, whilst holding a waterproof camera to make the childish video for you. It was the sea that initially drew me to Brighton.   But never take swimming in the sea lightly; planning is key to enjoying the pebble beaches.     Sussex Coastline is nothing like the Mediterranean sea. The mainland European sea is a huge lake.   The sea by Brighton is part of the Atlantic Ocean and is a vast desert of water reaching all the way to the US, Iceland and France. The current of Sussex water is so powerful that it can swipe you off your feet without you realising it. It is essential that you know how to swim and know the weather conditions. I recommend ...

Having ran the London Marathon in 2007, whenever I get the chance to keep an eye out for any marathons in my vicinity, I am definitely thinking of runners because preparing for such a run can't be taken lightly. I did not realise that whilst I was in Brighton & Hove in 2022, I would be exposed to the Brighton Marathon Weekend. By this time all the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. There is no sign of a pandemic on South Coast. Although the marathon itself was on Sunday, 10th April, as I was walking on Hove Promenade on Saturday, I came across a group of runners who have gathered for 5K Brighton Parkrun as part of their regular weekend routine. This is an event that has been taking place every Saturday since 2011 and everyone is included regardless of your age, race or sex or disability. I have noticed a half a dozen wheelchair 'runners' next to runners who are running on their feet. If you want to join such a run, the only thing you need to do is turn up on t...

  BRIGHTON SUSHI MANIA Coming to Brighton & Hove every other week has reduced my anxiety level dramatically; perhaps inhaling the Sussex sea air has been a major factor to my well-being. After walking around the Hove Lawn during lunchtime on a summer Friday, passing the ruin of the West Pier,  I turned left onto Middle Street.  I passed Creation Night Club, and came across Sushi Mania, coloured in red and white sign. Looking from outside, the simple design of the restaurant looked like any other Japanese restaurant in Piccadilly Circus,  London,  or Brighton. Yes, I have been to Japan for two weeks before the pandemic. It certainly does not make me an expert in Japanese food. Personally, visiting a Japanese restaurant can be daunting because of my fear of the 'unknown' culture. Anyone who knows Japanese food will know that it can be very much the 'other' far distant culinary, sophisticated and if you go to a good Japanese restaurant, you can imagine its deli...

An experience in Brighton you will not forget: Brighton Mod Weekend! So - have you heard of Mod Weekend? I suspect not. I did not either until as recent as August 2021.   Once I came out of Lockdown and visited  Brighton AND HOVE city as frequently as I could, I began to plan my schedule to see what was out there to explore. I am in the mood to seek excitement and share it with you. Just to top up my excitement, yes in Brighton AND HOVE , I must emphasise, since Hove is my second residency, I  found out what was available on the last weekend of August 2021. I flicked through lots of holiday guidebooks on Sussex and most importantly on Brighton AND HOVE . Oh, hang on, there were several references to the Mod Weekend in August.   I raised my left eyebrow because my muscles in the right brow do not have the strength to raise it independently from the left, unfortunately.   Anyway, I Googled online to get a sniff of the event a bit more.  I found a glamor...