the village of Lewes

Lewes is about a half hour bus ride on the 28 or 29 from the university, which is itself about 20 minutes from Brighton.

The Fifteenth Century Bookshop on High Street. Yes, the building really has been around for centuries and it's been a secondhand bookstore since 1986.


Check out those bookshelves! I wonder what happens when it rains.




We wandered down Keere Street, which is a steep cobblestoned street lined with cute little houses with tiny doors.






Not far from Keere Street is the Southover Grange Gardens, with some gorgeous colours to brighten up this otherwise washed out day.






And then I was all packed and ready for a week driving around England.

back to school for the last time

And now for a factoid: the university was inspired by the Downs, which the campus is near to. thus the rounded slope-like shapes of the buildings, which were designed by Basil Spence. The Downs are chalk downlands, which are a feature of most of southern England. Apparently many awards were won. Then again it was the 1960s.

It's a small-ish school (student population of about 12,000, compared to say, NTU which has some 25,000), but it's a great school. And it was a good year. It was the first time that I felt challenged in class, and which gave my brain a good workout. I found that I could write a good term paper and argue my points. That I provided a different view from my classmates, who were all European. I became interested in Singapore and the region, and realised how unique and strange this country can be. I loved that the student body actually seemed to have a voice. And that nearly every week you had someone campaigning for something or other, like climate change, education cuts or freeing the Brightoner who has been detained in Guantanamo. I just wish it could've been longer than a year!

a meal of epic proportions

Or something of that sort, can always be had at Bill's in Brighton (no relation to bills in Sydney). It started as a produce store in Lewes and today it's Brighton eatery also stocks a variety of international foods and fresh produce.
I had the signature buttermilk pancakes - it was a rather monstrous platter topped with fruits, ice cream and maple syrup, what a treat for the eyes and the stomach!


Their cake display


Hot chocolate


Bill's - good food for all ages.

It all started with this

The whirlwind began with the handing in of the papers, then DSD's weekend visit, my parents' arrival and the start of our little roadtrip.
I'll start it off slowly.

farewell!

final night

After nearly a year in Brighton, it is time to say goodbye to this great town. And to my room with a view. I can't believe that nearly a year has gone by. I remember my first evening here, after a long flight from Chicago, and a nearly 3 hour bus ride from Heathrow. I arrived to this room, welcomed by the RA and the two flatmates who were already here. The room was bare, as it will be tomorrow.

This evening, after having played tour guide around Brighton (photos to come), I've been busy packing up and most of my stuff are now in bags. We'll be heading off early tomorrow morning to Slough to pick up my cousin and then to the Lake District for two nights. Then we head up to Edinburgh and York, before flying back to Singapore. It's all ending too soon!

days go by

I will not miss the seagulls.

Part 2 of the weekend

A weekend of walking part 1

It was my last weekend in Brighton, and was it a good one! DSD came down on Friday night and on Saturday morning, along with Yukiko, we took the bus along the coast to Beachy Head. The bus ride was about 1.5 hours and finally we reached the spot. The first thing I saw was this:

Beachy Head used to be a popular spot for suicides, and we saw some crosses, flowers and even a teddy bear laid for those who leapt to their very rocky deaths. Beachy Head is also famous for being the location of one of the scenes in The Who's Quadrophenia.
Be

Before conquering the cliffs, we decided to fuel up and sat down at the Beachy Head pub's patio. The sun shone bright and the food was better than expected, considering that it was the only pub around.


Both of them went for the beef and guinness pie, which looked and tasted pretty good.



I went for the bacon and cheese burger. Not classic English fare, but still pretty yummy with chargrilled streaks.


From Beachy Head, we got a great view of Eastbourne.





The weather was just perfect for a great day of walking.



There were lots of ups and downs to get over, and many many photos of the chalk cliffs and the gorgeous lighthouse to take. And finally we walked the three miles to Birling Gap, which was packed with beachgoers and pubbers.


And it looked like a fine day for speardiving.




From Birling Gap it was another 5 miles to Seven Sisters, over more rolling hills and some rather steep descents.


And we kept taking in all these great views behind us. Yes, we'd walked all the way from there, right at the end, past the lighthouse.

It's times like these

That I really hate this place. 

The whole building (22 flats, with some 4-6 people each) shares 4 dryers. 

Most of the time it's more like 3 as one's out of order or being serviced. 

Last week it was down to two. 

Today, it was down to ZERO. 

The two that were in the room were out of order.

The other two had been taken away for servicing. 

My room is full of hanging clothes, although on the bright side, it is a sunny day. 

And a couple of weeks ago, we had no water. The building's water tank had run dry. And since I'm on the top floor and the tank in the basement, it'd take even longer to get the water pressure high enough to reach us. It was supposed to take half an hour. But some two hours later, the taps were dry, although water did occasionally trickle in. The problem was only properly fixed the next morning, resulting in frozen food for dinner (minimal washing up) and a terribly quick and lukewarm shower after. 

Yet how sad that in a few weeks this place will no longer be mine. And a few weeks after that, some fella's gonna come in here, put his/her clothes in the cupboard, and photos on the wall, and be amazed by that view. 

Looks like rain

The sea today.
Although I must say that the rainy and gusty day has resulted in a lovely 15 deg C morning.
So different from the really warm weekend, although great for the daytrippers, not so good for those stuck in finishing papers.



The reason why I don't go to the beach on weekends. (Like I have the time to go to the beach in the first place)

ocean music

With just a few weeks to go here, finishing the dissertation and wrapping up my great year in Brighton, packing up and shipping out as I ponder again that great 'what if' question, more pictures of this big little sea town are to come!

Laura Veirs - Ocean Night Song
The paddles of night are unfolding
A mermaid's map floats by on the rolling green
Japanese fishing float carries my soul out to the whales
And out to the deep

yesterday's news

Rain in England is so different from the rain in Singapore.
In England sneaks up on you unannounced and it never wants to leave. Although sometimes it begins with the brilliance of yellow and the impending gloom of the dark clouds hovering overhead.
Whereas, in Singapore, thunder and lightning never fail to introduce the rain. And it's often brief, sometimes violent, but it seldom keeps drip-dripping throughout the rest of the night and day.

(Ok so it's a picture taken yesterday, and instead today is a bright and shiny one.)

wimpy!

Wimpy in Hove.

After a quick wiki, apparently it's originally American and called Wimpy Bar.
Didn't get to eat there though I feel like I should go back and just give their burgers a try.

three things

1) DSD's got pictures of our visit to the Hove Farmers market on Sunday.

2) “I think Michael Kors has made an excellent business for himself appropriating everything Halston already did.” Then he reconsiders, but the effect makes the insult more stinging. “I mean, his clothes aren’t so bad that they make me upset or mad,” he says. “They’re just conservative and, in a lot of ways, boring clothes.”
NY Mag's feature on what happens after starring on a Bravo TV reality show

3) A big Saturday cookout of Sayur Lodeh (a type of vegetable curry), Bah Kut Teh (pork rib soup), stirfried greens and Japanese rice.
(Photo courtesy of Yukiko.)

Brighton Pride and Pie

Saturday morning was scorching hot, yet DSD, Yukiko and I planted ourselves at Old Steine, and waited. And waited.

And waited.

We caught a glimpse of Dorothy and the Wicked Witch. The Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man.

And the we waited somemore.

And finally, the parade began.

There were floats and cops, and dancing Dorothys, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and balloons festooning fire engines. There was pink everywhere and rainbows abound.









But it was hot and I was getting tanned. So DSD and I hopped off to the North Laine area for some Pokeno Pies, where a chicken and butternut squash pie and salad went for 5.60

big day out

It's a hot one today, already climbing to 22 degrees at 930am!

It is once again beach weather, but I have to resist the temptation and knuckle down today, for this weekend, tonight actually, DSD is dropping by and oh the plans we have for our stomachs!

Brighton dreamin

With just a month left to go in my all-too-short Brighton stint, I've resolved to take more pictures. So this morning, I took my camera out for a walk.


It was a lazy hazy day of summer, perfect beach weather and the inevitable deckchairs.





Some cafe in a great building.


I spent some time reading my book (alas, it was for my dissertation and was thus Frank Furedi's Silent War ) on one of the benches on the promenade over at Hove, which had this inscription on it.



But all too soon, it was time to go back to the flat and continue working on the paper.

Yes, the plastic sheeting is still up. On the bright side, living right at the top means that unlike the poor fellas on the other floors I still get to see some some sky.