Apparently this mention of Brighton Beach appeared yesterday in the Sydney Morning Herald - "Stretching out on the world's most unusual beaches". While not exactly Mac-related (except it does say that it became Britain's first wireless-enabled beach in 2003), those SMUGGERS who are lucky enough to live in Brighton might be interested to read it. Gilly
Brighton Beach, England Richard Jinman Brighton Beach isn't what you would call a beauty spot. It has pebbles instead of sand and water the colour of a dead fish's eyes. Attractions include a small electric train that runs along the back of the beach and an area reserved for some of England's most determined nudists, who are only partially shielded from prying eyes by a wall made of shingle. The famous Palace Pier offers a selection of overpriced funfair rides but at least it is open for business, unlike the West Pier, which has been flirting with demolition since 1975 and was devastated by fire in 2003. No matter. I adore the place and come here as often as I can. For me - and anyone with a passing interest in popular culture - it is a sacred site. This is the place where Pinkie Brown, the teenage gangster from Graham Greene's 1938 novel Brighton Rock, lived and died. The place where Mods and Rockers bashed the living daylights out of each other in the 1960s - an annual clash immortalised in the 1979 movie Quadrophenia - and the site of a legendary Fatboy Slim gig in 2002 that attracted a staggering 250,000 music-mad people. In a word, Brighton Beach is hip. No wonder it became Britain's first wireless-enabled beach in 2003. If Greene were still alive he could unfurl a deckchair, fire up his laptop and bash out Brighton Rock 2 to the sound of the seagulls. You meet all sorts of people in Brighton, many of them Londoners or ex-Londoners. They've been coming here in numbers since 1841, when a new railway line made Brighton accessible to daytrippers from the capital. Modern Brighton is a bit like one of London's cooler suburbs. It has a large gay community, hip boutiques and a legendary club scene. The beach is where the two Brightons meet: the old Brighton with its piers, kiss-me-quick hats, candyfloss and rock (a stick of pink candy loved by generations of English children) and the new Brighton with its superstar DJs, high fashion and wi-fi enabled knowledge workers. Watch out for those pebbles, though. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sussex Mac User Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/smug?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
