Beside the seaside beside the sea

In the beginning there was just the beach and the sea. No West Pier
to argue about; no refuse collection debates; no traffic problems and
no City of Culture Campaign. Just a stony beach on a vast sea front.
Then the people came and Brighton was born, but its nature was
fashioned by the spirit of the sea and that stony beach.

Having just moved to Brighton as yet another 'out-of-towner' my
fascination was where the attraction lay to these masses. My muse was
the beach and my question "does it lie at the spiritual heart of the
city?" To find out it was apparent that spending time at the beach was
the only real way of finding out. There are books aplenty but they are
either factual guides or pieces of propaganda to promote the arguments
prevailing through the community at the moment. The answer to this
question was to be found within people, not people on the high street
who last went to the beach for the Fat Boy Slim Concert, but the people
who go there on a regular basis. Many talk about 'the characters' on
the seafront. Some may take these to be the eccentrics but perhaps it
is everyone who is drawn to this area.

So who are these people? They are the 'bums', the students, and the
'hippies' (these three are closely related and can often blur into one
category). There are the families on walks, oblivious couples
experiencing a 'moment', young professionals enjoying the growing
sprawl of trendy bars with their sea views. Finally there are the
people that work and make a living there, and yes that includes those
pesky metal detector people. One such 'detective' I met at sunset on
Sunday night.

At first questioning he seemed confused by my question "why is the
beach at the spiritual heart of Brighton?" He said simply that it was
because Brighton was an old fishing village. The reason that he came
here was two fold: it was profitable; and it was good exercise. The man
was born in Brighton and had been detecting now for twenty-five years.
Perhaps it was because of the look of disappointment in my face that he
expanded. He discussed its history, the old fishermen, and the wrecks
off the West Pier and how when there was a 'good' storm he would have a
particularly profitable day afterwards. It came to light that he had
once left Brighton but had returned. It was then that he said that it
was the beauty of the seafront that would never allow him to leave
again. With this revelation I realized that like the fishermen of old
he was intrinsically linked to the beach. So there was something to it,
perhaps not a spiritual link, but certainly there was an aspect of the
beach as Brighton's heart that pumps life into its people. That was why
my question seemed stupid. The concept was neither here nor there to
this detector; it was just the way of things.

Later that same evening I met a young man called Len. He was part of a
group of people who come to the beach to practice Capoiera every Sunday
evening. As a man of the outdoors generally Len had a good view of its
attraction and kept it simple. For him the spirit of the beach lay in
its peace and tranquility. Despite the busy road running behind the
beach he acknowledged that it disappeared when he turned and faced the
vastness of sea in front of him. Practicing that form of dancing
martial art at sunset had a transcendental sense to it.

For Barbara and Jan of Essex the beach carried different meaning. On
their yearly 'out-of-towner' trip to Brighton it was under the Palace
Pier where I found them. We talked a little about their thoughts about
Brighton and the beach. As is the case perhaps with the older
generation, life becomes more about the memories. Both agreed that
Brighton Beach held many memories of the sixties. Evidently Brighton
had touched them seen as they had been coming here since their youth.
What was the attraction? Probably much of what the attraction of young
people today, and when someone asks them in the future they will say it
reminds them of the nineties and noughties. Instead of Lambretas and
mods it will be veggies and free parties. Barbara and Jan share
association with the young people already by embracing and appreciating
the "unhurried" feeling of the beach. They felt like they had "no
pressure" while they escaped in its harmony.

While many have their issues with the 'out-of-towners' the people who
work on the seafront acknowledge their part in the functioning of the
city. This was something that I had forgotten in my hunt for its
spirit. As Beryl, the manageress of The Beach Caf?, pointed out
Brighton's "industry is the seafront." Beryl and her husband George
have run the caf? as a family business for thirty years now. She
recognized that there was something about the Brighton beach that
always brings people back. In particular, from her point of view, many
people come back with memories of the Brit classic Quadrophenia. The
Beach Caf? was where the film crew based themselves and Beryl believes
that it was this film that truly put Brighton on the map. However, Alan
of the Arches Fish Shop may take issue with this theory.

Alan has lived in Brighton his whole life and I am led to believe that
he is the authority on all things Brighton. Having spent much of his
life as a fisherman he now runs the Brighton Fishing Museum and his own
small Fish Shop where all the customers are friends of his. "Right
throughout time everyone has come down the beach," when I asked why
Alan's wife Carol answered that the people "can't go no further, the
sea stops them." It was in the 1740's that Dr Russell first started to
promote the Brighton Sea as a cure for all ailments. As far as Alan is
concerned this is what first put Brighton on the map and he sees Dr
Russell as the first of Brighton's crackpot characters.

One such character I met was Brian. He was not so much a crackpot but
most certainly a character. Feeling like I had drifted from the idea of
the beach as the spiritual heart of Brighton having been immersed in
nostalgia and history, it was this man from Coventry who was most aware
of the spiritual impact of the beach. To Brian it was a "chill zone"
where the calming effect of the sea (which he had a chemical theory
for) allowed people to escape their everyday stress. Amongst the
"international traveling set" Brighton has a reputation for its beach
and Bohemian lifestyle. I suspect Alan would be laughing at the thought
of his own Bohemian lifestyle but then perhaps this was what the Essex
pensioners Barbara and Jan were referring to. The beach spirit of
making new friends and bringing people together prevails through the
rest of the city. They say that there are very few true Brightonians
and this works because of the non territorial nature of the seafront.
It is free space where all are welcome. Everyone there has a story and
a different reason for being there. But for all this reason is linked
to the sea, its mystery and peacefulness. Everyone I talked to spoke of
the atmosphere. They are all the same in their love for this
surrounding. As Brian put it best, "I don't have a garden so I come
down here. The beach is the communal garden of Brighton."

In the end is it just a sea and a stony beach? Not to the people down
there and certainly not to this writer. The beach breeds a perception
of life that overflows into the rest of the city. Yes there are
problems as with any large city. But Brighton has a distinct advantage.
The seafront will never leave this transient community. The new people
who come here all adopt this attitude and many stay far longer than
their pre-planned day trip. Whether it is the memories, the industry,
the profit or the communal garden everyone holds Brighton Beach in
their heart in their own way. It infects the attitudes and lifestyle of
everyone in this city. As a heart it pumps new life into us all.