UNADULTERATED POSITIVITY - POST 3 of 3
When I moved to Brighton 6 years ago I was somewhat overwhelmed by the place. It was (and still is) by far the coolest place I've ever lived and one of the coolest cities I've been to, full stop. I remember talking to certain longer term residents back then, many of whom had a somewhat jaded, slightly cynical 'it was better in the old days' attitude. Club X was better when it was Club Y. That contingent has left and been replaced by this less authentic one. Etc etc.
Now I've been here for a good few years that way of thinking is proving prone to creeping into my mindset, and that of the people I know who've lived here for a similar amount of time. Bamboo Bar was better than the Fringe Bar. The Londoners are driving out the bohemian types. Etc etc. Local publications are just as bad, printing attention-grabbing, ephemeral and vacuous digs at local life, oozing with self aware irony and flippant negativity.
Well, I take solace in the fact that I meet people who've just moved here who are equally as enthusiastic, optimistic and positive as me when I was a fresh faced Brighton newcomer. I love it when I proudly tell someone I'm from Brighton and am met with a dreamy response of "aaaah, Brighton!" (especially when coming from someone on the other side of the world!) I try to put my cynicism in context and remember that, if you stay anywhere for long enough, the novelty wears off. Places you love close down. People from scenes you aren't part of and don't understand carve out their niches and establish their hang outs.
Yes, Brighton has its downsides. Escalating house prices, bewidlering town planning and the slow decline of the club scene seem to be conversation breakers on par with the weather these days. But, lets remember people, boy does it have its up-sides, too. Huge, shiny, wonderful, uplifting, life-affirming up-sides!
I'm surrounded by some of the most talented, driven, creative, intelligent individuals I've ever met.
Everyone has their dream and, be it in the early stages of development, in full flow, or in an 'at least I gave it my best shot' wind-down, people actually work towards it with energy, ambition and enthusiasm.
Every band, musician and DJ you could hope to see grace Brighton's many and varied venues.
One of the biggest art festivals in Europe presents us with more choice than we can deal with every May.
There is an overwhelming sense of proactive, planet-friendly, left-wing, live and let live sentiment everywhere you go.
The city is culturally and sexually vibrant and accepting.
We are sandwiched between a national park and the sea.
My favourite thing about Brighton has always been the optimism and individualism of the people I meet. If we give in to cynicism, lamenting the mostly imagined long-lost glory days, you can guarantee that our city really is going to turn to shit.
posted by Dave @ 3:18 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Lovely to hear that side of the argument posted about Brighton.
I don't think I spent as long there as Dave has now, but I know that every time I see the sea from the train, every time I walk across Preston Park towards a group of, often stoned, friends, I smile and know that somewhere in my heart Brighton is a home to me and I love and miss it.
I will temper that with this more cynical aspect of my thoughts...
Brighton is a bubble. I have spent many a hazy sunny day glancing up at the sky and seeing that bubble shimmer in the near distance. It’s a bubble of Guardian readers; a bubble of bohemian lifestyle (present or not, in the people); a bubble of music, of pleasure, of youth and of adventure. But I have to say I found the bubble, at times, rather suffocating. And now, being back in the place of my birth, London, I find that bubble a little... unreal.
Now, I have to admit that I am not sure what I mean by that. Sometimes I feel that it a statement about race. Brighton is very white compared to the South London where I live. Sometimes I think that it is about class (again, whatever that means) when I hear people say that Brighton is a 'middle-class' playground. What I am not doing here is trying to say that it is wrong for being so. I am not making a moral or ethical judgment over the place. What I am saying is that Brighton feels like such a holiday to me because it seems so disconnected from the world I observe. It’s a dream land of milk and honey.
A good friend once said to me that she felt Brighton to be unreal. She felt uneasy about how 'nice' and 'harmonious' it felt, when the 'real world' was not like that. I am not sure if I completely agree with what IS a moral judgment, but I do understand the sentiment. And she was born there.
This comment is not designed to put a downer on Dave's 'UNADULTERATED POSITIVITY': Brighton is a wonderful place, and I always find it a pain to leave. But for me the new people who come to Brighton and are still in awe of its beauty, are personified in the 1st year students. They arrived fresh faced and loving the sea, and within a year are handing out flyers for nights in the lanes with huge bags under their eyes and don't make it to the sea more than once a month. I feel Brighton is a drug… It’s addictive, hard to leave and you come down heavy when you do. On the occasions when I do return, it seems so much brighter than I remember.
On a leaving comment I will say one last thing… I am not sure if I see a lot of people being individuals in Brighton. Dave and I have spoken about identity before. Individualism, for me, is so tied up with capitalism that I start to wonder… is being an individual actually a good thing? Should we not be having a collective identity and taking the responsibility collectively as well?
If I too could strike a somewhat negative note on your positive post (surprise!), it occurs to me that as somewhere to live, Brighton may suit me too well. It's possible there are too many people here with the same priorities and interests as me, with the unfortunate side effect that I can't resist measuring myself against them.
A part of me misses those dull, little towns, with their drably attired, more ape-like kin. I miss the tiny thrill of excitement I felt noticing that I stood apart from most of them. In those towns I felt I was a precious stone, a bird of paradise. And now I find I am quartz, a canary.
Of course, there will always be those who say you shouldn't base your sense of self-worth on comparisons with others, but, er, what are you gonna do...
fair points, echoing some of the dominant opinions concerning Brighton these days, it seems. My post was but a lighthearted look at Brightons sunny side, this time leaving the imperfections aside and concentrating on that which makes it positive in its own right. I had idly hoped for some comments that simply agreed in the spirit of the post... Ah well! ;-)
Ah come on Dave! It's a BLOG! My comment opened with a nod to how lovely I thought your piece was, and how much I agreed with you. I kinda hoped myself that we would engage on a debate re:Individualism... Ah.. Oh well. ;-)
oops, sorry if that comment sounded narky! I tried to make it sound tongue in cheek but the internet got in the way...
anyway! i am pondering on the subject of individualism and will post some thoughts soon...
I await them with baited breath! (insert emotion here!) lol
Don't you think Brightonians are only as individual as any other group of people?
Like any town Brighton has its sets of people and let us call them the 'alternative' set is one (I don't like the term alternative incidentally, just can't think of a word that everyone would identify with as knowing what the hell I was on about!).
But to another set of people, the alternative people are probably about as individual as say a goth is to us or an emo or whatever other seudo sub-culture you care to think of.
I am not knocking Brighton here by the way, just think its easy for us to think we are so far out and individual and unique, but to many other people in the land...I bet we just come accross as tossers who are all alike ;)
One more thing...in order to appreciate Brighton again its worth leaving!
Go to Aylesbury for the weekend or any other non-descript commuter town and you will be reminded of why you moved here!
individualism isnt just what you wear and the music you listen to. Its your way of thinking, your state of mind, your outlook on the world. Its the things you do that are slightly off kilter with the millions of default options. Back in Aylesbury for instance, the standard suite of likes for a male was football, beer, women and cars. Im generalising and simplifying, but I do believe that Brighton has a larger proportion of bohemian / weird / whacky / extrovert / creative / individual / whatever characters.
Take my networking meetings for instance. My last group had an open day and lots of guests turned up. Amongst them were 3 different kinds of life coach specialising in different areas, a trainee shaman, a tai chi / NLP practicioner and a raiki healer. The shaman woman was setting up a business making fair trade kids clothing sourced from India. Rather than talking about The Apprentice and money all morning, we talked about philosophy and belief systems. This was at a business meeting, remember!
In addition, I know people who organise naked bike rides, who are adept circus performers, performance poets, photographers, musicians who've reduced me to tears or close... etc etc etc
Yes, everyone is an individual. But some are more individual than others! :-)
And if one has to bring it down to demographics, do a poll and chart how many 'specialist' interests / subcultures thrive in Brighton. Of course they'll look like clones of eachother to outsiders, but if we decide to define individualism by numbers then thats a null point (along the lines of all Chinese people look the same) and I'd wager that Brighton has its fair share of individuals that fit our definition.
Hmmm. Not sure I agree with the statements about Individualism.
On an Aside, Guardian Front page today (04/07/07)
"Born in Aylesbury, shaped in Baghdad, the would-be bomber"
Guess he found something else rather than Football or cars. Shame he didn't move to Brighton eh. ;-)
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