cities
-
Brighton to Southsea by bike
This was an emergency cycle. I had got my ASLEF and RMT strikes mixed up, and thought Friday was the “reduced service” rather than “no trains whatsoever” day [1]. I set off slightly after 4pm, down the hill and around the ruins of the Royal Albion hotel and then out along the seafront through Hove… Read more
-
The Foundling Museum, Bloomsbury, London
Fanny Heese. Walter Raleigh. Ethelred Hovell. Martin Scaleshooe. Epaminodas Allen. Bifsell Stanes. Jenny Godmanchester. William Hogarth. Elizabeth Foundling. These are just some of the names of the children who found themselves handed in at London’s Foundling Hospital, a charitable enterprise set up in the 18th century “for the care and maintenance of exposed and deserted… Read more
-
Cats, The Bag Of Nails pub, Bristol
There was a bit of a craze for cat cafes in England a few years ago, the concept borrowed from the home of the laser-focused theme restaurant, Japan. The mania seems to have cooled, and here’s hoping all those cats are still being well looked after and are getting a decent number of treats. The… Read more
-
Existence is Resistance: My favourite signs at Brighton Trans Pride 2023
I didn’t have my phone with me, but I was down in Jubilee Square for the Trans Pride Protest March earlier today. It was a joyous but also very political gathering, as one might expect given the targeting and vilification of trans people by the fascists and their enablers in the establishment press. This being… Read more
-
Cycling in Oxford: LTNs, active travel, and all that jazz
I returned from Oxford this week, saying an emotional farewell to a cat who will have already forgotten who I am. While I was there, the cat’s owner lent me an old Dawes road bike, which I used to pootle about the place and explore the place, with its river meadows, dreaming spires, and future… Read more
-
Oxford wanderings
I am in Oxford with a cat. I have been left with a bicycle, for exploring purposes, and more books than I will ever be able to finish. I chose the bike. My friend, the cat owner, lives in a Low Traffic Network, decried by the fascist-adjacent as an exercise in freedom elimination. The sun… Read more
-
Walking in the Only Unknown Direction
A map offers possibilities but also limitations. When I’ve lived in a town, city or suburb for a certain amount of time, each direction lies heavy with familiarity. Here in Brighton, South is to the sea; North, to the Downs. West to Hove and, eventually, America. On down, tired days, I everything in my mind… Read more
-
Visiting every county cricket ground #3: Hove
I had never been to the county ground in Hove, despite having lived in Brighton for a year. Sure, I’ve cycled past it. Circled it. Peeked in from the car park, longingly. But all these activities took place in the off season – my life, geographically inconsistent, never lined up with seeing the oldest county… Read more
-
Visiting every county cricket ground #2: The Oval
Two rounds of the County Championship completed, and two grounds visited. This rate, I hope, will speed up in time, but for now I am easing myself in, like an opening batsman pre-Bazball. The Oval is the first cricket ground I ever visited, in 2005, on the last day of the last Test of that… Read more
jamesofwalsh 