Beach, eh?

My visa situation has left me grounded. It was around this time of the year I had expected to be back in Sydney. April, August and September - dates which I had thrown around for my revisit. Late August and I find myself still in London. How about October? It's another form of restriction, not having the freedom to schedule and plan the upcoming weeks, being absolutely wingless. It's the uncertainty which is the most frustrating, where will I be at the end of 2009? So I wait, filling each passing week with the same itinerary. Endless partying which seamlessly blur together in a mash of debaucherous evenings and regretful mornings. Was it last week that we celebrated that Birthday or was that the parting farewell? The monotony of it all reminds me that of being back home only more intense and hectic.


With this in mind it would be decided to make the most of being overseas and to explore England as a whole. A one hour train ride from London Bridge and you are transported to Brighton, South England. It's a far cry from a 15 minute drive down Gardeners Road to the Eastern Beaches of Sydney but it would have to do. Not the most ideal weather conditions for the beach, an overcast sky and a desperate sun trying to break the cloud cover. Deep down, I wouldn't have wanted to experience an English seaside town under any other conditions. A brisk 10 minute walk from the train station we were at the pebble coastline looking out into the ocean. The shore stretches for miles in each direction. The pebbles, like the seagulls were massive with kids frolicking in the water with thongs only to protect their feet.


Brighton Pier - one of Brighton's major attractions instantly reminded me of Ruby Pier from Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven. A family setting with bumper cars, screaming children, candy floss, games, rides bound by a hauntingly old carnival vibe. Still in the back of my mind I feel unease and anxiety. I need to get out of this place...