Deco Tesco

I hate Tesco, but I love art deco. Which leaves me in two mind about this pairing. This is another 'walk to work' find. When I still lived in Brighton I thought of starting a blog called 'Deco Brighton' as there are loads of art deco style buildings all over the city and I'd actively look out for them above the new shop fronts. I might start looking out for more in London as it seems like there's a lot about. I'm not sure what the 'Bangs' refers to, perhaps a department store or the like? It looks like it could have been something quite grand in its day.

Street Style

On the corner of Church Street, Brighton is a prime example of why graffiti is often really under-appreciated. Brighton is covered in amazing street art and a lot of it is actually commissioned by the council. This spot on the corner is one of them and changes every couple of months. I always look forward to seeing what will go up next. Loving the colours in this one and its industrial feel.

Big Buddha

Not sure whether the notion of a massive Buddha keeping its beady eye on me puts me at ease or not, but either way- nice punning. And nice use of colour!

All along the shopfront

Above a pretty cool vintage clothes store in Brighton is a second hand guitar shop. This image of Hendrix sitting amongst the butterflies, guitar in hand, seems a pretty fitting tribute to the guitars and 70s clothes inside.

Mad Hatters

As I mentioned before-quite a while back now-Brighton seems to have a strange sort of affinity with Alice in Wonderland. Dotted around the Laines and the high street are shops, pubs and bars all with some kind of connection. Wandering through the shops I spotted a new display had appeared since I last was there. This sprawling tribute to Alice in Wonderland is pretty impressive and I love how they are very similar to the original illustrations from the book.

Another Alice reference- this time above Mad Hatters hat shop, a favourite haunt of mine when I still lived nearby.

Cycle Laine

'The Laines' in Brighton offers up loads of high up treats. A winding mass of tiny, independent shops are all decked out  in all their glory, many of which stretch up to the rooftops. This upright bike particularly caught my eye last weekend; a lovely flash of colour on a slightly dismal and cloudy day. 

A grand desire

Still in Brighton, though down by the sea this time along Marina Drive. This sign has been up for as long as I remember and apparently it is a product of a Brighton Uni art project. I don't know if I completely 'get' the statement,it seems a little wishy-washy for my liking. However, it is the scrubbed out writing underneath that I want to know more about...maybe someone was contesting this idea!

Down the rabbit hole

If there's anywhere where you have to take the strange and fabulous as the ordinary, it's Brighton. So far it's been my favourite place I've lived and I can definitely see my self going back at some point in my life. This picture was taken in the North Laines of the side of a shop selling Alice-esque whimsy. Brighton seems to have a lot of Alice in Wonderland inspired shops and pubs, The Mock Turtle cafe, The White Rabbit pub and Curiouser and Curiouser the jewellers just as a small example. It's a pretty odd place to live, a sort of fantasy world and it often feels like you went to a festival and never quite left. I loved this piece of graffiti because it encapsulates that and also because it's just really well done.

Sundown over sussex shoreline

The time when the sun begins its slow descent is what my friend affectionately calls ‘the beautiful hour’. Everything is bathed in a golden light, shadows smudge the angles of buildings, light reflects softly off water and everything really does look more beautiful.

Not train-spotting in Brighton

When I used to live in Brighton I used to get the train a lot from the main station. I travelled back to the seaside a couple of weeks ago and, standing in the main train terminal, was surprised that I hadn't taken a photo of the architecture before. An intricate yet sturdy looking web of steel and curved glass, it gives the platforms the certain grandeur that has awarded this building that of a listed one.