Down South again - part three

In case anyone is confused by finding themselves reading part three at the top of  this page, I'll point out that blogs put the newest post first, and the previous ones in reverse order - assuming that you're really keen and keep coming back for more. We make no such ego-centric assumptions, though we hope you might be at least a bit enthusiastic. So you'll find part two below this, and part one further down.

If instead you're way behind and found this at the bottom, click on the "Older Posts" link (it will turn pink) and the previous seven will load.

Alice thinks I'm talking down to you, but I'd rather risk causing a little offence, than be sorry I didn't make things clear. So, where were we?

Near Hastings. We got met off the train by another of Alice's old friends, but from Five Rhythms, not University. And she's into astrology, as well. So at least the blether was different!

This is my new friend, Basil, in the car with me. We had several trips together: maybe just to the supermarket for goodies, or better still, to go out and enjoy the area.

We were there when the great the St Jude's storm swept accross the south of England. The wind and rain were terribly noisy in the night and woke us up in the early hours. Luckily we weren't as badly affected as some, hadn't planned to travel until the following day, and were simply able to enjoy the power of Nature.

Later that day we had a most enjoyable expedition. We all went into Hastings and walked along the beach, admiring the terrific waves. But Alice was preoccupied with hunting for a particular building, which she knew was here somewhere.

This one: called Palace Court. Impressive, yes? Right click and see full size, won't you. It had featured in a wonderful vampire-film-with-a-difference, Byzantium, which SFX's DVD review called, "a connoisseur’s vampire film; a vintage red". We reviewed it ourselves on our blog in July, after seeing it in the cinema and loving it.

Try also the interesting New York Times review which picks up on the film's use of the word "soucriant" and links this to Caribbean folk culture. Jean Rhys used the word in Wide Sargasso Sea, her prequel to Jane Eyre which recounts a possible earlier life of the mad Mrs Rochester. Well worth a read, by the way.

We had to have a closer look, of course.

The beautiful doorway led to one of the locations for Byzantium.

Nice reflection here of the promenade behind, but I couldn't see much inside.

An old man came up to the glass, but wouldn't let us in. He must get fed up with people asking about the filming.

 One local resident, however, had more luck at the time of the actual shoot.

Here's a glimpse of the interior at night.
And the exterior in daylight.

See Dean Thorpe's Flickr for several more good photos. His website is worth a look too.

Below is a still from the film, with Gemma Arterton looking out at the promenade.

Under the promenade lies Bottle Alley, which also featured in the film - quite spooky at night, but an interesting place in daylight.

The walls are lined with broken bottle glass - hence the name. 

Borough engineer Sidney Little, said to be a Modernist with an enthusiasm for concrete, was responsible for the design of the alley, which was opened in 1934.  There's more great photos at the link we've found for him.

After all this exploring, we had a break for a coffee or Mocha, the latter being one of Alice's favourite hot drinks; bought ourselves a DVD of Byzantium, and went to see Ender's Game.

The film is based on the first of Orson Scott Card's excellent sequence of Sci-fi books. We all enjoyed it and found it a really exciting rendition of the novel with the important issues it raises about xenophobia and war.

Recently Card has rightly come in for criticism for his homophobic opinions. The anger of those who called for a boycott of the film is certainly understandable, yet the recent brouhaha has brought out different opinions on whether it should suffer for the author's views.

There's a very thought-provoking article about a personal response to the whole controversy at Grantland.

After this satisfying day to conclude our visit Down South, we had to pack ready to leave for home on the morrow.

Before getting the flight north from Gatwick, I enjoyed another train journey. To help me pass the time, Alice kindly gave me a loan of her iPod. I love the good old groups, like Eurythmics. Annie Lennox is super. We saw an exhibition of her stuff a little while ago. Did you see what we wrote about it here?

That's us up to date on our tavels Down South - sights seen and movies reviewed as well.

Oh, in case you're wondering, the bulbs did get planted in the window boxes at last, but of course they're not at all photogenic as yet.

Down South again - part two

The next part of our trip was supposed to be one simple train journey to Alice's friend who lives near Hastings - but then...

Despite having arranged it all well in advance, she "discovered" online (after some curious - in both senses - Googling of name plus images) another ex-University friend with whom she'd lost touch for simply ages and ages. The image she found, as you can see, was in itself somewhat cryptic and frustrating, but other information encouraged her to take the risk of an email. And Bingo! it really was the friend in question.

Many more emails, texts and phone calls later, we added a diversion to the UK Capital to our itinerary, which meant an extra train journey.

But I like trains: much more relaxing than planes. I even made a new friend on the way, albeit briefly. Click on this (and any other images) to see bigger - or right-click to open full size in a new tab.  I know, I know: some of you already know that.

We finally arrived at the great Clapham Junction, of legendary fame, where the two friends made an enthusiastic reunion. They got a passing stranger to photograph this historic moment with them both standing in front of the Tube map.
I got left off, apart for the very top of my head and ears! I was more than a little hurt about this, but Alice apologised profusely, so I insisted she had to compensate for it later.

We could now use our sensibly pre-ordered, pretty Visitor's Oyster Card, and I got the fun of riding in a big red London bus for the first time. I was sorry, though, we didn't meet the famous Man on the Clapham Omnibus.

After dropping off the luggage, we went to a very nice little pub in Brixton, where the two women talked and talked for simply hours.

We started in the Trinity Arms' lovely outdoor garden and went inside as it got cooler. And still they kept on talking.

They did have an awful lot of years to catch up on. At least it was a comfy place to be.

After supper back at the house, now joined by the friend's partner, they talked even more. And I got to see the biggest computer screen in my life. It's a Mac, and the working bit of the computer is on the back of the screen. Ain't technology wonderful! I hope you've noticed the website they had up...

What did they do over breakfast the next morning? Yes, you've got it. Talked: Life, The Universe and Everything stuff by now.

Eventually it was back on the train, towards Hastings this time. That's for part three.

Down South again - part one

We recently went on a trip to the south of England.

The travelling seemed to involve an awful lot of waiting, plus a passport, even though we weren't technically going "abroad". And it won't be so unless Scotland becomes independent - but who knows how that will turn out? I think Alice is going to vote Yes even though she's actually English by birth. But that's food for another sort of discussion.

The waiting itself seemed to require a lot of snacking. No complaints about that!

Eventually we got on board. I hoped she was paying attention to these instructions, 'cause I wouldn't get saved if she wasn't!

I just love taking off and feeling that great Whoosh of power from the engines, then seeing the land becoming gradually smaller beneath us.

We had a super view of the Forth Bridges before everything disappeared beneath the cloud. Right click on the image to open in a new tab, and see it even bigger, folks. (And any others here, too)

The main reason for the journey was that Alice was taking part in an unofficial mini-reunion with three old friends (I won't say just how old) from her University days.

It would be the first time all four of them had met together for quite a few years, and they intended to revisit their student haunts as well as do a lot of talking. And eating.

They started with a sumptuous Thai Fusion meal the evening before their visit to Southampton University. And talked.

The nostalgia trip began with a visit to the Stile pub, where they sometimes used to have lunch. Alice recalled often having a Ploughman's [a truely super link here!] and a half of Newcastle Brown [and do try that one too] before going to the Library to write an essay - and then falling asleep there.

But times have changed and you can't get Ploughman's at the Stile any more, so they just stopped for a coffee.

They went for a look round the Library after that, but it had been so much modernised inside that it was almost unrecognisable - though the books were much the same as far as I could see.

Alice paused just here, because she has a great fondness for Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. She even wrote a dissertation on The Use of Blood in Some Jacobean Tragedies for her M.A. in Drama and Theatre Arts.

She was inspired by the startling stage direction "Enter Giovanni with Annabella's heart upon his dagger" in John Ford's Tis Pity She's a Whore. Well, it takes all sorts, I suppose.

This wonderfully gory photo, by Teresa Olson, is of Andrew Krug in a 2009 production by the New York Toy Box Theatre Company. They have even more like it.

If you want something really intellectual on the play in question, try the article on Courses in Drama.

But back to the tour. Still on the theatrical theme, however, because all four of our alumni (what a pompous Latinate word that is!) had been variously involved with the University Theatre Group, either acting or working behind the scenes.

They'd managed to arrange a back-stage tour of the Nuffield Theatre - which was opened during their time at Southampton. This revived lots of memories. But I won't go into all of them, or we'll be up until dawn typing away.

Here I am on the edge of the apron stage: a good place for soliloquies. Alice once stood here and did a crazy speech to the audience as Mary the Maid in Ionesco's The Bald Prima Donna for a Theatre Group contribution to Freshers' Week. It was her first taste of the thrill of holding an audience's attention. I'm tempted to say she's never been the same since. Oops. So, of course, I have said it now...

John Nettles did To be or not to be here in 1964! But we've mentioned him before.

This is the very dressing room where Judi Dench got ready for Three Sisters with the Oxford Playhouse, back in the 60s. Alice was an extra for them, and one of the others was delighted to lay out Miss Dench's costumes for her.

After lunch in the Nuffield cafe, there was a walk through the campus to the Hall of Residence where the four first met years ago. They took photos of each other here, but I didn't feature in any of those. I was getting a bit tired of it all by then, anyway, though they just kept on talking away and reminiscing.

The final port of call was to a house which used to belong to a fellow (yet much older) student, where there were often great parties in the old days, or a spare room for anyone staying out of term.

He had only very recently died, and the current residents were busy trying to clear the place up. So I got to meet his very elderly bear, who might even be an antique in his own right.

We then repaired to the home of one of the group who lives in the area, for a real feast with a special cake and lots more talking. What a busy few days... And there's still more of our trip to come in part two.