brighton #2

brighton (31 nov 2012): 

woke up when i wanted to 

took a bus to baker street for famous fish & chips in brighton 

had the cod & chips and it was crispy on the outside 

hot and tender on the inside 

and the chips were soggy just the way british fish & chips are meant to be 

the restaurant had simple tiled floors 

simple plastic furniture 

simple glass doors 

unsophisticated and unpretentious 

in the background the waitress told a couple a story about how her teenage son disobeyed her 

everybody was laughing 

after that i took a slow walk down to north laine 

the shops were interesting 

bought two second hand h&m tops for 1.50 pounds at a charity shop 

tried hats on in a shop called 'the mad hatter' 

flicked through vinyls at a shop called 'the wax factor' 

bought an old watch for 7 pounds from a shop (i forgot the name) 

checked out every used bookshop i could
some were very specialised and carried only, for example, books on art design and coffee table books
others, like the one in the picture, was exploding with all kinds of books, called 'rainbow books'
i was taken aback when i walked in. you have to tread with caution because
the books litter every possible pathway, strewn open, spines yawning
almost impossible to browse yet it is such a haven
two extra side rooms downstairs, equally disastrous
it was chaotic but it was inviting, you couldn't help but squat down and start sifting
the shop owner was a lovely old man who knew where things were in spite of the mess
he helped me locate some books i might be interested in
gave me recommendations of his favourite books which include one that i eventually bought
and am reading now, titled 'the end of the world news: an entertainment' by anthony burgess
author of 'a clockwork orange'
it's a very good read so far, i'm going back to it once done with my french homework

i told him one day i would like to set up something like his shop
'don't expect to get rich' he said
'ok' i said. 'i don't need that anyway'
he said, 'but it pays the bills'
'and you get so much time to read' i said
'a lot' he said

i told gus, i'll collect the books and you handle the business things
gus thinks it's a risky, almost futile business venture in singapore, a used bookshop
no market
i believe him but
that would be a good life i think, reading all the time
however, if i think about the good food i'd be sacrificing if i didn't have extra good food money
it makes me kinda sad
in recent years i have realized just how much i love food
especially asian food

at night i went to the 'theatre royal brighton'
it sounds french, putting of the adjective behind the noun
feel like it should be called 'royal theatre brighton' instead
at 6.45pm i bought reduced price tickets for a play called 'the sacred flame'
it was about a crippled man whose devoted nurse loves him
but he loves his wife
and one day he dies and the nurse suspects murder
it was a story about the line between love and pity
the duty of a profession and the obligation of morality
but also the dissolution of morality as observed by the crippled man's old mother
who asks, why must one person's set of morals be a standard for everybody else
and, if love fades in a marriage, what is one to do

i watched it through the white hairs of the generally elderly audience
but i enjoyed it thoroughly
i seldom watch plays
it is an adaptation of a play by the same name by william somerset
perhaps if i can get the book i can post some of the dialogue i enjoyed in the play

after that i walked to the bus stop amidst zombies, vampires, nuns, witches
(one girl, totally green, wicked-inspired, great effort)
took a slow walk home
watched QI on tv and fell asleep

still to blog about:
london
interlaken