Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra in financial difficulties

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

By the by I visited Eastbourne last week for the first time in months and was dismayed by the apparent poverty of the town itself which had many empty shops, a plethora of charity shops and what my father would have described as wandering bands of knuckle-draggers. I couldn't see myself being happy there.

Very sad news, BoD: Eastbourne used to have splendid shops - Seaford Music, Camilla's Bookshop, a couple of good Antique Shops, the Auction House, the Puppet Workshop, as well as the "usual suspects" - and some decent tea shops, too (the Samovar, the Dickens Tea Rooms), and a couple of Art Galleries, too. Sad to think they've gone.

[Alain Maréchal]

[QUOTE=Brassbandmaestro;325068]What way do you mean that public transport and roads are poor? There is a very good road system and bus services are very many and regular?[/QUOTE

East Sussex seems to have about 6 miles of dual carriageway which is mostly the Hailsham and Polegate bypass (very wise). Whenever I tried to get in and out of Lewes (mindful its the County Town where public services are based) there were huge traffic jams. The main road from Lewes to the east (A27) is a narrow single carriageway which can be blocked by any breakdown, and there is a long stretch of slow road along the coast form Brighton to Newhaven which reminds me of a wild west town; all it lacks is tumbleweed. Rural bus services are hardly going to be the choice of people wanting to spend an evening at a concert- do they run late? Trains from the east to Brighton involve changes at Eastbourne or Lewes. I know little of the western side of Brighton, apart from visits to the far western end of Worthing - and I recall that none of the stations seemed to be near the places they were named after, and trains seemed to be slow. Brighton has fast trains to London, and perhaps that's where audiences go.

I think the Glydebourne agument is a diversion - one wouldn't use La Chaise Dieu as an example of the cultural weight of Auvergne. A few weeks in the summer do not a sustainable audience make. Plus both are accessible only by car.

I agree with BoD about Eastbourne. The seafront looks lovely, and the town is surrounded by beautiful scenery, but the centre is faded. I am told that the wanderers are people from the North of England on holiday (my own asumption was inbreeding). It still has Camilla's and the Dicken's Tea Rooms. However, I would caution BoD about Hastings - its worse. I can think of nothing in its favour. In fact, it was one assignment I used to dread. I'm a frequent shuttler, and it takes a long time to get through it on the main road. As a matter of interest for locals - can anybody tell me why the A27 finishes at Pevensey? I would not have thought it was a destination of choice since Duke William's visit.

[Bax-of-Delights]

Camilla's Bookshop still resides in Grove Road, Eastbourne as does Camilla, Stuart and Archie the parrot (who sounds very much like Camilla!) The books continue to amass in ever increasing piles within and without the shop and it can be a devil of a job to actually see the wood for the trees. It is the only reason I now visit Eastbourne. Hastings has been a no-no for many years and is demonstrably a town where businesses go to fail. The magnificent secondhand bookshop housed in a redundant church (name escapes me right now) was a beacon in a veritable Stygian gloom. It, of course, has gone the way of most bookshops and is no more.
Agreed about the coast road through Rottingdean, Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs, Newhaven and Seaford can seem like an endless procession of dreary jerry-built houses and towns that await release from an immediate post-war time warp.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

It still has Camilla's and the Dicken's Tea Rooms.

Hurrah! Does Camilla's still use those lurid, Barbie Pink plastic bags as in days of yore? (More of a "tradition" for me than honey for tea - it would, indeed, be a sign of incurable decline if they did not.)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Camilla's Bookshop still resides in Grove Road, Eastbourne as does Camilla, Stuart and Archie the parrot (who sounds very much like Camilla!) The books continue to amass in ever increasing piles within and without the shop and it can be a devil of a job to actually see the wood for the trees. It is the only reason I now visit Eastbourne.

Further good news. Archie is news to me - I go back to the days of the huge black dog (whose name I forget, but "Bonzo" comes to mind) that used to lie contentedly in front of the "rare & early" shelves. (Is the third edition Ulysses still on sale?)

[Alain Maréchal]

Hurrah! Does Camilla's still use those lurid, Barbie Pink plastic bags as in days of yore? (More of a "tradition" for me than honey for tea - it would, indeed, be a sign of incurable decline if they did not.)

I'll find out, I could visit: perhaps she discourages bags these days.. There used to be a competition for the photograph of the most unusual placement of a pink bag.

I forgot to mention Eastbourne's magnificent Towner Gallery, in a superb new building next to the sadly dilapidated Congress Theatre - a fine example of the town's current condition.

[Bax-of-Delights]

Further good news. Archie is news to me - I go back to the days of the huge black dog (whose name I forget, but "Bonzo" comes to mind) that used to lie contentedly in front of the "rare & early" shelves. (Is the third edition Ulysses still on sale?)

Archie has been around for almost a decade. The dog was a Great Dane (I took it for walkies once with Camilla being towed - literally - to the local park) and am sure was called Bonzo - slept at the bottom of the stairs and used to scare the hell out of me if he stood up unannounced as I dug around in the first editions. Now faithfully departed - as are most of the decent first editions. I must ask about the Ulyssess third edition...

The Barbie pink plastic bags continue to sally forth across the globe.

They even have a presence on Facebook under "Camilla's Bookshop" but after an initial flurry of posting it all seems to have gone a little quiet.

[amateur51]

Camilla's Bookshop still resides in Grove Road, Eastbourne as does Camilla, Stuart and Archie the parrot (who sounds very much like Camilla!) The books continue to amass in ever increasing piles within and without the shop and it can be a devil of a job to actually see the wood for the trees. It is the only reason I now visit Eastbourne. Hastings has been a no-no for many years and is demonstrably a town where businesses go to fail. The magnificent secondhand bookshop housed in a redundant church (name escapes me right now) was a beacon in a veritable Stygian gloom. It, of course, has gone the way of most bookshops and is no more.
Agreed about the coast road through Rottingdean, Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs, Newhaven and Seaford can seem like an endless procession of dreary jerry-built houses and towns that await release from an immediate post-war time warp.

I've always quite fancied visiting Peacehaven

Hastings Old Town does have some cracking fish & chip restaurants, a herring festival in November amongst other delights, lots of good fishmongers, several nifty pubs, some interesting junk shops for browsing, and the relatively new Jerwood art gallery. All discovered one weekend in ... November 2012

[Alain Maréchal]

I've always quite fancied visiting Peacehaven
:

We will all, eventually, repose in a place that looks like Peacehaven.

from Clochemerle (doctor and priest detest each other):

Doctor: One day as you age even you will have to come to me for my help
Priest: and one day you will come to me, but you won't be in a position to complain about it!

[BBMmk2]

I've always quite fancied visiting Peacehaven

Hastings Old Town does have some cracking fish & chip restaurants, a herring festival in November amongst other delights, lots of good fishmongers, several nifty pubs, some interesting junk shops for browsing, and the relatively new Jerwood art gallery. All discovered one weekend in ... November 2012

Seconded!! :)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Archie has been around for almost a decade. The dog was a Great Dane (I took it for walkies once with Camilla being towed - literally - to the local park) and am sure was called Bonzo - slept at the bottom of the stairs and used to scare the hell out of me if he stood up unannounced as I dug around in the first editions. Now faithfully departed - as are most of the decent first editions. I must ask about the Ulyssess third edition...

The Barbie pink plastic bags continue to sally forth across the globe.

They even have a presence on Facebook under "Camilla's Bookshop" but after an initial flurry of posting it all seems to have gone a little quiet.

I left the area over 18years ago, and (it's just occurred to me) haven't visited Eastbourne this Millennium - Archie is after my time!

Good news about Camilla's (the last time I visited the shop, Camilla and Stuart were on holiday) - there's this video on youTube, too, which is good fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cPPkVXXmyM

- but sad to hear that it's the last second-hand bookshop in the town. Seaford Music (the other main reason to visit the town) closed down over a decade ago. Faded glory, indeed.

Incidentally, BoD; do you happen to know Robert Milnes (who talks in the youTube video starting at 7'10")? IIRC, he used to be a psychiatric nurse before becoming a Piano Teacher specializing in re-introducing adults who had been put off learning by teachers in childhood. He was also Music Officer for the Eastbourne Arts Centre (does that still exist?) - and the man who introduced me to Parry's Piano Sonata in A, #2.

[mercia]

can anybody tell me why the A27 finishes at Pevensey?

I suppose the obvious answer would be that it doesn't need to go any further - it becomes the A259. Once you have driven to the end of a numbered road it isn't compulsory to stop. Pevensey Castle is worth a visit (IMO). (why does the A27 finish wherever it finishes at the other end ?)

on the original subject of the BPO, obviously its great that they have been saved, but it seems to me that without increased ticket sales (the problem in the first place ?) difficulties will re-occur sometime in the future (not that I have a solution).

[Alain Maréchal]

I suppose the obvious answer would be that it doesn't need to go any further - it becomes the A259. Once you have driven to the end of a numbered road it isn't compulsory to stop. Pevensey Castle is worth a visit (IMO). (why does the A27 finish wherever it finishes at the other end ?)

.

I understand that there was once a planned Folkestone-Poole Euroroute, linking two ports, and that this would have been a major trunk road for its entire length. Obviously with the demise of Folkestone as a port, it is no longer necessary. What I cannot understand is why the number changes suddenly at Pevensey, when the road is clearly the same one to Bexhill, Hastings and beyond.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've probably argued myself into staying where I am!

How about Chichester?

[Dave2002]

How about Chichester?

What is this - Battleships?

Maybe I misunderstood the last exchange - though I think moving is expensive enough that it isn't worth it for a minor improvement. Perhaps I was right with my "battleships" comment after all!