Brighton fading?

Yesterday was one of those grey days.  (This time) I mean literally.  The sky was grey, the sea was grey, the air itself seemed grey, draping itself over the city.  And, as I sat on the bus in the morning, lots of the buildings and lots of the people seemed grey too.  I know I've talked and poem-ed about Brighton's paradoxes and contrasts before.  It just seemed to be a particularly sad place yesterday.

And it wasn't just me who noticed.  I spent yesterday with Alice, a friend's mother who is suffering from quite severe dementia and now requires constant companionship/care because her short term memory is so limited.  We went into town via London Road and Alice commented every time we passed an empty shop.  Which makes you realise just how many shops on that trajectory from Beaconsfield Road to the City Centre have been closed up and left empty.  Boarded up, graffiti'ed upon, spilling over with rubbish, apologetic notes to customers taped to windows.  The building we used to rent and run as a Community Centre is now home to squatters (perhaps that's better than it being totally unused?) and the old-BlockBusters below it has been empty for over a year.  Meanwhile new buildings and office blocks seem to be constantly being squeezed into already crowded areas.

What's going on?  From the looks of things, much of this 'vibrant' city is in decline.  Or, it's OK if you have plenty of money, but for those running small businesses, it's clearly not an easy place to operate.  I guess it's not as if we have a shortage of shops, cafes, etc, and the contents of most people's wallets is definitely lower than in the past, so it's not surprising that only the 'fittest' are surviving.  Too bad that the 'fittest' are betting shops, £1 stores, and mainstream supermarkets.   And sometimes pubs, although I know a lot of local pubs are shutting down too.  Meaning... even less establishments that contribute to a sense of community or ownership.  How bad does it have to get before things change?  How much more will the divisions in our city increase?  As those who are struggling most have less and less access to local resources.   Think Whitehawk and Moulsecoombe.  Cut off from the rest of the city by extortionate bus prices and the only shops you'll find are again, betting shops, and expensive newsagents.  Perhaps I'm exaggerating and I am only speaking from my own observations but it seems to be pretty unjust to me.

No wonder as we wandered past the Pavillion and the bustling South Laine and out along the Pier Alice muttered, 'it's too much'.  I agree.  On one hand too much excess, too many 'pretty things' on sale in shop windows, too many lights and noises and posters and invitations to spendspendspend on superficial things.  On the other hand, too much hunger, too much homelessness, too many forgotten ones, too many endings.  EMPTY.  On both hands, what I sensed in Brighton yesterday was EMPTINESS.

And I know there is more than meets the eye.  I know there are people filling this city with compassion and campaigning and creativity.  I know there is laughter and love and long-term relationships with partners, people and places.  But I think there's still quite a lot to be filled.  And I wonder when and I wonder how and I wonder who.