Where we are

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Ahoy,
I'm writing this on the spur of the moment, after 5 days of generally buying furniture, tidying the flat and doing administrative stuff (they're big on that over here).
Our new flat is between Hove and Portslade, which are themselves just out of Brighton. Portslade is, for practical purposes, our hood. It consists of a fairly solid high street which caters to the needs of the many nearly-deads and badly-feds that populate the area. Personal favourites include Wimpys, a fast-food chain which has apparently taken on the mythical status of Georgie Pie in NZ (the notable difference being that it actually still has outlets), and a charity shop that sells exactly the kind of furniture I'm looking for: the cheap kind. More expensive purchases will come, but I need executive approval for those...
Further east lies Hove, a gentler, more refined area where people can escape from the alternative vibe of Brighton and have a quiet cup of tea. Plenty of good pubs and restaurants line the streets.
And then of course there's Brighton itself. For such a small place, it sure packs a punch! You can get a cab from one end of town to the other for five quid, and pass all sorts of funky stuff on the way. Importantly, I've found a cafe (the Waikickamoocow) that does a decent coffee and the town doesn't seem to have been overrun by the usual food and clothing chains.
There are, however, bajillions of tourists, all of whom act surprised and somewhat affronted when cyclists dare to do something like ride on the road.
Anyway I've attached some pics of our flat, in no particular order. The place is a work in progress, which means you get to enjoy the unfinishedness of it all.
Love to everyone
Chris and Mon

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Photos

Our room
Yet to get drawers - view to the suburbs/South Downs

Spare room
Nothing really exciting here, except that it holds our extra stuff, of which there seems to be rather a lot.

Hallway
From the room to the lounge, with door to kitchen visible on left.

Bathroom
It's big.

Kitchen
It's also quite big. And has a drier, which is a major novelty on these Isles.

More kitchen
Door leads to fire-escape stairs.

Lounge
My office

More lounge
Cheap bookcase and stereo trolley on wheels - mobile music!

The view
You can't tell, but the sea lies away yonder

Further attempt at the sea
We're on the third floor, so we can see the neighbours. On an unrelated note, we don't have a television.

Comments

[Peter Rowlands]

Good to read.... spent my last weekend of 30 years in Brighton... stayed with Chrissie and Pete... lots of memories of odd weekends that nearly always involved bicycles. How very odd to think you are living there. love to you both. P