Saturday 16 November 2013

Street names

I found myself totally distracted yesterday when trying to put down a few thoughts about street names in Brighton and, as happens so often with me, I wandered happily down a variety of memory lanes until, eventually, I had ended up miles from my first destination.  OK, that is perhaps a little picturesque since I had all along intended writing about Brighton and that's exactly where I ended up.  Only it wasn't in the High Street.

Coincidentally, not all that long after I had posted that blog, the Old Bat asked me where High Street, Brighton, is.  She has lived in Brighton all her life - except for six years shortly after we were married during which time we lived in Hove, actually, but that is now part of the city of Brighton and Hove so I think she really has lived here all her life.

But I'm drifting again.  And waffling.

I'm pretty sure I have told people that the original fishing village of Brighthelmstone that became Brighton was basically bounded by East Street (on the eastern side), North Street (in the north), West Street (do I really need to tell you which side that was?) and the now drowned South Street.  But just two blocks to the north of North Street is another road, confusingly named North Road.  There is a South Road as well, but that is about a mile further north!

To add to the confusion, there are in the city two George Streets, one in Brighton, the other in Hove.  There is a Trafalgar Street (in Brighton) and a Trafalgar Road (in Portslade, which became part of Hove, which became part of Brighton & Hove).  Throw in Church Street (two of them), Church Road, Church Hill, New Church Road and Old Church Close - mostly well apart from each other - and you will see that we have further cause for confusion.

Oh heck!  I'm doing it again.  Time to call it quits.

~~~~~

The weather over the last few days seems to have set out to prove me a liar.  I wrote the other day about dank, dreary November days but of late the sun has shone and, although somewhat cooler, the days have been bright, as shown in this photo taken in the local park this morning.  The beech trees still have some colour although the upper leaves have gone.  Just a touch of frost on the grass.


4 comments:

The Broad said...

Nice autumnal picture, BP. As for your 'waffling' -- I found it quite amusing -- in a Brighton-Hove sort of way! ;-)

Brighton Pensioner said...

Well, thank you, dear lady!

joeh said...

I think asking for directions with those streets would make my GPS explode.

Brighton Pensioner said...

Trying to find out just where visitors want to go almost makes me explode sometimes!