Brighton, Victory, and a Seagull
We have had to opportunity to get out of London on day trips. One of the many upsides to the size of the island of Britain is how close everything is. Coming from North America, where a 4 hours drive is normal for a day trip, it seems odd to me that people here don't travel further than an hour on a normal basis. On this particular day, we ventured south to the seaside. Our first stop was the city of Brighton, best known for the Brighton Pavilion and amazing doughnuts.
The Brighton Pavilion is a former royal residence, built and maintained by the family through the Georgian period. It was sold by Queen Victoria after she decided that it was not practical for her young, large family. This pleasure palace expresses the wealth and stature that the Georgian era aristocrats aspired to. Modelled after Asian styles, the outside being Indian, and the inside reflecting the Chinese, it was meant to be an ode to the growing British empire. The only word that I can use to describe the inside of the palace is expensive. The walls are adorned with beautiful murals and paintings, the dining room has a metal chandelier weighing a ton in the shape of a dragon, and every room was made with the finest materials the era had to offer. It was this crazy spending that left the Georgian aristocracy broke, and the lower classes enraged at their absurd wealth. This began to change throughout the Victorian period, but at the time it was cause for anger, and in some cases, revolution (specifically the American and the French because the English had a habit of copying the French court).
After the tour of the Palace, we meandered down to the pier, where we had to have world famous fish and chips, as well as made in front of you doughnuts. I ended up purchasing a dozen doughnuts, figuring that I would end up sharing with my friends. I had put one of the bags in my backpack while I had the other bag in my hand. My friend had grabbed one right away, while it was still warm. Little did we know, that circling above us were feathered demons waiting to swoop in and threaten our beloved food. As my friend was going to take a bite, one of the seagulls from the large flock that had been bothering visitors to the seaside dove down and snatched it right out of her hand. His fowl friends followed suit and came at our faces. It was terrifying and further cemented my disgust of birds. Across the street from the doughnut stand was a supposed world-renowned fish and chips shop. We decided to eat our lunch after the seagull debacle, but we didn't have enough time to sit down for lunch so we took it to go. I kept my eye on the seagulls, the majority of whom were preoccupied with an unfortunate group of school children down on the beach. We sat on the step of the fish shop, hurriedly consuming our lunch, while one lone gull landed at the end of the sidewalk, watching us and waiting for an opportunity to snatch away a chip. I tried chasing him away, but he wouldn't budge. I was more than happy to leave my nemeses behind after lunch.
Once our group had had their fill of the sea, we travelled to the port town of Portsmouth, home of the British Royal Navy and its associated Maritime museum. There is a lot to do at the shipyard that is the home of the museum, including a tour of the bay and the HMS Victory. As the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth tells a story of an empire that the sun never set on. The HMS Victory is particularly significant, as she is still the flagship of the First Sea Lord to this day, despite being in a dry dock since the 1920s. She's best known for her victory at the Battle of Trafalgar under Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. In her prime, the Victory was seen to be the best ship in the whole Royal Navy, and when she was built, only the latest naval technology was used. Since the battle, the HMS Victory has had many fates, her last being a museum ship and has been sitting in a dry dock since 1921, where thousands of people have been given the opportunity to visit her and learn about the Battle of Trafalgar. It is the main attraction at the National Museum of the Royal Navy's location in Portsmouth and it is something I highly recommend seeing if you plan on visiting. You feel like you have walked back in time to an era of eye patch pirates and great exploration. It's mesmerizing!
Both the Brighton Palace and the HMS Victory are reflections of a forgotten era that has been romanticized through books and movies. It's an era of class division, with the extreme expenditures by the rich with poor and starving peasants in the background. It was also framed by the rapidly expanding empires around the world, the drive for exploration had started, and finding new trading routes and conquering territories was the fashion. This era, post-Tudor and Stuart, cemented the British idea of greatness. The country was expanding, the industrial era was beginning, and a new industry was unfolding. The United Kingdom was becoming one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world, and she would stay that way. This era gives evidence and argument for the constructivist idea of identity, that is that it grows slowly over time. Throughout this era, the British identity came into itself and for the first time, there was a real sense of being a part of something bigger than a small island at the edge of the world.
The Brighton Pavilion is a former royal residence, built and maintained by the family through the Georgian period. It was sold by Queen Victoria after she decided that it was not practical for her young, large family. This pleasure palace expresses the wealth and stature that the Georgian era aristocrats aspired to. Modelled after Asian styles, the outside being Indian, and the inside reflecting the Chinese, it was meant to be an ode to the growing British empire. The only word that I can use to describe the inside of the palace is expensive. The walls are adorned with beautiful murals and paintings, the dining room has a metal chandelier weighing a ton in the shape of a dragon, and every room was made with the finest materials the era had to offer. It was this crazy spending that left the Georgian aristocracy broke, and the lower classes enraged at their absurd wealth. This began to change throughout the Victorian period, but at the time it was cause for anger, and in some cases, revolution (specifically the American and the French because the English had a habit of copying the French court).
After the tour of the Palace, we meandered down to the pier, where we had to have world famous fish and chips, as well as made in front of you doughnuts. I ended up purchasing a dozen doughnuts, figuring that I would end up sharing with my friends. I had put one of the bags in my backpack while I had the other bag in my hand. My friend had grabbed one right away, while it was still warm. Little did we know, that circling above us were feathered demons waiting to swoop in and threaten our beloved food. As my friend was going to take a bite, one of the seagulls from the large flock that had been bothering visitors to the seaside dove down and snatched it right out of her hand. His fowl friends followed suit and came at our faces. It was terrifying and further cemented my disgust of birds. Across the street from the doughnut stand was a supposed world-renowned fish and chips shop. We decided to eat our lunch after the seagull debacle, but we didn't have enough time to sit down for lunch so we took it to go. I kept my eye on the seagulls, the majority of whom were preoccupied with an unfortunate group of school children down on the beach. We sat on the step of the fish shop, hurriedly consuming our lunch, while one lone gull landed at the end of the sidewalk, watching us and waiting for an opportunity to snatch away a chip. I tried chasing him away, but he wouldn't budge. I was more than happy to leave my nemeses behind after lunch.
Once our group had had their fill of the sea, we travelled to the port town of Portsmouth, home of the British Royal Navy and its associated Maritime museum. There is a lot to do at the shipyard that is the home of the museum, including a tour of the bay and the HMS Victory. As the home of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth tells a story of an empire that the sun never set on. The HMS Victory is particularly significant, as she is still the flagship of the First Sea Lord to this day, despite being in a dry dock since the 1920s. She's best known for her victory at the Battle of Trafalgar under Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. In her prime, the Victory was seen to be the best ship in the whole Royal Navy, and when she was built, only the latest naval technology was used. Since the battle, the HMS Victory has had many fates, her last being a museum ship and has been sitting in a dry dock since 1921, where thousands of people have been given the opportunity to visit her and learn about the Battle of Trafalgar. It is the main attraction at the National Museum of the Royal Navy's location in Portsmouth and it is something I highly recommend seeing if you plan on visiting. You feel like you have walked back in time to an era of eye patch pirates and great exploration. It's mesmerizing!
Both the Brighton Palace and the HMS Victory are reflections of a forgotten era that has been romanticized through books and movies. It's an era of class division, with the extreme expenditures by the rich with poor and starving peasants in the background. It was also framed by the rapidly expanding empires around the world, the drive for exploration had started, and finding new trading routes and conquering territories was the fashion. This era, post-Tudor and Stuart, cemented the British idea of greatness. The country was expanding, the industrial era was beginning, and a new industry was unfolding. The United Kingdom was becoming one of the largest and most powerful empires in the world, and she would stay that way. This era gives evidence and argument for the constructivist idea of identity, that is that it grows slowly over time. Throughout this era, the British identity came into itself and for the first time, there was a real sense of being a part of something bigger than a small island at the edge of the world.
(Above) The Brighton Pavilion was not what I expected, and stands out amongst the other brick buildings in the area.
(Below) The Brighton pier was not the sight of tons of visitors on the day we went, partially because of the wind and the overcast skies, but I think it was more the flock of seagulls that you can see in the picture.
(Below) The HMS Victory is quite the ship, and reminds me of Pirates of the Caribean, mostly because one of the ships that was used by the British in the movie was inspired by the Victory.
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