Street corners in Brighton

This week's pictures show some of the street corners in Brighton's North Laine. This district has featured in several weekly sets on this site over the years - and justifiably so. It is one of the country's liveliest and most individual urban areas and its streets, though small, are full of visual interest and activity. The grid of streets is an unusual mixture of residential, retail and commercial in buildings that are  mostly, but not all, from the 19th century. Nowadays the North Laine is a very expensive place to both live and start up a business. But what is remarkable is how the influx of money has not (yet) made the area look as glossy, clean and boring as somewhere like Weybridge. The North Laine is still a real place - and let's hope it manages to continue being so. All the pictures in this set were taken in April 2007.

Last week's pictures were about London buses

Last week's pictures looked at London buses. Most of them feature the old Routemasters, though these now only run on just a single tourist route in the city. Why, oh why were they ever scrapped ? The red Routemaster was not just one of London's great icons. Above all else, it worked. The rot started, of course, years ago with the introduction of driver-only buses. Whatever excuse was given at the time, the real reason was to save money. And now we have the bendy buses, which not only get stuck but have also shown an alarming tendency to catch fire. The story of London's buses in recent years is, sadly, the same as for so much else in contemporary Britain. Management consultants and businessmen move in, fuck up everything apart from their own pay packets and then tell us there's been a marvellous improvement. No more room on top for them, I wish. Ding ! Ding !

Other recent pictures of the week

The picture set two weeks ago featured St Margaret's Churchyard in the Sussex village of Rottingdean, just along the coast from Brighton. St Margaret's is an old church, dating from the 13th century. It has a close association with the Victorian artist Edward Burne-Jones, whose ashes are in the churchyard and who also made some stained glass for the church. Interestingly, and quite why I do not know, there is a replica of St Margaret's in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California. The churchyard is a beautiful place, divided up by flint walls and containing the remains of famous and ordinary people in equal peace and tranquillity. The pictures in this set were all taken on a sunny spring day in March 2007.

The Queen, subject of the picture set three weeks ago, came to Brighton on March 8th. Despite being almost 81, she still dutifully carries on her lifelong schedule of visits and tours. A sunny day out in Brighton must have been quite an easy and pleasant trip for her. But spare a thought for what this woman has had to endure over the years by way of entertainment. She must have had to sit through more ridiculous spectacles than anyone else in history, the emperors Nero and Caligula not excluded. To the Queen, the world outside her front door must seem like a perpetual version of Fame Academy. All those eager smiles. All that endless waving and cheering. No wonder she likes to come home to Prince Philip.

Four weeks ago the pictures were about women and hats. There's an old saying that goes "If the cap fits, wear it". As any mere man would tell you, this advice is routinely ignored by women, especially at weddings and race meetings. Dull practicality is, happily, not often a consideration for the female choice of head adornment. Fashion and fun may seem more frivolous reasons for buying a hat than whether or not it keeps you dry or stays on your head in the wind. But, rain or shine, the world's a brighter place when women put their hats on and we can all enjoy that. You may also like to see the earlier picture set about men and hats.

About this site and picture library

There are now over 48000 images in the library and they can all be keyword searched from the picture search page. New or updated subjects include Brighton's North Laine, London buses, Rottingdean, The Queen, women and hats, CCTV cameras and St James's in London. The site has several ways to help make relevant and fruitful searches, including index pages for both subjects and events & places.  There is also a useful search guide and information page.

A good showcase of the type and range of photography available can be explored in the pictures of the week series. Published on the site since December 2001, this now totals more than 2500 images. Every week there is a set of ten pictures about a particular place, event or theme. Almost all the library's pictures are available for personal or commercial reproduction. Digital files can be delivered by email or CD, prices start from as little as £8 and there is further information on the prices and terms & conditions pages. You can also contact David Gray for quotations and availability for new photography commissions.