#victorian pier

[liverpoollomo]

Royal Pier, Aberystwyth. Zorki 4. Expired Perutz Primera 100.

Opened on Good Friday in 1865 the Royal Pier in Aberystwyth was the first of it's kind to open in Wales. Sadly due to repeated storm damage it now stands at less than half of it's original length of 242 meters.

Today it consists of a pub, restaurant, amusement arcade and a snooker hall..

[nostalgicfun]

This is probably Too Niche, but to the vivid dreamers out there: do you ever get nostalgic for a place from your dreams that isn't real? I have recurring locations in my dreams that just. don't exist. And I find myself thinking about them or having "memories" about them even though they don't exist and never have. But they're real in my heart even though I'll never go there.

(tell me about these places in the tags, I'm so curious)

[curatorsday]

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

I got out the 8’ ladder today to measure our two pier mirrors. We’ll be moving them from the Bank Gallery to the Barn Gallery (at the opposite end of the museum) this June for a new exhibit and I need to make sure they’ll fit.

[beebees-photography]

Had a quick visit to Clevedon, visited the Victorian Pier, the building was completed, and the Pier opened in 1869. Was built using leftover iron from Brunel's South Wales Railway. One Direction also filmed their You and I video here.

Great place, and I would love to go back and have a more in-depth look around the whole place.

[carcarrot]

living the southern california dream

[watsonprime]

19 miles from the nearest coast stands a pier like no other - Glastonbury-On-Sea

You can almost smell the sea breeze and hear the seagulls as you stand on the 60 meter-long structure that overlooks the entire festival.

A relatively recent addition, the pier was added in 2019, designed by Hastings born artist Joe Rush, with Michael Eavis signing off on the idea based on the knowledge it would have a Punch & Judy Show.

But there is so much more than puppet shows - a robotic band, bingo, fortune telling, the list goes on. All the fun of the seaside without the risk of a seagull stealing your chips.

Available as an A6 postcard, with 11 other iconic Glastonbury locations https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1336978228/glastonbury-festival-a6-print-postcards

[suxxesphoto]

Brighton Pier Photography

On the return from my road trip to Devon and Dorset made the decision to stop off in Brighton east Sussex for a few days. The plan once again was to stay in a seafront hotel and get in some sunrise and sunset photography with the Brighton Piers as the main focal point. It was also prime time for the starling murmuration’s. Continue reading Brighton Pier Photography

[unicornsandrainbowscrafts]

Side Yard Porch Large classic stone porch idea with a roof extension

[sol-domino]

Porch Front Yard Ideas for a substantial, traditional front porch renovation that includes decking and a roof extension

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Would you mind talking about the vibes in Aberystwyth? Like the university and the town and all that jazz?

Vibes: immaculate

I'm out of date on the uni now - this September marks twenty years since I first went, so there will be differences by now. But I did find it a very good uni in terms of student life and facilities, both academic and otherwise. Many good clubs and societies, a lively SU, etc

HOWEVER the town is fantastic. It's a bit of an odd one, in that the character changes dramatically between term-time and holidays - students make up something like two thirds of the population, so it's much quieter and much Welsher once they've all gone home. But even with the students, it's something like 13,000 people? Small - you can walk across it in half an hour, like. Which means it's big enough to have all the shops you need and a truly astonishing number of pubs, but small enough to still retain its Victorian seaside resort charm

Oh yeah, okay, it has:

TWO BEACHES! One is grit sand/shingle, the other is powder sand

A pier with MANY STARLING MURMURATIONS

The remains of a CASTLE

The National Library of Wales (respectful silence)

An IRON AGE HILLFORT which you can walk to

A Victorian funicular that still works which is a CLIFF RAILWAY

A CAMERA OBSCURA on said cliff and also frisbee golf. Why they thought frisbees and windy clifftops were a perfect pairing I do not know

DELIGHTFUL WOODS

There's technically TWO Cinemas but one is the Arts Centre (so shows a mix of blockbuster releases and art house things with intermittent reliability) and the other is a one-screen wonder that can only show films for about two weeks at a time, it's great

WALES COASTAL PATH ACCESS did you know you can walk the entire coast of Wales?

A STEAM TRAIN (sit on the left of the way out, the right on the way back)

Limited chain stores! Most shops in town are local-owned, and usually Welsh speaking

Also a bit of a hippy vibe, albeit not as much as Machynlleth up the road

Over fifty pubs and clubs. This is an unfeasible number for the population size

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I didn’t post it when Emmanuel Hebert posted his living room, but now he’s posted more of his home’s progression and I just have to share it. This is Manoir Blackswan in Canada. Of it, Emmanuel says, “Here's a few pictures of my ever evolving home which gathered lots of interests in the past weeks on this group!”

“Welcome to my world,” says Emmanuel.

“I am currently working on 4 new rooms concept, the Red Room, the Stripe Room, the Tea Room/Boudoir and the Dollhouse Room. Also next spring will be the beginning of my 2000sq2 French Garden construction!”  (This was the only room he posted before and I fell in love with it.)

Is this not amazing? Some members thought that the living room was a lamp store!

“We finally finished building the three floor staircase! Now it’s sanding and staining time! The color of the staircase will be the same as the right front newel post and the doors, some kind of cognac, patinated tiger oak finish. Also, the third floor staircase wall will become black as well!.” he said.

The moody stair case, hallway and landing. 

Making the most of a tiny room. Now, this looks interesting. 

Beautiful new shower- look you can keep plants in it.

So pretty.

The bd. is getting an MCM flair.

Art Deco Powder Room, design by Emmanuel. It has a 12 ft. ceiling, plaster moldings, 1920’s Porcelain Pedestal Sink and beautiful lighting. The ceiling fixture is a late 1920’s French Art Deco nickeled bronze fixture.  “ Lighting is the jewelry of a home,” says Emmanuel.

Can’t wait to see what he does w/the finished attic.

“Getting some crazy pieces on my treasure hunting trip these days! Here’s a massive late 19th century Victorian Pier Mirror! Quite a find! “

“My newest acquisition, a set of 9 thrones and 2 pedestals dating from 1870’s and made in Napanee, Ontario by Gibbard Furniture. The set was commissioned for a Odd Fellow’s Lodge.”

“Treasure hunting of the day, a monstrous pair of early 20th century cast iron floor candelabras salvaged straight from its original church. They stand at 68” tall and weight about 100 pounds each!” (Does he know how to shop, or what???)

And, this a photo of a moody dramatic Sunday night in his living room. I can’t wait to see the rest of house when it’s finished. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/536753050012824/user/553241672/

[positivelybeastly]

🎮 - What’s your favorite video game?

So, I already mentioned Mass Effect 2, but I play a LOT of video games, so I have plenty more! An easy three to throw out there would be:

Bloodborne! I got the Platinum on this and did all of the endings and quests, ran Kirkhammer and Tonitrus before switching it up for the Boom Hammer. I streamed the Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower fight for my boyfriend and the friend who introduced us, and they were just watching with bated breath because I was matching her hit for hit for hit - I search for Visceral Attack openings, fish for that exact point in the animation, and just go in. That's my style. I also just adore the setting, the darkness, the dreariness, the lack of specificity about anything, the sheer out-there-ness of the monster designs and the hard left turn from Victorian Gothic horror into the Eldritch. Ebrietas is my favourite boss. She's cute. :)

Until Dawn. I fucking love all of these characters, I love the interlocking narrative - I've played it maybe eight or nine times, and each and every time, there's been some change in the dialogue or some minor difference in a scene that tickles my brain every time I see it. Sam, Mike, Josh, Chris and Jess are probably my favourite characters of the principal cast, but honestly, I love them all, they're just amazingly well sketched out and performed. Understand the palm of my hand, bitch~

Resident Evil 2 (Remake). The Resident Evil games are, on average, my favourite video game series of all time - I'm a sucker for survival horror, I really love the characterisation of especially the remake versions of the cast, I adore how different each run can be because of the variable difficulty, I fucking LOVE the music for the games, they're just amazing (not you, 5 or 6. Piers is cool. I'll take Piers. But you can keep Kijuju.) 2 Remake is probably my favourite of the lot, though, just because of how perfectly and tightly designed it is. Also, Collapse fucking SLAPS. Fucking incredible escape music.

[sichore]

Jimi and Pickles for #7 ♡

We're going Victorian AU for this one. Do we like pain? :D

7. Write about one member of your ship asking the other to dance with them.

Jimi stares down at the gloved hand offered to her and back up to his crooked grin. "Are you serious?"

And Pickles winks, and were it not for the lavish ball, and their lavish clothes, and the lavishly dressed vermin around them gussied up in their riches and fortunate birth – it would be like nothing has changed.

"Dead serious," he replies, his smile unwavering.

Jimi keeps her face carefully neutral, to not give away how her stomach flips and twists with dread and disgust.

But she gives him her hand, and he leads her to the dance floor.

Hand in hand, hand on waist, hand on shoulder. All in prim and proper form to twirl about in a matter about as exciting as watching dead fish swirl in eddies off the pier.

Which is to say, not at all.

"I could fall asleep if it weren't for this corset," Jimi grumbles.

And Pickles laughs, and that hasn't changed at all. "Yeah, this barely counts as dancin', huh?"

"Hmm." Jimi doesn't want to draw anymore attention by appearing disinterested or impolite, so she keeps her eyes on his face, directly on an invisible spot upon his cheek. No amount of blush or powder can hide the dull pallor of his skin, no longer to be kissed by the sun. "You seem to be adjusting well enough."

"It was nothin' findin' the rhythm. Really, the hardest part is not tripping on skirts–"

Jimi grits her teeth. "Not what I meant." And then, putting on a strained smile: "You should be doing this with your lovely bride-to-be."

"An' she's catching up with yer handsome little guard, so we can have this one, yeah?"

His eyes don't leave her face. Eyes that are still green like the algae on the docks that Jimi knows aren't actually brighter now. They just appear more vivid with the life drained from his skin.

His gaze burns, which is absurd, when she can feel no warmth through their gloves, through the layers of cloth between them. Jimi can't feel anything, but the pressure of his hand pressed into hers.

"You're just making a bigger target of yourselves," Jimi hisses, brown gaze flitting over his shoulder for a moment.

Pickles just laughs, again, in that quiet, huffing way of his. "We're makin' our stand. You were always part of this, Jim–"

"Don't call me that."

She looks back to him and catches the flash of hurt in his eyes, and Jimi pushes down the sick knot of regret, aching and longing, deep in her belly. She holds its head underwater, ignoring the thrashing and desperate cries.

"I want no part of this. You have your wealth, you have your marriage, and you have no need of me, just my wares to keep up this farce–"

"It's no game," Pickles says gently, heedless of the vicious barbs that Jimi hurls at him. They break, spin about on an axis, a full rotation of the world before they return to face one another. Hand in hand, hand on waist, hand on shoulder. "You'd be right there with us if it weren't for the laws."

Jimi's eyes drop to his breast pocket. "You speak of madness."

"Well, yeah."

The strings halt, the perfurmed and powdered vermin break into applause, and Pickles lifts her gloved hand to his lips that feel like a press of flesh, and nothing more.

"I'm mad about ya." Beneath the brim of his hat and the shadows that will ever dust his eyes is a glow that has never once dimmed. That hasn't changed. That hasn't died. "Always have been."

[Soft OTP Prompts]

[spyramy]

When I learned that ZA/UM had a studio in Brighton/Hove, I got thinking about some of the seaside areas on Martinaise, and took some pictures as I walked up the coast to Rottingdean.

Brighton and Martinaise have a fair amount in common (and a lot not in common). There's a Harbour in Shoreham down the coast, a large amount of fading, crumbling infrastructure and one of the largest drug/alcohol problems in the country. What struck me most was Joyce Messier's story about how Martinaise was 'built' by the ruling class as a holiday destination.

Brighton, at earliest recognisability, was a 16th century fishing village known as Brighthelmstone. It grew it's population into the 17th century, but saw economic decline into the 18th, and was then overhauled by the ruling classes as a 'health resort'. A move which brought wealth into the city, and built a grand Victorian seafront, boardwalk and (now burnt down) pleasure pier.

Brighton also has no shortage of memorials to absurd royal figures. Chiefly the Royal Pavilion. Serving as much as a monument to a monarch's profligacy as to their greatness. Much like a certain exploding horse statue.

In the 20th century, due to its fading appeal as a resort, and the effects of the wars, the city became popular with artists, bohemians, communists and anarchists across the economic spectrum. A notable 1930s Anarchist called Harry Cowley still has a mutual aid organisation/bookshop/social space/anarchist club named after him on London Road. It's economic decline dipped lowest in the 1980s (like many places under Thatcherism). The exploitable fashionable nature of its history has now led to it being a hugely expensive place to live in the UK, as well as being service industry based and for those residents who don't work for the one or two global companies with offices here, financially crippling. It's also a mishmash of absurd uber-rich empty developments, studded into a town of rotting buildings, slum landlords, massive homelessness, and stretched to breaking drug and alcohol services.

At my former job at a now sadly liquidated karaoke bar on a troubled street in the gay village, we used to call Brighton a city of lost souls.

As you walk across the cliffs, or look out over the sea towards the offshore wind farm, in the rays of a clouded dusk, you can sometimes feel the tension of the city dissipate. The rough edges between what this place was, what it has been, what it is now, and what it may become seem to soften slightly towards one another, like begrudging neighbors over long decades.

A fishing village. A health resort. An artist's commune. A neoliberal grind.

I know you could draw connections between Revachol and any city in Europe. Possibly the world. That's the beauty and genius of the writing. But I'm grateful for the chance to reflect on my city, re-examining it through this lense has allowed me.

Finally. The Smallest Church in Saint-Saïns is based on the song The Smallest Church in Sussex by Sea Power who were Brighton based for a long time. And describes the Seven Sisters, a nearby chalk cliff formation which I, and most others who live round here, have walked.

I would often go there

To the tiny church there

The Smallest Church in Sussex

Though it once was larger

How the rill may rest there

Down through the mist there

Toward the seven sisters

Toward those white cliffs there

I would often stay there

In the tiny yard there

I have been so glad here

Looking forward to the past here

But now you are all alone

None of this matters at all

[moonahstone]

I've moved to the coast (cause why the fuck not) and as someone who spent her whole life in suburbia/inland city centre, I can tell you with certainty that I have never felt more like a Victorian woman who's husband has passed, this Victorian lady has moved to the seaside to recover and mourn by standing dramatically on a pier, hair blowing in the wind shedding a single tear.

Is this what all you coastal people feel like? Or is this my city blood returning to primal instincts?

[valadon]

it's my last night in seattle after my little trip and i have many feels about this city, grunge nostalgia, and the fics i wrote in the past 3 years without ever having set foot here. so, read on under the cut if you dare...

in august 2020 i got heavily back into my grunge roots as a coping mechanism for a falling-apart life (relationship, work, living situation, etc etc). i started writing a nostalgia-heavy fanfic set in 1989 seattle, creating my own little cast of original characters to play with the grunge guys i loved, from my little apartment overlooking a textiles market in a crumbling victorian building in east london, england. covid-era london couldn't have been further from grunge-era seattle, and i'd never been further northwest than san francisco years back, but somehow none of that deterred me. i read and watched everything i could about seattle, pored over google maps creating my own landscape of how it might look, feel, smell; where people might have lived, the streets they might have walked, the parks they might've visited, alongside the apocryphal venues like the vogue, central, showbox, metropolis etc - venues which, in some cases, still existed only in old photos found on pinterest. seattle became a character in my fic, "butterflies", as much as anybody else. i imagined it might smell like the rain, or pine, or cigarette smoke, or saltwater. i imagined crowded low-rise brick and timber buildings, a more intimate city than london or new york where i ended up moving and now live. i went back further into seattle's past for my second fic "shadows" and imagined a darker city, with shuttered churches and a sprawling red light district, an easy place to fall apart.

this year, nearly 3 years after i started writing about seattle, i made it here. it's been totally surreal, like deja vu or something. the little map of the city in my head came to life and yet at the same time i've been struck by the things i didn't know, the kind of things you only learn from being somewhere. it's HILLY here - the gradients are steep, and between downtown and capitol hill is a constant climb. the streets are wide and cut with alleyways, the sunlight is so bright here. the raison d'etre cafe where jeff worked is literally downstairs from the sub pop office; the vogue is around the corner from the northwest school where stone and steve turner studied, the monastery club was very close to the off ramp, the showbox is across the street from pike place (and nextdoor to a super seedy, ancient xxx theater). bainbridge island is huge, and beautiful.

i think the major impression i get is that seattle as a city feels SMALL. like, you can imagine what a small world this was back in the grunge days; people would've bumped into each other all the time, at shows and bars and cafes and just on the street. it's really sad to see that the city is beginning to buckle under all the big glassy developments, but the ghost of it is still there if you know where to look. the metropolis is a dingy little cafe now, the vogue and raison are salons, the ok hotel is apartments, the monastery site is all construction. the showbox and the central and off ramp are still recognisably music venues, though i know places like this are under threat to a degree and it breaks my grungey heart.

walking round this city with my partner the past couple days, i was always looking, at times internally SCREAMING - because here's where i had jeff and sara share pierogis, here's where stone and andy threw stones off the pier, here's where alicia and grace got off the bus to go to monastery, all these little moments from the fictional map in my head - and i have no one else to share this with but you guys, because as insane as it might be, my partner has 0 idea i've written about 500k words of seattle-set fic, and to him it's just another kind of cool city to explore. why i am so terminally ashamed of revealing my writing to anyone irl is a whole thing - my work exists only online to strangers (and tumblr friends) - but i'm working on it. i can definitely say that visiting seattle has only made me want to write about it more; it's a truly fascinating, layered place. i recommend it to anyone, and if you go, @magpiewithacamera 's incredible grunge history posts/photos are invaluable in finding the grungey layer beneath. i also took some photos, which i'll share at some point.

i dont live in london anymore, but seattle was an escape for me long before i ever came here. so: i bought a mother love bone poster at one of the underground shops in pike place market and a coaster with the view from kerry park, another location i wrote about what feels like a lifetime ago in the anxious midnight hours of a covid london night, and while i was walking down pike street, with the pine-smell and the edge of rain in the air just like i imagined they would be, i thought: when i write about this place again, i'll make sure i mention the hills.