Introduction

A trip (for Diana and I) down memory lane as we take the children back to the place where I went to Brighton University, Diana worked at Sussex University and where we had our first flat in nearby Hove at Sillwood Road. We see Palace Pier, now becoming derelict (from which I once took places on raft races between this and West Pier), the bomb damage at the Grand Hotel (from the bombing of the Conservative Party conference that summer), the pitch and put course at Rottingdean (where I used to play every Sunday morning with my student friends), and Black Rock nearby where the seas used to crash into the cliffs and where Brighton Marina had just been constructed.

Detailed Content

The video starts off on Friday 26th October as we parked up on the outskirts of Brighton by the ‘gate’ where once I had pictured us arriving in a Morris Minor Traveller Then the seafront (1m15s) and Debbie running around on the lawns (1m25s). I make a rare appearance in front of the camera (1m55s) and then Diana carries on (2m10s) talking about Landsdowne Place in Hove with its particular memories. The scene moves on to the YWCA (3m30s) where Diana used to stay in the room above the entrance and 40 Sillwood Road where we stayed when we were first married. Tome for the kids to enjoy a bouncy castle (5m00s) and a helter-skelter in an amusement park. The radio controlled cars (07m0s) all in the shadow of the shamefully-derelict Pier. The very recent bomb damage to the Grand Hotel (13m40s). The film continues on the Saturday 27th October (15m25s) with shots at Rottingdean pitch and put course with its 1802 wooden smock windmill (16m0s) and panoramic views. Then back to the car for a view of the sea (19m0s) for shots on a tripod of the fantastic sunset and the newly built and stark Brighton Marina at Black Rock. Sussex University (21m30s) where Diana got an office job formed the closing scene.

Summarised from journal entries transcribed 11th April 2013. David Broad