24 hours in Brighton

I've had a lovely summer, and I don't want it to end. Being a teacher gives you a fantastic amount of time off work, but the long breaks sometimes make it harder to return, to jump back onto what often seems to me like a hamster wheel, turning and turning and never actually reaching anywhere new. This week I'm jumping back onto the hamster wheel for the twenty-eighth time. That is not a good thought. Although it is clearly a first world problem.

Anyway, I've tried to lighten the last few days of the break with a nice little trip, specifically to wander round on my own and take photographs. I chose to visit Brighton, which I've loved when I've been there before. It has a superb beach area with a famous pier, lovely Victorian architecture throughout the town, great independent shops and excellent food. It's quick and easy to reach from Gatwick, and I got a great deal at the lovely Limehouse guest house, near the seafront (right opposite Will Young's old flat).

And I just wandered around for 24 hours, taking endless photographs. I had a very good handmade burger with my sister-in-law Sue, and we talked into the night in a cool pub garden. I got blisters on my feet despite my super-sensible sandals. I only just resisted vintage camera temptation in Snooper's Paradise. I read my novel on a bench by the West Pier skeleton. It all made me happy. Here's the first evening...