Pub Life in England; Hereford

To me this small English village near the Welsh border seems very surreal, it is very quintessential English. To any English person they would find it utterly boring, there really isn’t much there and it is a very small town. Everyone literally knows everyone. There are no shopping malls just a lovely town centre which to me whatever is in walking distance should be considered the town centre which would encompass this entire town but not in English standards. To me an independent studier of culture and people this town never fails to amaze me.

Hereford is still very rich in old English culture. A lot of people still carry on old English traditions which kind of make me slightly envious as my country is so new we lack traditions that define a culture. We are a mixed bagged of various cultures either letting go of their past traditions from the old country or mashing together ideas and values from mixed upon mixed families. We are a country full of mutts and immigrants.

One thing that you can say about England and not too many other places is that the heart and soul of the community is in the pub. You do not have to go far to find one either, they are plentiful and everywhere. In a Canadian city you would need to go to the city centre or how we call it “Downtown” to find nightlife. In Britain you walk down your street and there is your “local”, an easy walk after work and an easy stumble after a few.

The English pub transcends generations, you do not have one for students or one for the old farts, everyone is out together at the same time on the same night drinking, playing pool, gossiping and chatting up the opposite sex.

You have the young girls in their stilettos and minis trying to impress next to the middle aged couple getting drunk with their friends. Young guys playing pool while old timers who love their real ales wait for a go.

The old traditional pubs in England like the one my friend’s mother owns looks and feels like a house where the whole community comes to meet and socialize. People are there from eleven in the morning having a pint until eleven at night when last call is rung. The gossip mills churn, decisions are made and the best lines of bullshit are spouted. Problems are solved at night and hung over are cured in the morning with another pint.

We dropped my friend's son off to his Grandmother and had time to kill so we had a pint at the pub. We were meeting friends so we went to the pub. We got dressed up for a night out so we went to the pub. We wanted to have a meal out so we went to the pub. We went to visit my friend's mom so we went to the pub...fair enough she lives upstairs but you get my drift. I saw men sitting by themselves reading a book, going over work, sitting at a laptop, ladies sharing a glass of wine after work, families with children, seniors with their friends.

As well to this day Saturday night is a night to dress up in one’s finest. I thought it a bit odd that an older gentleman that was a friend of my friend’s was decked out in his suit, I thought he must have had a hot date but my friend later informed me that it’s an old tradition to get decked out on a Saturday night. Even to a pub I thought. At home a pub is a place where you dress down as much as you want; it actually looks strange to see someone dressed up like they are going to a club or a wedding in a pub. The men in this town have been getting dressed up on a Saturday night no matter where they went for years and they weren’t going to stop anytime soon. To be honest I kind of like the tradition I mean how often do we really get dressed up these days? For a wedding or a Christmas party, even those are becoming a bit too casual. What happened to those old days when men wore suits and hats and woman wouldn’t be seen wearing jeans? Right ok maybe I am going a bit too far back in time but it would be nice to have a no jeans and tee rule for a Saturday night and actually put some effort in and not because you are trying to impress anyone but just because it is Saturday and that’s what you do.

Then you have the pub food that the English rave about and crave for. A Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding and potatoes, chili on rice, jacked potatoes and of course fish and chips. Going to the pub for lunch is like having a Sunday dinner with your family and is very much an English staple in daily life.

The second time in Hereford I saw some old faces and some new ones but was welcomed into the pub family just as before where my glass was never empty and I truly understood the lyrics to the song by Spirit of the West, “Home for a Rest”

“You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a week
I've been drunk since I left
And these so-called vacations
Will soon be my death
I'm so sick from the drink
I need home for a rest
Take me home....”

Continuing on the Trail; A Brighton Wrap up

I often come to a conflict with myself, I look for bargains and the cheaper way out, but at the same time I cannot commit so I end up paying more for things due to my lack of commitment. Such was the case when I decided to buy a ticket to Brighton. I waited to the last minute to buy a ticket because I didn't really know when I should leave or how long I should go for. I wanted to just show up at the bus or train station and have some tout yell at me shoving my bag onto the correct bus and I would just follow in confusion as I would in Latin America. I am too used to the organized chaos of third world countries. Instead I got ripped off because I bought my ticket at the bus station and I didn't want to decide on a return date. I also had to sit three hours on a bus instead of the 45min train ride, all because of my stubbornness not to commit. Well it worked out in the end because I decided to stay longer than expected in Brighton; I was still even gutted that I couldn't stay longer yet. I had pre-booked a train to Hereford early Friday morning so I had to leave Brighton on Thursday.

I know this is a horrific thing! I had to leave Brighton on Thursgay! How could I leave this amazing city without experiencing the night life, the gay night clubs?! There is nothing better than dancing on a podium to Lady Gaga in the middle of a group of boys in a gay night club. Alas my vision of being lifted up in the crowd by my gay minions singing Born this way was crushed.

I had really enjoyed Brighton and everything it had to offer but just like most places in the world I have visited it really was the people that made the place. My English girlfriend’s uni friends were amazing to me and I really enjoyed seeing how much they cared for each other. Instead of a big night out on my last night in the city I requested to have a night in chatting with my friend, a morning cup of tea with her roommate and an infamous English breakfast in the morning with the whole group.

I also got to visit a friend I met in Colombia the first time I was at the Dreamer Hostel. He had just recently moved to Brighton after living in Southampton my previous home in England and we both agreed hippyfied Brighton is way more our style. It seems like minded people end up in similar places.

I even went on a date in Brighton, that’s right I spent the afternoon with Dick’s brother, Not-A-Dick, although it was just for fun and to put in a good word for my English Girlfriend.

I was excited to be getting on to visit yet another friend I had met in a foreign country along the road but I wasn't quite ready to leave this bohemian seaside town but deep in my heart I knew I would be back. There are certain places I have been to in the world where I have felt like I finally fit in and Brighton was up there on the top of that list. One day I will find one of those places, a city on the coast or an island somewhere to call my home and stay for a while. Until then I will continue on the Gringa Trail.

Brighton, England: The North Laines and Vintage Heaven

The odd person at home will call me a hippy because of the way I live my life traveling, working random jobs and pretty much being a free spirit. The title doesn’t really suit me though. At times you can find me on beaches and in hammocks hanging out with the cannabis smoking, dread locked types. I will don a wraparound silk India skirt, wear a sea shell necklace and let the sun rays wash over me but one of the things that differentiates me from my macramé making friends is that I love fashion and I love to shop. Well that and I shower every day and shave my legs, arms and lady bits.

I should say I love style because I don’t follow any specific fashion trends. I find pieces from all over the world that are very uniquely me. The best feeling in the world for a self-professed gypsy fashionista is when someone comments on an article of clothing and asks where you got it from and you can reply, “Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Colombia, England…” I revel in that disappointed look in their face when they realize my amazing piece of clothing is completely unobtainable to them and I give them my sly smug smile when I apologize.

Recently I have been really into vintage shops and I was very exciting to scour the amazing Vintage shops I heard England has to offer. Until this past summer I strayed away from shops that proclaimed to be “vintage” to me that meant really expensive used clothes but I discovered when I ventured into a Vintage shop in my home town called Sympathy for the Rebel that in fact they really aren’t that expensive. The shop hand picks pieces from different decades and different styles from rock, mod, indie, and hipster. This is just one little amazing shop in my small city and I was elated with shopper’s joy but could you imagine my excitement when my Brighton girlfriends brought me to the Lanes in their city.

The Lanes are a pattern of narrow streets and alley ways that form the original fishing village. Today there are two sections of the Lanes; the higher end fashion shops and residential area which makes it way down to the seafront and then the North Laines which is a bohemian village home to cafes, bars, theatres, independent designer shops, vintage shops and bric-a-brac antique shops. You can have an organic vegan breakfast in a café then browse a shop that is entirely dedicated to Alice in Wonderland, find an altered vintage piece of clothing in Dirty Harry’s and wander through Snooper's Paradise flea market.

The place was definitely hippy, gypsy, bohemian or whatever the heck you want to call it or me. I loved it and I spent the next week migrating there every day while my friend was at her Uni classes. I would sip chai tea in a café called Capers while the rain came down then I spent the day browsing shops and trying to score a good vintage find…because there is an fine art to vintage shopping. You have to have a keen eye, at times items on a rack amongst all the other Psychedelic bold colours and styles of the past can look completely…how should I say it…. revolting. You have to look at everything in a shop individually and keeping in mind articles of clothes you already own that would complement it. It's probably best not to go all out completely vintage; mix up the pieces with normal fashions and everyday clothes.

The best thing about some of the Laines shops was that they have resident seamstress designers who alter clothes from back in the day such as old high waisted jean shorts and t-shirts making it into a new unique item. They were also good at window display designs which I always fall for. I walk often walk into a store all the time asking for what the mannequin is wearing but it is a studied art form and a very effective marketing and sales technique.

The Laines are among the many reasons why I fell in love with Brighton. It somewhat reminded me of the artesian neighbourhood of San Telmo in Buenos Aires minus the tango dancers. Finding a place like this wherever I travel is like finding a little home for my gypsy heart in every city.

Bodacious Brighton; The Beginning

I say the beginning because so much has happened in this amazing city that I completely fell in love with...yes I do know I say that about a lot of places but trust me on this one!! So this will most likely be a series of the awesome bodacious-ness of this sea side city. Forgive me for my current overuse of early 90’s slang words, it just feels right.

On my return to England I saw English boy again and had decided I can’t hold it against him for not falling madly in love with me (even though he completely lead me on and then retracted his feelings!!!). I was just going to ignore the mess that was Karlsruhe, be an adult and a friend and chat with the lad. That turned into dinner, then him being sweet holding and hugging me and then his apology which all made me melt once more. Only to be crushed yet again later on. Word to the wise if a guy has to apologize especially at the beginning do not take that as a sign that he is a sweet caring guy. He should not do anything that should warrant an apology in the first place! But before all that repeat crushing happened I jumped on a bus to Brighton, England.

Brighton is on the South Coast of England and I had heard a lot about this place previously. Everyone always told me, you have to go to Brighton, you would love it! Then my English girlfriends I met in Peru in 2009 moved there for University so I had to go while I was doing my rounds in England. I always thought I could live in England again but then memories of Southampton haunt me; it wasn’t the most inviting of cities. The weather was shit, it literally rained every day. Everyone was Polish and couldn’t understand why I didn’t speak Polish, The English just complained about the weather, no matter if it was sunny or raining and my suffocating, over protective, controlling boyfriend made it hard for me to make friends. Yes you can see why I loved it there. Then there is London, which is amazing and has so much going, I have been there on five different occasions which is a record for me and foreign cities and I never tire of it but could I actually live there? To visit yes but to live, I’m not too sure. It's very big, expensive, overcrowded and besides Hyde Park there isn’t much nature around to escape to.

Now Brighton however is this little oasis just an hour train ride away from the hustle and bustle of London. You really do not feel like you are in England there with the beautiful pebble beach and old historic buildings overlooking the shore and the pier with carnival rides year round. Add to this an alternative bohemian lifestyle and a very large gay population referred by many as the gay capitol of Britain. The climate is milder than other parts of Britain and usually less rainy as the winds from the sea blows away the rain.

Artistic people thrive in the atmosphere of this city with theatres, films, vintage shops and cafes, as well as some of the best musicians. Brighton hosts the second largest Arts and Fringe Festival in the UK after Edinburgh (The Brighton Festival). You also have Brighton Pride, Burning the Clocks a winter solstice celebration, White Night a free all night arts festival for when the clocks go back in October. Then there is Bonfire night also known as Guy Fawkes Night which commemorates said man’s failed attempt to assassinate the King with a whole lot of gun powder on November 5^th 1605. Lewes a small town near Brighton Boast the largest and most famous Bonfire night celebration in the country and I had specifically planned this part of my trip to be able to witness the spectacle!

>> I will be discussing more on Brighton and my experiences there so don't fret there is more to come! However one of my friends who I was visiting there has create a blog about the amazing divesity of Brighton so to find out even more check this out!!

http://bona-fide-brighton.tumblr.com/