Bugger Bognor!

[DCI Harry Batt]

That was Worthing and Bognor, though they haven't done it at all since 2015. Something about rising costs, apparently.

Oh no. That's terrible.

Do you mean it was split site thing, or a turn-and-turn-about thing?

[Sporting]

Been to Brighton once, to see The Fall. Now if it had a sandy beach, it would be world-class. Still a bit up itself, though.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Worthing was indeed lovely, but as per MsD, TLMG also remarked that it was very, very white. Didn't stop us having a good time, though. I can highly recommend Crabshack for a relaxed meal, if seafood is your thing.

Brighton is more interesting, though. A bit shabbier, definitely, but it just has something about it. It also remains the only place where I've been propositioned by a man on behalf of his wife.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Oh no. That's terrible.

Do you mean it was split site thing, or a turn-and-turn-about thing?

Or could be two rival governing bodies, like darts.

[Various Artist]

I went to a punk one. I like decrepit seaside towns and went bonkers in the charity shops

Did you buy anything?

[Benjm]

Been to Brighton once, to see The Fall. Now if it had a sandy beach, it would be world-class. Still a bit up itself, though.

Worthing has its own entry in the annals of south coast Fall concerts, of course.

[Sporting]

Worthing has its own entry in the annals of south coast Fall concerts, of course.

A friend of mine was present and wrote memorably about it:

"Smith appears on stage with a big grin on his face. I expected to see Brix, but she’d ‘got the hell out of it’ in Motherwell two nights before. Although Julia Nagle was on ‘guitar’, I never remember even seeing one on stage. This was going to be a drum and bass set with a PA that was in worse shape than Smith, and Smith was in bad shape. He was clearly very drunk, and the band were all staring at him. We weren’t prepared for what was about to unfold, but this night possibly changed The Fall forever. The intro rolled into Ten Houses of Eve, but Steve Hanley looked in a bad way. He was trying to keep it going with no vocals, but he seemed to know it was only going to get worse. MES was totally shit-faced. I mean really really pissed. He seemed to have no idea where he was. He did try to mumble words at times, but we were simply witnessing a disaster as it was unfolding. He Pep and M5 had Smith doing vocals, but he was dropping the mike all the time and staggering about."




[`...]


"Smith was clearly beyond legal small print, and a cup of Nescafe does nothing to quell copious cans of Holsten Pils. Mark had that look on his face. It’s the sort of ‘thousand yard stare’ look that we’ve all seen on someone who’s extremely drunk. It’s just a question of time, but they will certainly collapse. Behind the Counter is barely recognisable. This, as it turns out will be the last song. Smith starts by commandeering the keyboards from Nagle. All the keys are pressed at the same time, and the noise hurts your ears. He’s really just using the instrument to hold himself up, and then it’s off to dismantle the drum kit. Burns was hitting drums that weren’t there any more. Then he’s off to give Steve a big bear-hug while he’s desperately trying to keep it all going. This is the end. Steve Hanley is by now very angry, and looks at Karl Burns. Both men stop what they are doing at the same point as Smith falls in a heap to the floor. I remember feeling really concerned because I thought he could have really hurt himself. He went down like the proverbial ‘sack of shit‘. His body was like jelly, and he looked unconscious. He hit the deck with a thud. Both Hanley and Burns are needed to drag him off the stage. I felt numb, and to be truthful, shocked. I certainly didn’t laugh, but plenty of people did. Smith had clearly been through a lot in the last week or so, but who gives a toss when you’ve paid 8 quid? People were shouting for their money back, and there were drunken scuffles breaking out all over the hall. This has to be the only Fall gig where the band has actually played, and a full ticked refund has been given.

.....



https://thefallliveblog.wordpress.co...thing-england/

[Felicity, I guess so]

Did you buy anything?

Haha, yes: an artcdeco teaset,; italian coffee ( kimbo) jug, glass and cup; a jumper; some material for Ms F and, amusingly, an Elgin Cathedral souvenir cup and saucer which I took straight back to the chalet and took to my hungover schoolmate from Elgin Academy. Probably books, too

[Sporting]

Haha, yes: an artcdeco teaset,; italian coffee ( kimbo) jug, glass and cup; a jumper; some material for Ms F and, amusingly, an Elgin Cathedral souvenir cup and saucer which I took straight back to the chalet and took to my hungover schoolmate from Elgin Academy. Probably books, too

What a prodigious memory!

[lambers]

My mum was(/is?) a massive fan of Butlins holidays when I was a kid. It's the only reason I've heard of Bognor Regis, Skegness, or Pwllheli.

[elguapo4]

My mum was(/is?) a massive fan of Butlins holidays when I was a kid. It's the only reason I've heard of Bognor Regis, Skegness, or Pwllheli.

Was/ is she a fan of going to them, or just a fan of the concept in general?

[Various Artist]

What a prodigious memory!

Yes, I'm impressed by FIGS just reeling that list off like that too!

[lambers]

Was/ is she a fan of going to them, or just a fan of the concept in general?

It appeared to be Butlins in particular, as the only times we kids went to a Pontins/Haven holiday park, my Dad was the sole parent in attendance.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Yes, I'm impressed by FIGS just reeling that list off like that too!

Well I only went once and it was a bumper crop. I can see the deco set from here and sent pics of the finds as I found them, so visual stimuli too. And it was only 3 or 4 year ago

[My Name Is Ian]

Oh no. That's terrible.

Do you mean it was split site thing, or a turn-and-turn-about thing?

I think they ended up doing it in both towns every year.

[DCI Harry Batt]

How would you decide who went where?

[My Name Is Ian]

Worthing is more the retirement home type of place, for me. And Brighton more interesting.

Sounds about right, to me. Brighton's about twice the size of Worthing, and it has more of a big town vibe. Things happen in Brighton. They don't tend to around here, though the demographic is, I think, getting younger. There seemed, before the pandemic, to be quite a lot of younger people moving over here from Brighton's, presumably because house prices there really boiled over a few years ago.

We used to live on West Worthing, where every other building is a care home. At least it was quiet.

[My Name Is Ian]

How would you decide who went where?

I don't think they were held on the same weekend. I only went to the Worthing one once, and it was mostly just standing around, drinking.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Yeah when I was a lad, in Crawley, Brighton was a cheap place to live. That's going back forty years mind.

That does sound like two separate events, to me.

[WOM]

Re: Butlins. Sometimes it's hard to separate the world-weary appraisals from the actual experiences, but are they shite or good (but dated) fun?

[lambers]

As a kid it was great fun, humungous swimming pools with slides, lots of organised activities during the day, entertainment every evening.
But I've never been when over the age of 12. I'll try to remember to ask my mum the next time I speak with her.

[The Mighty Trin]

I'd never been to that part of the world until I started going out with a girl from Rustington whose parents still live there. I've run from Rustington to Worthing and back with a hangover, which sorted me right out. Both Worthing and Bognor have piers (the latter pretty truncated) and I love the pointlessness of a pier. Bognor Regis Town was a nice little ground as well. The rest was pretty average seaside town tat shops and charity shops, but I did find a Greggs and people watched on the prom before going to the game. Not a bad place to be on a sunny day.

[My Name Is Ian]

I particularly like the 1980s-style electronic scoreboard they have at Bognor's ground. I took this a few years ago - I hope they've still got it.

https://flic.kr/p/yG3rUQ

I hope they've fixed those broken bulbs, too.

[Felicity, I guess so]

As a kid it was great fun, humungous swimming pools with slides, lots of organised activities during the day, entertainment every evening.
But I've never been when over the age of 12. I'll try to remember to ask my mum the next time I speak with her.

I went to Ayr and Filey twice, the latter aged 17 so can concur it was great as a kid (free fairground rides, pool, films etc) and pretty good as an under-age drinker, too (free snooker, discos, chance of holiday romance).
One of the weeks at Filey I knocked around with Geordies (we were in Fife at the time) and I still cite them as saying they loved going to West Ham and Chelsea and singing 'Scotland'- one of them had his black and white tartan scarf with him. History was rewritten when they became a "massive club" again and had England internationals