Comings and Goings - Brighton, England

Visual experiments to show the passing of time. - University of Brighton

There is a constant rattling from behind me as I bob around trying to write down my thoughts on this little pad of paper. It is interesting being in this almost intimate setting with strangers viewing this once strange place through the window. The sky is like an old friend that you are so very happy to see after the English gray drifts off.

Looking around at the people seated in front of me, I start to wonder what kind of lives they must lead. A man is sitting next to me who is wearing a long, dark trench coat. He is watching me write, and I am starting to wonder if he is reading this. He stands up to get off at the next stop, and the bus comes to a halt. There are only three other passengers now, and I no longer know where I am. I should have looked at a map of the routes before going on this little venture, and I sure hope I wind up back in the town center. I wonder if it would be possible to stay on a bus for an entire day without the driver becoming suspicious of my presence.

Now we have come to a stop at the University of Sussex at a building called the Bramber House. The driver has gone inside and has returned with a different bag, so I guess the exchange has been made. The girl in front of me is eating something that smells rather fruity. She has really cute purple glasses and black hair.

We are now parked at the Sussex University Park Village, and the driver has turned off the engine. Two people come onto the bus and go up to the second level, and now I sit in the lower cab alone, except for the driver. I am listening to the newspaper pages turn and the people above talk about their exams.

We are finally moving again and are running into several speed bumps, as my handwriting suffers. Looking up, I see the driver through the mirror. He is a rather young and attractive man with a piercing right below his lip. Here I have chosen to sit on this bus for a day, and he probably hates his job. I don’t think it would be too bad being a bus driver, but I would be too tempted to diverge from the route. Who wants to drive in circles?

Looking up at the sky, a small wave of disappointment comes over me as I see the clouds starting to roll in again. A woman just got on and sat down right where the girl with the purple glasses was sitting... We never get much of a chance to stop and take the time to see the patterns in the mundane. The constant comings and goings, starts and stops, as we look blankly into each other's eyes as if this were all just one big chore. How often do we sit down next to someone and never say hello? Another girl with ginger-colored hair came aboard, but went up to the second level.

Many more people are getting on now as we are returning to the town center. There is a gorgeous Asian woman, a guy with dark brown hair who appears to be trying to grow a beard that is only coming in wisps, and a mother and daughter. We are now coming around St. Peter’s Church and back towards where this little journey began, near Phoenix Halls, where I have been staying. I am really starting to wonder if the driver is getting suspicious yet. From his point of view, it must look quite sad, like I haven’t anything better to do than sit on a bus all day. The little girl next to me has the most adorable voice, although it just sounds like bits of gibberish with the rumbling of the engine in the background.

Now I feel like a spectator, as I look out on the shopping district. Consumer culture at its finest... Everyone is getting off... Oh, I am supposed to get off as well. I'll just go grab something to eat and see where I am. Staying on a bus for an entire day and just observing is proving more difficult than I thought.

I wandered all over trying to find a nice coffee shop to sit down at, and I was kind of hoping that the little deli in the alley was open, but unfortunately, no. They have the best chicken pesto sandwich on handmade bread with sun-dried tomatoes. Ambrosia.

I made my way over to the seafront and was successful in my coffee shop hunt. There is a jazz band playing outside, and the atmosphere is amazing. This might be the most peaceful moment I have had since arriving in this country. The coffee is still rubbish in England, though.

Visual experiments to show the passing of time. - University of Brighton

I am thinking that I should try a different route this time to see if I can see some areas of Brighton that are new to me. Although it is such a beautiful day, I am tempted to just wander around to see the different artists’ work and listen to the musicians playing on the street. It’s so nice to just take in the sun in this usually grey British Bohemia. That is, while the sun lasts anyway. I have no idea how I am going to go back to life in Minneapolis, and to think just a year ago I was overwhelmed by the city. This blows all of that out of the water, and it looks like they have just finished my croissant. Cheers. 

I am back on the bus now and have decided to ride the university bus again. I like going out into the countryside. I think I might try this again tomorrow and do some sketches of the interior for this project as well. That will be quite a challenge with all the shaking, but I am not one to shy away from a challenge. I am sitting on the second level this time, and you can feel the end sway much more from up here. It’s a little unsettling.

There are quite a few more people this time around, and a couple just came and sat down in front of me. It’s kind of funny because they totally match each other, and I am chuckling inside. The sky is completely gray again, which seems to have desaturated every color. I suppose it is better than Minnesota snow and sub-zero temperatures.

The guy who was sitting next to me just left. He had a very cool style going on with the suit and tie and a little punk thrown in. Now there are six people up here, but the guy with the Afro is leaving, so it’s down to five. I guess the matching couple is getting off as well... No one talks on the bus; I guess they may be trapped in their own little world, just like me. 

We have picked up speed, and it is making me weave back and forth much more. Writing is such a challenge right now, and I cannot write fast enough to capture everything running through my mind.

We are at Sussex University again, and the only other person up here is a bald man in a pink shirt. I wonder if he goes to school here. Yup... I am now up here by myself, but there is a crying baby below me. I think I am taking another route next time, and I should try to ride all of them. The engine was just turned off again, and the driver is doing something with the bus fares, as I can hear change rattling around. I know I will have to get off when I get to the town center again, so I’ll switch buses at some point on the way back.

The driver just came up and told me that we won’t be moving for another ten minutes. Jokingly, he said not to fall asleep on him. Oddly enough, that is the first thing anyone has said to me since I began this steady bus ride this morning. It is also amazing how little I have said today. Overall, the bus is a very quiet public space, other than the engine, of course. I am bored with this route now.

Two people just got on. One of the guys is wearing a black hoodie, and the other guy has his hair tied into a bun with a bit of yellow cloth. They are talking about the price of something, and bun guy said something about a duvet. I can’t hear what else they are saying as it's too noisy on the highway. A girl in a blue cardigan just came up and sat down.

The guys are now talking about some girl their friend was seeing. The guy in the hoodie said he felt sorry for his friend. Some more people are here now. The guy and the girl behind me are arguing about something she said. He is accusing her of sleeping with a girl’s brother. He starts to sing, “Fly away,” and asks her if there is anything she won’t do. Hoodie and bun boy just got off as the conversation behind me continues. He is starting to criticize the fact that she is wearing an extremely short skirt and says she should have more respect for herself. He asks her, “Do you reckon you're puttin’ on weight?” She replies, “Yah!” I don’t think he is helping much in the self-respect department.

Two girls sat down in front of me, and they were talking about clothes and shopping. The color orange makes the girl with the ponytail feel ill... Rather irrational response to the color orange if you ask me. They began to talk about how their friend always says that he "wasn’t in top form." Their friend Emma is apparently crazy and says she would kill herself if her drug addict boyfriend left her. Now the conversation has drifted into how they don’t like eating at Subway, and something about Nancy’s Café. I think I need to switch buses soon. The girls are now talking about movie trailers and how they should be played in split screen, all at the same time. They just noticed a guy fall off his bike. “It’s so fun watching drunk people fall over.” And the gossip continues...  I need to get off now, as I cannot listen to these girls anymore.

At the bus stop now, and it is time to pick a new bus. I have just gotten on bus 1A and I have no idea where it is going to take me. It's all good if it comes back around.

A girl is talking on the phone. She is going to the pub tonight and is asking the person on the other end for a favor. She has to wait for someone... I wonder if this bus terminates at the same place as the last one. I am guessing so, but we have turned a different way. I think I have been on the bus for far too long now. I am getting sick of it and realizing how bus drivers must feel.

I think we are headed for Hove now, and I haven’t seen this area before. The person behind me is constantly rustling around plastic bags, and it is getting to me now, as I am becoming a bit more irritable. A girl sat down next to me to speak to someone she knows. It’s a lot of “he said, she said.” The buildings over here are amazing. Everything looks cleaner and more polished in Hove. The girls are still talking next to me, but I no longer care to write about their conversation. But apparently, they know someone who does very random things. There is quite an epic church across the way from this stop at Hove Street.

A guy named Jarred just came down from the upper level, and a girl followed him and grabbed his shirt and is yelling at him. They are now shouting at the front of the bus and are coming back here next to me, still arguing.

He is talking about getting something to drink, and she says, “Yeah, that is going to help your temper, alcohol!”

The man next to Jarred is trying to calm him down now.

He shouts, “If someone comes after me, they will have to kill me! This is the only way it will end, they must kill me!”

She says, “Jarred, please, we are on a bus!”

“He can kill me. I don’t give a fuck!”

“Please, we are on a bus!”

“Kill me! You know where I live!”

Jarred walks to the front and shouts up the stairs. They both get off, and Jarred is still out of control. She is still desperately trying to calm him down.

“Don’t mess with someone who isn’t afraid to die!” he shouts from the sidewalk as we pull away. 

Well, that was interesting. I hope that we start heading back now because I don’t know where I am, and I haven’t been paying attention to the number of turns and road names. I’ve just been frantically writing down everything I hear... I think we should be heading back to Brighton soon, though. I guess we are at Southern Cross, which doesn’t really mean anything to me at this point. I wonder if I will see any more commotion like that which I just witnessed. Hope not. The bus is stopping, and now I need to find a bus that will take me back, or maybe not. There is a guy sitting in here with me now, and also a blond girl and an older gentleman. I am going to take a bit of a break from writing for a moment. I have no idea where I am... Just passed Porstdale Community College. Am I in Porstdale?

A girl just got on the bus wearing a lovely long white skirt. The bus has come to a complete stop, and the girl in the white skirt is the only other person here. I think I am still in Hove. The houses look a little newer here, almost like America. Looking down, there is a floral catalog crumpled up on the floor of the bus. I’ll hang onto a page and make a random collection of bits from the journey. This journey of the supposedly mundane. The bus driver blows his nose and is reading the newspaper.

Sounds like there is a dog somewhere that is quite upset, and I guess we are now just stuck at Graham Avenue. I am bored again and thinking Graham would be a nice name for a boy, should I ever have kids.... Funnily enough, Jarred was the most excitement I have encountered all day. Finally, we are moving again.

There is a horrible squeaking sound in the seat next to me that is becoming more and more abrasive... A very attractive man just got on the bus, sat down next to me, and gave me a quick glance. He smells very nice. Some kind of musky cologne, which got my attention, but that is what it is designed to do. He is drinking a beer, and I am internally applauding England’s laid-back liquor laws. Six more people are getting on now. All but two went up to the next level. We are now heading back to Brighton. Sweet relief. A guy that just got on looks a little like Kenneth Brannah with less hair, and I think he might be a musician. Don't know why. Finishing his drink, the man next to me gets up and walks to the front of the bus. The scent still lingers.

A friend of the girl in the white skirt just sat down next to her and hugged her. We just acquired three more; one woman has bright pink pants on, or trousers, I should say. I slip up on that one constantly, and no, I am not commenting on her underwear. The couple behind me is amazingly silent, which makes me wonder if there has been a communication breakdown with their hostile expressions. The musician guy is talking about his PlayStation being broken and how he just cannot trust a mate of his.

A mother and two children have just come aboard... The sun is setting, and I think I might continue the rest of this tomorrow. I should do a series of quick drawings of people with captions of what they talk about. Kind of like a sketchy, out-of-context comic strip. The couple behind me is now about to get off, and still not a word has been uttered.

A huge group of people just got on and I couldn’t possibly describe everyone, so I won't try. Two men behind me are talking about taxes and how they think it is its own industry, and I am inclined to agree with them. I can hear someone’s headset, and they are listening to country or something. The man behind me says, “There is no wrong way to do anything,” and says no more, just clears his throat. Hmmm...

A man is sitting across from me now, and he is just staring out the window, like most of the people here, and he left rather quickly. A woman just got on wearing a purple pho-fur tiger vest that looks kind of silly. I need to get off this thing now. I can no longer concentrate.

Two little girls and their mother just sat down behind me. The girls are completely dressed in pink, and the younger girl cannot seem to sit still. She keeps smiling at me and moving her head from side to side. Can't help but smile back... I am getting much better at writing with the motion of the bus. We’ve gone off in some other direction. I want to head home now. I don’t know where I am again, and the bus driver is probably wondering why I am still here. Did he just say something about kicking me off? No longer incognito here. I will get off as soon as I am close to the town center...

... 

I got to see the bus garage! The driver didn’t even realize that I was there. Waiting for another bus to take me back now...

Headed in the right direction, finally, and I don’t want to describe people on the bus anymore, but a strange man is staring at me. He is creeping me out a bit. Thankfully, a woman got on and sat down next to me, and by the looks of it, she probably works at the hospital. To top off this little exercise, a group of girls just got on who are all dressed like provocative English police officers. There are going to be some very amused men somewhere tonight. I am at Devonshire Place, and it is time for this to end... Peace...