The following ad appeared in the newspaper Field on 5 December 1908.
Apart from an inaccurate spelling of Withdean, this was an intriguing advert.
People
Not all sweetness and light (1)
On Friday 23 August 1816, Captain Cheeseman, master of the Neptune packet boat, returned to Brighton. He brough disturbing news for all his fellow mariners, for their passengers and for trade with France. During the night of 19-20 August, Captain Thomas Partridge of the Nancy had been shot by French customs officers just outside the port of Dieppe.
Dieppe Harbour 1823 (John Sell Cotman) © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Bonjour Brighton
Was this the shortest-lived Brighton periodical, ever? Edition #1 appeared in May 2007. Was there ever a #2?
The magazine was bilingual and covered topics such as Que visiter à Brighton [What to visit in Brighton]; Tu tires ou tu pointes [petanque enthusiasts will recognize the reference]; Quoi de neuf en France with all the latest news about the hit parade and the 2007 presidential elections.
Capt. Blaber to the rescue
For most mariners, humanity and co-operation are far more important than old or even recent enmities. Despite the Napoleonic wars and the recent Battle of Waterloo, Captain Harry Blaber was the first to come to the rescue of a semi-armed French ship.
The Children’s Republic of Brighton
Saturday July 31, 1937.
Leaving Wembley at 8.15 am for Victoria Station, joining crowds of Woodcrafters there, taking our places in the 10am Woodcrafter’s Special, and we realise we are really on our way to the first International Children’s Camp held in this country.
Walking from Brighton Station to Ovingdean, the procession of boys and girls clad in green jerkins, waving flags and banners attracted a considerable amount of attention from the holiday makers at Brighton. We found the campsite at Beacon Hill a very desirous place.
La Baigneuse de Brighton
Jane Birkin c1973
Au milieu des vagues
Accroupie les yeux vagues
La baigneuse de Brighton
A dans son derrière,
Pliées en zigzag,
Des photos quelques vagues
Souvenirs de Brighton
Et du bord de mer
Sally – the Brighton ‘bouquiniste’
This is the story of Ovingdean resident Sally White, who lived in Paris for three decades and was for many years a bouquiniste – the first foreign-born person to get a licence to sell books on the banks of the Seine. Continue reading
Enora ♥ Brighton
It’s March 29th 2019. Ok, we aren’t out of the EU yet, but … isn’t this sort of relationship we should be fostering from within the EU rather than from outside it?
“My name is Enora, I am a 20 years old French girl and I have been living in Brighton since November 2018. I studied Tourism in Paris and I graduated this summer. My qualification is an equivalent of a HND (Higher National Diploma) but in a dual training way: I was three days a week at work (in a museum) and two days at school. After my graduation I was not really sure if I wanted to continue my education or start working but I noticed a little bit before the end of my studies that my school had a partnership with the European programme Erasmus+. This programme gives opportunity to young adults to go abroad and gain an international work experience.
Thomas Thornton’s Trip to France – 1802
Frontispiece to ‘A Sporting Tour through Various Parts of France, in the Year 1802’ by Colonel Thomas Thornton
Colonel Thomas Thornton was a keen hunter. To France he would go, to hunt and kill wolves, foxes, wild boar and virtually anything with wings. To reach France for his hunting holiday, Colonel Thornton travelled from his home in Yorkshire to take ship at Brighton. He was not impressed by the town: Continue reading
‘Madame’ this and ‘Maison’ that (2)
In 1951 this lovely lass was employed behind the counter of Maison Francis. Meet Christine Biffen.
(c) David Ransom
Good to see the range of French products on sale: Chanel, Worth and Innoxa.
Later, Christine went to work in a salon in Rottingdean and then she married Colin Ransom and became David’s mum.
In 2019, the beauty salon at 26 Western Road, Hove, paid tribute to its doorstep by changing its name to simply …
Many thanks to David Ransom for information about and the photo of his mum.
