I paid £2 for a copy of 'Aircraft Today' from 1956 - by the great John W.R. Taylor - aside from the fact it is actually pretty good - it's hand signed on the flyleaf by the author.
I swear that sometimes, the good people of Hastings out-do themselves in the weird stakes. In the old town, a fat, elderly man was riding through the highstreet on a motorised wheelchair wearing a Scream fright mask. I saw hairstyles, body types, clothes and facial piercings that would stop the traffic in any other town. I do like it here.
I'm feeling pretty flat today, something I attribute to a week of rain - very little light and just that general feeling you get at this time of year - I'd be quite happy if it got a bit colder. It doesn't feel as if it knows what it wants to do.
The shops are gearing up for Xmas. HMV, weirdly - was packed to the gills. They have a much wider product range now - I found myself tempted by headphones ( I could do with a pair for work, it being an open studio ) and a little ipod player boombox type thing that was on sale. There was a huge queue. I have been told before that the HMV in hastings is actually very profitable. They have really good staff - and frankly, if you want an alternative - you would need to travel miles.
I know I bang on about retail - but it's something I work in, and it's really interesting. I went into M&S - they tried to re-vamp the store recently and enlarged the ( ever busy ) food hall - and created a very large open entrance - which they have now ruined by stacking it with product and display - creating a bottleneck. The general M&S customer is elderly and not really mobile ( In Hastings ) and it's created chaos. A few weeks ago I reported a giant display module had been shifted into Menswear - it was crap and stupid, it's gone already. The stock is still shit.
BHS is still crap, still full of terrible products, really poorly displayed and laid out, really badly planned store and a very uncomfortable place to shop. Their Xmas graphics are really lazy and poorly thought through.
I must admit - now that I'm in town I use Morrissons more and it's a million times better than the grim northern discount store of yore. Very good product, really well laid out and easy to navigate - and great prices. The staff are friendly and it has a good 'feel' to it.
A cheap fashion chain has taken over te Next store in the shopping center - they had a really shite vinyl sign fitted - generic font, bashed already - can't even remember what it's called. That shopping center is awful - if they had any sense - they would negotiate with some of the bigger retailers to give them free space - just to get the footfall up.
A massive problem with this country is our poor perception of design, we are just rubbish at it - high street stores need to be the backbone of the highstreet - but they are poorly thought through, lacking in any real comprehension of how people shop and experience shopping and lazy beyond belief - mostly they suffer from layers of bad management and internal politics that destroy any chance of a quality retail experience. One of the reasons Mary Porthouse has done so well ( and she really isn't that good ) is because she has more than an ounce of common sense. My local BHS is probably the best illustration of the terrible state of retail design in the UK. Huge store - but too much product, no walk through, no navigation, rubbish stock blocking the entrance - no line of sight, giant product displays crammed together closer than a supermarket aisle so you can't stand back and look at anything, if you want a department - you have to search for it through a maze, really fucking terrible. If I wanted to buy socks I have to claw my way through bras and knickers ( their current display of xmas ladies lingerie is of hundreds of BRIGHT red and very tarty bras - no woman in her right mind would buy such cheap tat ). My pet hate is when stores have giant photographs in windows - shot with models and carefully retouched - and then the product right next to them on a dummy - looking shit ( of course it looks shit - it can NEVER look as good as an art directed image ) - so, essentially - they devalue the brand before you even get through the door.. Bollocks.
6pm and it's getting dark already. Depressing. I'm supposed to be going to a 40th Birthday Party tonight - I don't need to be there until 10.30pm, I'll be asleep by then. I've made a pot of coffee.
4 comments:
Well, you might moan about the various party invitations but you've obviously settled down well in Hastings. I've been in Lewes for 11 years and my social life here is almost non-existent - partly because I'm an anti-social bugger, but also because I know enough people outside Lewes to keep me busy. Your example makes me feel chastened.
well, it's taken me 5 years and countless hours lurking on facebook to have a small circle of friends I never see.
Hastings is a very small town and the creative community is tiny - but in truth - I loathe parties ( not really 'built' for them - lacking the social skills needed ) and decided to stay home, I watched James Franco in 'Howl' again - which I enjoyed much more.
I went to a party last week, it was very loud and dark, I spent quite a lot of time talking to someone who I couldn't understand a word of what they said, and thanks to 3 pints of larger - wasn't actually sure they were who I thought they were - but I nodded and smiled in all the right places. The other problem with Hastings is the relative absence of single men over 30 and the huge number of angry, pack-hunting divorced women with a bit of spare cash - they are like packs of wild dogs, I did suggest wearing my mothers wedding ring as a deterrent once - but apparently that makes them worse. It's probably safer to stay home. Don't forget - you are blessed a family - I just have a macbook and a lot of films I've seen more than once. I'd be happy to change places, but I might bring the film collection with me.
I had a parallel experience last night. Against my better judgement I went to a party, and as designated driver was alcohol free all night. Big mistake. I spent almost an hour talking to someone I vaguely know and due to the noise levels couldn't hear a single word she said. I lived in fear of her looking at me enquiringly as if she'd asked a question. Happily she was well into an endless monologue so all that was required of me was to nod and smile and mirror her facial expressions. My partner asked me later what the animated conversation was all about and I had to admit I hadn't a clue.
In a hotel round the corner a group of Essex transgendered folks were having a whale of a time.... the theme for the evening was 'Uniform' so when we were walking back to the car we passed loads of striking m2f and f2m in wonderful uniforms of all styles and periods, from WW1 flying aces through admirals, firemen, policemen (and women) 5* generals.... we felt quite underdressed squeezing past in civvies. They went about having their fun completely unremarked, apart from passers-by complimenting them on how fantastic they looked. I found people's reactions both uplifting and reassuring. Perhaps on this little bit of the south coast we live in a small enclave of acceptance where the unusual and outlandish pass as commonplace?
Why wasn't I invited to that?
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