Life has become quite hectic since the beginning of term. Between uni and holding down two jobs it feels as if I've always got somewhere to be. It then becomes necessary to take time out to just wander around, without having a direction or final destination, allowing the day to take you where it may. Last Saturday I had a day off and decided to indulge in some of my favourite past times.
One of the best places to get lost in Brighton is Duke's at Komedia. In order to satisfy my fascination with the cinema fully I decided to make two visits. Whoever said everything in moderation clearly never tested the waters of excess (the grass is always greener after all). The cinema never fails to leave me with a feeling of calm. The sense of unity that occurs by being in a darkened room filled with strangers all sharing in the same experience is unrivalled elsewhere.
The middle of the day tends to be the best time to go to the cinema. Between 11 and 12 the seats are barely filled meaning you're spoilt for choice on where to sit. On this particular day I decided to take the back row, leaving me as the only person in the last 5. The final line of sofas became my home and I settled in feeling more welcome than I do in most other places. Chai latte and maple pecan in hand, I smiled at the knowledge that I am definitely my mother's daughter. When I feel separated from her by distance I find that lone cinema trips are the perfect way to feel that connection reestablished. I imagine her at my age, sat in a cinema not so unlike the one I find myself in, my own position reflected in her content solitude with only a coffee for companionship. I think it's possible that I become more like her every day.
Following the film I met my friend Beth and the two of us decided to go for lunch. Wandering through the lanes on a Saturday is always a pleasant thing to do. The roads become lined with tables and chairs. An absence of cars, and the floods of people being forced to move with leisure, gives the impression that this is a time to take things at a slower pace. One of those Autumnal days that is both crisp and light met me upon exiting the darkened walls of the screen. Eyes adjusted, I perched at a table amongst the pattern of seated bodies and waited for Beth's arrival. We then sat for a few minutes before picking up and making our way towards Silo, a new zero waste cafe and the first of its kind in the UK. A lunch that consisted of a creamy latte and even creamier risotto left us filled to bursting. Time then for a stroll around the city, conversing all the way.
Amaretto coffees at Beth's followed and then a visit to another friend's house for dinner. The nice thing about being in our second year of university is that everyone has their own homes. Little houses decorated with individual expressions of their residents, it sometimes feels nearer to young children playing house. The excitement at being invited over for a meal still resembles going over for a play date in primary school. Themes of relaxation continued as I was presented with a spread of food and no need to lift a finger. Early evening was consumed by records. Blood on the Tracks transported me back to my flat in London. Sat on the carpet while my mum makes dinner in the kitchen, smells of comfort wafting in through the open plan room adjacent to my small frame. I'm met by the great wonder of memory, and the ability for a sound to knock you back a decade, consumed by the comfort of another time.
A night walk home was accompanied by Bobby Womack and affectionate thoughts for the city underfoot. Brighton is now bound up in so many positive things, it's difficult not to walk around with a smile on my face. The light breeze that cast its way through my loose curls made the lamppost lit pavements all the sweeter. As one sleepy haze fell over the houses and a further transcended, awaking ready to embrace the coming hours, I prepared to end my day in much the same way it began. In great Groundhog Day style a darkened path was taken back to the depths of Komedia. A Saturday spent making up for the hectic week ahead and a realisation for the necessity of time spent alone as much as in the company of loved ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment