A Hot Pepper Pot

At the end of a Tuesday at Uni, one of the MA First Years said "There's a PV at the Pepper Pot, d'ya want to come?"

Well of course not being from Brighton I had no idea what the Pepper Pot was or where is was. I thought it was a pub or restaurant or something like that, and was assured it wasn't far.

After a long uphill walk in the heat which would've challenged Ranulph Fiennes, we arrived at something in the middle of a grass island surrounded by houses, something that looked most out of place, appearing to be a folly of some kind. "Is this it?" I thought "Its rather small and poky". And cylindrical. And rough looking.



Yet inside young artists had made good use of the old damp crumbling walls and the sense of history by setting up sculptures and installations with classical poetry. Brown leather, evocative of another time, a time of saddles and bridles, adorned a space. Outside two small birch trees looked vulnerable in their pots against an older and much more majestic tree, their slim white trunks making them look almost skeletal and anorexic against the wide black gnarled-bark trunk of the old tree (the species of which alludes me for now). Nearby what looked like a coffin with portholes was in fact an outdoor sleeping chamber, which I was assured was very comfortable although did make the occupiers feel rather uneasy as late night and school run pedestrians passed by while they snoozed inside. A lump of gooey dough holding all number of French sticks and loafs together - the bread head - had fallen apart and parts of it lay on the dry summer grass.



The overall feeling was one of vulnerability in an urban area, something I think the residents would really connect with given the chance. There could've been a bit more information given to the community, but some locals took advantage of the free drinks to have a nosey around and a chat to the artist, and a man from the local council with earrings and a casual shirt mingled with everyone and seemed really pleased that this little used venue was finally getting a new lease of life.