Babylon

by Ros Barber (Brighton)

A mate lived near Churchill Square. Walking home in the small hours I’d cut across West Street and zigzag through the alleyways. On a Saturday night it’s absolute Babylon down there, there’s loads of townies and suits and God knows, it’s really unhealthy.

Down the narrow street next to the Australian backpackers place there’s scaffolding on the right hand side and a man and a woman tucked away inside the scaffolding and there’s something wrong. I can hear her going Please, no, stop it, please, no, stop it.

Then a really big guy and a little guy come running down the road. Obviously bouncers: they’re both bald and they’ve got those big black bouncers jackets on. The little guy’s hopping up and down like a bantum rooster behind the big guy.

The big guy’s shouting “Oy, go on, get out of here!” and the man goes “Alright, I don’t want any trouble,” and starts walking away. The big guy goes “Go on, walk on, walk away,” and the little guy hopping behind him goes “Yeah. And walk far.”

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What Ros Barber says about Babylon:

Ptolemy Elrington moved down to Brighton 10 or 11 years ago for the artistic scene: poetry and sculpture. “My brother was living here. I stayed here for a while and I liked it.” He makes sculptures out of recycled materials and is most well known for his hub cap creatures, which can be seen adorning numerous pubs and shops in Brighton. See www.hubcapcreatures.com