NETTY'S WORLD by Netty Wendt

Let’s Go Outside

My partner and I moved to Brighton from Hammersmith over 20 years ago. Yes, we were drawn to the vibrant gay and lesbian scene, but it was the nature of a bohemian town flanked by the rolling green hills and the sea, that was truly the call of the wild as we sat in our London flat surrounded by traffic and tube stations.

Similarly, since lockdown many other Londoners have heard the mermaids singing too. Estate agents tell of an unprecedented exodus from the capital, and who can blame these runaways? We humans have a biological need for the great outdoors as well as a cosy place to lay our heads. Psychologists have found that merely looking at a green wall is efficacious and calming. Indeed, a few years ago when studying for my psychology degree, I was asked to describe my ‘happy place’. To my surprise, it was not a pub. It was Hove Lawns. I know, it’s hardly a nature reserve, but here I was surrounded by myriad dogs, birds, greenery and the sea. I felt alive.

Now Brighton in turn is (to me at least) too crowded. The wildlife on Hove Lawns is of a more human variety, and as hitting people who annoy me is frowned upon, I’ve moved along the coast to Peacehaven

I have often been struck by the way we gays have utilised outdoorsy pursuits to hook up or spend time with our own kind. A group of women walking on Devil’s Dyke can safely enjoy each other’s company as well as the fresh air, far away from the prying eyes of heteronormativity. On that note, I hear the bushes are being drastically trimmed at Duke’s Mound, where the hell will all the gay men go? That foliage has been the only bush they’ve been in for years! I suppose Grindr caters for such casual encounters these days, but I never thought I’d feel nostalgic about a cruising ground.

Time marches on, now Brighton in turn is (to me at least) too crowded. The wildlife on Hove Lawns is of a more human variety, and as hitting people who annoy me is frowned upon, I’ve moved along the coast to Peacehaven. It’s not so far away, I can see the i360 from my daily walk along the cliffs, but it’s a world away from the hustle and bustle, it’s big sky, crashing waves and rolling hills. After my run-in with Covid-19 I walked this route to recover the use of my legs and breathed this air to heal my ravaged lungs, ultimately this walk healed my soul.

I hear the bushes are being drastically trimmed at Duke’s Mound, where the hell will all the gay men go? That foliage has been the only bush they’ve been in for years!

When walking I think how lucky I am to be alive. I pass my friend’s house and wave in at him, we’re still in lockdown but one day soon we’ll have a barbecue, even food tastes better al fresco. I pass a lesbian couple I knew from Brighton days, they’ve just got a dog, because now they have the great outdoors and a garden. I smile at a bearded chap in a Brighton Bear Weekend T-shirt. Perhaps he’s here to heal his soul too? Nah, he’s cruising.