We dragged ourselves away from the pier entertainments to continue our way west.  As we walked back down the planks of the pier the seagulls glided overhead, hoping to swoop down and pick up stray scraps of food.  Occasionally, one would find something and would have to tear off in a hurry, hotly pursued by other gulls hoping to steal the prize.  I can bore my family to tears as they wait for me to finish taking pictures of seagulls, but  getting a good picture in flight (and indeed in focus) can be a challenge.

In flight, they show off their graceful aerodynamics, with their feet tucked away neatly.

I didn’t blame them for keeping to the skies today – Brighton Beach looked rather busy.

Standing right next to Brighton Pier is a concrete jetty, home to the locally famous sculpture, “Il Grande Bagel Verde”.  Apparently, the city of Brighton donated a large brass sculpture of a herring to the city of Naples.  Naples responded by sending Brighton this piece, known locally as the “Seasick Doughnut”.

I like to imagine the City Council of Naples deciding how to retaliate for their giant brass herring, but in fact I really like this sculpture.  It is full of lines which draw you in.  The lines etched in the surface of the bagel make you want to peer through the hole in the centre to see what is on the other side.  It makes me think of a black hole; perhaps what you see on the other side of the hole is on a different plane of existence – they do say, after all, that the universe is doughnut-shaped.

There are also holes in the surface.  From a distance these look like they may be where the sea spray has rusted through the metal casing, but get closer and it becomes apparent that they are intentional cuttings, with vertical strata fading away from the surface and reaching into the inner core.  The give a new dimension to this doughnut-shaped universe, and look how they play with the light.

Points on this part of the walk (copy and paste the co-ordinates into Google Earth):

• Brighton Pier:  N 50° 48.900 W 000° 08.225
• The Seasick Doughnut:  N 50° 49.124 W 000° 08.357

Walk #52 Statistics (of which this post forms the fourth part):

• Date of Walk: 26 May 2013
• Walk #52 total distance covered: 8.71 miles
• Coast of Britain Walk Total Distance Covered: 428.20 miles
• CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO INTERACTIVE MAP!!!