More Wilde in Worthing

 I have been in Worthing again ('Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort'), and again it was not for pleasure. Indeed, the rail journey from Lichfield to Worthing is rather too long to be undertaken purely for pleasure, even when things go smoothly. And this they did not, alas, on our return journey, when, having battled through dense London crowds of people (where do they all come from? And why?) to make the Tube journey from Victoria to Euston, we were treated to half an hour sitting on the Lichfield train waiting for 'a member of crew' to turn up – probably the driver. When the train eventually left, it got as far as Milton Keynes before being rescheduled as a fast train, not stopping at Lichfield. After another half hour waiting on the platform at MK, a dismal experience (though the trackside slopes are pleasantly overgrown with dog rose and spindle), we eventually got back via the train that had left Euston a whole hour later. Journey time five and half hours, stress level (out of 10) somewhere near 9. This kind of disruption is nothing new either, but I shan't dwell on it here...
  I've written about Worthing – and in particular Oscar Wilde's association with the resort – before on this blog (here's a link), but will add a few more details now, while Worthing is fresh in my mind. During his stay in the summer of 1894, Oscar attended three maritime events: a lifeboat demonstration, during which he was seen flitting about in a small rowing boat; the annual Regatta; and a 'Venetian Fête', a lamp-lit water carnival at the end of which Wilde presented the prize for the best decorated boat and gave a short speech in praise of Worthing. 'It has beautiful surroundings,' he declared, 'and lovely long walks – which I recommend to other people but do not take myself.' Indeed, he seemed to prefer taking to the water, often in company with the odious Bosie and some boys from the town, with whom the two men fished and swam and generally enjoyed themselves. One in particular caught Oscar's fancy – a 16-year-old called Alphonse Conway, whose name came up in court during the scandalous trial the following year, when Wilde disingenuously claimed he was 18. Oscar and Bosie's amusements were certainly noticed at the time, but there was no scandal until Wilde's disgrace and downfall in 1895, after which Alphonse and his family left Worthing in a hurry, and for a while at least the reputation of the blamelessly respectable resort was somewhat sullied by association. Were he to return from the dead, Wilde might be amused to find Worthing – and indeed the rest of the country – giving every outward show of being bursting with something called 'Gay Pride'.