31 Jul 2014

Rudyard KIPLING and EASTBOURNE PIER on fire

Initially I wanted to write about  Rudyard Kipling the writer, for the letter K.  One of my  blog friends  Hilary from Positive Letters lives in Eastbourne, and  I had already met her last year and so we met again and she took me to Bateman's in Burwash.where he had his last home.



It is a very beautiful place.



We walked around the park, had lunch in the tea room near the house and spent the whole day chatting together. We had a great time and it went by so quickly ! When it was time to go home, we were greeted by Anne who told us that Eastbourne's pier was on fire ! Therefore I will write more about R. Kiplings home another time.



I took the above pictures on Monday, and the once below today. It was so sad to see my beloved pier so damaged.



The fire had broken out around 3 pm, but could be mastered around 7 pm. We watched all in direct on the local TV.



Today I went down to see the pier with my own eyes. The road was closed and so was the access to the pier of course. People were talking with the policemen but nobody knew exactly why the fire broke out in this gambling casino.



Fortunately only this building completely burnt out and only the skeleton remains. Now divers probably have to try to find the money of the slot machines and other games, the floor had fallen into the water. I saw some police boats checking under the burnt building.



That's how the place looks like today, where only on Monday I had a glance inside, to watch young people playing on the machines.



Television was there too in the morning to inform about the latest news.





and this is how the seafront looked today. People were laying on the beach and enjoyed the sunshine. I sat there too and read my book, had lunch and and ice cream, before I returned home.

At least I heard that the pier will be repaired for next year !




18 comments:

  1. Kipling's home is beautiful, charming, and oh so elegant.

    Fire is devastating. Great pictures of pier.

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  2. Our roving reporter was on the spot, right on time!

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  3. Love the photos of Kipling's house ~ not fond of fires but great shots for K ~

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

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  4. WE had yet another fire here last weekend. It was a small one, but scary nonetheless. Looking forward to your post on Kipling. He is a favorite!

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  5. What a disaster, but at least the pier was not lost.

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  6. This is a beautiful place!
    So sorry to see the pier on fire. Luckily no lives were lost.

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  7. I love the grand look of the stone homes. How timely to see the pier before and after in one trip. That was some fire.

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  8. I love the grand look of the stone homes. How timely to see the pier before and after in one trip. That was some fire.

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  9. Hi Gattina - it was a thoroughly enjoyable day .. lovely sunshine, able to relax in good company and enjoy learning more about each other.

    Batemans is a brilliant place isn't it .. and what a great way of displaying the photos .. also so glad you've got the before and after of the fire.

    It looks like the fire was terrible, and they have to assess the structural damage ... but at least the entrance and the end of the pier are relatively untouched by the fire ... and as you mention they hope to have it repaired by next summer. Let's hope so.

    Glad you were able to get down to the seafront yesterday and enjoyed yourself relaxing, taking photos and reading - a holiday needs that .. some peace and quiet in between the hustle and bustle of life.

    Enjoy the next few days .. cheers Hilary

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  10. Great photos of Kipling's house and the pier. I hope the pier will open again and not be pulled down.

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  11. Kiplings house is lovely. I saw the fire on the news way down under. It must have been scary and spectacular being there on the spot. The beach looks nice.

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  12. That is a beautiful home. What a shame about the pier!

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  13. the photos of the fire were so dramatic. Who knows what was going on in a casino. Maybe food...
    Love the stones on the Kipling home. {:-D

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  14. Kipling's home is really charming! What a sad event! A fire devasting this marvelous building! Sounds the weather is marvelous in Eastbourne! Lucky you are relaxing and reading on the beach!

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  15. What terrible news about the pier! Lovely shots otherwise of your visit.

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  16. That's very sad. It was a beautiful pier. But at least it will be fixed.

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  17. What a thing to see -- how sad. I wondered what had happened to it when I saw your later post about it (as I am catching up and reading backwards) Hope the are able to restore it well.

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  18. Oh.

    I am always infatuated with stone houses!

    And this one was incredible!

    Sorry to hear about the pier. It looks like a major loss!

    Thanks for this interesting and lovely link to the letter K.

    A+

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