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 !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - EASTBOURNE HABOUR

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Today Ann had her weekly lunch with her friends.





We went to Eastbourne's habour to meet them and had a nice meal in a restaurant looking over the harbour.. Finally I could eat my jacket potatoe. We had a lot of fun, I knew all of them from last year.



Then we took a boat and went on a tour around the habour.



This area only exists since around 15 years, before it was just beach. The tour guide didn't talk about the history of the harbour at all, but gave us the prices of the houses to buy or an idea of what they cost. I wonder if he gets a comission when a house or flat is sold. Anyway before I buy I have to check if I dispose of 400 thousand to 1 million £ (677 to 1.7 $) ! Maybe under my mattress, long time I haven't checked there !

EASTBOURNE SEAFRONT

I am actually in Eastbourne on holidays.



After some heavy showers it cleared up and I went to the seafront. Nothing had changed since last year, the pier still stretching far into the sea and the seagulls meeting on the beach.






Views from the Pier on the seafront







and from the seafront on the Pier. There was a group of Chinese students who spend some weeks in Eastbourne to learn English.

I sat in the sun and read my book and watched people walking by. There were lots of tourists who had the same idea.



When I was hungry I went to the little restaurant on the beach and had a Cornish pasty and a cup of tea
This young seagull watched me hoping for some crumps. Seagull babies are often bigger then their mothers and are not completely white.

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MY WEEKEND OF JULY 26

On Friday evening I have seen an event I had never seen in my life ! There was a gathering of thousands of seagulls circling over Eastbourne to catch flying ants. If there hadn't been the blue sky and the white seagulls it could have been a scene out of the Hitchcock movie "Birds" ! Then some of them landed in the front yard of the neighbor house. I filmed it was such a great natural event !



They didn't even make any noise, they just turned around in the sky !

Saturday morning I spent reading in the garden and took a little sunbath. In the afternoon we were invited to friends who live in a charming little village in a cute cottage house.



I knew them from last year and we were happy to see each other again. They have a very friendly white shepherd which they just have now for a year. She is  called Lilli and came from an animal shelter. There was a lot to chat !



Then we went for lunch at a restaurant on the beach and of course I had my favorite "Fish & chips" which were excellent. Coffee and cake we had later in their garden and we returned home quite late ! I was so tired from all this fresh sea that I dropped in my bed like a stone !

On Sunday we went to Eastbourne's seafront to watch the Morris Dancers



It was a real nice show and people danced with them.



We walked through the different stands and then bought sandwiches and something to drink and sat on a bench from where we could watch the festivities and the sea. It was a very nice afternoon.



My friend's cat Pusspuss helped me with my post !