Saturday 26th July 2014
I went to Eastbourne in East Sussex to attend the Lammas Fair, held on the Western Lawn behind the Promenade. It was a beautiful hot English summer's day, and one of the photographs I took was of the Eastbourne Pier.
Wednesday 30th July 2014
In mid-afternoon it was announced that a huge fire had engulfed the Arcade on the Pier, which was on the town end. Fortunately the wind was blowing from west to east, so the billowing black smoke went away from the town and the rest of the Pier. The firefighters and local lifeboats fought the fire but the whole of the Arcade was destroyed, leaving a blackened skeleton of metal supports, but the remaining two-thirds of the buildings on the Pier were saved. Everyone on the Pier was evacuated within five minutes and there was no loss of life.
Thursday 31st July 2014
I went to an afternoon matinee performance at one of the local theatres and decided to walk back to the bus stop along the Promenade. It was a heart-wrenching sight to see what remained of the Arcade on the Pier. I was in there only a few weeks ago, taking a visiting friend to see one of the iconic sights of the seaside town and walking the length of the Pier out to sea and back again. Today I had my camera with me and decided to take a few photographs.
Friday 1st August 2014
Today one of the local newspapers gave more details.
We all hope that the Pier will soon be rebuilt, and meanwhile I shall treasure my memory and photograph of the Pier as it was only a few days ago.
