ACID TO CLEAN ALUMINUM

Eastbourne Pier is a firm favourite on the south coast of England and has an air of refinement and charm about it that is almost unique in terms of the piers that are still remaining today.

Although it has undergone significant refurbishment over the years, this has always been very tastefully done and the end result is a construction that somehow is rather quintessentially English, in a somewhat understated way, less ostentatious perhaps.

Eastbourne pier was officially opened in 1870, but construction work was not completed until 1872. It was fairly rigorously constructed and has not been so adversely affected by storms or floods, as some of its counterparts. The only significant damage it has suffered was in 1877, when part of the pier at shore side was literally washed away, but since then there has been relatively little incidence of damage.

When it first opened, the pier was simply a promenade facility with little in the way of facilities. A total of 6 little kiosks were provided, but in effect that was about it. It was (and indeed still is) a good length at about 303 metres (1,000 ft). So it makes a nice walk and the Victorians and Edwardians soon took Eastbourne to their hearts, as they took their promenades on the pier.


As Eastbourne Pier became more popular, more services and facilities were provided, including a rather opulent pavilion, with a 400 seat capacity, but this was to be short-lived, since it was only constructed in 1888 but was then replaced with a much grander 1000 seat theatre as well as a bar and office accommodation. Two ‘saloon’ type facilities were introduced halfway down the pier as well, so there was plenty to do.

1912 saw a new entrance being created, which was truly Edwardian and perhaps a little more minimalist than certain Victorian ‘follies’ had been. This air of Edwardian simplicity is still very much retained in Eastbourne Pier today, even though the Edwardian entrance gates were replaced in the 1950’s. They are not, however, vulgar or ugly, but have been designed in accordance with Edwardian charm. So in some ways the fact that part of it was built in Victorian times and part in Edwardian times, makes it an almost unique blend of the best from these two eras, with the Edwardian entrance perhaps influencing it more than the Victorian internal, which has been substantially changed over the years.

Eastbourne PierOne of the classic features of Eastbourne Pier is the camera obscura, which was actually introduced as part of the 1888 refurbishment and is a wonderful attraction, having been very lovingly restored in 2003. This has a simply amazing 360° projection. Truly stunning and it is quite amazing to think that it is so old.

Eastbourne Pier also boasts a nightclub, which used to be the former theatre, but which is quite unique as piers go. Despite the fact that Eastbourne is viewed as being a retirement option, there is not just the nightclub on the pier, but also other things happening at night, such as the Bar Copa, which unlike the nightclub is free. Bar Copa is open every night till late, but the Atlantis nightclub is only open from Wednesday through to Saturday, but you can dance the night away until 2 am, all year round.

For those who are too young… or even too old to go clubbing there is still a lot to do. There are two games arcades, where you can play very space age games or just stick with the old traditional and well loved games, such as the good old slot machines.

Eastbourne also has a little bit of an edge on some of her contemporaries, through having a glass blower, where you can see the most intricate of ornaments being blown, literally before your eyes. The shops are also very good and are just that little bit different.

There are plenty of options for eating, from cheap and cheerful chips to a family type restaurant or deliciously traditional pub food. So you won’t be stuck for somewhere to eat, with all budgets and tastes catered for. From café stalls to nice dining, the choice is excellent.

The fact that Eastbourne is a relatively genteel resort, as English seaside resorts go, is reflected in the fact that it does not have the fairground rides that are so prevalent on other piers. So at Eastbourne, you will not be scared to death on some death defying ride. No, you can gently amble down the pier, taking a pause to look through the camera obscura whilst you are going down, pop into one of the little shops or just clean out your system with some good old fashioned fresh air as you stride (or stroll, depending on your preferences) down the pier.

Eastbourne PierFamilies and disabled people will find everything on one level. The amusement arcades are the main attractions for children, or the camera obscura, but there is no dedicated children’s play area.

At night, Eastbourne pier is lit up which shows off its proud entrance and beautiful shape perfectly. It is a wonderful spectacle and it lends Eastbourne Pier an air of elegance that is very apt

these are two photos of a short series i'm doing of my parent's house, the house i spent my teenage years in
the stupidest part of my life in! it is to document bullshit suburbia, un altered and honest
hilarious and cruel and painful and above all, unecessary and stupid and impractical
but home

they are moving next year, to either buffalo new york or indianoplis indiana depending on where my dad gets sent for his job so this is my last summer here for sure
i don't want to think about it
because i don't have to think about it
so i will just take pictures because i want to remember it the way it was, the way it always will be to me kind of

this is the pantry in the basement
a lot of it is home canned food from my grandpa's farm
there is a shitty organization system
fuck it
i don't feel like explaining the significance of this to myself because i already get it
i don't need to develop this thought further and i don't really want to so

tonight at work when i was cleaning up my coworker recited a poem to me
she wears combat boots to work and all black and has a lot of tattoos
she recited a poem to me about a tarantula
i was feeling awkward at first
a girl who does not stop talking about gothic painters and shit
telling me a poem about tarantulas
i tried hard not the laugh at the idea of this
except, i couldn't laugh, about three minutes into the poem
because i realized
she fucking LOVES this poem
if she remembered this much of it, reciting directly
i stop dusting and
listen for a minute
the poem starts out fucking stupidly
it is a nature poem in the beginning and i do not like nature poetry
it is about the beauty of a tarantula
and i am thinking, "ok. big deal"
in my stupidly subconsciously arrogant post-teenage brain
and she goes on and on and then she says something like
"when it rains a lot it scares the tarantulas right out of the trees" and then she looks at me and says
"if you are the kind of person who believes that ugly things should not die just because they are ugly then you should build a swimming pool in your yard and craft life preservers for the tarantulas and collect them in the mornings after big storms and set them free, and then after you set them free the tarantulas will not bother you anymore because they will remember that you loved them and they will tell their friends that you loved them and then you will throw them life buoys and they will throw you life buoys"
i looked at her as she recited this hugely long poem with a little smile on my face
it was silly, this poem was sort of dumb but also sort of pretty
i didn't say that though
i just said, "that was nice. thank you"
when she was done and while the poem was a little okay but mostly kind of dumb what i really enjoyed was seeing how much she enjoyed it, that is what i really liked and what i thought was actually poetic and what was actually pretty
she put her arm around me in the new fiction section and told me i was nice
that is when i laughed a little in my brain and started dusting again and moved down the aisle and changed the subject
i said, what is your favorite series of books
and she followed me for two more aisles while i dusted, telling me about science fiction fantasy novels
then she started talking about harry potter and this is when i couldn't take it anymore and actually laughed out loud
i felt bad but i wasn't laughing at her and she knew that
i was just laughing at the situation
and i smiled and said, yeah i remember the day the seventh book came out, i heard this place was nuts
she said yeah i worked, it was dumb
i said, i'm sorry
she said, i'm not, cause when i went home i started reading the book and then i stopped reading the book because all i could think about was that this was probably one of the first times in human history when millions and millions of people were all reading and experiencing the same book at the exact same time
and i said, yeah
and then i said i like that thought
and she said, do you think that will ever happen again
and i grinned and said
maybe if you write a book about tarantulas in life preservers or raccoons inside of minivans with airbag systems
and she didn't get it and i didn't expect her to
but it was hilarious to me
and i laughed forever
and i felt alone and i felt
happy