Hi Guys,
Sorry that it has been a while since I last posted. Most people think that the summer time is the busiest for work on the Pier, but the Winter is far more demanding . The amount of maintenance and testing means far less time to sit in front of the PC.
Of course with new owners in the driving seat for the first time this winter there is a big push to make sure the Xmas wonderland on the Pier is the best, which of course adds to the workload.
Thanks for the praise on the past postings, having worked on the Pier for four owners, it always seemed a shame that so many smaller moments of its history will be lost if not shared on the net for others to enjoy. The Pier itself has very little in the way of any past records or documents, but snippets of information do pop up and when chased usually there is something to be found and shared.
Hi Troy, loved your comments on the ‘Skyliner’ and the picture sure clocks up an horrendous amount of negative health and safety points , It is strange how time has changed our views on H&S, or perhaps it was the start of the blame and sue culture that has made every one more aware of the risks and quite rightly so made the world a safer place, trouble is it is now going past the balance of sensibility and if we are not careful a lot more attractions will be forced to close because there is a chance someone might break a fingernail. Please lets not lose everything , there is no fun in being wrapped up in cotton wool.
Some parts of the skyline escaped the scrap heap and live on under the Pier. On extreme low tides a few tower sections and coil of wire rope are uncovered, I am guessing these were lost over the side during the big storms that hit the coast in 1979 and never recovered.
Hi Fatboy, yes the flag poles are back again, these are the third set to crown the Pier on the turrets and they went up towards the end of the summer. The previous set that the Harrison’s had made and installed, were cut down after a few years as a result of Diana’s death. When Diana tragically died in the car crash, the coast suffered a week of very poor and windy weather. Health and Safety struck again and made it impossible to climb up to lower the flags to half mast as a sign of respect. The amount of abusive telephone calls and messages the Pier received caused the decision to be made for the removal of the poles.
More to follow soon
CE