About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Thursday September 15th 2016 - Southwold & Walberswick Part 2 - Southwold Pier

The first thing I saw when I walked onto the pier was a sign on the back wall of the amusement arcade telling me how far it was to the end. The distance wasn't measured in feet, yards or metres as you would expect but in planks - I don't know how wide a plank is but I wasn't even going to start calculating that one.

Next was a notice with an arrow saying "This way to the home made under-the-pier show" but it was pointing along the pier itself - was whatever it was actually under the pier or was it further along? All was revealed when I got halfway along - housed in one of the single storey wooden buildings was a collection of some of the wackiest machines I've ever seen. I didn't know if they actually worked, and at £1 a time I wasn't going to try in case they didn't, but they certainly made me smile.
 





Next came something which, although still wacky, was actually useful. In the centre of the pier was a working clock made out of various bits of scrap copper; a nearby notice said it operated on the hour and half hour so I decided to wait to see what it did. Although water had been running down it constantly, when the half hour arrived it suddenly came to life; flowers appeared in the trough at the bottom, water filled the bathtub at the top which then overflowed to water the garden below, and the shorts on the two figures dropped down so they could both take a very long pee. It was one of the most unusual things I've seen for a while and was certainly very amusing.

When I finally got to the end of the pier I found one of those big brightly coloured cut-out picture things you can put your own face in; there was no way I was going to take a photo of myself with my face stuck in it but I still took a shot of it just to prove I'd walked the stated 940 planks along the pier from beginning to end.

The only other people at the end of the pier just then were a couple of guys who were fishing so I stayed for a few minutes to enjoy the relative peace and quiet with just the sound of the sea below me, then I made my way back to the beginning of the pier and set off back along the promenade on my return walk to Walberswick.

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4 comments:

  1. nashvillecats226 September 2016 at 13:52

    Thought this excellent Tigermouse, loved the pics.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tigermouse26 September 2016 at 14:55

    Those machines were really amusing; there were several more but I thought those were the best ones, and I would have loved to see the dog on the treadmill in action.

    I actually took a video of the clock in action, the whole sequence lasted for just about two minutes, but I was holding the camera upright so the video has downloaded sideways and I can't seem to find a way of turning it round.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eileen H26 September 2016 at 14:55

    I love them! A molbiity class with a zimmer frame :) The rent-a-dog contract is so funny, and the micro break, have a holiday from the comfort of an armchair:) I think would have spent a £1 or two testing them out :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tigermouse26 September 2016 at 15:59

    If I'd been with someone I may very well have tried the Quick Fit one and the Rent-a-dog. I must admit I haven't completely read the contract for that one but the bits I have read are certainly funny :)

    ReplyDelete

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