Pier pressure

Today was my third trip to Eastbourne Pier. The original weather forecast for today was for rain, which made me happy as I wanted to film people on the pier in the rain. Unfortunately the rain never showed up, and instead we had (still have) lots of wind. During the trip to the pier from my dad’s place in Seaford I wasn’t feeling very optimistic. Despite the fact the double-decker bus felt like it was going to get blown over thus providing plenty of visual possibilities of people struggling along the pier into a feisty breeze, the sky was overcast and the light was crap. Although great for faces, overcast skies do nothing to bring out the best of the colours, shapes and shadows the pier likes to throw out in abundance. Acceptable I hoped when it was coming down in buckets, not so when the air was dry. Anyway, as so often happens, the sun came out as I was getting off the bus, which goes all the way to the seafront, but for reasons I can’t explain, I got off one stop before and stumbled straight into a man in a monkey suit playing a drum kit. I felt lost and confused on the pier, took a lot of rubbish with the occasional decentish photograph. I was in a hurry and realised you can’t hurry these things. The rest of the trips I take to photograph the pier must last a few hours each. I’m also aware that the research I’m doing is not coming in as quickly as I’d like it. Eastbourne’s museum about itself has been closed since 2005 and is scheduled to reopen this summer. The local Heritage Centre is filling in for them, but when I went there on Friday it was closed despite the fact it was supposed to be open. I found a local historian on the internet and sent him a detailed email. He replied telling me to look at Google. The history department of Eastbourne Council is yet to reply to my email. Perhaps time to call them. I’ve unearthed some nice facts and figures concerning the history of the town, but little on the pier. The pier website doesn’t work and the camera obscura is always closed. Research uncovers picture ideas, so I really do need more as soon as possible. Then I need to work on a shotlist as well as some ideas for simple interviews. It’s a fun project. Ideas in my notebook include notes on the pier’s wooden and concrete decking, WWII, Dickens and reading on the pier in general, the camera obscura, fishing (and fish stocks), a series of ideas for an establishing shot, reflections galore in surfaces including the two old red telephone boxes by the entrance to the pier and hotel/restaurant windows across the street, lots of information on the underneath of the pier including the tangle of fishing nets clinging to the cast-iron legs, the so-called Glass House, ice cream, the pier’s owners, interviews and lots more. I need to talk to somebody.