Eastbourne Extra
No 3 son guided fbb to Google Earth Pro which the old bloke obediently downloaded. Yonks ago, Google Earth gave you access to historic aerial views but these had disappeared. They were cunningly hidden on Google Earth Pro. Which means that now fbb could provide a picture of the extensive Southdown facilities at Cavendish Place (Eastbourne, remember?) ...
... but evidence on Susans Road (top centre) suggests that clearance work had already started in 2004, the oldest historic view available.
Likewise the back entrance to the Pevensey Road bus station was still hard to spot, but a dark gulch suggests a narrow lane between existing buildings.
By 2004, the Royal Parade depot was already blocks of flats with no sign of bus occupation. But a more recent Google Earth reminds us that buses stopped conveniently on both sides of Terminus Road.
Son Of Clipper
Sheffield correspondents report improved branding on the new City Centre shoppers bus.
Spot the difference! Also (shock horror) more of the stops have now received departure lists, like this on Norfolk Street near The Crucible Theatre.
Stunning!
And the route map?
Thought not!
Also reported is that the stops on Carver Street (marked alighting only, although it isn't for SC) ...
... and Rockingham Street ...
... are still bereft of any SC information; no flag, no frame, no timetable, no map!
Good, innit?
Observed normal loadings on this service are between 0 and 1 (inclusive) each time a bus is seen. Highest number of passengers seems to be 3 per bus although unverifiable reports suggest that at least one trip had 5 on at once.
It was very different back then:-
Eastbourne Snippet
The main corner block of the closed TJHughes store, that used to be House of Fraser, has a long, long history in Eastbourne. Way back it used to be ...
... a locally owned (Mr Dale and Mr Kerley) department store.
In 1920 (ish) he local drapery business of Dale and Kerley had expanded to become a department store supplier of higher-end goods. It replaced Victorian properties and was designed by the Eastbourne architect P D Stonham.
Described by Pevsner as ‘Baroque, with round-arched dormers over circular windows’ its elevations are decorated with rusticated pilasters, cartouches and swags. Internally it possesses a domed second-floor area with skylights, used as a restaurant/café and venue for inter-war years daily tea dances. In WWII it was reportedly turned over to parachute-making. Post-war bomb damage repair saw the addition of modern side extensions consisting of horizontal bands of glazing and solid panels.
100 years later it remains empty but with an expected rebuild as ground floor shops and flats above.
If you would like to revel in its rusticated pilasters, clamour to see its cartouches and swoon at its swags, the building is at the junction of Twelve Trees and Terminus Road not far from the town centre and railway station.
The dome was over the restaurant where Tea Dances were held most afternoons. You don't get them in Tesco!
Unboxing The Tank Wagon
It came in a large box wrapped in plastic.
Inside was a large cardboard box containing substantial amounts of plastic bubble wrap.
Removing the bubbles revealed a small, strong cardboard box ...
... wrapped in a plastic sleeve to keep the box clean and tidy. Why no tissue paper to protect the plastic sleeve, eh? Inside the box was a model tank wagon - shock horror!
Fear not, dear readers, the wagon is encased in a moulded plastic cocoon ...
... revealing the model in its
plastic base.
To protect the more delicate parts of the model (against what?) there was an inner, gossamer thin sheet ...
... of transparent
plastic.
For the record, herewith a size comparison of the actual wagon and the cardboard box in which it arrived c/o Royal Mail.
Hmmmm!
Back in the day, a Hornby Dublo tank wagon came in a cardboard box with a couple of cardboard rings to protect the couplings.
For two rail (red box!) the wheels were
plastic.
But the wagon was all metal and you would have bought it at your local "toy shop". Rarely would one be posted.
Tomorrow, fbb will look at the wagon itself and explore further, from the very complex chassis upwards!
Can you guess how many separate parts go to make up fbb's latest purchase?
Answer tomorrow.
What Are Virgin Trains Doing At Upshire?
Upshire?
It's near Waltham Abbey.
Does that help!
Answer tomorrow.
21st Century Philosophy (1)
Next Variety blog : Sunday 14th Auigust
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