WALKING OVER THE WAVES
QUINTESSENTIAL BRITISH SEASIDE PIERS
If you can get to Brighton on Tuesday 10th June 2008, you'll be very welcome to come to our "National Book Launch" on Brighton (Palace) Pier, 11am - 12noon. This is to launch my new book, "Walking Over the Waves - Quintessential British Seaside Piers" which I wrote after visiting every seaside pleasure pier in the UK last year - all 56 of them! The history and present condition of each pier is given in some detail, with 250+ photographs old & new, plus lots and lots of tales of storms, fires and shipwrecks.
Before the "Launch", there will be a Pier Crawl along Brighton Pier, starting at the pier entrance at 10am. After "walking the planks" (part of the "Great British Pier Crawl 2008") events will take place at the Palm Court Restuarant, two thirds the way along the pier. At 10.30 a Piers and Books exhibition will open to the public. The "Launch" at 11am will be chaired by Tim Phillips, chairman of the National Piers Society. There's be a Piers Question Time with a panel answering questions from the audience - perhaps you have a query that will stump our experts.
Then I'll be signing my book, followed by lunch at 12noon. The Mayor, who will give the Civic Welcome, is staying for lunch. The menu for the official luncheon is traditional seaside fare: cod & chips, tea, bread & butter (with vegetarian option). You can also have lunch in the Palm Court Restaurant, and if you buy your own you can have whatever you like! The whole event is courtesy of the Noble Organisation who own Brighton Pier.
At 2.30pm, we'll be going for another PierCrawl on Brighton West Pier. Yes, we all know the West Pier has been almost completely destroyed by fire and storm, but it's still there in skeleton form - and it will live again (we hope). And the West Pier still counts towards your PierCrawl score. And we hope that someone from the West Pier Trust will tell us all about their plans - they have an office on the sea-front next to the pier.
Do come along if you can. The Pier Crawl and the Book Launch will be a lot of fun, and you're sure to learn something about piers that you didn't know before. You might even enter the "Great British Pier Crawl 2008." It's a fun competition. Entry is free, you can start when you like and finish when you like, and visit as many piers as you like (minimum three). Visit three piers and you qualify as a Midshipman PierCrawler. Visit more piers and you can achieve the rank of Captain, Commodore or even Admiral.
Certificates on completion cost a modest £2, and you can buy commemorative PierCrawl t-shirts and piers books, but only if you wish. To learn about the "Great British Pier Crawl 2008", log onto http://www.piercrawl.info any time from April 1st when the site goes "live." Why April 1st? Well, if you're going to start an eccentric , very British competition, what better day to begin?
You can visit piers at any time, but if you want to join me at any particular pier on my own personal PierCrawl (my second in two years) look up my itinerary on the PierCrawl website. I'll be very glad indeed to see you and have a chat. Most piers do not charge an entry fee, so pier crawling is mainly free!
Chris Foote Wood
Author & PierCrawl organiser
