Public toilets closed and what’s happened to all the supermarket tills in Eastbourne?: Out in the Field

I mention this only to save anyone in need of spending a penny, be they young or old, of the distress of finding the doors to the ladies and gents well and truly locked.

These days we are all used to everything being blamed on Covid-19 and the pesky pandemic lockdown rules and these are indeed the reasons for the conveniences being closed. But on further investigation it seems there also just isn’t the dosh within East Sussex County Council’s budget to pay for ‘enhanced cleaning’.

After patiently listening to my rant this week about being caught short with a toddler and an elderly relative and not a toilet in sight, a very nice lady at the county council told me that to reopen the conveniences in line with government guidance, they need to arrange for “enhanced cleaning”.

And furthermore that unfortunately, based on the quotes the authority has had, and due to the relatively isolated rural location of the toilets, the council does not have the budget available to pay for that additional cleaning.

She said the council had made the difficult decision to keep the toilets closed.

But there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel apparently. The council is soon to transfer the freehold ownership of the Seven Sisters Country Park to the South Downs National Park Authority, which will be investing £1.4m into Seven Sisters which will go into “improving visitor experience and facilities and ecological management”.

The council understands that the reopening of the toilets is a “high priority for the SDNPA”. Thank the good Lord for that.

It’s absolutely astounding that with the number of people out of work at present – not to mention the fact the world and his wife descend on the country park come the weekend and school holidays as we can’t actually go anywhere and everyone’s enjoying staycations – nobody wants the job.

Robots seem to be taking over more and more of our supermarkets these days. When self serve checkouts first appeared I found it mildly amusing and entertaining to play at being a cashier, much like I did when I was five years old. Nowadays it just gets on my twig.

In Eastbourne’s ASDA they have done away with scores of the old fashioned cashier type tills and replaced them with self-checkout machines. The same goes for Tesco at Stone Cross, WH Smith in town and Boots. Not only do I detest them, I think about the human cost and worry about how many people are being let go from the jobs they love so these monstrosities can take over the shops.

Like the rest of the country, a staycation is looming for us at Field Towers this summer. Even though we are double jabbed, the rellies don’t want us in the Emerald Isle and a trip to sunnier climes is out of the question thanks to extortionately priced flights, quarantining and expensive Covid-19 tests.

So, we are off to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset for some walking and next week will be spent in Pevensey Bay hopefully soaking up the sun. With that in mind, stay safe and see you in two weeks.