OUT IN THE FIELD: ‘Women Wot Walk’ collecting litter from Eastbourne’s rubbish strewn hedges, the joy of red post boxes and Happy Birthday to town’s pop-up museum

As I attempt to grow old gracefully, my list of intolerances appears to grow ever longer. Last week I highlighted the latest: litter louts who think nothing of throwing their rubbish out of car windows. So it was rather ironic when an email from Polegate MP Maria Caulfield dropped into my inbox saying she and Eastbourne MP Caroline Ansell want to see the responsibility for clearing litter from the A27 transferred from local councils back to Highways England. Good that I am not the only one concerned at the huge amounts of litter on the sides of the A27 from drivers throwing rubbish out of their cars. The relevant authorities – I am presuming Wealden and East Sussex councils – say the current system isn’t working for them as they need to wait for the road to be closed for litter picking to take place but ‘when there are road closures, dozens of bags of rubbish are successfully collected’. I am not a fan of tedious risk assessments or bureaucratic red tape so it’s no surprise I don’t see why the road has to be closed. Myself and some friends, aka Women Wot Walk, regularly collect rubbish as we ramble along the highways and byways. Last Friday out at the Cuckmere, we managed to pick up three items of discarded litter each and did our bit for the environment and dumped them in the wheelie bin at home. We haven’t decided where we are walking this week but if you see a group of middle-aged windswept women with luminous green waistcoats on darting in and out of the hedges filling up black sacks, do give us a wave.
The Story of Eastbourne Museum in Terminus Road - Katherine Buckland,  Jo Seaman and AnneMarie at the museum (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190602-204025008The Story of Eastbourne Museum in Terminus Road - Katherine Buckland,  Jo Seaman and AnneMarie at the museum (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190602-204025008
The Story of Eastbourne Museum in Terminus Road - Katherine Buckland, Jo Seaman and AnneMarie at the museum (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-190602-204025008

It’s not all moaning and groaning however as I consider swapping my party frock for my jim jams on a Saturday night. I have discovered an interest in red post boxes – particularly old ones which were around in the time of Queen Victoria or George VI. There seem to be plenty of those but it is the Edward VII ones which have eluded me so far. The other day I also discovered there are blue post boxes. My cup overfloweth.

If you haven’t yet ventured up the seaward end of Terminus Road to visit The Story of Eastbourne, please do. The pop up museum is celebrating its first birthday after welcoming 23,000 visitors through the doors. The free exhibition tells the 150,000 year story of Eastbourne from pre-history to present day and there are plenty of artefacts to look at. What’s more important though is that if the exhibition proves popular, it will mean Eastbourne gets its own purpose-built museum which is what we have all wanted for some time. The exhibition’s Jo Seaman and Katherine Buckland and their volunteers are a very learned bunch and always happy to talk to people about their memories of Eastbourne. It’s at 248 Terminus Road.

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A belated thank you to members of The Eastbourne Society who invited me to talk at their recent meeting. It was nice to be among people who generally care and are passionate about our town. The society’s motto is ‘looking to the future with an eye to the past’ and it’s always on the lookout for new members.