OUT IN THE FIELD: Princes Park cafe, Second World War bombings and birthday shout outs.....

During my time on Planet Earth I have made some monumental mistakes and try as I might, no doubt I will continue to make the odd faux pas. I find in those times though the only thing you can do is put your best lipstick on, fall on your sword and say sorry. In all honesty it's really the only thing you can do. So I take my hat off to the management at the Boathouse in Princes Park which was forced to do just that when it found itself in the middle of a storm after announcing late on Sunday night on Facebook that it would no longer be serving just drinks to customers and instead would be operating as a restaurant. Cue social media uproar as people voiced their upset online and criticised the management for alienating families, dog walkers and everyone else who just wants to pop in for a nice hot cuppa on a wintery day or a cold drink on a warm one. Within hours the Boathouse had taken on board those comments, done a major U-turn and changed its mind to appease its existing and potential customer base. And said a very big sorry. The management went one step further and admitted that many of the comments posted in response to the Facebook onslaught had possibly been lost in translation. So, there you have it: people power wins the day and hopefully everybody is happy. Now people need to put their money where their mouth is and go along and check it out. Local businesses need the support.
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We love our local history here at the Herald and this week marked the 75th anniversary of a serious bombing raid in Eastbourne town centre that killed 15 people and injured 72. Bruford’s, Truform and Russell and Bromley were badly damaged in the German raid on the town. It’s timely then that this week also saw the planned war memorial and peace garden at the Wish Tower start to take shape. Full details of the memorial are on page 18 and 19 along with all the information on the fundraising appeal to help pay for it. For those who don’t know, the memorial will replace the old Wish Tower cafe and sun lounge, which had to be demolished by the council because it had been allowed to deteriorate to rack and ruin. If you are unable to donate online there is a collection box at the site and the contractors, Andrew Norwood and Billy and Liam Biles, are more than happy to talk you through what is happening down there. Do go and say hello and if you have any memories of the bombing raids in the town, share them with the boys or even me. We’d love to hear the stories.

Finally this week, the birthday shout out includes my gorgeous and wonderful friend James Bell who will need a fair bit of puff for all the candles on his cake as he hits the big 50.

Many happy returns also to Helen James-Hume, Annette Perry, Simon Cosham, our lovely Inge Keats here at Beckett Towers, Elaine Stevenson, Adrian Carter and Nicola Addems.