Beside the seaside beside the sea.

As an island country we are never far from the sea. So its not surprising that many of us like to pop down to the coast for a paddle and a go on the slot machines and other delights that beckons us with their twinkling lights. So is was the other day that I took advantage of the jolly good seasonal weather and checked out my favourite Hastings (of battle fame) and I was not disappointed. The pier that was almost burn down is to have a'make over' in the next couple of years so will bring the 'old darling' back to her previous beauty. Hastings a place I love and went to as a child with my parents bother and  sister as out paternal grandparents lived there. I also did a catering course at the college in Hastings from 1965 to 1967 - the course was for three years but I volunteered for the June Six Day War in 1967 - but that's another long story. So the report published this week by Sheffield Hallam University - Seaside Towns in The Age of Austerity - was not a surprise that we are taking more 'stayations' in Blighty by the sea. There are some 200,000 jobs associated with this coastal trade  According to the latest edition of Lonely Planet Blackpool is the most popular of all English resorts and has been for many years. Its not surprising as it has so much to offer with amazing rides and lights along the promenade for six miles. What can be better than walking along next to the beach on a very sunny day with an ice cream in one hand (melting) and a bag of chips in the other? Pure heaven - does life get any better than this? It does of course wonders for the waist line, figure and calories. Life is too short to worry about such trifles! Talking of trifles what ever happened to the 'Knickerbocker'? Do you remember them piled high with all manner of junk topped off with a big dollop of ice cream and chocolate sauce (or other depending on taste) and sprinkle with 'star dust'? When the children were much younger we would as a family always go camping to Swanage in Dorset. It was such great fun and I would hire a 'beach hut' as an extra treat. Fantastic memories of  holidays in the sunshine. So get down to be 'beside the seaside beside the sea'.