Eastbourne is Closed

 The contrast of living part time in a large, traditional (slightly old-fashioned) coastal resort and part-time in a university city which is generally considered to be quite trendy and hip is that the city never really "shuts down".  Yeah, it'll be quieter in the depths of non-pre-Christmas winter (ie Jan/Feb) but pubs and restaurants generally return quite quickly to a normal schedule.

Eastbourne, on the other hand, does not.

We took an extended break from work over Christmas and made a return to the office to catch up with the Team on Monday - almost a week into the New Year.

We already knew that Beerarama would be closed - the chaps who run it advertised their closure for a couple of weeks' holiday, well in advance...and, OK it was Monday but when we strolled around the corner to the Belgian Bar we were really disappointed to see it was closed.  As we strolled down that road which is supposed to be the Town's "flagship", "Cafe culture" street which, in theory, has been (or at least will be) the recipient of quite a lot of funding to enable this new culture...what do we see?  Closed.  Everything either closed or gone for good.  It feels like self-fulfilling prophesy - difficulty getting people in when you are open, so don't open, so no one seeks you out - so even fewer people come.

We're heading up to Bristol on Friday and what we do know is that is that whilst some places might be taking a bit of a break, there won't be wholesale closures of hospitality venues and it'll encourage us to try a few new places who are likely to be a bit quieter...but, crucially, open.

We see a lot about pub closures and I suspect that the prevailing culture in a town or city might very much drive how easy it is for them to ride out the lean times.  I'm not talking about the large company places here - like 'spoons, or Sam Smith, or whatever pubco - I'm talking about real community venues, run by people who put their lives into a place - those who see it as more than a job. 

I really, really wanted a bit of chill time in the pub with the BBB on Monday - it's different to chill time at home - but it wasn't to be.  There's more work to go out for tomorrow so no doubt we'll try again but I'm already anticipating we might be disappointed again.

Friday though...I know where we'll be around 4.30pm