marinalifeonline.co.uk » Event Calendar

Elvis in ‘No-Show’ Storm

Jon Martin — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:10:10 +0000

Unfortunately many Eastbourne Half Marathon well-wishers were disappointed not to see Elvis, the kangaroo-suited prankster, at this year’s event.

It appeared, that like so many others, the clash of the annual fun run with Mothers Day meant that Elvis had a more important place to be.

This slight disappointment didn’t ruin the event, and the weather even improved to almost Spring-like proportions, as the score of Bermuda Place residents managed to light the barbie and applaud the dedicated runners as they headed for the finishing tape.

Press Release: Marina Life in Web Revamp

Jon Martin — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:06:43 +0000

After month’s thinking about it, I’ve eventually got around to redesigning the web log.

There’s great things planned for the future and quite a bit of info from back into last year that I need to catch up on as well!!

Thanks for your patience, and keep visiting, as there’s a lot going on now we’re heading into Spring.

Take Care

Jon

Double Check Your Southern Water Bills…

Jon Martin — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:41:44 +0000

…As You May Be In For a (Nice) Surprise!

I first reported on the fraudulent charges Southern Water were billing Sovereign Harbour residents inmy post Money Down the Drain way back in April 2006!
The sterling work that Ray Battersby started and the SHRA’s Waterlines newsletter reported on meant that all Eastbourne Marina residents were supposed to get an automatic refund without having to go through the bureaucratic rigmarole.

But this has taken some time.

So, imagine my surprise when I opened my bill the other day only to discover a line on the statement saying ‘refund’, though it didn’t offer an explaination.

Check your bills carefully, you may have been refunded too

June 2008 sees the Return of the Eastbourne Carnival

Jon Martin — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:06:22 +0000

As a youngster growing up in Eastbourne in the 1970s I always looked forward to the quintessentially British annual event that marked on of the high points in the Summer calader of almost every major seaside resort in the Country.

Tastes change and unfortunately the dual demons of economics and ‘health and safety’ have contributed to Eastbourne’s last attempt being 12 years ago.
But there’s great news…

The ‘lark in the park charity‘ which helps local children with special needs is planning a week of events based around Five Acres Field opposite the Sovereign Centre.

This week will run from 23rd June and culminate with the Carnival procession on Sat. 28th June.

The proposed route will take the procession from Fisherman’s Green (opposite the Beach pub), down the seafront past the Swimming pool, along Prince William Parade, then turning left into Ramsey Way, left again down Beatty Road before finishing at Five Acres itself.

Check the larkinthepark website (link above) for more up-to-date information and how you can get involved.

4 Tips to Help Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Jon Martin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:05:14 +0000

We like living on the marina to enjoy all of the good things ‘Mother Nature’ has to offer.

Here are 4 ways to help her by reducing your own Carbon Footprint by thinking about the things you do that involve producing the harmful carbon dioxide through burning fossil fuels.

Don’t leave your car engine running when you don’t need to – a mere ten minutes of engine idling produces almost a quarter of a ton of CO2 emissions a year.
Composting your fruit and veg instead of putting in with your other household rubbish will save a family of 3 around 0.125 tons of carbon dioxide a year
Improperly inflated tyres means you use more fuel. This alone could save a further 0.13 tons a year; and,
Since a short-haul flight produces about 0.5 tons of carbon dioxide, think about taking a short-break here in the UK rather than jumping on the next cheap flight!

All of these are common sense and practical, and may help save the planet long enough for your grand-children to enjoy health, success and happiness in everything they do too.

Jon

Update on Pevensey Bay Sea Defences

Jon Martin — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:04:12 +0000

From Ian Thomas (Pevensey Coastal Defence)

As most of you will be aware the beach has been cut back in several
places as a result of the high winds and waves from early last week.
With one of the highest tides of the year due in 10 days time we will
today start yet another round of recycling using dumptrucks to move
shingle back to depleted areas.

Initially work will involve transferring beach from Herbrand Walk to
Normans Bay East, before moving to Beachlands, Sovereign Harbour and
Herbrand Walk fishing station ? though not necessarily in that order.

Weather permitting there will also be a final transfer of shingle from
Langney beach, round the harbour and on to Sovereign Harbour beach by
the rock revetment. That sufficient shingle has built up against the
harbour to allow this to happen for a fourth time this winter is an
indication of just how stormy the weather has been. This transfer has
to be completed before the end of March because it cannot be carried
out between the months of April to September. It is therefore due to start either
next Monday (19th) or on Monday 26th. I will keep you posted.

Best wishes

Ian Thomas
Project Manager
Pevensey Coastal Defence Ltd
Environment Agency Depot
Coast Road
Pevensey Bay
East Sussex BN24 6ND

New Feature – Now You Can Contact Us

Jon Martin — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:09:05 +0000

I’m really excited as the facility for you to contact me directly from this blog has been added at last!
Just click on the Contact Us option in the menu bar under the graphic at the top of each page.

You can now send me your thoughts, comments and ideas on the content of this site ;-)

We have loads more planned and will let you know when something new is added

Enjoy this site

Jon

The Header Graphic Photos Are…

Jon Martin — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:01:59 +0000

The header graphic for this blog is made up of the following images…

Clockwise, from the bottom left:

1) Members of Planet Divers Scuba Club Prepare for a Dive in the North Harbour section of Sovereign Harbour;

2) At low tide, just to the East of the breakwater at the entrance to the outer harbour, the remains of the boiler of a sunken cargo ship can be seen;

3) This is me (Jon Martin) when I was scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef;

4) An Egret wandering along the tide line at low tide on the beach in the Outer Harbour;

5) A majestic swan swimming in the Main Marina;

6) Two Cormorants think about drying their wings in the sun on the beach in the Outer Harbour;

7) Taken somewhere in the English Channel off of Eastbourne, a starfish;

8) The very familiar picture of the Martello Tower (thankfully not to be hidden behind a large block of flats for the time being) and the beach of the Outer Harbour as pleasure boats return from a hectic day at sea!

Wishing you health, wealth and happiness in everything you do,

Jon

An Introduction to Fish Identifiction

Jon Martin — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 00:00:14 +0000

Dr Frances Dipper, the author of British Sea Fishes, is leading this educational seminar to help anyone improve their understanding and recognition of fish in local British waters.

The event is being held at the Hastings Aquarium on Sunday 25th March 2007, starting at 10am. It’s been organised by the Kent and Sussex branches of Seasearch.

These events are always popular so prior booking is essential.

The seminar will cover:

Introduction to the form and function of fishes
Life history, feeding and reproduction
Range of fishes seen in British and Irish waters
How to identify Fish
Conservation of Fish in local waters

The seminar costs Â£30 and further information can be obtained from Bryony Chapman at the Kent Wildlife Trust on 10622 662 012

Don’t forget to mention marina-life.co.uk when enquiring.

Thanks

Jon

A Warm Welcome to the Marina Life Blog!

Jon Martin — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wow!

This has been way too long coming, but at least I’ve achieved one of my New Year’s resolutions (to get a Blog up and running) – but I won’t say which year ;-)

I’ve always loved Eastbourne, Natural History, and have been scuba diving for over six years so it made sense trying to bring all that together in my Blog.

For the last seven years, I’ve lived in Eastbourne’s Sovereign Harbour development in the South Harbour, near to the locks and looking out over the English Channel. This area is still too much of a building site for my liking, but the amount of wildlife, especially birds, has grown in both volume and variety.

The same is true of life in the marina itself. I belong to Planet Divers scuba club which has used the North Marina as a regular dive site for a number of years, and whilst the visibility in there is often poor, the marine life, from crabs, eels, fish, and jellyfish, has flourished.

I hope you enjoy the posts and thoughts here, please feel free to comment, and to contact me if you have photos or stories of interest…

Wishing you health, wealth and happiness in everything you do,

Jon