Three homeless men are sleeping in a tent on the beach in Pevensey Bay at the end of Timberlaine Road
Not Leyton Orient actually, they are from Lewisham. There is a problem on the beach, but in the grand scheme of things that we have to face in this village, I would say that this question is not the biggest one..
The most obvious question looming in front of us is the fact that seemingly, we are to have a much bigger three storey structure built in the heart of this community, destroying the essence of the village as seen from that perspective.
I would argue that the problem we are seeing on the beach is a minor one.
I have heard the stories about the men defacating, their possible backgrounds, and the fact that there may be other questions that we will face as a community all day, but in the grand scheme of things, what is happening will be resolved in some way and there are already a number of authorities involved in the question.
I did consider applying for an Arts Council grant and sewing into the tent everything that everyone has said to me today that has been so dreadfully unuseful to the question.
Perhaps I would call the installation piece, “all the things that I have heard about the men who sleep in this tent”, along the lines of a Tracey Emin artwork.
On the other hand, perhaps I will just hope that the authorities involved will enable some resolution to the question that is equitable both for the people of Pevensey Bay and for the three men concerned,
Hopefully something positive will happen by the end of the weekend, and my guess is that something will be done both to see that the men find some kind of answer, if only temporary, to their life questions, but at least useful to them and their lives.
Sally Jane, who is a resident new to Pevensey Bay said, “my great uncle lived on the streets of London in the 1930′s.A wonderful man who lost his wife and baby in childbirth. He was a doctor and never forgave himself. One must never judge as, in a blink of an eye, life changes”
I also hope that the beach will be returned in this part of Pevensey Bay at the end of the road here for the enjoyment of all the residents that live here and for the visitors that we welcome every day.
We Three Kings of Orient Are, bringing gifts, and I very much doubt that they have been giving us the kinds of gift that I have been hearing about all day.
If there is a bright star in the sky tonight, perhaps after 2,000 years the star will not mark the return of Jesus Christ and the Second Coming, if the star is a comet, it is more likely to be from the electrical company, using drones for the first time to make a delivery.
And that is all I have to say about the matter, because when I go to sleep tonight, like the other 2,929 people that live in Pevensey Bay, I will have a roof over my head.
Simon Montgomery
editor, Bay Life
IMAGE ARTWORK: Tracey Emin, 1995
