It’s something I’ve been meaning to look at for a while, so what is it?<\/p>\n
Well…….<\/p>\n
Two of Birmingham\u2019s most committed journaleers and artists of human experience\u2014a bi-polar working class warrior with a romantic streak you could drown a fascist in, and a cheerful nihilist in love with his own legend\u2014are willing to take on the challenge of visiting every one of England and Wales\u2019s 56 surviving pleasure piers in two weeks, because two weeks is as long as it\u2019s possible to get off work.<\/p>\n
Piers are the phallic symbols of our desire to own the motherly sea; our Victorian forefathers covered them with the lace dressings of amusement to prevent the working class getting too excited. Since then they\u2019ve rotted slowly, like Britain\u2019s empire and its self respect.<\/p>\n
Those from Birmingham are perfectly placed to write about an ephemeral British seaside because that\u2019s what the seaside is to them: a ghost, a Vaseline-smeared Shangri-La cobbled together from Carry On films, hazy childhood memories and nostalgia for a bygone era.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n