What is British And Best About Bognor Regis? Retiring to a sunny seaside, with seaside air, a beach, fish and chips? A pier and peaceful parks. Or a stick of stick pink rock and Butlin's?

Did you know that slipper limpets change sex? Or that London clay is found as far south as Bognor Regis? Or that cuttlefish change colour to camouflage themselves, and for courtship? Or that you find fossils here? Or that you can buy sticks of rock flavoured like Prosecco and bubblegum? Amazing what you can learn. I photographed the information panels along the Bognor Regis promenade and blew them up the photos to read them when I got home. My pleasure in my day out at Bognor Regis will provide entertainment for ages.

  

Sticks of rock. Bognor Regis Rock. Prosecco Rock. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The traditional rock was pink on the outside, white inside with the name of the resort all the way down. Called

Fish & Chips. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The path behind the beach huts. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

We could have walked along the beach. However, it was pebbly and would have ruined my shoes. So we walked to the pier along the path behind the beach huts. 

The History of Bognor

Bognor Regis is in West Sussex in the South-West of England on the coast. It gets more sun than elsewhere in Britain. Bognor Regis was named Regis meaning royal by a British king, George V, needing nearby sea air. That was some time ago. 

Bognor Regis, like many seasides, is still in a bit of a time warp. Nostalgic. Bognor Regis is now known as a popular place to retire. 

Advantages of Bognor Regis For Retirement

My second cousin has retired there. She says the retired local people are friendly with time, more sociable in the south than up north nearer London. You meet people walking the dog. You can drive to Chichester for theatre and steak pies.

What evidence is there that many people are retired? Apart from a wheelchair or two on the seafront. Large numbers who have time to own dogs. Large numbers of bungalows. (Bungalow - British word for a one storey one level building.)

However, Bognor also attracts the grandchildren, and families on visits. Butlin's has been in the area since before WW2.

Investing in Bognor

For some time British seasides were boringly old-fashioned, cheap and looked it and needed investment to upgrade the accommodation. British seasides saw their tourist trade killed off by package holidays taking tourists to warmer lands, in summer and winter. Time for investment and moving on? 

Good News For Seasides

Tourist boards and town councils made some changes, not always considered improvements. I was told that the sandy beach had been covered with pebbles to prevent erosion.

Bognor Beach. Lazing looking at the sea. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Covid-19 has done a favour to some seasides. Some other countries are on no fly, no vaccine, no entry lists, or simply it is uncertain whether you will get back. The staycation at English holiday resorts has seen a revival of the get in your car and go holiday. Same currency. Same weather. A bit warmer with global warming. More vineyards than ever before. And a touch of nostalgia.

We walked along the path behind the beach huts, along the promenade to the pier.

For a change of scene, we walked back along the promenade. The promenade wall is inset with reliefs of sea creatures.

We passed several parks and gardens with palm trees, flower beds, a fountain, and a children's playground.

The Pier

Boats

Beach Huts

Sticks of Rock

Fish and chips

Ice Cream

We bought a cone of ice cream, flavoured white chocolate and strawberry.

Bognor Regis museum by Andrew Augur, from Wikimedia.

The museum has old phones, wirelesses, cameras. Pictures of old times including a bathing machine. The shop sells toys.

Useful Websites

https://www.bognorregisbeach.co.uk/what-to-see-and-do-bognor-regis

https://www.bognorregisbeach.co.uk/what-to-see-and-do-bognor-regis/family-and-chidren-other-attractions/butlins-day-visitors

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g504216-d3847421-Reviews-Turner_s_Pies-Bognor_Regis_Arun_District_West_Sussex_England.html

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bognor_Regis

https://www.bognormuseum.org/

About The Author

Angela Lansbury is British as well as a Singapore Resident. She has family in Bognor Regis. 

Saving bottle Caps for collage and bag handles for mobiles, Saving the planet, Singapore Style

Angela Lansbury's bottle cap collage of red flowers. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.


Singapore flag

Inexpensive Colourful Souvenirs

What can you collect for free on your travels? How can you avoid discarding constantly? Years ago you could collect shells and pretty pebbles from holidays on the beach. I did this as a child. Now many countries ban collecting shells, pebbles and sand. So how come you can buy so many shells from shops and shell covered items on the internet and shell jewellery? You can still collect empty shells in parts of Florida, so long as they have nothing living inside. (Later you can check the article listed below.)

Collecting Litter To Save The Earth

Now collecting has taken a different turn. What can you use to create art, and save plastic polluting the planet, and waste costing money in disposal? As you travel around you see huge numbers of things which could be recycled.


UK flag

Plastic Bags
Plastic bags. Supermarkets have boxes for mixed or specific items. Morrisons supermarket in London collects and reuses their own bags and boxes.

Lovely card bags from dress shops have cooured, even gold, rope effect handles.
What can you do with the rope effect handles? Sew a pair of tope handles onto the front flaps of buttonless jackets to stop the jacket falling off your shoulders. Make a mobile.

Public outdoor mobile. Designs include bullseye effect, Singapore flag. Photo taken at One North, in Singapore, by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Cute design showing two cats in contrasting grey and black on white. You could also show black and white cats on a coloured background. Photo taken at One North in Singapore by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Designs featuring animals, birds and fish.

You can use the design from fabric mobiles to inspire your bottle cap images.


Angela Lansbury's flower, grass, sun and sky design, bottle caps collage. Work in progress. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Everywhere you see cans and bottles with brightly coloured tops. At first we thought it was better to leave caps on bottles. The bottles stay crushed if the cap is on. Would a bottle without a cap be a trap for fish in the sea? I asked locally in Singapore and was assured that bottles are sent for recycling.

School Craft Collections

If I had seen a collection box I could have put my cans and caps and other items there. Some schools have boxes to collect paper and plastic and even broken crayons and unwanted pens and pencils and brushes which can be used in art and craft classes.

I had already heard of the idea of reusing discarded everyday items to make a collage. I admired a huge mural in a school which I visited in Singapore. Many children and parents and teachers must have contributed.

But when I saw the smaller one in the CC, I was prompted to action. I could save or collect enough items.

My bottle cap picture was inspired by the one in the entrance hall of Toa Payoh South Community Centre in Singapore.

Image

What do you see in the picture? I am planning a yellow sun, top right, green grass below, blue sky above, red petal flowers with contrasting white or yellow contrasting colour centres depending on the colour availability. As you stand further away, the picture is clearer.

Background Colour Caps

I originally tried to put the blue caps as the background evoking sky. But if you don't have enough of one colour, the image gets confusing. Simpler is better. 

Background Colour Card

For the background support I started with one piece of green A4 card from the cover of a folder whose contents were out of date and thrown away.

The spiral binding left attached makes the picture look a bit like a flag. I could use red and white to create a simple flag, such as the Singapore flag.

Background Colour Paper

When I had more bottle caps I added a piece of white A4 paper. The flimsy paper was inteded to be temporary. However, the white background works better, enhances the colours. So I might add thicker paper behind. Should I keep the dull green. I prefer white. However, having two pieces of contrasting background creates a yin-yan day-night effect. Comments and suggestions welcome.

This is my first bottle cap collage. Wiki does not have any images. However, you will find many inspirational pictures on Pinterest.

Small Projects
On Pinterest you can see bottle caps turned into small items and large ones. Amongst the small are noughts and crosses, clock faces with the caps inside or around the edge.

Middle Size Projects
You can creat a picture inside the metal lid of a biscuit tin. Middle size item ideas include the six-point Star of David. A doormat. Cover the top of a half size fridge.

Giant Projects
Giant mosaics cover an entire wall. A delight for the eye. You can also cover table tops, entire tables including the legs, and wooden or plastic armchairs. The plastic makes a weatherprrof decoration for chairs on a balcony, patio, yard, garden or poolside.

Useful Websites
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/where-have-all-seashells-gone.htm
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/tbirdeast/bottle-cap-collage-ideas/

About the Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.