Monday 24 May 2010

Southwold 2: the Under the Pier Show


Southwold Pier has an unmissable wacky attraction: the Under the Pier Show. This was created by cartoonist and inventor Tim Hunkin and is still being added to. A room halfway along the pier is stuffed with crazy slot machine "amusements", but these are not mindless gambling machines. No, for your 40p you get to "Whack a Banker", or for a quid you can take a "Microbreak" (The fast, efficient holiday - total relaxation, never leave your chair - perfect for the busy executive, entire trip takes only 3 minutes - etc.) And there are many other weird and wonderful creations, not only in the Under the Pier Show, but also dotted about the rest of the pier.

Here I am, in a bit of a silly hat, sitting in the Micro Bandstand. The tune along the top is appropriate for the location.


Another Hunkin production is the water clock.


This post took far longer to write than it should have done. I got sidetracked into watching some of the videos on Tim Hunkin's website. (I remember reading his Rudiments of Wisdom cartoon in the Observer Magazine every week in my childhood.)

4 comments:

nblazydays said...

It is the mariners hymn - 'For those in peril on the sea'. I played it Frances guessed it.

Halfie said...

Yes, and this version has a strange note at the end of the second line (of the (invisible) words): B when G would have been the usual note. Not too clear in this photo.

nblazydays said...

Yes when I played it through the first time I played g by mistake (or was it instict?) and Frances guessed the piece but when I played it again I played it with the b and it put a question mark over the title of the piece. So why the b?

Halfie said...

He must have welded it on the wrong line by mistake and either not notice, or thought it wouldn't matter.