Still here ...

Pretty dismal day today. Just as it grew light this morning, it became darker from the west, and some time later the rain arrived, gently at first, then determinedly and wetly so that the garden once more became soggy and indoors seemed A Good Idea. Because of this, I indulged myself in a wonderful Twitter stream recommended by a friend who knows me well, and dived off to read a 55 page document about a hapless church in England whose PCC had sold off a painting that had been donated in distant and more Anglo-Catholic days and was now regarded as offensive by the current Evangelical congregation who had, in fact, begun by designating it as being for the skip. The language of the document was wonderfully incisive and entertaining if you enjoy such things and gave me a happy hour. You can see it here if you're interested.

It had me thinking about the way we are prepared to ditch things that previous generations thought important. The church is an obvious place in which to find examples, but my blip is of something else that seems under threat, if not actively then through neglect. Dunoon pier is falling to pieces. It's a fine example of a Victorian pier, with its associated buildings, some of which have already gone. Since the proper ferries stopped sailing the Gourock-Dunoon route, it is no longer in regular use and has been allowed to decline into a pretty wretched state. The bits you can see here have been titivated and to an extent repaired, but the former car pier off to the left is in ruins, and to my knowledge none of the buildings is in regular use because the planning authorities say they are under threat from the sea ...

Actually, I've lost the will to go on. I believe the money set aside for the pier was used to complete the Queen's Hall project. You can see that the high tide comes quite far up the pier even on a quietish night; in a storm it can come right over. But what seemed an essential lifeline when I first moved to Dunoon now seems to be regarded as a sideshow, rather like the pathetic little passenger ferries that now serve the town centre via a ramp beside the breakwater. 

Now, if there was a consistory court for piers ...