Beachy Head, Near Eastbourne, 21 Jun 2014

We had a great day in the temple, starting at 7:30 a.m. for the Saturday schedule.  Sessions were every half hour and we worked both floors.  The B shift arrived at 10 a.m., and the two of us worked together in counting up sessions and taking care of them at the conclusion.  President Johnson wanted to make 1000 endowments for the week.  I think we came really close with over 900 by the time we left.

The French had gone home but there were about three bus loads that came in for the day as well as the cars that filled the car park into the overflow area.  We pulled language cards for German and Japanese.

An incident that occurred:  Some teenage children managed to lock themselves in their mother's car.  If they were to open the door, the alarm would go off and they did not have a key.  Word made it's way into the temple and President Irwin oversaw the situation.  The mother was in a session and would not be out for 30 minutes or more.  He helped her exit first so she could attend to the kids.

Dennis was here to pick us up at the agreed time of 3 p.m.  We loaded our stuff in the car, typed in our destination into the sat nav, and were off on an adventure.  We drove to Beachy Head, the home of snowy white chalk cliffs.

Seagulls were frequent flyers.

Bob & Barbara beginning the hike along the coast line, or is it cliff line?

Note the flowers, grass, and weeds that grow along the cliff's edge.

The lighthouse standing tall.   Note the brown mound of dirt on one cliff.

Looking back from the cliff's edge, you see fields.  Some have sheep in them and some have cattle in them.

Bob & Dennis on the trail down.

Looking to the pier and shoreline of Eastbourne.

Barbara & Dennis bracing the wind.

Lighthouse

Barbara & Dennis at the War Memorial. World War II 1939-1945.  In tribute to the 110,000 aircrew of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.  55,573 gave their lives in the cause of freedom.  11,000 became prisoners of war.  They volunteered and came in their thousands from the United Kingdom, The Commonwealth, and the occupied countries of Europe to fight and defeat a great tyranny.  For many Beachy Head would have been their last sight of England.

There were no fences holding you back from the cliff's edge, other than two areas where it was marked "Cliff Erosion."

Dennis standing on the edge - it goes straight down!

Dennis was previously standing where the three people are standing.

Bob laid down and leaned over to take this photo.  He also broke off a piece of the chalk which we have for a souvenir.

Note the road down below we traveled on.

View of the continuing coastline.

Lighthouse on top of the cliffs.

We spent the afternoon walking, hiking, taking pictures, and basking in the beauty and majesty of the cliffs.  Towards evening, we headed on into Eastbourne and walked the shoreline.  The street reminded us of San Diego; the people, shops, hotels, and all.

Getting ready to load up.

As we headed into town and down to the beach, we came upon St John's church with this inscription:

This tower is all that remains of the former church which was destroyed by enemy action on 4 May 1942.  It was restored in 1960 and the ground stage converted into a chapel in memory of those who gave their lies for the cause of freedom in the two world wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

We took a rest on this bench in the cool of the evening in the garden of St. John's church.

Across the street from the church is this cottage.

Notice the row of hotels and apartment buildings along the boardwalk.

The pier at Eastbourne, England

Barbara & Bob on the pier.

Dennis found a little hole in the wall restaurant for supper.  Dennis had fish and salad; Bob had two eggs and chips; and I had a jacket potato with beans ( like pork & beans).

We got in the car and headed to Dover.  We had decided to drive until we thought we should stop for the night.  That wound up being in Folkstone, getting there about 11 p.m.