In the 1960s, when "Swinging London" was the hub of the world, I spent three summer holidays in the UK as a teenager. I was a hitchhiker and never knew where I would end up in the evening and many nights I spent outside in a sleeping bag. I was fascinated by this glittering, sparkling Brighton in the 60s. We have both grown older.

The pier, opened in 1860, was closed to the public in 1975 and fell into disrepair and gradually collapsed. Major sections fell into the sea during storms in late 2002, and two separate fires in 2003 destroyed most of the remaining structure.

Now is seems to be a "memento mori".