I recently visited Clarence pier and experienced the beach and the arcade for the first time.
Arcades are often thought of as loud and chaotic places but at this particular time, there was no one in sight. It was a strangely peaceful experience to wander through the maze of arcade machines and although it was empty it was still active. All the machines beeping and singing with their lights glaring.
The pier itself was, in contrast, completely still and although it was equally as colourful, there was something quite eerie about it. These rides that should be bringing people joy are left locked away. The silence only broken by the roar of the hovercraft as it threw itself up onto the beach.
I settled on a bench on the edge of the sand and did some drawing as the sun began to set behind me.
However, I found that the most interesting feature of the place was the neon lights and reflections and that the best way to capture that would be through photography.
It was these images that inspired my haiku:
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