We started our journey very early at 7am, for some of us, from Mitcham where our group met in Dreams’ parking space along London Road and was divided into three buses. Everybody was chatting and excited as most, if not all, were sat with friends and families. There was sharing of baons (food), of course. Ate Andrea even went overboard and enticed our group to be serenaded with Filipino folk music played in the cd player of the bus all the way to Eastbourne. Oh yes, we were met with troubles on our way like unwatered radiator, suffocating burning smell of steam, traffic, etc, but we managed to reach Eastbourne past 10am, much early for the show. On the right side of the Seafront pier, our Mitcham-British-Pinoy association perched, the banner tied onto the backs of the reclined benches. Armed with tents, umbrellas, benches, banigs (wooden or plastic mats) and gallons of sun-protective lotions, our group braved the elements just to have a good view of the airshow. Ate Carina distributed her gorgeous empanadas for a much needed breakfast.
The world’s biggest seafront airshow in Eastbourne was packed with people from all parts of the UK and probably from the other parts of the world. From children who enjoyed frolicking and throwing stones at the beach to the lil’-o-ladies enjoying the summer watching and gossiping with their friends while enjoying their tea and biscuits, you could see the delight on everyone’s faces on the sight of a backdrop of glittering blue sea whilst a thick crowd of sun-basked people replaced the entire pebbled beaches.
At exactly 12.00 noon, the airshow started and everyone was expressing a monosyllabic oohhs and ahhhs for the entire 30 minutes. They were all amazing. Makes me think how well these pilots have trained and wonder what difficulties they might have encountered during their training. It makes one also wonder what does a pilot look like in person. Hhhrrmmm!!!
While the show was going on, in the middle of the commotion, the association’s officers started the raffle. One by one, ticket stubs were picked. The first prize is a slow cooker won by Neill West, the second prize which is a 35Kg uncooked rice went to a very fortunate mom from South Wimbledon, Felycar Cruz. She also happened to have won a Marks & Spencer voucher as a consolation prize. The third prize winner is a very sweet and charming girl named, Jennevive Cuyugan, or Jen, nearly 16 years old. She had won a tent. It’s Felycar’s and Jen’s first visit to Eastbourne. Felycar commented, “I was so pleased, maganda yung prices, hindi ganon kamahal yung fare”. When asked what she can say about the Mitcham Pinoy association, she said “carry on ang support sa ganitong organization ‘coz it shows unity, lalo na sa mga bata, we can show them bayanihan and sharing”. Jen who was with her auntie Mattie that day commented about winning. “Exciting! It’s good that we do that. I don’t know a lot of people who do that. They’re really good in organizing it (the day-out), thanks for letting me come.” She went on that she thinks her brother won’t believe her luck as he’ll keep asking where she got the tent from. Auntie Mattie Manansala comments she’ll be more supportive to our association and she thinks the raffle is a very good idea of raising funds and getting people involved and interested. The president later in the day, called for a meeting with the officers. There was already a plan for another day-out soon, possibly Isle-of-Wight or Blackpool.
Generally, everyone enjoyed the outing. Lillian Leite, one of the guests thought the day-out was exciting and was still enjoying the day. She was not expecting to be out in the beach and found it very nice. She was also pleased to have won a consolation prize as she never really won anything before. She is going to show-off her prize to their friends who did not show up. Being first timers to Eastbourne, Melchor of East London, together with his wife and daughter thinks this day-out was a good idea for relaxation and a chance to talk about things. Our guests, Robert and Joy, who are staff of St. George’s NHS Trust’s Xray department suggests that we should plan day-outs ahead of time so they can well arrange their schedules. They mentioned about the idea of having a calendar of events for the association. Joy went on saying that the buses were ok as long as they can bring us safely to our destinations. Last, but not the least, we asked Kuya Catalino, Ate Cecil’s hubby, what he thought of the day-out. He said, “Ayos naman. First time ko sa Eastbourne.” About the association, he continued, “parati naman kaming nandyan, hindi pwedeng mawala.” Asus!
After the third wave of performers, when the parachuters touched down on the sea, the last hurrahs and applauses were heard echoing on the beachfront, suddenly the masses of people started getting up and off the beach. People started regrouping as buses started lining up on the pick-up points. The kids started crying, some of them didn’t want to go home yet. The group patiently waited for the two red double-deck buses and the small white bus. Some were tired, children and babies were sleepy, and the older guests had to lean their backs on the wall to support them aside from their walking sticks. The old pale white skin colour on everyone’s cheek has turned to a lovely reddish-pink tan. As soon as the buses arrived, everyone hurriedly got on their assigned buses and settled down to either sleep or continue chatting. We got to Mitcham much later than expected because of the massive traffic coming out of Eastbourne by probably all who came to see the show. Goodbyes were said and hoping to see each other again soon, we went off our different ways.
A beautiful day has ended with a smile on everyone’s faces. Tired and worn-out, sunburned or just sun-kissed, it was a resounding success for Mitcham Pinoy. Congratulations to all of you who made this day-out possible. Now we tread our own realities with the hope that soon we’ll have another Mitcham Pinoy grand day-out.
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