跟我遊覽家鄉 My 2018: A Tour around my town: A seaside town

@anomadsoul's contest for A tour around my town is perfect timing as I have just come back home for a break, and I want to show everyone my beautiful hometown Weston Super Mare in England. Weston is at the west of England and is about 225 km away from London. We are a seaside town but our beach is quite muddy, so sometimes people call us Weston Super Mud. 😣

@ anomadsoul舉辦的比賽跟我遊覽家鄉，時間剛剛好，因為我正回家渡假。今天就讓我跟大家介紹我美麗的家鄉 Weston Super Mare。

Our most famous landmark is the Grand Pier, a popular feature in many English seaside towns from the Victorian days. Our original pier was first built in 1904, and is 366 meters long. I think it looks really beautiful.

Weston是一個海邊小鎮，位於英格蘭西部，距倫敦約225公里。鎮裡最著名的景點是 Grand Pier，華僑一般會稱它做'大啡場'，啡場即是英文的Fair Ground。 啡場是維多利亞時代很多英格蘭海邊小鎮常見的建築物。我們的啡場在1904年建造，有366米長。我覺得它十分美。

The pier used to be a Grade II listed building, but sadly it was completely burnt down in 2008. They rebuilt a new one in 2010 with a more futuristic look which I don't like at all. I'm old school. Here's the new one. Which do you prefer?

大啡場原本已被列為二級保護建築物，可惜在2008年一場大火把它燒毀。2010年重建時，新啡場設計較新穎，我很不喜歡，總是覺得之前傳統的舊啡場好看得多 。這就是重建的啡場，兩者比較，你喜歡哪一家?

When I was a kid, my parents often used to take me to the Grand Pier. There are gaps between the planks on the jetty as we walked out to the pier, and I was always afraid that I might fall through the gaps! When I was a bit older, I knew that wouldn't happen, but then I was worried that I would drop the pennies that my parents gave me to play on the arcade games, so I made sure I always held onto them really tight inside my pocket.

小時候父母常帶我去大啡場玩。 走到座落海上的啡場要經過一條用木建造的長廊。木條與木條之間有小小的空隙，那個時候無知的我總覺得自己會從罅隙中跌下去。 後來長大一點了，知道我不會跌下去，但就開始擔心父母給我去啡場玩的零錢會掉下去。所以我總是把零錢緊緊握在手裏，然後把手放進衣服的口袋裏。

Across the road from the Grand Pier, are the rest of the smaller arcades. This one called Olympia has been around since I was a kid, I used to come here if we didn't go all the way out to the Grand Pier.

在大啡場對面有很多家小啡場，小時候我經常來這一家玩。

I popped in today to take a look around. All my favourite games that I used to play have gone and are now replaced by modern digital ones. Another sign of changing times.

今天我重遊舊地，以前喜愛玩的遊戲已被現代化的電子遊戲機取替，真可惜時代是要不斷地變遷。

The Winter Gardens is the local venue and hosts all the town's important events. Funny enough I've walked passed it many times in my whole life but have never actually been inside so I don't know what it's like. By they way, the Grand Pier and the Winter Gardens both appeared in the 1993 movie The Remains of the Day which was written by the winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature, Kazuo Isiguro. If you haven't watched this movie or read the book, I highly recommend it, not because they filmed in Weston, but because it really is a great book.

Winter Gardens是一家的大型綜合場地， 重要的表演或宴會都在這裏舉辦。其實我在這裏住了這麼多年，從來都未進入過裡面，所以我也不知道裡面是怎樣的。大家有沒有看過電影告別有情天/長日將盡? 這部電影是改編自2017年諾貝爾文學得獎作家石黑一雄的同名小說。 電影中有幾場戲是在Winter Gardens 和大啡場取景。如果大家沒有看過這部電影或讀過這本書，我會極力推薦，不是因為在Weston取景，而是這本書真的很棒。

Weston is an old town and there are many Victorian style houses along the sea front, most of have been converted to apartments or hotels. In the winter Weston is very quiet as there are no tourists, and the walk along the seafront is very pleasant and relaxing.

Weston是一個很舊的小鎮，在海邊有很多維多利亞時代建的老宅，現在多已改建成旅館或較小的住宅單位。冬天的時候很寧靜，並沒有太多遊客，沿著海邊散步很舒服。

This is Knightstone Island. A few years ago it was redeveloped and now there are some expensive flats. The flats face west and have a stunning view of Weston's beautiful sunset in the evening.

這是Knightstone Island，幾年前發展商建了豪華單位。單位座向西邊，可以欣賞Weston的日落景色。

From the island, you can walk across a bridge over the Marine Lake. During high tide, the bridge submerges under sea so you have to be careful about the tide times, but when you are actually on the bridge, it feels like you are standing on top of the sea, which is pretty much true.

從 Knightstone Island可以經一條小橋走到岸的另一邊。 潮水漲的時候小橋會被淹過，所以若去散步要小心留意水漲時間。 小橋上散步真是很寫意，彷彿踏在水面上。

Finally, I want to introduce you to Silica. I really don't know how to explain this. Silica is said to be a piece of public art, a newspaper kiosk, an advertising space and and bus shelter, and is supposed to symbolise man's harmony with the sea. All the local residents think it looks like a carrot or a spaceship....

最後我想向大家介紹 Silica。其實我真不知道怎樣形容它。Silica聞說是一件戶外藝術品，又是報紙攤檔，也是廣告位，同時亦是公車站。當地政府說它是代表人類與海洋和平相處。但實際上當地居民都覺得它像一跟蘿蔔或是一首太空船….

There are grimmer parts of Weston (such as the depressing High Street and unemployment) which I won't show you, I only want you show our best side.

其實Weston也有沮喪的一面(例如經濟不景，失業和露宿者)，但當然我只會向你介紹我們最好的一面。



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