How very odd...and very sad

Just over a year ago, Gustavo and I visited some good mates in Weston Super Mare and had a jolly jaunt around the pier. And here's the proof:


And this is what's just happened to it now:

I can't quite believe it.

Oddly enough we're visiting again in just a few weeks. It will be completely bizarre to see the contrast.

Apparently the cause of the conflagration was a chip pan catching fire. Okay, so the pier (and Weston in general) has a tacky reputation, but what a tragic thing to occur (on a par with the burning down of the West Pier in Brighton which is now but a charred and blackened hulk...)

What do we all reckon?