Eastbourne Man Says "Bit Windy Today" For 4,000th Consecutive Day

EASTBOURNE — An Eastbourne man has reached an important local milestone after describing conditions along the seafront as "a bit windy today" for the 4,000th consecutive day.

Retired electrician Graham Phillips, 67, made the historic observation shortly after 10am while walking along the promenade before immediately zipping his coat up another two inches.

Witnesses say conditions at the time were entirely normal for Eastbourne.

Graham's wife, Susan, confirmed that her husband has commented on the wind virtually every time they have left the house together for more than a decade.

"He opens the front door, stands there for a second and says it," she explained.

"It doesn't matter what the weather's actually doing."

"If there's no wind, he'll say, 'Not as windy as yesterday.'"

According to family members, Graham has developed an extensive vocabulary for describing Eastbourne's coastal conditions.

These include "bit blowy", "certainly picking up", "coming straight off the sea", "quite fresh actually" and, during particularly severe weather, "you can definitely feel it."

His most serious classification, "proper windy", has only been issued twice.

Local residents have praised Graham's commitment.

"It's important work," said neighbour Alan Morris.

"You can't just look outside and know whether it's windy."

"You need someone who's been down the seafront."

Graham's observations are particularly valued by friends who regularly receive unsolicited weather reports despite living less than half a mile away.

"I'll get a text saying, 'Take a jacket, mate'," said friend Peter Collins.

"I've got windows."

Tourists visiting Eastbourne are often less prepared for the town's complicated wind conditions.

Last summer, one family reportedly arrived at the seafront carrying an inflatable flamingo.

It was last seen heading towards France.

Graham insists his assessments are based on decades of experience rather than meteorological equipment.

"You can tell by the flags," he explained.

"And your ears."

"If your ears are cold, there's normally something going on."

He remains sceptical of smartphone weather applications, which he says frequently claim wind speeds of only 10mph when it is "clearly doing more than that."

Local meteorologists declined to challenge him.

Graham celebrated his 4,000th observation with a cup of tea before taking another walk along the promenade later that afternoon.

On returning home, he confirmed conditions had changed.

"It's dropped a bit now," he said.

At the time of publication, Susan had checked the forecast for Saturday.

She has not told him.