Sentinel attended the anti-war rally in Worthing town centre on Saturday and was most impressed by the turnout.

Many people agreed with the argument that we should not attack Iraq without proof that Saddam's regime was stockpiling and hiding weapons of mass destruction.

However, one veteran of the Second World War argued that had Britain and France acted against Hitler when he marched into the Rhineland, the war might never have happened.

A sobering thought!

On the night fire erupted on the Palace Pier at Brighton, Sentinel stood at Splash Point and peered eastwards into the darkness.

He could discern a large amber light but it wasn't flickering as fires do so he was unsure as to whether this was the blaze or not.

A couple of people on the first floor of Worthing Rowing Club tried to spot the flames through binoculars but frustratingly also failed to pinpoint the exact location.

Incidentally, it was a beautiful starlit night, with hardly a breath of wind, and you could see the lighthouse at Beachy Head flashing its red warning beacon to shipping in the Channel.

Had there been a stiff southerly breeze then the flames might have been fanned along the pier, causing destruction and possibly death among those who fortunately had time to flee.

The following day, The Argus's spectacular front-page photograph of the blaze brought back unpleasant reminders of the fire which destroyed the Southern Pavilion of Worthing Pier in the late summer of 1933.

Sentinel takes ghost stories with a pinch of salt but he admits they are a source of fascination and Worthing has its fair share of spectre sightings.

No self-respecting theatre or country house would be seen dead without a phantom on the premises and that certainly applies to the Connaught in Union Place.

Over the decades several people, including an actor, a cleaner and a student, have reported seeing a grey lady in one of the dressing rooms.

According to one source, an actor was backstage after the evening show had finished and glanced into a dressing room.

He saw a woman in a long dress seated before a mirror applying her makeup.

The actor carried on walking but suddenly realised it was very odd for an actress to be making up when the show was over and everybody else had gone home.

He retraced his footsteps but when he got to the dressing room there was nobody inside.

The cleaner apparently downed a glass of whisky to calm himself down after a similar encounter but to Sentinel's knowledge nobody has spotted the "Phantom of the Theatre" for at least 14 years.

The New Central Billiard Hall and Social Club in Bath Place was formerly the Theatre Royal and to this day staff can still sense a presence, with several claiming to have seen the spectre of a woman in Edwardian clothes.

Presumably that is why none of the current management has so far plucked up the courage to explore the cellar.

One wonders what is down there?

Sentinel heard another nerve-tingler which made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck from a respected former mayor not known for tall tales or exaggeration.

The civic dignitary in question was driving south along Grafton Road, approaching the junction with Ambrose Place, when a shadowy figure of a woman in Victorian attire stepped out in front of his car.

Fearing a collision, he braked firmly but the apparition disappeared through the flint wall surrounding Christ Church and its graveyard.

Sentinel looked him in the eye and arched an eyebrow but the gentleman concerned had no doubts about what he saw and, despite the risk of ridicule, relayed the story in all seriousness, without embellishment.

Sentinel was interested to learn former FA Cup final referee Keith Hackett will be addressing fellow whistleblowers at a meeting of Worthing Referees Society at the Ardington Hotel on February 27.

Hackett was in charge for the 100th final, between Spurs and Manchester City, when he apparently used an Italian policeman's whistle, stating: "If it's good enough to stop the traffic in Rome, it's loud enough to be heard at Wembley."

Sentinel is fascinated by the artefacts recovered by divers from the seabed off West Sussex and over the past year the Receiver of Wrecks has been informed about the discovery of wine bottles from the British Commerce, which sunk off Littlehampton in 1898, and a trumpet and brass binoculars from the wreck of the India-bound Shirala, which was sent to the bottom off Littlehampton in 1918 by a torpedo from a German submarine.

Walking past Steyne Gardens Methodist Church, Sentinel spotted a sign with a hint of desperation about it, reflecting the fact that the church had raised £1,362 through book and jumble sales, followed by "Thank God".

While on the subject of churches, Sentinel was interested to learn that St Paul's is being reroofed with Welsh slate from Penrhyn Quarry, Bethesda, Bangor, Gwynedd.

With regards to St Paul's, archaeologists gave the former site of the church hall the once-over but sadly didn't uncover the helmet of a Roman centurion, or a pot of Hadrian's gold, only a shard of pottery, reflecting the fact that almost 2,000 years ago Romans walked where we now tread.