Beach Art

 As you may have seen, I always enjoy playing with the stones and shells on a beach to leave a message or a picture for others to see.

Here's a message I left in Southend the day we  rode the pier train with a friend from Taiwan

I selected only brown stones of a round shape and left the message on the wall for passers by.  

I really enjoyed the message with the blue and white rowing boat in the background!

The weather was hazy and beautiful that day.  We rode the pier train, ate ice-creams and then headed home to make vegetable pasta.

x

Beach Art: Shell message

Back in mid-August, we headed to Southend-on-Sea to meet our friend N for his birthday and we went to a hotel called The Rosslyn for dinner.  After all meal, we decided to head to the beach for a quick walk.  I immediately decided to collect oyster shells to leave an arty message for passers by on the esplanade!

I collected many of the plentiful oyster shells in my hat and left this message.  I wonder how long it lasted for?

Alas, it was so windy, it was none-too-pleasant to be on the beach so C and N sheltered in one of the covered benches until I'd finished and we headed back through the blustery streets to the car!

What would your message say?

xx
 

Beach art

I love making some sort of 2D art when I go to the beach.  Here are some of my previous attempts:

August 2023, June 2023, August 2020, February 2019, July 2018, May 2017, August 2016, September 2016, August 2016

CBC and I ended up on the beach, late afternoon. It was threatening to rain and did spit for a while when we were there and then end up raining with a breeze.

I originally had the idea to make a sort of Mandala, circular design although it ended up being more of a cross between a Target and a jellyfish!

CBC was a bit cold and not enjoying the rain!

xx

 

Beach art

For the days surrounding the August Bank Holiday weekend, CBC and I joined his Mum, sister and husband to stay in a cottage in a place called Stradbroke in Suffolk.  On the Sunday, we went to Southwold for the day.

It was a beautifully sunny day and we headed to the beach.

We seated J, MiL on our fold up seat and the others all went to meet CBC's OTHER sister who, coincidentally, was on holiday in Southwold!

Whilst they went, I decided to try and make some beach art. I love trying to make pictures on the beach out of things I find and have made a few little efforts before (look at my Beach label if you want to see any others!

A while back, I saw a beautiful piece of art where someone had used smooth (and wet) grey stones as well as white shells to create a lovely piece of art with rotational symmetry and I decided to try and recreate it

When I looked back at the inspiration piece, it had double the amount of arms as this so looked more dense (and the stones were more even and consistently sized) but still, I was happy to have given it a go.  Several people walking past admired it (and I gave anyone who came to close to stepping on it menacing looks!) 

I returned from taking our nephew (well, CBC's, but mine by marriage!) to the toilet block and my art had been messed up. So I decided to try something else!

Here's my little beach house with added twigs, seaweed and feathers!

I hope you like them!

Important question:

What shall I make next time!?!?

 

A day at the beach

 On Friday, my sister dropped round as my niece has trampolining lessons at my local leisure centre.  She'd been for a 20km run so she came in and we had a cup of tea, then she had a shower. 

After this, she suggested that I join her and my niece at the beach to spend some time with their friend at their beach hut. I demurred at first because I had school work to do.  Not having been well meant I'd had that brain fog and then we went to the Suffolk coast on Thursday.

However, in the time we went to collect K from her trampoline class, I decided that I should go with them. I don't see them all that often and perhaps some WARM sea air (it was freezing in Aldeburgh on Thursday!) might do me some good.

K was delighted I would come along with them too which made it worth it!

We parked at the beach and found that my sister's running friend's beach hut was just one groyne along from mine and K's favourite place to swim.

It was quite breezy and the tide was going out, however, all three of us decided that we had to have a swim, no matter how cold it was.

It definitely wasn't hot but all three of us managed to stay in the water for about 30minutes. We waded and had a little attempt at swimming out, despite it being quite shallow. It was quite refreshing though I didn't want to get too cold because of my cough.

After a while, we came back to the beach and started to dry off with towels. We ate some lunch (I had crackers, cheese, tomatoes, carrots) and then K and I got a little bored.  We went for a wander and then I suggested we have a 5 minute timer to write each other's name on the beach.

K did mine with a brown stone heart and a shell K.

I made hers with oyster shells.

I then suggested that we work on something together.

We began with a heart but then K suggested doing a butterfly instead.

It took us about an hour!  O, the daughter of H, the beach hut owner, came and joined us a quarter of the way in (she's the O in the initials)

More of the running friends turned up and we managed to enlist some minions to collect oyster shells for us.

Oyster shells for the wings, brown stones for the body, black stones for the antennae and pink shells for the bits at the top of the antennae.

We were very proud of our efforts.

After this, K and I went for a wander further down the beach where we had a really fun music improvisation session using stones, shells, the wooden groynes, our feet- alla Stomp.  K seemed to really enjoy it as she kept going with me, making some funky rhythms and apparently, the rest of the beach enjoyed it too!

Eventually, it was time to leave.  We helped pack up the beach hut and then we walked back to the car.

They dropped me home and then drove themselves.

I made myself a much-needed cup of tea and CBC came home around 8.50pm, after a 120mile cycle ride!  I made us dinner of Pie Minster Filo pies with new potatoes and veg and then it was time for bed.

It was a really enjoyable day and I am glad I joined my sister and niece at the beach!

xx

Beached

Oh, joyful pleasures need not be long and protracted, they can be short and equally wonderful!

Today, CBC had been on his usual Sunday morning cycle.  He arrived back and lay in the garden awhile, tired from his 60miles of toiling.  I suggested that we go to the beach via the Seafood Shack, which is a little hut alongside a local pub, and buy some food to take to the beach.

We did so, both choosing the weekend special of Alfredo Linguine- his served with prawns, mine with prawn and chicken.  Being a nice independent business and not some chain with 'policies', they were happy to take my plastic containers to put our food in to take out, rather than us have to take their thick cardboard boxes (I also refused a paper bag to put them in).  CBC, when I said that they had cardboard containers, said, that surely it was ok to take their containers since they weren't plastic, but I reiterated that, if you CAN avoid creating any waste, then DO IT! After all, cardboard and paper has a larger Carbon Footprint than Plastic, even if it can be recycled and composted. 

We drove off and headed to the beach- not the touristy one which all the daytrippers in East London come to, but the one further down the track which has no amenities apart from some old loos and the  station is nowhere near the beach.  It is also more traditional looking with beach huts

CBC paid for one hour of parking so this wasn't to be a long treat but we felt SO content, sitting on the pebbles and sand,  the tide was in so the sea was near but there weren't that many people on it.  

The Linguine was plentiful and tasty with garlic bread on top.  I'd remembered my cutlery set- in fact, I have reorganized my bamboo cutlery set into a makeup bag so I have some duplicates in case of a companion who has forgotten/not got any...so in this case, CBC!

The sound of the sea was so soothing.  As there were few people, there were no screaming children to contend with.

Once I'd eaten, I told CBC I was going to change into my swimsuit.  Aghast, he asked, "What, you're really going to swim?"

"Yes, of course I am!" I declared, "No matter how cold it might be, I am SWIMMING!"

It wasn't that cold. It was pleasant and as soon as you swam in it, it felt warm.  As you can see, I didn't have much competition for space.  One older lady was swimming a bay along.  I swam back and forth a few times, lost in my thoughts without worrying about collisions.  After about 20minutes, I decided that I was content to get out.  I wandered up to CBC and wrapped myself in my turkish cotton lightweight towel (a Christmas present from Mum which is brilliant for light packing!) and CBC said we had 15minutes on the car.  5 minutes of reading my book, the Chilbury Ladies Choir, and then we got up ready to go.

Only an hour on the beach, but that was enough to make me content.  Simple pleasures but ones for which I am immensely grateful. I am so glad to have discovered that we can swim and visit a pleasant beach without loads of crowds within 20minutes drive.

When we got home, I went in the shower to wash off the salt, which was another delight- I do love our shower- and then, after a snuggly sit on our swing seat whilst CBC watched the Tour De France medal ceremony and I completed my book, I walked round the corner to go and pick some blackberries from an easy access stash I have discovered.  To my delight, I saw a lady coming out to water the garden from the house where I had picked up some free runner bean plants from. I asked if she was the Runner Bean donater, which she confirmed, and I thanked her and said how well they were doing. She was delighted and said there would be more plants next year and she and her husband sneakily watch out the window when people go past when they put them out, egging on people to take them- they cheer when someone takes some!  That conversation made both of us happy.

I hope you have had a joyous weekend with simple acts of contentment.

xx

 

Can you tell what it is yet?

 

A few weeks ago, CBC and I had my niece to stay with us for 24hours- it was beautiful weather and we camped in the garden (she's never been camping before), made up music, drew, watched TV, ate sweeties and then on the Friday morning, went to the beach in Southend.

She was super excited about this and was keen to get there early to avoid the crush.  It was great as there were hardly any people where we went.  

Alas, the tide was completely out- it seemed like about  a mile away.  There was a concrete pool to collect some water in so we went there to paddle.  Then, I had the idea, whilst waiting for the tide to come back in a bit more, that we could make a piece of beach art. 

I told CBC to collect blue shells (mussels), K to collect white oyster shells and I would collect brown pebbles to construct a piece.

Here's a series of pictures of it in pieces.  At which picture did you guess what it was going to be?

The real picture is at the end...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. 

And here is the final picture.

Later on, a lady who was in her beach hut came over to have a look at it whilst we were swimming in the sea (the tide came in super quickly after doing this!) and she was very impressed!

Of course, it was very sad when it washed away a while later.

What picture would you have made?

Beach Huts

The Beach hut!  A glorious part of the British seaside in all their myriad colours and styles.  They are a real opportunity to parade your personality if you so feel so inclined, you can paint or add quirky additions to your little piece of beachside property.

But the inside is always an enigma to me as if one is actually open, it feels wrong to brazenly gawp inside to see what mysteries go on!

Thus, I just have to lustily admire the exterior views.

Here are pictures of some of the beauties I saw at the beach in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

A set of pastel pretties with some delicate scalloping detail adorning that middle minty one.

Y knot, with its glorious stripes is festooned with a mosaic name.

This blue and white stripy one enjoys a dolphin!

A collection of blues and a rather splendid stripy one.

3 way stripes, more scalloping with contrasting door and some more bright shades.

Ah, this one is especially decorative with its extended roof shape, stripes, piping AND scalloping!

Grandma's Little House is wrapped up warmly for those sea breezes.

Although looking rather more rustic, the bright shades make up for slightly tatty paint work.

All the blues.

All the blues and purples.

This takes scalloping to a whole new level- we have almost waves!

A real variety in this row.

Do you spy the tiny ice-cream on this tasty-looking beach hut?

x

Message in the stones

I do love quiet, slow activities by the coast.  We spent 3 delightful days by the sea in Suffolk- my Dad, Stepmum, sister and I.  One day, I decided to go for a second walk (we'd all gone together) whilst they stayed at the flat and rested.  I walked along the front and then they called me to say they were on their way to fetch our Fish and Chips for late lunch in half-an-hour.  On my way back, I decided to leave a message for anyone who ventured that far along the Promenade (I was quite far along).
Ang said that it was Random Acts of Kindness day on the day I did this and indeed, when I looked on Instagram later that day, I saw that it was Random acts of Kindness day and I thought perhaps this might have brightened someone's day a bit. 

I hope that this made you smile today and if you are sad for any reason, please let me know.

xx

The changing textures of Embleton Bay

Greetings to you, wanderer in the wide seas of the internet!

It's been a few weeks since I returned from Northumberland for the first time. We actually went back there last weekend to stay with my Mother-in-Law, post hospital. She's slowly recovering from her illness but the aftermath of it will be with her for a while.

Whilst she was in hospital , we went to stay at a beautiful seaside village called Embleton - it was a similar journey time from Hexham to the hospital.

We spent the last morning of our time there walking along the beach to Low Newton.  It was the most exquisite day with the tide right out meaning the beach looked so different from the other mornings we had been there.

 The river Cocquet enters Embleton bay so there is an interesting bit where the river reaches the beach- you can see it meandering in the foreground with Dunstanburgh castle in the background, always overlooking events.

 A shallow pool formed slightly in and the skies were brilliant above. 

 The Northumbrian beaches seem so expansive.

 As we began the walk to Low Newton, we were astounded by the mesmerising patterns the wave movement had left.

 The various moss-covered rocks made for an interesting contrast in the terrain.

 I spy a war sentry post!

 Even from a distance, Dunstanburgh was never far.  It was beautiful to walk in our bare feet along the bay.

 A further section of rocks was bereft of the green mantle which shrouded the previous ones.

 The glittering waters flanked rocks which reminded me of the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim for some reason.

 Subsequent surfaces included a dense patch of seaweed.

 I spy a crab! But unfortunately, a dead one.

 The sand took on different shapes.

 The odd pulsating or dead jelly fish was a surface I DID NOT want to step upon.

 Finally, we reached Low Newton where we drank tea and conversed with delightful German ladies who were all music teachers and unbeknown to us, had been at the concert we'd visited the previous weekend.

 Several ersatz Dunstanburgh castles could be surveyed at foot level.

 This one was most impressive.

I do believe that the vast beaches in Northumberland are one of the best kept secrets.  Yes, the sea is cold but you lack the competition from numerous visitors on the South Coast.

Have you visited? Would you like to?

xx