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| It's a long story... but Beach Buoy didn't arrive at the beach until 8-15am. As he drove to the beach he passed a man. A man almost as big as a lamppost. The man wore a high visibility coat; he would have been hard to miss anyway. You would have spotted him. The Church bells struck the quarter hour. The large man leaned against a wall to stretch his muscles. Beach Buoy reckoned that he could push the wall over if it took his fancy. As Beach Buoy slid the van door shut, the large man headed for the dunes. Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed for the water's edge. The 7am club will have been and gone by now? Beach Buoy pictured them all sat together eating Christmas mince pies and drinking Tea or Coffee, talking beach talk in some secret 7am club shack with a sea view. Beach Buoy reached the conclusion, rightly or wrongly that the club would be half Coffee drinkers; the other half Tea. It was such a mild Boxing Day. For those taking part, the Boxing Day dip would be a doddle. The only chill would be Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog relaxing. |
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| High tide had been two and half hours earlier. The Grey sea slowly edged its way out to a Lighter Grey horizon. It exposed fresh unmarked sand to walk on. There's no quicksand around these parts, but certain patches were softer than the other. A foot could disappear into the sand, but that is as far as it would go. As they progressed Southwards, every now and then they would have to step over small narrow streams of seawater draining back to their source from the pools trapped higher up the beach. |
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| Out at sea the Serpent showed two humps, then three then back to two. A lone Oyster Catcher swam close to the surface of the sea. It had to do a sudden turn upwards as a wave curled before it. Out over the dunes a Cormorant flew awkwardly heading West. |
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| Down at the Grey Rocks, the sea seemed reluctant to give up its hold them. Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed to the Pier by going up onto the Grey Rocks and alternating between the rocks and the shingle scattered amongst it. Beach Buoy sat on a large grey damp rock, made notes and looked out at sea. The little dog laid flat on the shingle and looked North towards some figures in the distance. He sniffed the air, possibly trying to work out if they were friend or foe; they are sometimes both, without warning. Out at sea a Cormorant popped up from below the waves, it took a breath and dived; they seemed so much more suited to swimming than flying. The one over the dunes seemed to prove that. Beach Buoy sat and thought.... " Maybe they were just a step away from being warm weather Penguins?" Beach Buoy stood and glanced South. The sun was trying its best. A large dull egg yoke hung just above the river. He checked the back of his jeans; they were damp from the rocky rest. "It'll look like I have had an accident." he thought. |
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| As they headed back Beach Buoy stopped and stooped to pick up a small blue glass bead. Up ahead a couple dressed in coats darker than their two Black Labradors stopped their walk short and turn 180 degrees. |
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| A dog-less man headed up from the strand-line up to the dunes. The Village Church Bells chimed for 9-45am. To the North a colourful group seemed to be doing their own version of today's planned Charity Dip? As he watched, they left the sea and headed back to the car park. The sun behind them had changed from egg yoke to a lemon top ice cream. It brightened the beach and even brought Beach Buoy's shadow along for the ride. Beach Buoy looked up to the North, a large number of brightly coloured people were running. They were running directly towards Beach Buoy! Were they Boxing Day Dippers too? Had someone misinformed them that Beach Buoy had the towels? Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog stood their ground.. They were Joggers. The multicoloured Joggers passed. Some talking, some gasping and one spitting. Beach Buoy headed back to the van. The Dippers were about ready to go home. Car doors began to slam shut to a chorus of " See Yas Later." BEACH BUOY. footnote:- |
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| Beach Buoy found these buttons at a derelict house down by the Old Ferry at Middleton. That was around fifty years ago.Funny the things you keep, when more precious things are let go. BEACH BUOY. |
