WEDNESDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2019. SEATON CAREW

It had been a very cold day at work.
The late afternoon was lit by some gorgeous sunlight.
Beach Buoy had no lifts etc to do tonight so he took the opportunity and grabbed two dogs and fitted in a beach walk.
He was half way down to a low tide water's edge when the Church bells rang for 4-15pm.
The sea was beyond the Seaton Carew Wreck.
The clouds were as dramatic as the air was cold.
As one would imagine there wasn't a vast amount of people out on the beach.

Tracks had been left by the council vehicle that had been taking windblown sand back to the beach.

The sun highlighted the edges of the clouds.
The wet beach reflected the above.
Beach Buoy was so very pleased to fit in an extra beach and couldn't wait for lighter and hopefully warmer nights.
A chance to live again with a fresh new start.

Beach Buoy walked as far as the grey rocks then turned back. He could have walked South a little more  but that would have meant a dark beach walk which would have sort of defeated the object.

Meanwhile back at the van.

BEACH BUOY.

SUNDAY 27 JAN 2019, SEATON SANDS.

It had been a funny night.
Strong wind blowing by the window had woke Beach Buoy at 1-45 a.m.
A trip to the smallest room followed.
Then about an hour trying to get comfortable; Beach Buoy was suffering with leg pain.
Then about another hour trying to deciding to get up or not?
Beach Buoy got up  4-15a.m
He made a milky coffee.
He boiled the milk in a pan rather than use a microwave which never really seemed to warm it properly?
As he stood waiting for the milk to start to boil an old TV advertisement came to mind.
See link below.
GAS
Then another dilemma; to watch TV or not?
Beach Buoy has never been a fan of morning TV, even early morning TV.
Back in his youth , Morning TV was for Schools Programs. Grown-ups TV started with the news around 6 p.m. and by midnight it was a Vicar, an Epilogue, a little white fading dot and get yourself to bed feeling in your head.
Beach Buoy opted to turn the TV on and as he waited for the black box to work its magic he recalled one particular school day........


SCENE ONE...
A small council house on the North East coast of England.
It's early morning.
 A young Beach Buoy is stood at the kitchen sink.
His Mother is washing his face with a face cloth.
"Its Saint Georges day today." she informed Beach Buoy as he squirmed and pulled many faces on the other side of the soapy damp cloth. With the nugget of information ringing in his ears, alongside some soap suds; he set off for School ..

SCENE TWO.
A small infant / junior  school.
The children are sat on a wooden floor of a large hall.
The teacher comes in and slides open the door of a  large wooden cabinet to reveal a slightly smaller, but only just T.V.
A young Beach Buoy sits with his classmates and watches a program in black and white. The program was about our hero and today's nugget of information ; Saint George.
The program ends. The teacher slides the cabinet door shut on the TV as if it was the end of a cremation .
"Does anyone know when Saint George's Day is ?"
the teacher asks.
Beach Buoy looks around at his classmates...nothing.
Its now or never, his hand goes up.
"Yes?" says Miss.
"Today Miss, Today." came the reply.
"Don't be so silly" The rest of the class begin to laugh.
"Its on the twenty third (as she was saying the words a look of realisation filled her face.) of April..
"Which is today!"
Beach Buoy 1 Teacher 0
(own goal.)
It was a victory but enough of a traumatic event to stop Beach Buoy putting his hand up for around 50 years or so.
The TV burst into life... hopefully not a program about 
you know who.

He finally hit the Beach around 7-40 a.m.

Beach Buoy reached the water's edge when his phone buzzed.
It was MR M.R. ; his son-in-law.
They arranged to meet in a few minutes then head South.

They met up as the Sun began to rise.
It was high tide too.
The sea was wild; the morning bracing.
Beach Buoy spotted Seven Oyster Catchers walking North on the dry sand. They looked a little too tired to fly into the cold, strong northerly wind.

The combination of high tide, strong winds and an angry sea made a dramatic sunrise-lit spectical.

Beach Buoy leads the way with Stubborn Dog and Mr M.R's dog in tow.
An uncatchable plastic bag tumbled South as fast as a racing cyclist.
PHOTO BY MR M.R.

They headed for the river via the dunes as the tide was so high and the sea so rough.

The high tide meant that the Blue Lagoon was indeed Blue.
The waves rolled into the River Tees beyond.

A ship headed East and out into the open sea.

The Bay's white horses were all Stallions today.

Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog head back North.
Another photo by MR M.R.
When he first sent it Beach Buoy thought that he was walking towards the light.
Well it had been Heavenly.

The tide had gone out enough to allow them to drop down to the Beach once more.
The sea had been right up to the dunes today.

As they neared the car park, dry drifting sand became a problem for the small dogs.
so the dogs were carried.

Back at the van.
a MR M.R. photo.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS AND NORTH GARE BEACH 20 JANUARY 2019.

Sunday.
Beach Buoy left the house at 7-40 am.
He pulled out the old fashioned aerial that was hidden next to the bonnet of the van.
If the aerial wasn't extended, the radio would stop and start, a little like Norman Collier's faulty microphone.
Click the link below.
Norman Collier

Beach Buoy had met Norman Collier once, at a local garage. 
Mr Collier had gone for petrol for his red Alfa Romeo. 
Beach Buoy held open the door for an in-coming customer, it was then he realised it was Norman Collier.
"Thank you." said the comedian,
It is fairly certain that he was in town for a Pro - Celebrity  golf game at Seaton Carew.
 
Beach Buoy drove to the beach as he flicked from station to station; there wasn't much choice to be honest, in fact Collier FM may "ave bee a etter choi  testing 1,2,3." 
The car park was home to three cars this morning.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog  parked up and walked about two thirds of the way to the water's edge.
The tide was well out and the day seemed mild, compared as it was, to yesterday. 
There was a large dip in the sand towards the sea.
A man walked north; Beach Buoy could just see his top half due to the dip.
The man walked with a stick. At first Beach Buoy thought that the man was dog-less. But like the bottom half of the man, the dog was hidden by the dip in the sand. 
It didn't help that the dog was a Golden Labrador ; perfect sand camouflage .....
The village Church bells struck eight across the misty beach
Beach Buoy headed south towards the northbound 7am club; they had been to the North Gare and were heading back.
Mari the Large Poodle broke ranks and ran to Beach Buoy.
Neck was scratched then off she went, turning to come back for seconds. The club shouted  "Morning!" as they passed.
Beach Buoy did the same, whilst raising his left arm as if to signal that he wished his passing beach friends all of the very best.

It was the greyest of mornings.
No dramatic sunrise today, the big fella hadn't turned on the light on; but it was scenic nonetheless..
Three Seagulls argued at the water's edge resulting in a screeching competition.
They flew short distance South to join around twenty others and a lone Oyster Catcher, maybe asking them to pick a winner?
Beach Buoy passed the Grey Rocks as a single Crow hopped silently among the even quieter rocks.
Beach Buoy headed up to the rocks, lots of shingle had been deposited  between the rocks recently.
There was a possibility of finds?
The shingle crunched underfoot as the sea made sea noises to the east.

Beach Buoy has reached the age when things need to be returned to the sea, not collected. Some things are too pretty to leave.
1. Red Sea Glass.

2. Turquoise Sea Glass.

3. An old bottle top.

They crossed over to the River at North Gare Beach.
Today this was the colder of the two beaches as a chilly breeze blew down the river and headed out to sea.

Beach Buoy collected a large length of heavy-duty rope and another crab pot to add to yesterday's ghost fishing net and yet another crab pot. All were placed and weighed down in the Old Buoy in the hope a contacted agency would collect later?
There was cluster of dog / tennis balls nearby; many just  a half ball.
 Twelve in total were  found and collected in a small distance as another part of Beach Buoy's beach clean.
He also found some other ghost fishing gear; more of that later.....

As well as all of the balls there were clusters of sizeable coal; enough to fill many bags.

Beach Buoy left the North Gare and took a picture of a nearby information board.

Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog clambered back down to Seaton Sands, down the slippery slope.

As they headed north, Beach Buoy glanced back to the south. The sky was becoming a little lighter and brighter.

The ripples in the sand looked like a stairway to Atlantis.....
Beach Buoy headed back to the van.
The beach was awake; Dogs barking , owners shouting.

The Village Church Bells chimed Ten as they climbed up the access ramp back to the promenade and the van that waited just beyond.

Beach Buoy returned to base camp and cleaned the other ghost fishing gear that he had found today.
He had never seen a fish shaped sinker before; he quite liked it.

Later in the day he went to the promenade.
It was high tide.
It was sunny.
It was cold.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS AND NORTH GARE BEACH 19 JANUARY 2019.

Saturday.
It was around 7-40am.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn dog arrived in the Car Park.
It was cold and dry.
Around half a dozen vehicles of varying types were scattered around randomly.
Beach Buoy parked up in his favourite spot.
A Man in a brown coat walked along the promenade with his brown dog.
The man wore a flashing light, his dog had a red flashing collar.
 It wore it like a hula hoop prize at the fairground.
Maybe the light show was to offset all of the brown?
They stopped to talk with a man with a grey and white Old English Sheep Dog.
By 7-50 am Beach Buoy was on the sand.
There was a strange light about the day.
In the distance he could see six figures heading back from the North Gare Pier in two groups of three. Possibly the 7 am club partially splintered?

The light was changing constantly as Beach Buoy walked down towards the water's edge.
It became clear that it was in fact the 7am club. 
Mari; the large friendly poodle spotted Beach Buoy from a distance .
The large friendly dog was keen to see Beach Buoy; running to greet him.
"Hello!" said Beach Buoy "I've missed you!" ; he had.
The large friendly dog pushed up against Beach Buoy for the neck scratch; possibly the first of the year?
Maybe she had missed him too?
As quickly as she came into Beach Buoy's world, she ran off to join the, as thought, splintered 7 am club.
Beach Buoy made a note or two in his beach book as reference for his later blogpost.
The strange morning light glowed on the pages of his small book, as if he was stood under a nearby light.

It was very cold.
Beach Buoy was wearing gloves, a Dut, a Snood and had two hoods up. Spots of rain made a noise on the outer waterproof hood layer.
With just his eyes showing he must have looked like a grey postbox.
 A degree or two colder and surely it would be snow?
The tide was well out.

The sky turned gold and Beach Buoy realised that there are more than one type of northern Light!
Slight ripples travelled across the pools heading towards the waiting sea.
Around thirty or so seabirds were to the south, treading the water's edge, perhaps waiting for a little more light?

Beach Buoy continued south a while and glanced back. In total contrast, the north was grey and the beach deserted.

Beach Buoy climbed up onto North Gare Pier.
The sun was up a little more now, it sent a lemon strip across the bay to light up the village of  Seaton Carew and the nearby town of Hartlepool.

There was  a stunning piece of driftwood that would have made a wonderful bench.
 It would have lasted a few lifetimes.
 It was a glorious colour but as heavy as a car; a 1971 Ford Cortina  to be precise.
 Beach Buoy had one that colour once.
It had a spoiler, a skirt and murals of butterflies crossing a lake on the doors. 
Oh and rust, lots and lots of rust.
Luckily it almost matched the colour of the car!
The spots of rain had stopped, so the hoods came down. They can be both cosy and claustrophobic at the same time.

Beach Buoy had a wander on North Gare Beach.
He collected his beach clean items, mainly plastic bottles.
There was  a large ghost fishing net and a crab pot, he put these in a safe as possible position and informed an organisation that could hopefully collect?
The sun shone brightly upon the dune grass in contrast to the dark, almost threatening sky that was its backdrop.

Beach Buoy headed back to the north whilst wandering just which manmade track he would take to access the Pier once more?

Here is the same photograph as above showing the contrast in brightness.

It was back to the bay.
The dark sky to the west... could it be snow?
No, not today.
Beach Buoy's father would say.
" I can smell snow."
and it would invariably snow!
Odd that when you think snowmen themselves can only smell carrots.
Beach Buoy headed back to the van as Stubborn Dog constantly tried to head for the dunes.
The beach was a little busier now.
Two crows flew by close to Beach Buoy if on low level manoeuvres; heading south.
They made it back to the van.
It felt a little warmer.
Maybe it was the sun?
Maybe it was the exercise?
Maybe it was wishful thinking?

Beach Buoy.

SEATON SANDS 13 JANUARY 2019.

Back in time... about 1962?
Down by the dunes at Seaton Sands.
It was a big deal going to Seaton  Carew for the day.
It would sometimes involve two buses.
No.7 or 8 into town and wait for a No. 13 to the Beach.
We had a white cotton tent; just a small one. No sewn-in groundsheet back then and thinking on I can't imagine how the tent poles and guide ropes pegs managed to stay in the soft sand?
I remember hardboiled egg sandwiches, made with white bread. We always ended up getting sand in the sandwiches maybe off our hands.

Fast- forward a few years, then a few more. It was around 8-10 a.m.
A lady came up asking what breed of Dog Stubborn Dog was.
She said that her white Scottie Dog didn't like Shitzus.
It was Ok as Stubborn Dog isn't one of those.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed to the water's edge then south. Dark Clouds hung in the sky beyond the River like a threat.
It was a mild day.
A couple of beach regulars and their Collie Dog were a minute or two behind Beach Buoy.
Beach Buoy headed up to the dunes to let them have the water's edge to themselves.

Beach Buoy is trying not to collect too many beach finds but this piece ended up in his beach bag.

The couple carried on around the corner and made use of the step in the dunes made by a recent high tide.
It made a perfect seat to sit and watch the busy North Sea break onto the shore.
Beach Buoy went into the dunes so as not to disturb their peace.

He climbed down some of the grey rocks and found the most comfortable of the uncomfortable rocks to sit on and have a think of his own.
The sea was dramatic.
It was hitting the end of the North Gare Pier, rising up and travelling along its length like a drawn curtain.
The Sea was grey with white foam.
After making shore, the water would head back out to sea to do battle with the in-coming waves.
The out-going was dappled with a lemon reflection from the sky above. 
5 Cormorants passed heading north.
They seemed to be struggling to maintain height and formation, like a squadron of damaged bombers returning from a mission.
More Cormorant passed as Beach Buoy sat and watched the world go by.
Four, flying in a much more confident manner and a straighter line too.
Then another three.
 All of them were heading north from the River.

Beach Buoy eventually headed back.
Someone else was making use of the natural seat made on the dune's step.

A broken tape measure caught Beach Buoy's eye.
It went in the bag along with..
Various plastic bottles.
A plastic spade handle.
Some blue sponge balls.
A plastic basket.
Energy drink can.
A spray can.
All beach cleaned.

Beach Buoy paused and looked to the south.
Thankfully the north-west wind was blowing the dark away from Seaton Carew.

The sky was clearer to the North.

Beach Buoy carried Stubborn Dog for last part of the walk as lots of dry sand was being blown out to sea at Stubborn Dog's eye level.
 You can see the lighter shifting sands in the photograph above.

Later Beach Buoy washed and waxed the van... again!
He then fitted the replacement sticker that had been damaged last week by persons unknown.
The van has been at Nurburgring so he was keen to keep the history of the van. The lower writing is from the original sticker. Beach Buoy was keen to keep that too.


BEACH BUOY.