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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| The combination of high tide, strong winds and an angry sea made a dramatic sunrise-lit spectical. |
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| 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. |
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| They headed for the river via the dunes as the tide was so high and the sea so rough. |
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| The high tide meant that the Blue Lagoon was indeed Blue. The waves rolled into the River Tees beyond. |
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| A ship headed East and out into the open sea. |
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| The Bay's white horses were all Stallions today. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| As they neared the car park, dry drifting sand became a problem for the small dogs. so the dogs were carried. |
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| Back at the van. a MR M.R. photo. BEACH BUOY. |
