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| Beach Buoy finishes work slightly earlier on a Friday. As he drove along the sea front from work, the weather fluctuated from spots of rain to sunshine to overcast and dry and back again. Most Fridays are spoken for. Today he went to the Beach. He went for the dogs and made a coffee, shoved a chocolate bar in his pocket and headed for the beach to drink the coffee whilst looking at the sea..... because he could. He pulled into the car park at 3-46pm. Five Council refuse lorries stood in a neat blue and white line at one side of the carpark; working week done. Beach Buoy drank the coffee as the impatient dogs watched and waited. A rumble from the back of the car park and the refuse trucks were off.. "We've got ourselves a Convoy." The air of expectation rose as Beach Buoy pulled on his beach boots from a grey box in the van. The dogs were ready for the off. They left the van as a driving school car drove slowly around the almost empty car park. |
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| The sea was wild. The wind was cold and strong from the west. Beach Buoy headed to the water's edge with the two dogs playing tug of war with him; one pulling the other dragging. The beach was almost deserted. Almost... one man and his dog were to the south. The man was looking at the massive waves break and taking photographs. He stayed a while and moved north; his place taken by Beach Buoy and two dogs.... |
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| It was around 4-10pm; high tide would be at 4-47. Spits and spots of rain fell, making that noise it does on a supposedly water-proof coat. |
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| White froth rolled in on the sea, smooth like icing on a cake. |
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| The waves were rushing in and almost reaching the dunes. The three went into the dunes to avoid a soaking. |
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| They sat down opposite the sea serpent, although today it was being swamped by the huge waves. A ship left the Tees and Beach Buoy watched as it turned to head south; rocking and rolling side to side as it went side on to the stormy sea. After a sit and think they were going to head back but once up on their feet ( and paws.) they decided to continue south for a while. |
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| Some of the waves that rolled into the bay were hitting the North Gare Pier and coming back into the mix. The waves would crash into each other and peak looking like a whale jumping and twisting free from the constraints of the water. |
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| They headed back, again in the safety and relative sheltered the dunes. Out at sea a black ship headed for its own safety and shelter that was to be found in the River Tees. |
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| They headed up to a wooden post that had been damaged by fire but was still standing. |
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| The road north continued in the cold wind. Beach Buoy freed a hand that was dug deep in a pocket to scratch an itch on his cheek. His face felt numb, as if he had had an injection at the dentist. It was chilly. |
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| Beach Buoy's mobile phone's camera is ok at certain times in certain light Today it could not fully capture the anger and the beauty of the roaring sea. They headed for the van as four Oyster Catchers zoomed by overhead using the full strength of the wind for propulsion. |
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| Stubborn Dog wasn't quite ready to go... he never is! The tide had turned and was going out, leaving behind it pools on the beach. Around a hundred seabirds stood in the pools; the sea was too rough and maybe this was the next best thing for now? The beach around the pools resembled a lunar landscape, strewn with rocks and stone of various shapes and sizes. |
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| They reached the calmness of the van and were glad to get out of the cold wind. Beach Buoy changed out of his sandy beach boots. Outside yet another learner driver drove around the car park in and around the small seabirds that had chosen the car park as their shelter zone. You could almost hear the instructor. Turn left, right Tern, Tern left and Left turn. On the promenade two seagulls fought over a wobbly lamp post perch... as with most things in life, the newcomer won. BEACH BUOY. |
