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| Beach Buoy took a while getting ready for the beach and if the bad leg situation continues much longer he is thinking of having his ankles tattooed to save trying to put his socks on. Stubborn Dog had sensed it was a beach day and was busy impatiently padding Beach Buoy with a front paw as Beach Buoy had a sock fight. This helped greatly...... NOT! Beach Buoy made a coffee and placed it in the van with the intention of drinking it with a sea view. They set off 6am the van clock stated. That'll be Beach Buoy searching for the instruction booklet later on how to put the clock forward an hour in the van as it was 7am BST now. They pulled into a car park with only one car in, one car right were Beach Buoy usually parks so he headed to the opposite side and parked up. Out at sea, a lemon sandwich was spread out on the horizon, the columns of the turbines looked like the lamp posts that were illuminating the lemon horizon itself, whilst the blades were up in the grey sky and bases buried deep in a grey sea.. The blades looked like a squadron of world war two fighter planes heading east. Beach Buoy's Father had told him of the day he sat and watched a dog fight take place out at sea towards Staithes during the war. |
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| Beach Buoy sat in the van and drank the coffee. The little dog sighed in frustration in his van dog bed, realising it wasn't a quick take off. The spits of rain turned into spots, splashing on the highly polished van roof. An old friend had bought Beach Buoy the little yellow camper van toy when Beach Buoy would go on and on and on about how one day he would get one. Well.. he got one and now the slightly battered yellow van will go where the big van goes. Beach Buoy sat waiting for the rain to ease. He doesn't mind the wet at all but Stubborn Dog doesn't do wet very well, opting as he does for the drowned rat look. The 7 am club were no lightweights weather-wise, they must have remembered to put their clocks forward; as they headed south. From the van the Beach Buoy wondered when the sky was grey, the horizon lemon and the sea grey too that perhaps rain on days like this could be called lemon drizzle? |
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| A flock of Starlings appeared on the promenade and performed a balancing act on the wet curved signposts. A lady walked South with her three- legged dog, the dog must be a canny age Beach Buoy has seen it for years. She touched the end of the Promenade, turned , headed north as far as the ramp and disappeared down the ramp to the beach. Beach Buoy thought that it's now or never so off they went and as if by magic, the rain stopped. Good decision for once. |
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| They headed down to the water's edge. The tide was well beyond the Seaton Carew wreck but was heading in. A sea coal truck in the distance was just leaving the beach with some stock. A line of sea coal had been drawn along the beach. A man with a panting dog had followed Beach Buoy down the ramp to the beach. Beach Buoy was happier with that scenario....what if it had been a panting man with a dog! Beach Buoy watched as another sea coal truck with its orange light flashing light slowly made its way to exit the beach. It would drive slowly along the seafront with sea water draining from it as it travelled along. |
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| Out at sea a jack-up rig looked like scaffolding on a building site. Beach Buoy imagined apartments out at sea............ |
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| The three legged dog headed back north with its Parka-clad owner. The cloud lifted a little. One Oyster Catcher went north followed by two more. The 7 am club were heading back and an unsure Mari the friendly large poodle padded over towards Beach Buoy. Once she was sure it was Beach Buoy she ran over to greet him. |
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| Before too long the 7 am club were a distant memory. |
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| They reached the grey rocks. The wind had picked up a little and changed direction. The wind turbine blades had turned well over 90 degrees to face this fresher wind from a more northerly direction. Beach Buoy headed to the shingle at the grey rocks. The Skylarks sang high above the dunes. SMASHING. |
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| A Northerly wind now..... |
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| Beach Buoy laid out some recent finds for others to keep. He kept a couple of them for himself. |
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| 8-22am they climbed upon the concrete spill onto North Gare pier. |
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| The end of the North Gare Pier. |
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| Across the mouth of the River Tees towards South Gare. North Gare beach was deserted. |
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| DANGER! |
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| This is the beach that Beach Buoy blogs most. Seaton Sands in Hartlepool Bay. |
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| It looked like a balloon but was in fact a plastic football; it's colour and design washed off by the sea; It was burst and beach cleaned. |
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| Up in the dunes a weight from temporary fencing system, stood proud like an Easter Island statue. In the dunes the sea's roar became muffled and the song of the skylark more clear. It reminded Beach Buoy of Stereo on early BEATLES records where you go from speaker to speaker and maybe just get guitar and drums one side and change to the other speaker for the vocals and keyboards. |
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| The lemon had gone. the sky and horizon were light grey whereas the sea was a perfect shade of battleship grey. |
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| Another beach ball beach cleaned. |
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| The beach was becoming busier. Beach Buoy had already negotiated the slalom of owners and dogs seen in the photgraph. |
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| More sea pottery. To the North another truck load of sea coal was heading off to the depot with yet more stock. The supply would be cut off soon by the incoming tide. |
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| Today is the last day of free parking at Seaton Carew for a number of months, The local motor sports club were making use of this last free day by holding an auto test. Some contestants cycled the course to help memorise it, hopefully they had brought a car too? Beach Buoy started the engine of the van. The clock showed8-48 BST ... Bus Stuck Time.. at least until Beach Buoy figured out how to change it. It was in fact 9-48 am BST British Summer Time. As they pulled out of the Car Park the Clock tower showed 1-52 BST...... Bus Station Tower! BEACH BUOY. |
