Beach Buoy had left work at 3 pm.
As he drove home, he crossed the bridge over Greatham Creek.
The Creek was as full as a gun.
'The tide must be quite high.' thought Beach Buoy.
A handful of Seals laid nearby the Creek.
The Village Church Bells rang out for 4pm when Beach Buoy was putting Stubborn Dog into the van for the short drive to the beach.
The Car Park was busy.
It was 4-05pm
The Beach was quite busy.
People queued at The Hungry Seagull.
Everyman and his dog were taking pictures of the partial rainbow and the gorgeous light that radiated out from under its arc.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog joined in.
Beach Buoy knew from past experience that rainbows can mean rain.
The clue is in the name.
The light under the arc of the Rainbow had the look of The Northern Lights about it.
Beach Buoy hasn't seen The Northern Lights yet.... yet; he will.
The Partial Rainbow became complete...almost.
There was a hint of things to come, as The Headland seemed to disappear into a dark gloom.
The light on the beach and out in the Bay was one step away from being magical, a small step.
Gulls seemed to take turns hanging in the air and the light.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed south, next to the water's edge.
The high tide gave a narrow beach.
Someone decided to put the coloured pencils away and reach for the Charcoal.
The light darkened.
The temperature dropped like a stone.
The wind was picking up
Beach Buoy wandered up to the Dunes with Stubborn Dog in tow.
Even the Dog seemed to sense what was coming next.
The rain came.
The wind blew and blew until they were blue.
People began to head back to the Car Park.
Beach Buoy was determined to stack the stack, Stubborn Dog less so.
Beach Buoy collected four stones on the way to the stack.
Maybe it was a light thing, but the stack seemed to have so many grey stones.
Beach Buoy made a mental note.
MORE BRIGHTER STONES!
Beach Buoy stood up at the stack.
He watched as a small ship / large boat (Discuss.)
entered the welcoming arms of The Gares and the sanctuary of the River.
The cold wind screamed at him,
as he once screamed at a stormy sea on the headland the day after his Father had died, that scream was carried away never to be heard again until now.
Beach Buoy let the wind have its say.
The dune grass bent in the power of the vocal blast.
In time Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog headed back via the dunes, hoping they would afford some shelter; they did.
His hands were so cold and wet.
He hadn't brought any gloves.
His hands disappeared into the the sleeves of his, now wet coat.
He looked like a kid from the film Kes; a reluctant team player.
It reminded him of a time when they had to play Rugby when at College.
Beach Buoy hates Rugby!
It was pouring down, the lecturer was a rugby referee and was living the dream.
"Sir, we're soaking." said one young lad
and then came that classic phrase from the lecturer.
"Once you are wet, you can't get any wetter......"
Gulls dotted the sky, like music notation on sheet music.
They were trying to head out to sea but were being blown in a south westerly direction by the unforgiving wind.
After a while Beach Buoy headed back down to the exposed beach.
A bootlace came undone.
He carried on, it was too windy to try and tie it.
The bootlace spun in a circular motion.
It seemed desperate to become caught under Beach Buoy's other foot.
Beach Buoy would have went over like a block flats.
Beach Buoy played out the scene in is head.
Him tripping and falling, people coming to help.
'Its worse than we thought, he has lost his hands.....'
Beach Buoy slid the van door shut.
The Wild Bay kept at bay.
The van was safe.
The van was dry
Beach Buoy grabbed some fluffy towels and dried Stubborn Dog and then himself.
He lit the colourful LED light strip.
Light Blue will do nicely.
Ideally he would have put on a pan of Tomato Soup, buttered some crusty bread.
Maybe another day.
That meal holds childhood memories for Beach Buoy.
He had been to Seaton Carew Baths with his brother and a friend or two.
Beach Buoy couldn't and can't swim.
While the others did widths and lengths, he did depths in the shallow end.
When they came out it was cold; they were wet.
There was a small Cafe over the road from the Baths.
Beach Buoy will always remember the Tomato Soup and Crusty bread he had that day.
It is still a go to Comfort Food.
Thanks for reading.
Take Care Everyone.
Wear a mask.
Wash your hands.
BEACH BUOY.
