A BLOGPOST, REBLOGGED . THE DAY WE MET PROFESSOR STUMP.

 

Sunday, 3 May 2020

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL..... 03 MAY 2020. ALLOWED EXERCISE WALK.

They were up and out by 5-33 am.
The lockdown has been odd.
So many clean cars.
So many neatly edged lawns.
They passed them all as they headed for the beach.
It had rained overnight.
It was a mild but grey start to a Seaside Sunday.
Birds sang as brightly as Bricklayers on a Friday afternoon  building site.
Wood Pigeons echoed off the surrounding houses and each other.
A Yellow Taxi headed for the Sea Front.
It wasn't a Big Yellow Taxi, like the one Joni Mitchell sang about. It was just a small van type. Presumably to maintain social distancing any passengers would have to be strapped to the roof rack?
They reached the beach at 5-45am. They would be quicker if Stubborn Dog wasn't constantly stopping to sniff the Canine version of social media; powered by pee.
The Beach scene was a grey one.
The Sun did have its hat on but it was grey, to match its overcoat.
There wasn't a breath of wind.
The motionless Wind Turbines faced North. 

A runway of sea coal awaited them as they prepared to head South.
Skylarks sang in hope of tempting the Sun to come see their performance.

Raindrops began to fall as Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog stumbled upon a Driftwood Lecture.
The lecture was given by Professor Stump.
Beach Buoy sat and listened for a while as the well travelled Professor told the surrounding Students of his time at sea, his childhood spent in a Forest and the dangers of beach bonfires.
During a short tree break, Beach Buoy chatted to one of the students; Ash.
Ash told Beach Buoy how proud his family were that he was attending lectures, as most of them had grown up as thick as two small planks.
Beach Buoy thanked  Ash and the Professor before heading  off with Stubborn Dog.

They popped up to the Dunes,
as they did so the rain came down in force and the hoods went up.

They returned to the beach.
They saw a Dog face in a rock pool.

They went to check on the Sand Martin building site.
Rain had stopped play.
Some progress had been made.
 The birds had began to make holes in the sandy face of the dune edge.
The rain was heavy.
Beach Buoy imagined that the Sand Martins were cabined up somewhere in a portable cabin, reading newspapers and swigging large mugs of  builder's tea, all with two sugars.

They turned to head back.
The rain poured down.
They had all day to dry themselves.

Beach Buoy.

VIEW FROM STUBBORN DOG STACK BY LIZ O'NEILL.

 Artist, Liz O'Neill has had her brushes out once more.

It is the view from Stubborn Dog Stack, lookingNorth to Seaton Carew and Hartlepool beyond.

She has included the painted stones that have been kindly left at my mate's stack.

It is wonderful.

Beach Buoy.

KENXIAM DRAGON NEEDLE aka STUBBORN DOG. TEN PHOTOS OF MY MATE. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN TEN TODAY.

 

Devastated I cannot go to his stack today of all days.

Miss you too much mate.

BEACH BUOY.

xxx

STILL NOT ON BEACH

Still unable to go on beach.

My daughter has collected the painted stones and shells from stack 

 I want to secure them to stack when well

Thank you. 

BEACH BUOY .

AM NOT ON BEACH.

been ill thank you to whoever put stones, painted stones or fossils on stack

Thank you

Saturday 12JUNE 2021, SEATON SANDS... last walk for a while.

Beach Buoy had set the alarm clock for 4 a.m.

He was up and out in next to no time.

As he drove past the Golf Club, two police cars left its car park.

One headed North, the other South.

Beach Buoy half expected them both to do a U-turn to see what he was up to; they didn't.

The Barrier to the beach car park was still down; SHUT.

Beach Buoy made good his entry to the closed car park.

A few moments later a security guard came to open it anyway.

4-28 a.m. saw Beach Buoy sitting the van sipping hot coffee as he watched a veiled sunrise take place behind low cloud, that stretched along the Bay's Horizon.

To the south, The Wind Turbines turned slowly as they faced north west, into the breeze.

They always rotate on their axis to face whatever breeze or wind is blowing from.

The rumble of a grass cutter fired up from the direction of the Golf Club; plenty of grass to cut.

An aeroplane left a vapour trial  across the Bay's sky.

It headed in the direction of the breeze, like a line drawn on a colourful blackboard to show its direction in some big screen geography lesson.

An estate car drove into  the recently opened car park entrance.

The driver and his Dog reached the beach

 around the same time as Beach Buoy.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Beach Buoy felt odd  being out so early, so dog-less.

He told the story, the dog, the stack, the loss.

"I'd be exactly the same mate."

They headed in opposite directions.

Beach Buoy was feeling like the oldest resident in a care home, the one  telling everyone that he met his age.

"I'm 96 you know?"

Beach Buoy isn't.

Sunrise was at 4-28 a.m. 

It was 4-47 a.m. 

before shadows were cast on the beach as the high tide became higher.

Camelot.

Beach Buoy continued south, the north looked deserted.

5-19 a.m.

"Morning mate."

Beach Buoy added to the stack.

Beach Buoy sat on the dune edge just in front of the stack.

Breakfast; Coffee, Kit-Kat and Paracetamol.

Beach Buoy had a bit of an achey back.

The sea lapped gently onto the beach, no more than Forty metres away from Beach Buoy, the stack and his mate.

Skylarks sang as Sand Martins twisted and turned along the dune edge.

The Sun's early morning heat and light decreased as it slipped behind some cloud.

From Gold to Silver; first to runner-up.

Beach Buoy rose, ready to head back.

He had spent an hour with his mate.

Beach Buoy looked back towards the stack to see he was leaving very strange footprints more akin to those left by a seal as it made its way back to the water.

A very very slow walk back  as he passed June Dunes.

 Back to the van for spotty sour dough toast, made on the van's spotty 

toast maker.

A lady walked from parking meter to parking meter checking for any rejected coins in the machine's coin trays.

Beach Buoy headed off, wondering if next time he should leave some coins in each tray?

BEACH BOUY.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 11 JUNE 2021.

Beach Buoy reached the car park at 6-30 p.m.

For the third night in a row he paused at a parking meter as he passed.

"Excuse me, it's free after six."

as another puzzled car owner struggled to pay for parking.

"Thank you."

It had been a muggy day but now a gorgeous cooling wind blew from the north west.

Little Terns headed back to the nesting site, with supper hanging from their beaks.

Owners and Dogs did owner and Dog stuff, down by the water's edge.

The Sun scanned the beach like a barcode scanner.

He clambered up the dune stack with a handful of stack stones.

"Hiya Mate."

It was 7-06 p.m.

Gulls put on an aerial display as they tried to head north in the wind.

Some took the easier option of gliding southwards.

Beach Buoy sat on the dune edge.

The dune sand made an excellent cup-holder for his thermal, coffee-filled mug.

A skylark sang.

Beach Buoy poked fat fingers and thumbs into the sand like roots of s tree.

Closer to his mate.

He drank the last of the coffee.

Time to go.

He added to the stack.

"Night night mate."

Beach Buoy and sadness headed north.

Beach Buoy did a dog call whistle as he looked back; nothing.

Beach Buoy raised an arm in recognition  towards the disappearing ..... just incase.

A camera-shy seal popped up to say goodnight.

Beach Buoy continued north.

"Goodnight Sammy."

A Bull Terrier took aim at Beach Buoy.

"KOBI!"

Kobi took no notice, by now he had jumped up with two paws on Beach Buoy's legs, in search of the now legendary neck scratch.

Friendly Kobi left before returning for seconds.

Fire engine sirens sounded out along the sea front and stopped at the car park.

"Were the dunes alight once more?

No.

A child had locked itself in a car.

A bent door and a piece of wire and the child was rescued.

The grateful mother elbowed bumped the crew.

Time to go.

Beach Buoy.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL, 10 JUNE 2021.

Beach Buoy reached the car park at 6-40 pm.

He ate his Fish and Chip tea for one.

His newly-bought USB powered fan only succeeded  in blowing hot air around the van.

He locked the van at 6-59 p.m.  and headed for the beach.

His fish and chip wrappers went into the promenade bin as he passed.

He gave way to two riders and their horses as they headed to the beach also.

The horses made a bee-line for the sea.

Beach Buoy headed south with a coffee in a thermal mug for company.

The tide was well out.

A warm wind blew from across the dunes.

A family group headed back to the car park with armfuls of windbreaks and other beach picnic paraphernalia. 

Beach Buoy was drawn to the waters edge, more by the power of wandering than any urge.

Gulls hung in the air, twisting and turning in the warm wind.

The wind-rippled sea lapped onto the beach like a lake edge.

Beach Buoy headed for the stack with five stones in-hand.    

Beach Buoy added the stones to the stack. 

"Hiya Mate."

Beach Buoy poked his finger into the sand as he said it, as if he was reaching out to his mate.

He sat on the dune edge as he sipped his thermal coffee.

Sunlight ran free across the beach as and when

 the wind-blown clouds allowed.

Terns dropped like stones into the sea,

The bright white Wind Turbines spun industriously out in the bay.

Beach Buoy put an arm around an Imaginary Dog and pulled him close.

It was going to be a long road.

He added a large rock to the stack  before heading back.....

 

 Back to the village.

Back to the van.

Beach Buoy.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL, 09 JUNE 2021.

It was Wednesday Evening.

It was 6-45 when Beach Buoy pulled up alone into the Car Park.

Three more VW vans were parked nearby; birds of a feather.

He headed for the beach as a few spots of rain dropped onto the bone dry promenade.

The sound of a golf ball being struck on the nearby Golf Club, travelled around the Car Park.

A heat-laden breeze blew from the west.

Muggy random spots of rain fell as he descended the beach access ramp.

Angled, much heavier rain fell out at sea.

Beach Buoy headed down beyond the strand-line.

A man tried to head back to the car park as he played tug-of-war with a grey and white Stubborn Dog.

The heat seemed to become more intense.

The threatening sky, more threatening.

Beach Buoy could almost hear the voice of a Star Trek Ship's engineer...

"She's gonna blow Captain!"

It felt like the moment the thunder would start.

 

Beach Buoy looked at a lone Yacht, thinking that it may be a good idea to head back to Port?

He found a large piece of sea pottery.

What was its story?

Beach Buoy reached Stubborn Dog Stack, three stones in-hand.

"Hiya Mate."

Spots of rain fell on the hot dry rocks of the stack.

Beach Buoy settled himself just in front of the stack, on the dune edge.

Beach Book ✅

Coffee in Thermal Mug ✅

Umbrella ✅

Raincoat-in-a-bag.✅

 (Minus the bag.)❌

He sat and watched the world go by,

a world of people walking Dogs.

He must have been on the very edge of the precipitation?

The light rain stopped.

The threat of thunder seemed to ease as the angry sky stormed out to sea in a huff.

A Large White Gull glided overhead  from the dunes and headed out into the bay, like a perfectly crafted, expertly thrown paper aeroplane.

A bald man walked the strand line with a plastic carrier bag and a Small, Cream-coloured Dog.

Tears.

More Yachts came out to play.

Some were angled away from the sun, their sails reflecting its light.

The sound of a herd of Motorcycles rumbled across the dunes from Tees Road beyond.

Beach Buoy collected two large rocks, 

they were added to Stubborn Dog Stack.

Waterworks started, from face, not sky as he realised that this was all it was ever going to be from now on.

"Night night mate."

To be honest he was feeling quite sorry for himself and totally alone.

He fought tears all the way back to the van.

Tears won.

Life goes on.

Beach Buoy will be fine.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 08 JUNE 2021.

Beach Buoy and Borrowed Dog arrived at 

the beach car park at 7-40 p.m.

The air was still and very muggy.

Swimmers swam in a mirror-like , metallic light blue sea.

Other swimmers watched, with towels draped over their shoulders

like superhero capes.

The towels tended not to bright yellows or reds, but multi-mixed wash; "That'll do for the beach ." towels.

The tide was well out.

They headed south.

A young Border Collie was showing interest in the pair.

It came over.

Beach Buoy picked Borrowed Dog up as he used to with Stubborn Dog whenever he was unsure of a Dog's temperament.

A very smart gentleman put the dog on  a lead.

"Sorry she's just a pup."

"No worries was just been careful, its my Daughter's Dog."

They chatted the man was ex-forces.

He was dressed in blazer with badges and medals.

"Just been to a funeral." giving the reason for such smart and proud beachwear.

They chatted about Dogs, losing Dogs, how terrible it is.

Beach Buoy told the tale of Stubborn Dog Stack.

It was clear they were both dog lovers

"Bless you." said the Gent.

"Bless you." said Beach Buoy.

They said farewell as they headed in opposite directions.

Beach Buoy and Borrowed Dog South.

A Very Smart Gentleman and Jess, North.

Beach Buoy had scribbled down the blog address and given it to the man.

Beach Buoy picked up a heart stone for Stubborn Dog Stack.

"Hiya Mate."

Beach Buoy placed the heart stone and two others on the stack.

Beach Buoy and Borrowed Dog stayed for a while with their mate.

Beach Buoy went down to the beach and collected a couple of larger rocks to add, returning for a couple of handfuls of shingle to sprinkle in the gaps.

It will help stabilise the stack, when the strong winds come and shifting sands shift.

"Night night mate."

He patted "THE." stone and they set off, trying not to look back as they did so, it was too sad leaving him.

A loud noise was repeating about every three seconds.

Maybe a very distant foghorn  was sounding out and drifting into the Bay?

Or maybe it was a Lonely Sea Serpent, calling out for a mate?

People dotted the water's edge.

Beach Buoy and a Borrowed Dog headed for the van.

The area of beach around the access ramp to the sands was being patrolled by Large Gulls.

They walked around like Litter Wardens.

Cars engines were revved in the car park.

Big bore exhaust and bigger bore drivers.

BEACH BUOY.