CHRISTMAS DAY, 2019. SEATON SANDS, SEATON CAREW, HARTLEPOOL.

Merry Christmas to you.
Beach Buoy reached the Car Park at around 7-49 a.m.
There was larger van parked nearby with the unmistakable  sound of a heater running.
It had been a cold night.
The Gritters had been out.
Beach Buoy's van windscreen had been frozen, it had just started to defrost as they set off. 
Beach Buoy presumed that it was a #vanlife van and that the occupants had stayed the night?

A couple were leaving the Beach with their Dogs.
'Morning' and 'Merry Christmas.' as they passed.

As they reached the Beach, the 7a.m club had just gone by, heading back down by the water's edge.
Mari the Poodle wouldn't notice him today.

There was a slight breeze; enough to slowly turn the Wind Turbines out in the Bay.
Gulls stood down by part of the water's edge as if on guard.

A lone figure stood up on a high point of the dune edge as if they too were on guard duty.

The tide was well out.
It would be low tide in around thirty minutes or so.

They continued South, whilst under observation.

Pools drained slowly back to Sea.

Beach Buoy headed up to the dunes, to check on and add to the stack.

The stack was fine.
Beach Buoy wished The Sea Serpent a Merry Christmas.

As they headed back the sunlight glowed like a cooling furnace.

Then it was a slow walk back in the ripples of the wet sand.

Back to the Promenade.

... and back to the van.



BE
HAPPY.

BEACH BUOY.

CHRISTMAS EVE, 2019. SEATON SANDS.

6-25 a.m.
Beach Buoy sat with Tea and Stubborn Dog for company.
He felt a little under the weather.
He was reading a book about a man who travelled the English Coast.
 Beach Buoy found it tough going.
There was a bit too much history for his liking.
Beach Buoy was wanting to know what the air and sea felt like.

The rainfall was falling outside.
Beach Buoy decided to go for a soak in the bath instead of a soaking on the beach. 
Stubborn Dog was asleep; dreaming if the looks were a guide?
Dreaming of Tap Dancing whilst playing the Piano all this taking place as he blew into an imaginary set of bagpipes.

Eventually it was Beach time.
The rain had stopped.
It was 9 a.m.
After a Horse and Dog commotion at the access ramp,
( The dogs in question belonged to the horse-riders. ) they headed down to the wide expanse of the beach.

The Beach was fairly quiet, the tide low.

There wasn't a breath of wind or the whisper of a breeze.
Even out in the Bay the Wind Turbines stood motionless.
A Man and a Dog looked like a random chair.

A few finds, thanks to the Shingle scatterings.

They went the Dunes to Stack the two stones.
The Sea Serpent appeared.
A family group headed South, a young lad straggled at the back of the group.
It was fairly obvious that he was in his own little world.
They were walking the Dog; he was a Pirate; Captain Black Boots. (He was wearing Wellingtons.)
He fought off invaders with an invisible sword, whilst splashing in sea-water pools.
As they faded from view Beach Buoy noted that the invaders had won; the Captain was laid flat on his back in one of the deeper pools, much to his Mother displeasure;soaked to the skin and a long walk back ...

 As a Child, Beach Buoy never did get a pair of those shoes with a compass in the heel and animal tracks on the soles.
WAYFINDER SHOES
Nevertheless, some tracks are easily identifiable.
ABOVE: A Horse.

A Large Dog...

Stubborn Dog and Beach Buoy.

As they left the Beach, a Large Cargo Ship left the River setting Sail for Christmas.

All aboard!

😑
BEACH BUOY.

23 DECEMBER 2019. SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL.

Beach Buoy grabbed one of his new, colourful books for his beach notes.
The lighter days are here now.
The old black book consigned to a draw.

It was 7-50 a.m. when he and Stubborn Dog reached the Beach Car Park.
The air was still and chilly.
The tide was well out, leaving lots of wet sand, for what light there was to be reflected.
Another early morning bad news siren echoed along the Sea Front.
As they reached the wet sand, the Church Bells rang out for 8 a.m.

The Beach was deserted as they headed south towards the light show.

A random piece of shipwreck sticks out when the tide is low enough.
The inward tide would soon reclaim it.

They continued on.
Before the Grey Rocks they headed up to the Dunes for a bit of stack stacking.

They returned to the beach.
Beach Buoy looked at the 60 metre or so exposed Dune Bank.
In warmer months it is home to Sand Martins.
Beach Buoy is looking forward to seeing them and hearing their mates; The Skylarks once they all appear.  

Behind the Pier, the sky glowed like embers of an almost spent  bonfire or furnace as the Sun struggled to break free from the clouds that hung nearby.

Beach Buoy collected a couple of pieces of sea pottery on the way back.
He released them back into the wild.

As per normal, on the journey back, the Beach became much  busier.
Two people, with Pugs.
A Lady with a White and Black Border Collie.
Yes, White and Black,
It looked like a negative of the usual Border Collie Type with White and Black doing a swap.

Later Beach Buoy, Scooby- Dooed the dashboard box and added a Whitby lifeboat Pencil
It's the Law.....


BEACH BUOY.

22 DECEMBER 2019. SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL.

It had rained overnight.
It was 7-30 a.m. when they reached the Beach Car Park.
Beach Buoy had to peel Stubborn Dog off the nest he had made himself in the back of the van.

The tide was well out.
It was mild.
It was a fine line between misty and foggy. 
As per normal, Mari the large Poodle came bounding over from the 7 a.m club.

Beach Buoy stacked the stack up in the dunes and then headed for the Pier.

It was 8-15 a.m.
The Beach was deserted.
The gloom had claimed the Wind Turbines, The Headland too.

Seaweed.

More Seaweed.

Time to head back.
One man and his Dog are in the distance

Stubborn Dog was extra stubborn today.
He stops, looks you straight in the eyes  as if to say...
'Made you stop.'

Being stubborn can be very tiring.

BEACH BUOY.

THE OLD MAN

This day many many many years ago The Old Man
died.
It was sudden.
It was a dark time on the day that the days become lighter with more daylight hours; minute by minute.
That picture above was his favourite.
Beach Buoy and him had been on a shrimping trip in Middleton Bay. 

Middleton again.
L to R
Duke the Dog.
The Old Man.
Beach Buoy.

The Old Man never reached retirement age.
Would think he would like to have had a sea view,
in a Home by the Sea.
Maybe he is there now.

BEACH BUOY....

(He hated Green.)

SEATON SANDS 21 DEC. 2019.

5-15 a.m.
Beach Buoy was awake.
He made Coffee and went on the computer to do some blog alterations as he waited for the light to come.
6-55a.m. 
It was still dark, but Beach Buoy made a move.
He faffed.
Eventually he put on his boots near the front door.
Seagulls could be heard outside.
Beach Buoy was unsure if they were flying or just pushing wheelbarrows around that were in need of oil.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog reached the Beach Car Park at 7-35 a.m.
He closed the dirty van door; a wash on the cards later.

They made their way down the access ramp, passing a Promenade light as they did so, that seemed to be in favour independence for Scotland?

There was a chilly Breeze from the South West.
The first signs of daylight were appearing to the South.
The North meanwhile, had to do with the Orange glow of artificial light.
There were over one hundred seabirds down by the sea.
Beach Buoy skirted around them.
The Birds were leaving the Beach in twos and threes; most probably the hungriest first?
Shortly afterwards there was a mass exodus; they were all airborne, all hungry.
The 7 a.m. club came into view on their return journey.
Three dogs came over today to say hello; two of them getting a fuss. 

A C Moon still shone brightly as did it's reflection on the wet sand.
Beach Buoy took some stones up to the stack and then he admired the view from the Dunes.
The  Grey Sea was fairly calm.
The South Westerly breeze blew the cloud scenery across the Bay as if preparing for a play for today.
A jogger enters stage left.
He is running to the Pier in shorts.
Beach Buoy returns to the Beach and also heads to the Pier, while the tide still allows it to be.
Beach Buoy's pace is slower than the Joggers and he is covered in a few more layers.

By the time the Jogger passes Beach Buoy on his return journey, his southbound footprints have been smoothed over by the tide; soon they will be gone,

The Sea Serpent said Hello as Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog said their Goodbyes.
The artificial Orange light to the North had been replaced by one of the fifty shades of grey.
They headed back to the van to the sound of shouty, dog whistle man.
(Buy a lead!)

They rested on the Damp Promenade Wall.
Around twenty Seagulls circled overhead like Vultures waiting for death.
Thankfully they drifted South looking for a likely victim.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS, 20 DECEMBER 2019.

It was a day off.
It was almost mid-day when Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog arrived in the Beach Car Park. (8-15 a.m.)
The Beach Car Park extension work was carrying on.
Orange clad men, vehicles with Orange lights moved around behind the site barriers.
Thankfully only the lights were flashing.

It was a mild and milky morning with a slight breeze from the South.

As they headed South, they spotted a number of Oyster Catchers resting, down by the water's edge.
Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog swung up to the Dunes so as not to disturb them.
Once well clear of the birds they returned to the Beach and it's water's edge.
A dog-less man approached from the North as Beach Buoy stood to admire the bay.
It became clear that the man had no intention of giving the birds a wide berth, moments afterwards they were gone and he had passed by.
Each to their own.

The scatter man had gone, when a Seal came to say hello.
It was fishing in the shallows with a cloud of hopeful Seagulls hovering overhead.
No wonder those fishermen on Berwick Pier, back in the summer had called them Labradors

Beach Buoy stood watching as the Seal swam South, then back to the North.
Beach Buoy headed back up to the Dunes to add to the stack.
Then slowly walked back.
The Bay was so Silvery, that it felt like the Moon was covering a shift for the Sun, so that it could have a day off.

The Beach was becoming busy.

The Village Church Bells chimed for 9-30 a.m. as Beach Buoy slapped his beach boots on the Car Park surface to clear some of the sand from them as his sat on the step of the van.
Beach Buoy is not overly keen on Christmas.
Such a sad time of year.
Too many people struggling, too many trying to cope.
At least there are some days off, lighter days are a Seal's whisker away too.
Time to enjoy what time there is.
Beach Buoy has seen where he fits in the jigsaw and he is OK with it.
Life's conveyor belt trundles on, it all depends on which part of the belt you have as a seat.

Beach Buoy.