WEDNESDAY 13 OCT 2021. SEATON SANDS and MIDDLETON.

It was a day off.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog reached the beach car park at 6-58 a.m.

Beach Buoy recognised Mr. Gunn / Nunn's car as well The Distant Wave Lady's.

It was around half an hour to sunrise, give or take.

Beach Buoy sat in the van drinking coffee from a thermal mug.

A five strong 7 a.m. club passed as down by the water's edge, as a man who walked the car park wearing headphones passed too.

 He was up on the promenade,  for a moment they were all aligned.

A jogging silhouette passed the 7 a.m. club's 

silhouettes.

 No doubt they exchanged silhouette "Mornings."

One more sip of coffee, then Beach Buoy and Another Dog joined the clockwork beach.

The headphone man passed once more as they headed for the beach access ramp.

It was lighter now.

A couple left the beach, stomp stomping on the concrete access ramp, as they tried to clear their shoes of sand.

They headed south, keeping the edge of the dune by their side.

There was a slight breeze from the west.

The tide was 50/50.

A couple and their Border Collie were up ahead, near the water's edge.

The Dog was running around and round in circles.

It went and sat in the sea. 

After a while, they headed down to the water's edge.

A flock of Geese passed overhead.

The Geese looked a little lost.

They sounded like a flock of children who had been given a bike for Christmas, each bike having a horn.

Each sounding their horn.

Beach Buoy headed for 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

The Distant Wave Lady  approached from the south.

They chatted a short while, extolling the joy of unexpected or extra days off.

The lady and Hugo the dog headed north.

 Beach Buoy collected some beach stones

and climbed the dune edge to see his old beach friend.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

"Morning Mate."

he placed the beach stones.

he patted 

THE 

stone.

They stood and watched the Sun clear the low cloud.

They said a goodbye to Stubborn Dog before heading back to the beach.

Beach Buoy was glad of the stack and what it meant, it didn't make leaving any easier.

The Geese had finally decided on a direction in which to fly; it was North.

The novelty of new bike horns still hadn't worn off.

It was a lovely morning.

They had a very very slow walk back.

Long sunshine shadows walked ahead of them.

They are so much more welcome than streetlight shadows.

A lady with a small brown dog walked by.

Another Dog did the me, me, me dance.

"Aw."

Another Dog reached for her clipboard.

"Fluffy." ✅

"Gorgeous." ✅

"What's her name?"

"Ruby."

"Aw her name is gorgeous too." ✅

They headed back to the van.

Later, with Borrowed Dog onboard, they headed for Middleton.

A lot of years since these tracks were used.

Middleton Beach.

Sea Cadet Boats at Hartlepool Marina.

Little boat, big engine.

BEACH BUOY.

 

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL. 12 OCT 2021.

 

SUNDAY, 10 OCT. 2021. SEATON SANDS. AND CLEVELAND HILLS.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog reached the 

Beach Car Park at 6-51 a.m.

It was a cloudless sky.

Cloudless  apart from a line along the horizon, looking like a far-off mountain range.

The 7 a.m. club were already heading back to the north, having just finished a water's edge chat.

The tide was quite high.

There was a fresh breeze from the north.

Beach Buoy had pulled a thin but waterproof coat out from the van's locker before he had set off.

It was enough to stop the chill.

Beach Buoy counted six aeroplane vapour trails.

He didn't count the one hundred and two Gulls that headed north, across the bay.

The beach suddenly felt like a makeshift air traffic control tower.

"Maintain current speed, altitude and directions,...

Mind that gull!."

                                                                                          

                                                        

                                                                                

There was no Thud! of waves today. 

The sea shuffled in like a deck of blue playing cards with torn, damaged edges, the white  of the tear showing through.

The Sea Serpent Hunt boat had just turned up on site once more.

"Hands Off Snookie."

"Snookie Hands off.

They headed up to 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

"Morning Mate."

he added beach stones before patting 

THE 

stone.

It was 7-34 a.m. 

The sun had just cleared  the low cloud.

Beach Buoy watched The Sea Serpent searchers.

Snookie was way too smart  for them.

The sun climbed.

It seemed to form a triangle in the Bay.

Beach Buoy could hear the voice of the distant wave lady down on the beach below.

People were dotted around the dune and water edges looking to capture that photograph.

Beach Buoy waited until the beach below fell silent.

"See you mate."

They headed back to the beach.

They began a slow walk back, back to the north, back to the van.

Mr Gunn / Nunn passed, heading south.

They chatted briefly. 

The sea had made mini cliffs  near to the dune edge.

____________________________________________________________________________________________









 

Another Dog enjoyed the space and wind in her face when they headed for the hills, later in the day.

Roseberry Topping to the left.

Beach Buoy could see Hartlepool Headland off in the distance.

Two Paragliders flew over Carlton Bank.

BEACH BUOY.

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL. SATURDAY. 09 OCT. 2021

Beach  Buoy and Another Dog left the house

 at 6-40 a.m.

It was around fifty minutes to sunrise.

The street lights were still lit, they looked like shower heads spraying mist onto the road below.

It was a damp start to the day.

Beach Buoy waited to turn right into the Beach Car Park as a train of headlights headed south, down Tees Road.

A car train of shift-workers and overtime seekers.

A random golfer left the track and turned left into the Golf Club.

Beach Buoy drove to his usual parking spot.

A cyclist passed, heading south on the Promenade.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog headed down the access ramp.

The cyclist had stopped.

He rested on the Promenade Wall and watched them walk down to the sea.

Beach Buoy wondered if he had bought a ticket?

A Border Collie couple walked south on the water's edge.

Beach Buoy and Another Dog went and stood by the sea.

They watched the ripples ripple.

The 7 a.m. club were heading back to the south.

"Morning."

"Morning Paul."

Two ladies overtook an ambling Beach Buoy and Another Dog.

The ladies were sunrise seekers.

The plonked themselves down on a driftwood bench; a large tree trunk.

It had been on the beach so long it was almost a fixture.

They sat, phones in hand waiting for that Sun.

There were some figures up at Stubborn Dog Stack.

Beach Buoy couldn't make out who it was.

It became clear that the figures were Fishermen.

Their fishing was done. 

Two headed back into the Dunes.

The other Fisherman headed down to the beach and headed North.

He had a bag on his back and a fishing rod in each hand.

"Glorious isn't it?."

"Lovely."

A small boat headed for The Sea Serpent Marker.

The Sea Serpent is no fool.

He will know to lay low for a while.

They headed up to 

Stubborn Dog Stack.

Beach Buoy placed six beach stones onto the pile.

"Morning Mate."

he patted 

THE

stone.

They watched The Sea Serpent Hunt, just offshore....

As they were stood, a couple climbed up the dune edge next to the stack,

"Morning."

Nothing... they just stared and walked south.

The morning mist was filling the dips in the Undulating Dunes.

It was a very atmospheres light that illuminated the Bay.

"See you mate."

They headed back to the beach.

The sun appeared.

It appeared seventeen minutes late.

Vapour trails crossed the sky like plotted courses, which of course they were.

The combination of the Bright Sun  with a Misty Bay gave the morning a wonderful feel.

Beach Buoy had to keep stopping to turn and look towards the light once more, then twice more etc.

As they were leaving the beach

Two leading members of the

"HANDS OFF SNOOKIE THE SEA SERPENT"

group stood and discussed the next plan of action.

They headed back to the Car Park.

The clatter of metal tubing as the Mobile Covid Test Centre was being set up, brought them back to reality

It had been both, a mystical and misty morning on the Beach.

BEACH BUOY.

 

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL 08 OCT 2021.

 

                                                                                      

SEATON SANDS, HARTLEPOOL. 07 OCT 2021