By some unplanned quirk of fate, we spent several separate days in January, February and March beside the seaside.
Brighton - a wonderful day out with a unique art opportunity - beach art using timbers washed up from a recent cargo ship sinking - see my Flickr photo.
Southend - last time I went there I must have been about nine or ten, having travelled down the Thames by boat from London with my granddad; this time around we walked the pier (the longest in the world), watched the gulls feeding on worms as the tide turned, enjoyed the nostalgia of seaside childhood days, and had some wonderful fish and chips and a mug of tea.
Sheerness - across the Thames from Southend - not quite so romantic but a place I'd never really been to before; managed a long-time ambition to visit Wheelans, a concrete ornament manufacturer that attracts visits from miles around. The things I aspire to!
Folkestone - we paid a return visit following our previous visit about twelve months ago. Apart from a lovely plate of cockles, it was disappointing to see a number of artists shops and galleries in the Old Town that had closed down. I'm convinced that Folkestone will start re-developing rapidly in the next eighteen months but, until then, I suspect that artists will continue to struggle. More info here.
Durdle Door, Dorset. We ended up here on the day of the "Great Storm of 2008" - our trip was previously scheduled and went ahead despite the weather because of other arrangements - see my Flickr photos.
Hythe, Kent - not quite the seaside, but we spent a wonderful evening with friends who have a flat in Hythe High Street. Leaving the local pub after a blow-out meal of fish and chips (not good for the cholesterol but wonderful for the soul [I had cod]), we stepped out into a mist-shrouded empty night-time street. Dr Syn and his smuggling fraternity immediately came to mind - The Gentlemen is a song by the Signing Loins based upon the poem by Rudyard Kipling.
