"Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside ..."

It's nice at my age to discover new treats.  Yesterday I went to the seaside.  Normally, I wouldn't dream of going anywhere near a seaside resort.  I would constantly be reminded of the words of a great friend of Noel Coward who was one of the men rescued from the beach at Dunkirk in 1940 and who, on reaching London, immediately made for the Ritz Bar to find his 'chums'.  Asked what it was like, he replied 'my dears, it was quite dreadful, the noise, the heat - the people!'  Anyway, as part of a reconnaissance for a forthcoming visit from Czech friends we went first to Corfe Castle.  Now I have an inbuilt dislike of visiting old buildings.  Usually it is the 'Memsahib' who drags me off to various country homes - which are no longer homes because the 'National bloody Socialist Trust' has taken them over and they are now dim, gloomy mausoleums filled with atrocious 'art'.  However, Corfe Castle is a bit different.

 

This really is "one of the ruins that Cromwell knocked about a bit".  A long and bloody history, and it shows, as you can see from the photo, which ended in disaster and if you are in the region it is well worth a look.

Anyway, from there, we went on to Swanage which is your archetypal English seaside town. 

On second thoughts, perhaps it is not so typical because it is somewhat off the beaten track and whilst it was busy it lacked the influx of the dreaded 'coach parties'!  The sandy beach was 'busy-busy' but not uncomfortably so.  We hired a couple of deckchairs and sat amongst the holiday makers and their squealing children and amazingly I did not find myself wishing for a Kalashnikov in order to mow them all down.  Instead, the background laughter and chat and the happy cries of the children was intensely relaxing.  There is something about the ambience of people quietly enjoying themselves that is very pleasant - yes, I know, I should get out more!  I enjoyed some other long-lost pleasures, too, because I had an ice-cream in a cone and joined the 'nippers' in watching an excellent Punch and Judy show.  I just hope my Shakespeare marathon this weekend is as good.  Mind you, sitting there watching Punch deal with the crocodile and joining in with the kids in shouting warnings at the puppets, I was reminded of Will's melancholy premonition of the life cycle:

Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Anyway, a quite magical day, and perhaps I will try and get out more!

 

Comments

[dearieme]

Rather a lot of my insight-laden missives are being rejected by your blog. Error something-or-other. Or perhaps Barackmandias's CIA at work.

[David Duff]

Sorry about that, 'DM'. If it has just started recently - last 2-3 weeks - it may be because I have begun using my 'Block List' to thwart those bloody spammers. However, I have checked your IP Address number against theirs and there is no similarity, so I am puzzled. If it continues, 'DM', please let me know and the details of what the machine says so that I can pass it on to those delicious blonde babes in California, with whom, I fancy, I am beginning to cut a dash!

If anyone else has similar difficulties please contact me - me e-mail is on the blog.

[JK]

I've noticed it too David. It would 'appear' to be that pesky 5th digit/letter in the cryptogram -far too shady for me to make out. But then (to ensure D&N doesn't miss any bit of my extraordinary wisdom) if the first effort is not successful - I 'copy & paste' then try (then get my magnifying glass) and try again.

[David Duff]

Gentlemen, that is, 'DM' and 'JK', I think I have it!

It you write in the 'Comment' box and then leave it for too long before posting your comment, it will de-activate and not allow you to post and you will have to start again.

If you have written half of a comment (or all of it) and then go off for tea or whatever, then the 'Comment' box will automatically de-activate in your absence. To save time, just swipe and copy what you have written, and then click on the 'Refresh' button, which will clear your unfinished comment and provide you with a new 'Comment' box, then paste in what you had previously written. However, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, if you paste in what you have previously written YOU MUST TYPE IN JUST ONE EXTRA CHARACTER, anything will do, in order to re-activate the new 'Comment' box - you can always delete it prior to posting.

'JK', I'm not quite sure what you're getting at but if the cryptogram is not clear just keep clicking 'Post' and it will provide new numbers/letters in different styles until you find one that is legible.

Please let me know if that helps - or not!