The calm before the storm. There is another named storm on its way. This is todays weather forecast. Last nights dog walk was a very peaceful affair.
Nativity and resin cows peacefully twinkling in a landscape with no wind.
Overnight the mood of the weather has switched from benign to malign and there was just a small window of opportunity to walk the dogs today. Serendipity and the forecast sent me out to the beach at the exact same time as some friends. So todays blog has four doggy companions enjoying Tranquility Bay before they are confined to the house by Storm Barra
So far so tranquil, lets see how peaceful tomorrow looks.
Evening dog walks are getting a lot more twinkly. I love this completely contemporary festive home. Nothing tacky about this house
This festive property takes a more traditional approach, and diligence to lightbulb placement. At home we have gone for something a little less ostentatious.
Our home window is a work in progress, the next stage is baubles in every shade of garish. Lime green and pink anyone?
It is not all about dog walks in lovely places and comfortable places to sleep. Sometimes Hugo and Lola believe that they are doing actual work. Here they are on car duty while we have a wee and grab a coffee.
Yesterday was pretty full on for them. Early morning house guarding duty while we went, with other bobbers, for what turned out to be the most disappointing ‘ bob’ of recent times. It was a really low tide so there was a good bit of rock scrambling before we even hit the water and then it was all a bit sea weedy for a while until we hit water deep enough to swim in. The dogs, of course, had to offer counselling and support when we returned.
After the car journey there were more dog responsibilities. Urban Squirrel watching.
When I was a teenager growing up in North East Essex, absolutely not the ‘cool’ or ‘trashy’ Essex of modern urban myths, I thought I lived in the Boondocks.
With only a few people of my own age,and even fewer of them that I actually knew, I imagined I was having the dullest adolescence ever. My internal imaginary life was vivid and full of colour, teenage passion and adventure. Real life not so much.
Travel, maturity, and now a lived experience of a Killer Pandemic, has made me recalibrate my thoughts on my adolescence and life in general. Some of my travel has taken me to actual Boondocks, making me realise my teenage years were actually giddy with opportunity. Only a few of which I took.
During the Pandemic many of us have lived a bit of a Boondocky existence, for various periods of local or national lockdowns.Venturing out only to take exercise or undertake essential tasks. People who actually live a Boondock life have possibly been the least affected.
Writing a daily blog since November 2019 has stretched my mind in all sorts of curious ways. If I were ever to find myself in an actual boondock or when I find myself in a mental boondock, I am obliged, to myself,to find something to ponder, this has been a valuable and enriching experience. Not one I am keen to give up any time soon.
Detail from stained glass window. Plymouth Synagogue
1st of December 2021, welcome December. Who knows quite how you will shape up pandemicwise or in general, something to ponder on, I’m sure.
New handrails to the sea. There have been some refurbished steps through the rocks into the sea for a couple of months. Yesterday the steps were fitted with new and much improved hand rails. Despite only being a small walk from our usual beach this access point can sometimes be safer if the sea is rough at high tide. The new handrails make it an even safer option. Yesterday Spearmint the seal also chose the safer option for her morning swim.
Flipping things even further a diver had to get out of the sea in order to take underwater photos of her.
For all of us winter swimming has properly started now. The cold water buzz is back.
Illumination in the countdown to Christmas. Rain, Petrol and a rusty gulley. Whats not to love! Rain was the predominant weather today and would have featured somehow. The plan was to write a bobbing blog with accompanying rain seascapes. Nature thwarted me. We met at high tide, which coincided with dreadful rain. We procrastinated a good bit. The thought of a plunge into cold water while being drenched by cold rain was not enticing. The precipitation was persistent but eventually we shrugged off our warm dry clothes to a certain fate of getting damp while we swam, not a great help when trying to dress. Beyond getting out and dry I had also planned some gorgeously grey shots of Plymouth Sound. When my hands had warned up enough to take a post swim photo the weather decided to put on its party face.
Not what I had planned at all but useful as another Illumination shot on the countdown to Christmas.
And there’s more.
You just can’t trust the weather, I’m sure to get gloom sometime soon
There are two static cranes preserved at the Royal William Yard a nod to the former industrial/naval history of this location. As we get nearer to Christmas the area is getting a little bit busier in the early evening as we go for our twilight walk. As part of my countdown to Christmas all I need to do is walk to the other side of the crane.
A burst of cerise lighting lights up the cab. To be fair the cab is lit up all year round but now the days are so short the illumination is a key location on my evening stroll. By complete contrast our morning outing was illuminated with some gorgeous sunshine.
I had known for a little while that this particular blog was going to be about illumination because I had tickets to attend an illumination festival in the Royal William Yard.What I hadn’t expected was that the sunset over our evening swim would be quite so spectacular. Just a tiny tweak on the saturation of this image brought out all these gorgeous colours.
After drying off and warming up we set off to visit the area around Ocean Studios which was the location of Illuminate.
Like lots of things this event has been postponed a few times.
Many of the illuminations were similar to previous years but a new one was a fabulous, luminescent squid called Bobby Dazzler by Kate Crawford and Beth Munro. Visitors were invited to add embelishment to Bobby with fingertips dabbed in luminescent paint.
Outside we could write on a graffiti wall. My rookie error was to seek out a clear piece of wall to advertise this blog without checking the appropriateness of the surrounding marks.
Also new to Illuminate were the thousands of bugs and moths fluttering in the breeze to remind us that we must protect biodiversity and species around the world. There was also the luxury of a cafe serving decent quality late night coffee, always a bonus!
The architecture of the Grade 1 listed buildings lends added texture to projected videos.
And although I failed to record a video the musical pipes and interactive lights were fascinating. Although not particularly musical in our hands.
Returning just for a final comment and illumination to our sunset swim. Here I am wearing my night swimming hat which was a birthday gift last week.
Sunbay morning walk. Meeting and natterings with morning swimmers whilst we were snug and warm in the many layers that are required for an early morning dog walk. Knowing full well that this bright and beautiful morning will progress to an equally bright and beautiful sunset which is when we will plunge into the chilly waters of Firestone Bay for our weekend swim.
I suspect there was a frost this morning, the autumn leaves on the pavements looked a bit ravaged and damp when we set off. They still held a myriad of messages for the dogs to sniff and respond to, which slowed us down a good bit. As did searching for an autumn coloured dog poo ( or two) in the pile of leaves that was chosen for the morning elimination.
There is a new character hanging around in our changing area, taking in the sun while straddling a nail and a limpet shell.
Up early and boosted,plus a flu injection. A very good way to start my day. A slightly unusual location of a football club with the bonus of watching 15 or so very small footballers taking practice shots and fitness stretches ready for a big match. I had forgotten the earnestness that 10 year old boys dedicate to their favourite sport. A little blog with gratitude for research and the NHS.
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