When one lives inland, being by the sea is always extra special. The sea is therapeutic. It is vast and it has many moods. Its tides are like a metronome, beating out the rhythms of our lives. Inhaling or exhaling or pulsing like the hearts inside our chests. I love the sea.
I love the shoreline where birds swoop or seem to dance and also I love the pebbles, the shells, the flotsam and jetsam, the seaweed fronds, the fact that you can write things in the sand, the smell of the salty air, the wind in your hair, the changing light upon the surface of a bay, white waves gently lapping or thundering like mighty aquatic beasts. Yes, I love the sea.
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| Words on a window in The Turner Contemporary at Margate |
The sea reminds us that this planet is mostly water. You could easily forget that when you live inland. 71% of our Earth's surface is water and 60% of any living human being is water. It is who we are.
And the sea has hidden depths where the creatures of the sea roam or cling to reefs. There are wrecks from long ago and caves and much of the life that dwells down there remains to be discovered. We send rocket ships into outer space when we still don't really know the seas that surround us. Perhaps it is best that way - allowing the sea to remain a domain of mystery and intrigue.
We are back from the north coast of Kent where The North Sea meets The Thames. And to accompany this blogpost I have included a few more pictures from the birthday weekend.
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| Beach huts at Tankerton |
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| Organist in the parish church, Faversham |
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| At Reculver on the north coast of Kent |
The sea and I are not great bedfellows. Give me terrafirma every time. I can admire and respect her but sailing, no.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos.
I wonder why the sea is a she and not a he.
DeleteI suppose the same goes for Mother Earth.
DeleteI see the sea as the mother of us all.
DeleteI didn't know there was a Tate in Margate! And I've been there!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, as always. I have a friend who's done a lot of photography in Whitstable and indeed it seems very photogenic. Lots of colorful beach sheds.
Excuse me? I said The Turner Contemporary - not The Tate!*
DeleteHave you been to Whitstable? A quirky and likeable place in spite of the whiteness.
*= cunning attempt to conceal my error.
Ha! Well, I didn't know the Turner Contemporary was there, either. So I was none the wiser. :)
DeleteI love black and white photos, so much more atmospheric than the same scene in colour. I agree with you about being near the sea, although I don't much like being ON it. We can see a scrap of the Irish Sea from our windows and I find it very soothing to just sit and look at it.
ReplyDeleteHaving only dipped into your blog a few times, I don't know where you are blogging from. Do you live on Mount Snowdon?
DeleteNot quite....Isle of Man
DeleteThat's nice. We went there and liked it. It's a world in itself and so much history, so much variety.
DeleteI don't think I have ever spent a night in Kent. It is a county to be passed through on the way to Dover and beyond.
ReplyDeleteYou could say the same about Lewis - a peninsula to pass through on the way to Harris!
DeleteThe black and white one is my favourite pucture of this post.
ReplyDeleteYes, human fascination with water runs deep, be it a river, lake, the sea or just a small 'water feature' in someone's garden. I love the sea, too, but it's been years since I have last seen it. I like it in all seasons and types of weather, not necessarily wanting to be in the water; just walking along it or looking out to it is soothing.
Have you not got time to re-visit Scarborough, Whitby...or maybe Saltburn-by-the-Sea?
DeleteI like the ocean too and cannot imagine not living close to it, but I tend more to admire it from a distance, or at least the shore. I have a fear of drowning far in excess of any good reason to.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, that sentence ended with a preposition. Tough :)
I think the rule that a sentence must not end with a preposition is stupid.
DeleteRules are meant to be broken !
Delete" Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put." Churchill.
Thanks for sharing that Helen. Clever.
DeleteI spent two years on the coast. It's a time we often talk about. we were prairie people and were not familiar with the sea.
ReplyDeleteAnd you really were an inland guy! Raised so many miles from the sea that it must have seemed like a fantasy.
DeleteBoy! You certainly are on a roll with your posts...and I've been too flat-out to catch up on them...as you appear to have been in responding to some comments. I will take some time out to read what you've been up to...which is a lot from appearances!
ReplyDelete"Boy!"? No Lee, I am a man!
DeleteI wish we lived a bit closer to the coast, I love the seaside. Great photo of the Whitstable Oyster boat.
ReplyDeleteYou could play bingo at Skeggy or ride on Mablethorpe's world famous sand train.
DeleteI know Whitstable well
ReplyDeletebitter sweet memories now
I wonder if you will ever go back to that corner of England. Perhaps not.
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