A pretty sight, and NOT a pretty sight!

It might have been the Med today, even the grey old North Sea had a tinge of blue and not a cloud in the sky, but it was just Felixstowe with a lovely breeze keeping the temperature to a comfortable level.

This plump old whale waving (not drowning) is me in for a swim, Gawd knows why Col zoomed in so close! People with beach huts who are regular swimmers there say the sea is much warmer than usual for mid July.

Thanks for comments on the last blog post.
It's quite a few years since we went to Hay-on-Wye and some of the second-hand bookshops have disappeared. I noticed more shops selling new books along with the second-hand and now you have to pay 20p for the toilets too!


Back in a day or 3
Sue

More views from a beach hut

On a clear day, it's possible to just make out the huge offshore wind farm further down the coast














This boat isn't the RNLI or coastguard but Felixstowe Volunteer Coastal Patrol Rescue Service.
Formed in 1997 to make up for a gap in coverage by coastguards. We've seen it a couple of times on Sundays, zooming along between yacht clubs in the River Orwell and the River Deben






 Both the above were taken a few weeks ago but today we managed to get down to the beach hut again, although there wasn't a lot happening out at sea. Just a few yachts and this wind surfer.

 Although lovely and sunny the wind was really cold and if we had known before I packed up lunch just how chilly it was and that we were going to have to come back to the hospital for 4pm we possibly would have stayed at home where it was about 10 degrees warmer. The hospital thing was for Col to have another platelet infusion, they hadn't got any in for him when he went in for a blood test earlier this morning on our way to Felixstowe.

Last week our son printed off some pictures of baby Jacob and took them in to Col in hospital  to show to all the nurses ( he's been in hospital so many times in 6 months that practically all the Somersham ward staff know our whole life history!). M printed off 2 sets, so on Sunday we invited Col's dad and brother over for tea so they could see their great grandson/nephew and pick up one set of photos to take home.They were also able to look at all the other photos of Jacob on various peoples facebook pages.


 Thank you to everyone for gnome comments and Lizzie asked how life compares generally, living in town compared to the countryside. I think the answer deserves a whole post on it's own........I'll work on it.

Back soon
Sue

We go down to the sea again, the lonely sea and the sky

Yesterday with Col still waiting to go for the 6th chemo cycle and the weather not too bad we packed some lunch and nipped down to the beach hut.
It was deserted, except for dog walkers and walkers without dogs

Took my big camera and zoomed in on this big ol' gull

The windbreak is ours - not a soul in sight at any of the other huts( except a man doing repairs down the end)

 Sailors going into the sailing club on the River Deben

The sandbank is Felixstowe side of the Deben and the trees in the distance are Bawdsey on the other side of the river Bawdsey is famous for being the birthplace of Radar during WWII

The post title comes with apologies to John Masefield!

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Back Tomorrow

Sue

In which we enjoy some warmth

What a beautiful Sunday, of course we went to the beach hut, it would have been silly not to.

We solved the walking to the loo problem at the beach hut by borrowing a small wheelchair from Colin's sister, she had it in a shed at her house to use when their Dad visits and she can push him down the lane to visit neighbours, but as she said they could always go by car on the odd occasion  this happens and we won't need to borrow it forever - We hope.
There are a few  steps on the way to and from  the car park to negotiate but he can get out for those and pushing him up the slope is a good work-out for me.

Here is another glimpse of beach hut life to tease you. The hut came complete with the cushions, so I just took  the covers off and brought them home to wash. There is a storage box/seat each side of the hut and these have long foam filled cushions. Unfortunately when the covers of these were washed they shrunk and  I had to cut an inch off the width of the foam to get it back in the covers and even then they are a bit of a tight fit.

Poor Col has to stay covered and in the shade due to the chemo but he prefers the shade anyway, it's me who likes to soak up the sun - suitably covered in a high factor sun cream of course. Luckily the hut also came with wind break, a wooden frame to fit the windbreak into so it can stand on the concrete forecourt and a parasol.

I feel so lucky to have spotted it for sale and it's so good to have the time to use it after all our busy, busy years on the smallholding and campsite.

Back in a jiffy
Sue

Beach hut life

Back Soon
Sue

The view from a shed

I just bought a shed

   Not any old shed

    But a wooden shed by the sea

   Otherwise known as a Beach Hut

I am very

Here is the view

It was a bit chilly today

Back when I've warmed up

Sue