The strangest things upon the beach you find
Like shiny shells and tangled fishing lines
There are towels and umbrellas of multiple designs
And bathers trying to avoid tan lines
Donuts and candy floss, they’re there too
But I still can’t find my missing shoe
Padre
Off a coastal town the trawler did list
A problem revealed – previously missed
But through the early morning mist
Came the life-boatmen ready to assist
The mariners could on them rely –
All in a day’s work for the RNLI
Padre
My wife and I had a nice visit to the seaside while I was attending a union conference. Bournemouth has an interesting combination of beaches and the usual British coastal amusements and a very hilly terrain which for someone more familiar with Great Yarmouth was a bit of an adjustment.
We stayed at the Hilton which we found very welcoming and convenient especially as it has its own parking. We had a meal at a lovely southern African restaurant called Zimbraai which my wife enjoyed as a “taste of home” and took our other dinners in the hotel’s own Schpoons and Forx restaurant which had lovely attentive service and a really friendly manager who is from Italy. The room was large and clean and had both a fridge and a spacious safe that was large enough to store laptops, etc.
The Observation Wheel is directly in front of the pier on Bournemouth Beach. Tickets are £6, or £5 for seniors, and the views are good making it a nice little addition to the seaside visit.
There is a land train which runs both east and west along the seafront from Bournemouth Pier and which stops also at the Boscombe Pier. An all day adult ticket is £6.50 and does allow some easy and inexpensive transport along the attractions on the beach.
The Bournemouth Oceanarium is one of those attractions which I guess makes the seaside the seaside. This aquarium has a number of exhibits and sports such things as clown fish, sharks, and penguins. It costs £14.50 (adults) or £12.50 (seniors), family ticket are also available.
Add in an ice cream on the beach, and I think we have a complete seaside adventure (I will write about the boat trip to Poole in another post).
Padre
Awash
Afloat
Drifting free
Sun
And water
Just for me
Total relaxation
Drifting free
Perfect vacation
By the sea
Padre
The wind sweeps across the dunes
And waves break upon the shore
Barren yet beautiful the scene calls
The hear to seek to spend there a moment more
To leave and return to the realm of men
The daily rush of commerce
Seems not so much a life real
But something quite inverse
So give me but a minute more
That my soul with nature can converse
Padre
On come the breakers
Unrelenting – no mercy given
Kings cannot command them
And the coast their savage bite does feel
Though a thing of beauty
Greens and blues tipped with foamy white spray
They, jagged like saw’s teeth
Eat the land away
On come the breakers
No one can resist the tide
Neptune’s assault on Tellus
Sweeps the sands aside
—————-
Padre
Harbour quiet – far from the bustle of the day
Waters tranquil lapping upon the shore
Night’s chill breath adds to the still
Awaiting dawn and the quayside’s awakening
No nocturnal moorings made
To disturb the sleeping anchorage
It is in this moment that I can find peace
As the harbour rests
Padre
A dune-way path straight to the sea
No need to brave loose sand and tangled grass
Such ease delivered to a traveller’s way
What more can a beach-goer ask?
And yet there are some who would the rough way go
To experience the natural ways of to-s and fro-s
As for me the boardwalk I’ll take
For my achy old knee’s sake
Padre
_____________________
Padre
MorgueFIle March2020 b8609bb286958f154ff5c03730f61fc4
“I really don’t believe this,” Barbara said in exasperation.
“Just keep looking,” her husband, Dan urged.
“I am,” she snapped, her irritation at the situation rising.
“Are you sure this is the right area?” Dan’s sister, Karen asked.
“Yes, Honey, it’s right where Jeff Junior said,” her partner assured her.
“Well we better hurry up,” Barbara huffed. “The sun’s setting and the tide’s coming in. I can’t believe Little Jeff would have buried his own cousin in the sand like this, and then leave her!”
(84 words)
Padre
FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER
Padre's Ramblings 