The kids (I can’t say boys any more since little miss Laoise arrived) and I have decamped to my parents’ place, the house I grew up in in sunny seaside Duncannon to take advantage of our little heatwave (and the childcare assistance) for a few days. We went to the beach with an auntie in tow too today and yesterday, and even managed a picnic in Tintern Abbey this morning and a magic and puppet show in the Strand Tavern last night. The boys say their holiday has been BRILLIANT, Babygirl is oblivious.
Sometimes I forget how beautiful my homeplace is, and then I come down in this weather, 20 years after I first moved out and I fall in love with the view and the sound of the sea and forget my teenage complaints about how remote it is and how far from everything and everywhere. What I resented then is part of its appeal now.
The view from the front door
I met people I’ve known all my life on the beach and we talked about the long ago summers of my childhood when it was warm and the beach was this packed every day. I chatted with a “local businessman”(my younger brother’s friend) and his lovely other half who kindly helped push a beached car out of the dry sand and we noted the approach of visitors to driving on the beach and I promised to blog about this, but he declined the offer of a free plug and mention here.
So, to spoil the nostalgia two bits of advice for beach visitors to make it more fun for everyone. Happy heatwave everyone, don’t forget the suncream, sunhat, sunshade, water and all the other responsibility that goes with it.
Make memories while the sun shines:)
1. Driving on the beach- avoid the dry sand, keep moving, keep slow- so many cars were going much too fast near the water’s edge with small children everywhere.
2. Digging holes- this requires a bit of looking into the future. Your kids dig big holes when the tide is very, very far out. You go home. The tide comes in and the 2 metre diameter, 50 centimetre deep hole becomes a traffic obstacle, which means that cars have to drive on the dry sand (see 1 above). We filled in some of the holes (mostly in case people thought we’d dug them) but if you’re being thoughtful get the kids to fill very big or very deep ones before you leave.
