POSTCARD FROM SUNNY SKEGGIE

Today we went to sunny Skegness - to the seaside - and had a great time. Mark took us first of all to the North Sea Observatory at Chapel St Leonard, where we had a good lookout over the sea, after which we walked along the beach in glorious sunshine - and I was especially pleased to see some colourful beach huts.

If we had taken our swimming cossies, we might even have been tempted to go for a swim, but skinny dipping was not on the agenda even though it was Silly Saturday - and Mr HCB and Avril refused to paddle so I had to be content with watching four children “jumping the waves”.

We visited Mark’s father, who lives in Skegness and had the picnic that Avril had prepared in his living room! He made us very welcome and I thought he was very brave entertaining four of us. I especially enjoyed chatting to him about his young life - no doubt it was very quiet once we had all left.

After that it was off to Gibraltar Point, a coastal nature reserve where we did a circular walk from the car park down to the salt marshes then along the beach and back to the Visitor Centre. Mr HCB was happy that through his binoculars he could watch skylarks, oyster catchers, cormorants, chaffinches, black headed gulls, warblers, a kestrel and even saw a whitethroat. He also told us that he could see about twenty or thirty seals on a sandbank in The Wash.

I rather liked the wind turbines, which is why I’ve added one to the collage. I realise there isn’t a photograph of me but I was too busy taking photographs!

We are so grateful to Mark and Avril for making us so welcome - more excitement tomorrow - we will be going with them to their church in Spalding when there will be three baptisms by full immersion.

Today has made us realise how much we miss the sea - we really must visit the seaside more often.

”How foolish to believe
we are more powerful
than the sea or the sky.“
Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea