At Scarborough: Lunch break....x

The donkeys on Scarborough beach have an uncanny sense of timing. Come one o'clock, they become tetchy, individually breaking away from the group. Its their lunch break and they know it. It's a kind of work to rule manoeuvre, in donkey terms.

They spend the morning obediently carrying their small passengers up and down the sand. There's a rule, that no one over 8 stone may sit on a donkey now on this beach. It's a rule that upsets some parents, especially in a growing population of obese children. The Fishers Donkeys have worked the beach for generations, winning awards from 'The Donkey Sanctuary' for their quality of care to their long eared friends. Melanie Fisher and her staff have the right attitude. Without prioritising the care of their animals, they wouldn't have a business. "It's all about the donkeys". It sure is.

I watch them settle down to a filled nose bag of mixed muesli type feed. The pigeons settle near them, hoping for a grain or two. These wise friends, unsaddled and unbridled and free on the beach, have a lunch break to rest. Some roll in the sand. Children hope to stroke them, whilst their eating. The owners insist this is hands off time. It's great to see people talking horse, (or in this case donkey) language. It makes lots of sense...x

Ps: coincidently, the building to the back left is a old Victorian hospital. People used to come and conveless by the seaside...... Great Victorian thinking......x