under another sun

L and I up early in a frenzy of organisation. Having lain on the sofa snoozing after Sunday lunch instead of packing and doing all the things we needed to do. Eventually we set off to drive to Swanage. Lots of traffic jams on the way, meant the journey took a ridiculous four hours. We stopped at one point for coffee and tea at a service station which turned out to be a Little Chef and were told that there was no food for at least half an hour. So we just had slowly delivered beverages, like going back to the 1970s. Eventually arrived in Swanage, starving and drove around town for some time searching for a place to park. Lucked out eventually and after strolling along the rather lovely beach, with lots of red-nosed holidaymakers scarfing fish and chips to a cafe where we had to wait ages for food. The sound of the Punch and Judy man encouraging people to his tent using his swozzle drifting down the beach.  We had to wait for the right time before we could drop our stuff off. The b...

Summer lightning Wrote happily about skeletons all day, and keeping a low profile. In the evening, after watching a TV programme about Guyana's wildlife, I noticed the sky flashing with distant lightning. So I headed down to the seafront, getting drenched en route, but glorying in the light show. Walking in the stair rod rain I kept stumbling across little sodden colonies of people sheltering in arches and shop doorways. One or two of these groups being foreign students amazed by the ghastliness of the English summer. The electric storm has been going for a couple of hours as I write with little sign of abating. I love it. Looking up at a few airliners flying in a flashing sky. The view up there must be spectacular - if not a little alarming. Below fragments of lightning taken from the pier.