Beach and Fireworks

Posted on 2005/07/24 04:56:02 (July 2005).

[Saturday 23rd July]
Had a lazy morning and early afternoon, which appears to be becoming something of a routine. Mid-afternoon ish we decided to go for a swim, so went to a beach which was a short train journey from the flat. It wasn't exactly an ideal beach - it is very hard in this part of Japan to get very far away from civilisation, and it is weird to me to go for a swim in such a built up area! Still though, the water seemed, well, relatively clean - I'm sure it can't be as bad as the legendary floating turds at Skegness! Ahem.
We got the train back around 6ish, just in time before the rain came pouring down. Conveniently the rain shower seemed to last about the same length of time as our train journey, and by the time we got off it had stopped. Amazingly, for Japan, the train had actually been delayed (!) although seemingly not for a significant period of time. I wonder if it was something to do with the sudden downpour?
On returning to the flat, we sat in darkness for part of the evening as the fireworks display was on in the centre of Hiroshima, of which we had a good view from the living room window. The more modest fireworks were obscured by a small mountain, but in a way this added to the effect - it looked really great seeing the explosions happen over the shoulder of a silhouetted mountain, and it put me in mind of a line at the end of Bladerunner.

Very good photography there Jonh! Amazing! I can just imagine UFO-spotters thinking your subject was actually otherworldly! When I was at Skegness (living not that far away at the time) I only remember cabbage leaves - so your experience is "richer"!

Posted by Nigel at 2005/07/24 10:10:41.

not sure about skegness, but oh how we used to enjoy playing in the "special" foam that always washed up on the beach in Great Yarmouth :)

Posted by Kev at 2005/07/24 24:58:43.

Funnily enough I think I also saw a cabbage floating in the sea by Skegness once. The floating turds may of course be an urban myth, but at the same time it doesn't seem that unbelievable.

I would really like to have said I have never been to Skegness, but unfortunately growing up in the Midlands it seems to be a compulsory experience. Perhaps a punushment for something. I think I only ever went twice - maybe three times at most, and it all of those times were just day trips, so I got off a lot lighter than some people did.

Luckily, partly as a lot of my family lived on the other side of the country (i.e. Wales), and partly because none of them could abide places like Skegness, I generally went to really nice beaches for summer holidays. We normally went to either North Wales or Devon and Cornwall, and we'd often walk for what seemed like miles to find some tiny little cove with nobody else in... I have glowing memories of some really beautiful little beaches, clear blue waters, and not so much as a suggestion of a floating turd.

Posted by John at 2005/07/25 07:24:43.

Ay, well I actually lived in Nottingham then Lincoln so Skeggy was always just a day trip. The sea was worse further north near Immingham. Bio-Hazzard covers it... I think these floating objects are flushed "bilges" etc from passing ships heading into the Humber. Long shore drift etc. carries it south... either that or careless swimmers... Oops, dropped a coleslaw...

Posted by Nigel at 2005/07/25 11:33:50.

Nottingham then Lincoln - you didn't move to Lincoln to be closer to Skegness did you by any chance...?

Posted by John at 2005/07/28 13:26:45.

Post a comment