I have three favourite south coast places I visit, to escape London - Littlehampton, Ramsgate and Shoreham on Sea. Since I grew up on the south coast of Wales and spent all my teenage years in summers on the beach, I have to escape London regularly, especially in summer, to breathe some ozone and hear the seagulls crying.
Catching the breeze
Standing
by the harbour,
the summer
wind blows through
the
cobwebs in my brain,
scouring
Indra’s net strand by strand,
shaking
it down, scrubbing off
the dust
of life and London.
I breathe
in a blast of ozone
and the
net sparkles with colours,
reds,
greens and amethyst blues,
I’m
waking up to this moment,
watching
a pure white seagull,
wings
outstretched, surfing the wind.
He swoops
low over the water then
whips up
over the harbour wall,
high
above my head.
It’s a
game he’s playing
a game of
nothing but what it is –
riding
the wind.
.........
Littlehampton,
2018
This poem was blown up and displayed in the window of the Dugdale Centre, Enfield, 2019. It will be the title poem of my next collection, out soon.
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Back to Ramsgate where I went last week for a few nights - an expensive time of year to stay at the Ramsgate Harbour Travelodge, but hey I wasn't paying - the insurance company overseeing the building works for subsidence in my flat were.
I've been a nomad for 3 weeks - staying here and there and finally at the Travelodge. So carrying belongings with me, clothes and toiletries and trying to get used to other people's dietary habits, bathrooms, kitchens and rules for living. How kind and generous they all were. So grateful.
Now I'm back in my own place - still dealing with residual builders, building problems etc for another week, but so nice to have my own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom back: my own food in the fridge, my own cooking etc. What a joy! Still dealing with boxes all over the kitchen and bedroom but it's MY space at last.
My Travelodge room overlooked the 'Royal' Harbour 
View across the harbour
and the weather was hot - had to have the fan on all the time, day and night.
My Travelodge bed
 |
| Entrance to the beach at Ramsgate |
Ramsgate beach by the Weatherspoons.
Evenings were spent with daughter and partner and stepson (17) who cooked for us one night - time spent walking round the harbour, along the beach to Broadstairs eating chips and ice cream, another visiting a vast antique's emporium, catching up with all their news.
White cliffs on a walk to Broadstairs.
Ramsgate
Broadstairs village
In my room, I could relax too, in my own space, unshared with anyone.
Now I'm back in London in my flat and the weather has cooled somewhat from the 30"C it was down to 20- 24C in the daytime and 16C-18C at night. Lovely.
Have I been writing? No not at all - emotional upheavals and nomadic moving around have thrown me from my centre of gravity. I need peace and calm to get back into writing mode. Now I have a funeral to go to - my wonderful aunt Beryl has died aged 96 in West Wales - so off again on my travels to the funeral.
When I return, there's a few more days of building upheaval and then hopefully my life will calm down again. But whoever knows what the universe will throw at us next. Peace and laughter is the plan ...
Old adverts from a hundred years ago
Gargoyles near the entrance to Chatham School
The war follows us everywhere
1 comment:
Hello Anna, I just wanted to drop a hello, how are you? and to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and story about your journey. I'm currently reading your book, Writing Memoir, How to write your story from your life. It has helped me alot, for it gets to the point, no goings on about this and that, like some do. I like the chapter on, Your Voice the Narrator, and your advice to read other authors memoirs to check out their writing style for it all adds up to becoming the voice. The key questions you provide, to ask myself, helped me to understand that finding my voice doesnt have to be some big unusual, interesting, or not, revelation. That finding my voice is right in front of the mirror, everything Im made of, believe in, morals, values, the way I talk, my emotions, thoughts. The important thing is to read other authors, even find some favourites, do some research, but mostly, just get to it, write, write, write. Your book led me to read William Zinssers books, On writing Well and Inventing the Truth the Art & Craft of Memoir. Which are 2 excellent books. Overall your book may be small but it packs a big punch! Im writing my first memoir, I have written so far, 3 individual stories I remember from a youngster, and am finding titles for them, tacking them to my mind mapping board, that you recommended, it works fantastic by the way. Gives me the chance to put my story ideas in front of me and clear my mind for new stuff to come through. Just quickly, I once lived in Fife, Scotland from 2000-2007, moved from BC Canada, in Arbroath are some beautiful red cliffs where the sands contain quartz crystals, a sight I had never seen before. It was amazing to see your pic of the white cliffs, took my breath away. So beautiful is our nature. Thanks for writing your blog I may drop some questions in the near future about your books. Bye for now..Dee
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