Saturday 26 August 2017

Harwich Rocks!


I belong to a Facebook group called Harwich Rocks. The idea is that you find rocks and stones, paint them (or use nail varnish or pens) with patterns, words, characters etc. then you hide them around town, by the beaches or in the woods. Anywhere you like really.

So many age groups are taking part from tiny children to proper oldies like me! We gathered up a bucket of stones in all shapes, sizes and colours and the kids spent ages drawing pictures and patterns and writing captions on them ready to hide next week.

Next week we’ll go on a rock hunt and hide ours. It’s such a fun thing to get involved in and we have about 20 or 30 ready to hide. I will try to remember to take some photos of our hiding places and any we find. The kids really enjoyed doing it and we will gather more rocks ready to do the same again in the half term holiday. When the stones are found, they are often hidden elsewhere for someone else to find. It's really caught on locally - isn't it a great idea?

I decided not to bother with the Blue Flag beach last week and we went down to Harwich beach instead. This is the beach where I went as a child and where I learned to swim. And it is where we used to take the grandchildren when they were smaller. We stopped going once they started showing too much interest in the water before they could swim.

It’s not designated a bathing beach (tell that to the locals who like to swim there!), but look at that sand. Much kinder on the feet. St Nicholas church in the background is where I got married many years ago.

Harwich Beach


Apparently it is a rare example of an emerging dune system in a coastline which is predominantly saltmarsh. I read that on the local council’s website.

And my little fishies loved the deeper water with no rock hazards lurking beneath. The girls were in the sea almost constantly until the tide started going out. The boys were in and out of the water, but it was very cold. I had my swimming costume on, but I wasn’t tempted to join them.

They went out of their depth and I kept a close eye on them just in case, but they were sensible and didn't go out further than was safe. I always enjoyed swimming out of my depth too when I was their age.


Fishes


Someone fed the gulls while we were there and they gathered round a little boat hoping for more. The pier in the background is where the Pilots leave from to guide ships into the harbour. Beyond that with the newly repaired building is Harwich Dock (not to be confused with Harwich International Port) and the cranes beyond that are at Felixstowe.

Gulls


And we watched these two dinghies leaving and coming back. A friend who knows much more about these things than me tells me that they are Finn dinghies, the type in which Ben Ainslie won gold in the Olympics.

Finns

 We’ve also been clearing out the garage and found loads of old photos including one of one of the Dovercourt lighthouses taken between 1901 and 1910. There was a lot more sand there back then, but look how busy it was!

Dovercourt Lighthouse


Number Three granddaughter got some new pyjamas this week. She loves them! We teased that the caption ("I had fun once. It was terrible") suits her so well as she can take life very seriously at times, but she is always telling jokes. They all have Youtube channels – she asked if I’d post a link to hers so here it is. Izzy Enderman. At the age of eight, she wants to be many things and one of them is a famous Youtuber! I see Dusty has managed to get his tail in the photo.

Izzy Enderman





14 comments:

  1. The seaside is such fun! I hope our grandchildren and indeed their grandparents never tire of it.

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    1. I hope not too! And the sea air is so good for you.

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  2. What a wonderful grandparent you are, Teresa. I'm picturing myself on that beach with my own grandchildren and can hear me now, 'Stay close to the shore!' 'Don't go out of your depth!' 'Don't do anything to scare me!' Spoiling all their fun. I bet you can imagine what I was like taking my class on school trips - I took the register every five minutes. There's something special about taking grandchildren to places you remember from your children's childhood and from your own. I try to keep tradition going where I can. Thanks for this lovely post, Teresa x

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    1. I did that, Wendy. "Come back in!" and "You're drifting, swim back this way!" When I used to go on school trips as a helper, I used to worry about my small group so I can imagine the anxiety of having a whole class to keep an eye on x

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  3. The painted stone idea must be a nationwide thing as I have seen on our local Facebook residents page that they have been doing exactly the same thing. I think you are a wonderful grandmother too and an inspiration to all grandparents everywhere. Tell Izzy to keep Utubing as one day she will be famous.

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    1. Thank you, Maggie for your lovely comment and Izzy will be delighted you said she'll be famous one day :-) I was reading yesterday that the stone painting is happening everywhere.

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  4. Glad you all had fun at the seaside. (I hadn't realised there was a sandy beach at Harwich.)

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    1. It's right down in the old part by the sailing club, Patsy. The beaches all the way along used to be much more sandy than they are now.

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  5. Wonderful to see your grandchildren enjoying the seaside and Dovercourt photo is great! My father was born in Dovercourt in 1923. We are lucky to live fairly;y near a good beach (Hill Head - where Howard's Way was filmed I think) which the grandchildren love but my memories of Clacton and Walton on the Naze and the rest, linger on. I have a memory of my eldest son, aged five, following his dad along a wooden breaker while waves crashed all around him...his dad being unaware. Back on the beach I held my breath but he returned safe and sound. I think I am more cautious with my grandchildren LOL! As for stone painting, yes, my grandchildren are doing it too though not sure if they are hiding them. I used to paint stones and sell them years ago. Tell Izzy I have subscribed to her blog and will check back often. Bless her, she will go far! X

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    1. Thank you so much for subscribing - she will be over the moon. It must have been terrifying watching your son following his dad out like that. I love it that you have a connection round here. Hill Head sounds lovely x

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    2. P.S. I was discussing Clacton beach with my sister, in Writtle, the other day. She said that all the work to retain the tides there meant they used lots of gravel which probably accounts for the dwindling supply of sand, that and it being washed away. I too remember sandy beaches of my childhood! X

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    3. Clacton beach is still very sandy :-) It's the beach at Dovercourt that seems to have become very shingly in recent years x

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    4. Oh I see, well that is a shame. Glad Clacton Beach survives though! My aunt lived at 7, Catherine May Court if I remember correctly, not far from the sea front. X

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    5. Yes that's not far at all from the front x

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