Widemouth Bay, Marhamchurch, Crackington Haven

[squirmelia]

Daffodils bloom along the Atlantic Highway, but on Black Rock Beach, winter is still unfurling. A uniform greyness torments the sky and as each pebble becomes drenched by the tide, and each clump of seaweed is dragged away, I stumble across the shore towards the largest rock, letting the roar of the waves distract me as I shiver.

At Marhamchurch, there is a jumble sale about to end. Piles of clothes and chipped ornaments are being cleared away by the WI and children wait outside with scooters, bored. Flicking through details from previous decades in my guidebook, I find a description of the church at Marhamchurch, which is just across the road. The floor is slate, with a chequerboard design.

In the fading light at Crackington Haven, my mum and I sift through our own dreams, our scarves fluttering in the breeze, until we share our sorrows, and leave the beach, searching for somewhere warmer.

Comments

[pgd.livejournal.com]

It's fun taking holidays out-of-season sometimes! (Or do you have family down there?) The year before last my folks spent a week in Devon in early spring and I joined them for the weekend. It was a lot quieter, colder and greyer, but still very characterful.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is that my mum and I always seem to take holidays when it is out of season! Sometimes, it would be nice to go places when the sky is blue and we're not shivering. It was still enjoyable though. :)

[notretro.livejournal.com]

Hows your brother getting on?

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Fine, I think! He started a new job a few months ago (although I can't remember exactly what the job was) and is currently living in Stockwell.

[bonusmosh-part2.livejournal.com]

i really like your style of writing! this entry vaguely reminds me of country diary (http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2016826,00.html), a segment published daily in the guardian. don't know if you've heard of it?

hope you had a good time in cornwall.