The sea, the sea...I see the sea

Some days I like to go down to our local beach and check that no one has snuck off with the sea while I've not been looking. Although it is not one of Cornwall's best beaches, Hayle beach is part of St Ives bay, probably the one of the best beaches in the UK. It is, literally 10 minutes from my doorstep, but these days I have to drive and pay parking fees for the privilege of going there (there are additional costs from being disabled that some people tend to overlook...ay Mr Cameron?)

It is a car park with a lovely view, however.

Gee and his friends (current lady friend amongst them!), had decided to remain at home to watch the Inbetweeners movie for the umpteenth time. So Dude and I sallied forth to meet with the McGregor family. Mrs McGregor is one of my closest friends and co conspirator in various celebrity stalking efforts. It was down to her that I got to meet my teenage (and still going strong) crush and lead singer of my favourite band; Mr David Vanian (I have photo's...if you ask nicely I will show you them). She is also a fellow horticulturist, black belt DIYer and general good egg. She sings a mean ABBA song, especially after a few glasses of the old vino! The family have a delightful teenage daughter, the delightful Miss C and a son, Master H, who, like Dude is awaiting a diagnosis from the CAMHS team. Oh yes, she also has a husband, we all have our crosses to bear!

Dude was very keen to try out his Xmas sled on the sand dunes and so had brought both his and Gee's for both him and Master H to play on. I have to say they were remarkably effective!

Who needs snow? Not us....which is good because we never really get any down here!

With the men occupied with physical pursuits, us ladies potter along the high tide line looking for interesting flotsam and jetsam. This is a good beach for shell and small pieces of driftwood and, it would appear, dead sea birds! This has apparently been caused by the use of gill netting in the bay. Weather conditions have driven large numbers of bass into the bay and the birds have followed. If the nets are not attended to during the day, the birds become entangled and drown. The sheer number of corpses is quite horrific! There are a couple of articles about it in our local press:  http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Talks-sought-dead-birds/story-14400132-detail/story.html

Half an hour of pottering and I'm ready to drop, we have a good haul of shells and I have brought a couple of the corpses back to strip for mobiles...a little bit goth, remember! Mrs McGregor is a collector of bones and skulls...she may not wear black or sport the eyeliner, but she is firmly in touch with her inner goth!

Heading back into, what can only be described as bitterly cold wind, we head back to the car.