11th July from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

A filtered, shadowless, diffuse sunlight. Occasional drops of rain. A hurrying, stiff breeze. But even so, there is a steamy warmth to the day. The sea is agitated and frilled with white where the steady waves are encroaching on the shore. The life guards’ red and yellow flags stand out stiff from their poles. A party of sea gulls hurry overhead. A magpie, on its own for once, pecks at the grass. A large white butterfly examines the flowers at the path edge. It is a day for butterflies. They don’t seem at all bothered by the strong wind. A runner, neat in black shorts and singlet with dazzling white trainers unrolls a yoga mat on the short grass and begins to perform a series of stretches. A woman with black headscarf studies the phone in her lap. A photograph? A letter? A page from a holy book? She is intent and absorbed withoout scrolling as most do. The tall thistles are beginning to bend over in the breeze. Just one remains upright.

From 11th July 2022

By the evening the blue sky is smudged and streaked with high white clouds but they do little to reduce the temperature. A little breeze keeps everything fresh. The sea, almost entirely flat and smooth is populated with late bathers. On the clifftop everything is beginning to show how quickly summer is passing. The bracken is already turning golden yellow and brown and everywhere there are the downy heads of thistles and others of the daisy family. There is hardly any green left among the grass stems and the whole of the green looks parched. Brambles are heavy with masses of ripening blackberries. A single, pale blue butterfly flits across the open space. Ants are busy preparing to fly. Pigeons coo with volume and earnestness. #bournemouth #westcliffgreen #July #summer

From 11th July 2021

After the drizzle has cleared away a pale watery sun makes a brief appearance though the tumbling clouds. It is not cold. The Cliff Top is deserted as is the beach but the grass is vivid green and the flowers in their many shades of purple and yellow blaze out in the evening gloom.