15th November from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth
The inhabitants of the West Cliff Green are used to storms, it is on a Cliff Top after all. But this storm is somehow different; more powerful, angrier. It is, perhaps the direction of the wind, coming straight in across the bay and hitting the cliff with none of its power abated by the hills to the West. The sea is in a tumult from the shore right out to the horizon in white, steepling alpine peaks as if shouldering through a snowfield. These are not the pretty white horses of a summer storm but what the admiralty handbooks describe as a “confused” sea. The waves descend into a white turmoil from far out past the pier as far in as the promenade. In all this it is impossible to see where the sea ends and the land begins. On the cliff top itself the noise is nearly intolerable. The wind in the treetops has risen beyond a roar to a sound that is entirely visceral like a jet engine with afterburners from a few metres away. Small branches are falling. Lakes have formed along the paths. The aerials on the roofs of the tower blocks scream. The pigeons stand, hunched as if in shock. A crow makes no progress, its wings scrabbling to find purchase but is propelled backwards through the air. A dog walker makes the traditional greeting from the depths of his blue anorak: “Lovely day”.
From 15th November 2021
When the sea comes in at an angle to our big curving beach you can hear the wave break start far off and then come closer and closer until it reaches exactly opposite to where your standing. It comes in out of the darkness with a thump and a tumble like a class of baby hippos at a birthday party. The stiff, cold wind blows the clouds away East and the glittering three quarters moon and the planets and stars fill the Western half of the sky. On one of the benches some teenage boys are practising smoking and roll on the grass coughing and choking. #Bournemouth #WestCliff #Autumn #November.
From 15th November 2013
The sun glancing off the sea is flooding my room with a vivid lemon light. This is cold weather sun. The Daily Express promises three months of blizzards starting on Wednesday. I may have to retreat to the cupboard under the sink again.
