24th August
A grey and muggy morning gives way to a bright clear afternoon. The sun is hot and the blue sky is marked with a jumble of small white clouds. But later an extraordinary long plume of grey cloud forms under that. It is along feather boa stretching from East to West right across the bay. At first it appears to be the smoke from a fire on the Isle of Wight drifting this way. But is is not. It is a peculiar weather feature called a roll cloud. “A roll cloud (Cloud Atlas name volutus) is a low, horizontal, tube-shaped, and relatively rare type of arcus cloud. . Roll clouds usually appear to be "rolling" about a horizontal axis. They are a solitary wave called a soliton, which is a wave that has a single crest and moves without changing speed or shape. One of the most famous frequent occurrences is the Morning Glory cloud in Queensland, Australia, which can occur up to four out of ten days in October. Coastal roll clouds have been seen in many places, including California, the English Channel, Shetland Islands, the North Sea coast, coastal regions of Australia, and Nome, Alaska.” Within an hour a second roll appears and thenthey disappear leaving the blue evening sky dotted with little white clouds.
A pigeon is dead on the path, Despite the blue bottles crawling about it it does not seem to have been eaten as it would be if caught by a sparrowhawk. maybe a peaceful, natural death. The Goat man is nailing QR codes to the posts by the goat enclosure so visitors may click on the East Cliff Goats Facebook site. Apparently these Kashmir Goats which were moved down from Lladudno earlier this year were originally the descendents of a pair of goats given to Queen Victoria by the Shah of Persia. They do have a distinctly regal air with their great curly horns. Now they are part of a ten year plan to improve the stability of the cliffs by knocking back the invasive holm oaks and gorse and opening up the understorey to a more diverse range of plants. All for no cost to the Council Tax Payer.
From 24th August 2021
Blue sky dotted with puffs of white cloud. A warm sun glittering madly on the big green waves where children bounce and squeal in delight. But there is more than a breath of autumn. The breeze is still chill and a their is a misty veil on the horizon. Because of the late spring and wet summer everything is still lush green as yet but the shiny and poisonous red berries of black bryony and the black berries of nighshade are draping over the bushes.
Later
In the distance the sea rises up grey green green against a grey blue sky. This one is higher than the rest. As it reaches up, it fragments into a myriad splinters of black and silver yet still it steeples upwards. Tiny flecks of white foam filigree the edge of the wave as it contain its own onwards rush but begins to curl towards us in a great glassy green curve . And then the weight of the water crushes down in a mad whirl of white and all sound is gone. For a brief time this is silence, deeper than the grave and then we burst upwards into the light and the rush and chaos of sound again. And the sunshine and the sky and the world beyond is all good.
From 24th August 2012
A tumbling grey sea out there. Ragged whitecaps charging across the bay. Clumps of pinkish foam dancing up the road outside my window.
