30th May from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

A sharp breeze crumples the sea sending big rollers splashng in on the beach. The sky is blue and the sun is warm. Summer has crept along the cliff top paths and in the grassy places and taken the whole West Cliff in its familiar, bright embrace. The trees are all dripping wth pollen. There is more catkins on the holm oaks than there are leaves so they have a strange yellowy grey appearance. The paths are thick with the pollen from the sweet chestnuts. Someone has thought to vacuum clean the cliff top but haven’t got far. Maybe the cable wasn’t long enough. Pigeons clap their wings as they swoop upwards before holding them out to dive down again making their peculiar roller coaster flight.

From 30th May 2022

Black and grey clouds bumble about the light grey sky like giant playground inflatables. The breeze is sharp and cold. The rippled sea is a pale green. There are families on the beach but not as many as you would expect for half term. They tend to huddle in small groups except for the children who are impervious to the weather. Despite the cold everything is still growing upwards - thistles, charlock, hawkweeds. The bracken is probably growing at the rate of 5cms a day. Or 6 barley corns as we are enjoined to measure them by for the Jubilee. Or 8 barley corns depending on whether you use the old measurement or the new. A shag flies low over the waves like some prehistoric creature. There is a prickle of rain in the air. #bournemouth #westcliffgreen #May #summer

From 30th May 2012

Woken by the deep boom of the foghorn as the car-ferry left Poole Harbour. Fog pouring in across the cliffs and past my window like thick smoke. Eerie effect of the bright sun making the mass of mist out in the bay glow like a flourescent lamp.

From 30th May 2011

A pussy cat sitting on the path. The magpies and blackbirds and jackdaws are going berserk. The volume is about the same as a road drill. I'm going to find a quieter part of the town by the main road.