3rd September from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

On the whole visitors are quite respectful of the Green. There are those, of course, who will discard bottles and takeaway boxes where they sit but generally people will pick up and deposit in the litter bins. But this is where it can go wrong. The anti-social element are the sea gulls who will get into the mouth of the bin and haul out anything that looks tasty. And if the bins are full and visitors have thoughtfully tied their detritus in plastic bag, the gulls see it as their duty to rip the bags open and spread the contents far and wide. Tonight, as dusk is falling and visitors are still enjoying the warm evening the gulls are wheeling and crying in clouds above the bins. Today has been hazy and grey with a stiff breeze blowing and what the gulls have begun, nature will complete.

From September 3rd 2021

An unpromising start to the day with low, grey clouds and a sharp breeze. But by the afternoon it brightens up. As the clouds gradually drift away the sun appears out and the temperature rises. An autumn mist veils the horizon to remind us that summer is past. Children on the beach delight in the little green waves at the seas edge and grown ups stand and watch awe-struck by the Red Arrows and The RAF Typhoon, which finishes its display as it always wants to do by rocketing straight up into the vault of the blue until it is lost to sight.

From September 3rd 2017

A bracing Sunday afternoon stroll along the prom to Boscombe and back. In the drenching rain. And the howling gale. And the needlesharp sea spray. And the bitter cold. Apart from that, a jolly afternoon out. Now steaming quietly.