6th June from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

The sun spreads a thick, even layer of warmth over the day like honey on a slice of new baked bread. The blue sea is still deeply furrowed. The holm oak trees, having covered themselves in a mass of catkins are now producing shiny pale new leaves. The pigeons have changed their tunes for summer. A young blackbird repeats a plaintive distress call over and over again. It is obviously hungry. Its Mother hovers a few branches away giving her fledgling chick a few encouraging notes but she is not going to buckle to its demands. Two empty cans stand and lie next to the empty bench. The Purbeck Hills are blue in the distance.

From 6th June 2022

A warm afternoon but a cool evening with the merest breath of wind. In the darkness invisible gossamer threads criss cross the path and snag the cheeks of the unwary walker. A late saunterer exists only as the red glow of a cigarette end. The sea shushes the evening to quiet but the darkness is not quite empty. Little groups, twos and threes, sit leaning against the trees talking and laughing. #Bournemouth #westcliffgreen #June #summer

From 6th June

A cloudy grey sky. The sun trying to break through the overcaast from time to time. Magpies are filling the air with their hoarse mechanical chatter. Not cold but the air is still spring fresh. The cliffs are covered with a mass of the low growing Hottentot Fig with its gaudy purple flowers and bright yellow centre. This invasive plant (now often referred to as Ice Plant) has many health giving properties. But like the bright yellow Evening Primrose these newcomers have become a feature of our cliffs. The round pink heads of thrift are massing in the more grassy areas.