THE GULL PICTURE CAN BE ENLARGED BY CLICKING ON IT, TWICE IF REQUIRED. OTHERWISE CLICK ON ANY IMAGE IN A CLUSTER TO ACCESS ITS ENLARGED GALLERY
This morning we were in the grip of storm Georgina. This prompted the Muse of my youth, believing that “if we are having to put up with it, we might as well get something out of it”, to take a trip to the coast. I chose Highcliffe as the venue.
It was all right for Jackie, who could take refuge in the car after a brief foray along the clifftop. I, however, had the task of battling down the steep wooden steps to the shoreline in order to capture some images of the sea. Whilst the driving rain lashed my dripping face and the spray lathered my attire, the 60 m.p.h. winds played me like a marionette. I feared for my camera lens which I frequently dabbed with a sodden handkerchief. I couldn’t really see what I was doing, but fortunately the camera had better vision.
Even the gulls took refuge on the shingle.
Wave after wave of cream-layered golden syrup swirled around the shore, crashing on the steadfast rocks.
Just two intrepid walkers, one with dogs, also ventured down below, where the flagpole bent like a bow.
As if the gale were not enough, there were plenty of other phenomena to be warned against.
It wasn’t until I had fought my way back up to the car park, that the sun made a brief attempt to put in an appearance.
I have learned that Paul Auster’s works are examples of Absurdist fiction, which essentially focusses on protagonists’ vain attempts to find any purpose in life through a series of meaningless actions.’Ghosts’, being the second novella of this author’s New York Trilogy, would certainly seem a case in point. I finished reading this today. Set as a detective story it pretty much follows the same course as ‘City of Glass’. Who is watching whom?, we wonder. Do we actually care? There didn’t seem much point in this repeat performance. Maybe that was the point. Meaningless it is.
Each character bears the name of a single colour, but it is the colour applied to Tom Burns’s illustrations for the Folio Society edition that lift the story, and perhaps this otherwise virtually monochrome post.
Following gyozo and won ton starters for our dinner this evening, we enjoyed Jackie’s really excellent egg fried rice served with pork ribs in barbecue sauce. She drank Hoegaarden and I finished the shiraz.
Good post Derrick. Colors can enliven a photo or image, But I also love to stop an admire a black and white. They have a special beauty in them.
Glad you think so, Lonely, Many thanks
There are aspects of life that are so completely absurd that I can no longer bear to hear about them – I imagine writing about it might be a quick route to insanity……. I still enjoy the illustrations though 🙂 You get full points for insanity in tackling the wind, the steps both down and, I imagine, up and all the other associated perils…… I’d be sitting in the car with Jackie 🙂
🙂 Thanks ever so much, Pauline
😀 <3
Now wouldn’t that be cosy Pauline!
Another informative post. Thank you, Derrick.
And thank you, Roland
What you do for your art, Derrick! 🙂 But thank you for sharing those glorious photos.
“Cream-layered golden syrup”–the sea does look like a dessert in the photo with the walker with the dog. 🙂
Very many thanks, Merril 🙂
Always a treat reading the descriptions that come with the photos!You are an amazing wordsmith! The weather is nippy here and we might be in for some snow! Take care, my friend!
Very many thanks, Sofia
Blue Planet 2 has some spectacular shots of waves. Yours remind me more of England’s shores
Many thanks, Sherry. I hope they promote good memories
Wow! Thanks for risking life and limb to provide us with these amazing photographs, Derrick. But please, be careful!
Many thanks, Jill. I have to admit, I shall not do that again
I’m relieved to hear that, Derrick. 🙂
Ditto
Thanks to you, too, Mary
That is a lively sea!
It was, Alex. A bit too much really
It felt like the kind of sea Turner would have loved!
🙂
Wow you sure went out in the weather to get those shots! Amazing
Many thanks, Lynn
A wild and woolly day at the beach! 😀
Many thanks, Widders. It certainly was
I must say you are intrepid. I hope you have a good slicker for this kind of weather. That picture of the gulls on the shingle has such beautiful subtle colors–the yellow line in the foam, the rosy shingle, and the lovely mossy green up past the sand. It’s a very nice photo.
Thanks very much, Lisa, especially for the subtle appreciation of that picture
Rather you than me, Derrick! Good shots, though. I loved the ones with the ray of sun hitting the sea.
Many thanks, Clare. I was so knackered when I got back up to the top that I almost didn’t bother with those, so I’m specially glad you liked them
You must have a mighty weather-sealed camera. One of my earliest consumer ‘point and shoot’ cameras gave up its ghost in a somewhat similar skirmish with the elements, although the warrior who took it to the battlefield was a rogue nephew of mine. I retain its shell still.
You have got a connoisseur of a pilot-cum-chef in Jackie. It’s a magical combination, for a pilot must be fired up with lightening reflexes while a chef needs to be blessed with tons of patience and meticulous appliance.
A great description of Jackie, Uma. Many thanks
Oh no! Not you too… I read about the record floods across the channel. Be careful out there…
Many thanks, Anna. I will in future
The angry sea and you captured it well.
Thank you very much, Arlene
Oh Neddy, You silly, twisted boy, you.
signed
Hercules
🙂 Many thanks Hercules
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln7Htxl5aAA&itct=CA0QpDAYASITCJzw4qmz8tgCFZADfwodZmwEMVIRdG91ciBvZiBzYWhqYXRwdXI%3D&hl=en&gl=US&client=mv-google
Love your philosophy, but it’s best to avoid being by the ocean when the winds are zipping at 60 m.p.h. Glad you made it back without harm to body or camera. Those illustrations are fantastic. I’ve never read Paul Auster’s fiction, only a memoir, which was very good. I’m not sure what I think about the concept of absurdist fiction.
Thanks very much, Laurie. Now I know what 60 m.p.h. feels like. I will have completed The New York Trilogy soon, and may have something more to say.
Know you know, and I’m sure you can imagine what it must have been like for the poor folks who had to endure even higher winds this fall during the hurricanes. Scary! I’ll be waiting for more from you about Paul Auster.
Absolutely
What a coincidence, I did pork spare ribs in my sticky sauce but with my sweet & sour sauce & rice ,neither the War Office, or I, are fond of BBQ sauce, then again we haven’t had the pleasure of the Culinary Queens
Very many thanks, Brian. It’s a small world, after all
By the bye, I think I’ll give that trilogy a miss, and that weather looks too bleak for my liking. 🙂
I won’t read him again after today, Brian. It was pretty savage weather. Thanks again
Your certainly have an adventurous spirit Derrick, plus a keen photographer, but having said that, it is occasions like this that you get the chance to capture images that otherwise would be missed.
Cheers.
Very many thanks, Ian
Danger and beauty can often go hand in hand (especially with storms) and perhaps for you, too, as you venture out there like a brazen explorer, come what may!
Many thanks, Cynthia. I was always up for a challenge 🙂
Those are some beautiful photos of wild weather, Derrick!
Thanks very much, Lavinia
I took my camera out in the rain the other day too, but the light was terrible. Even the red berries appeared gray. Your shots were far better. Love the illustrations, too.
Many thanks, Anna. I think we just have to do the best with what is available. 🙂
The menu sounds impressive. Must have been a relief to sit down in the warm.
Yes, thanks a lot, Quercus
Reblogged this on SEO.
Thank you, Ellustar