walking, surfing, thinking

I'm lucky to walk the beach path every day. On this morning last week, the Headland Hotel floated in the mist. Headless.


I just like this. The footing for some sort of pole, I guess. It's so weathered, it makes lovely reflections, it disappears and reappears as the sand levels change. It has a collection of very differently coloured pebbles held in the hole at the top. It's kind of like a little castle, surrounded by a moat, guarding its treasure.


A few days ago on the morning dog walk, a little brown hawk began to hover over me, looking to snaffle an early morning breakfast of the rodent kind from the bank above the Windswept Cafe. It was supremely confident in flight, feathers flipping here and there, body totally still. It turned to look at me, standing there updating the MSW eyeball surf report, dismissed me (despite some goon hollering "Wow! What a good photo you're going to get!" and carried on). It got really, really close, and caught something furry.

On Saturday I was surfing Gwithian, out from from the Jam Pot (yummy egg butties), and a dolphin/porpoise surfed a wave in front of me as I paddled out. It was a split-second view of a perfect arc. S/he had more fun out there than me - it was Baltic!


I've had a mad week this week, and I'm so looking forward to more of the above - quality time wtih good friends on lovely beaches! This is Rach, Abs, Laurz and Furtle in Marazion.

Back to business

Went for a surf on Saturday with friend and colleague Jane at Tolcarne. It was so sunny and quiet at 9am, most of the town still abed. Nice to surf the Bay without hordes of people in. No girls other than the two of us. We made it out deceptively easily, but a big wipeout and relentless closeouts did for Jane with her bigger board – no duck-diving that beast.

It was two foot-ish and clean, perfect to get into it again, but I couldn't get up! Popping fine but tripping over myself. Got one closeout — hm — and five where I tripped. But it was sunny and I wasn't toooo cold (hands were, gloves are thick as but not great still). Stayed out a couple of hours though so not bad. Don't feel too unfit. Duck-diving was hideous, pure tortre after one or two. But the air was clean and the water smooth, and the last wave was a funny wipeout…so I'll take that.

Monday saw a quiet day so I took the chance to head to Fistral which had perfect three-foot peaks in sunshine and the doleys/hospitality workers/self-employed were making the most of it. Here I fared a little better and paddled as hard as I could to grab a couple of okay ones. It was more the chance to sit and unravel a few things in my mind that sticks it as a good surf. And the beach so empty, the time just mine.

Everything unfrozen, there seems more life about the beach now. The fogs have been crazy recently; always make you look at the land anew. And I've seen a huge dead jellyfish (rare that size, rarer still in winter) and a very much alive hawk, hunting the bank above the Windswept Cafe. Plus snowdrops are poking up by the front door. Nature, waves and yoga are prising my conciousness up from a recent slump, and I remember tajitu and the interconnectedness of everything.

snow time

Snow yesterday, and it was beautiful for a little while, but the salty air did for it by this morning. A snowy picture of mine appeared on the Stranger website (I love Stranger). Cornwall (and especially Newquay) definitely retains more of a sense of wonder about the snow, as we see so little of it.

snowy newquay

One of my photos of snowy Fistral made it onto a BBC report about all the snow in Cornwall.

Pretty chuffed with that, especially as it was taken with the iPhone (the one above wasn't!). I am loving everything I can do with it, especially the Pano application. Got the best panorama of the snowy golf course and surroundings this morning. I also love Gorillacam, and I'm now searching for the best filters app I can find. Love a bit of sepia.

Atlantic Hotel sunrise and Great Western Beach.

There's no surf though, and I'm missing Wales like mad (there's loads there…).