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.

disconnected

Today I spent my lunch hour in Aldi carpark, watching the waves. I should have got in there. Three feet, clean, calm and sunny, and actually peeling for once. A handful out down beyond the baby waves of Towan. It was beautiful.

My initial reaction? Not to belt it back to my van, fight into my suitbootshoodrashyglovesplugs combo and race in, but just to stand and watch. How often do I do that? Rhetorical question. Never. Neverever. I live here, surf here and work here, so there's always something to be doing other than gawping like a tourist (best way to insult a local, tell them they look like a visitor).

What I did do, in fact, was drag out the iPhone and tweet. I had the urge to update my Facebook status as well, but then another set rolled in and I just watched it. I am always updating endless accounts wherever I go, mostly for work, but sometimes I don't want to. I just want to keep it to myself (and the crusty hanging off the railing next to me). This view and these 20 minutes of peace, chin resting on hands resting on fencepost, eyes resting on horizon, are mine, just mine.

Half-asleep in the sunshine, I idly thought about SUPpers (why, no really, why do they do it?), where bomb sets come from, and other questions that only occur to me when my fingers (cut-paste-tap-tap-slide) are forced to cease fidgeting, lulled by rare sunshine on rare unglovedness.

Then NatWest texted me to tell me my balance. Why do they call it balance when it's always sliding hellishly towards a Mines of Moria darkness? I was jacked back in. So I bought the Super Six in Aldi (RedLasering a few things as I went) and came back here to write a randomness. Now my cut-paste reflex is revving up, so I must get back to work.

…I should have got in there.

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…).

cliffs

Friday we did some 'team building' around the Gazzle with Newquay Coasteering. Jumps not very high due to the spring tide, but it was fun. Spot me around 43 seconds-ish, followed by my colleague David.

Been surfing recently, plenty actually, but it's been nowhere special and nothing special, so I've not been updating here. I need a roadtrip/holiday/something. Just surfed the gay Bay, four 3ft drops to straighten out. Yeah it's good practice for other places with big drops, but…it's frustrating to the max when I've got speed to burn.

Might go somewhere where the drops turn into barrels tomorrow, depending on the wind…have to interview WQS no 26 Sarah Beardmore, our new British National Champion. Might as well go for a surf then!

Next Friday heading home for two weeks of Welsh surf and some proper jumps.