According to the ancient legends of the North Coast, there was once a time when the World was entirely devoid of Colour. During the day the Sun was all but invisible against the white of the sky, while the land and the sea were revealed only in subtle tones of grey. During the night, no stars pierced the shadow-black veil and only the faded phases of the Moon brought any relief from the unfathomable dark.

Those same legends also tell of how one night the Women of the North Coast saw, in a collective dream, how the phenomenon of ‘Colour’ might change the World; how the next morning they told the Men of the North Coast of their dream and their plans to end the dominion of the black, and the white, and the grey. The women said they had set their hearts at the Sun, where they thought that the ‘Colour’ must surely reside, and that they were intent on breaking through the Great Barrier at the edge of the World and tearing the sky asunder, to let the Sun’s imagination run wild.

‘The Light,’ they said, ‘the Colour, must be set free.’

The Men of the North Coast looked at each other and slowly nodded, acknowledging amongst themselves a longing for something they did not know. No words exchanged, but understanding exactly what was required of them, they set-to immediately, planning and then constructing a sturdy boat that would carry their wives to the Great Barrier and The Heavens beyond. A boat with a sharp prow, that may pierce that forbidding barricade and thence vanquish the sky! A boat that would bring their loved ones safely back home to the fire. The Men of the North Coast set their hearts squarely at their wives and imbued the boat with every ounce of strength they could conceive, tarring the hull with their courage. And as they worked, the Men became the boat...

Soon enough, the vessel was laid upon the water and all was quiet as the Women of the North Coast climbed aboard. The birds of the air came down to rest on the land and the sea. The creatures of the deep paused and looked on in wonder, as the very sea itself settled and willed the Womenfolk onwards. Even the wind held it’s breath in anticipation as they set forth, with the whole World focused on the gentle sounds of the oars as they dipped in and out of the calm.

Presently, the Women of the North Coast approached the Great Barrier...

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Usual caveats etc.

Tags:   Appledore North Devon black and white monochrome sea old tosh

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The thing in the middle - might it be an urn? Some sort of humungous flower pot? A straight-sided open-topped barrel perhaps? Or is it just a big stone bird-bath?

I don't know. I am not particularly skilled at horticultural nomenclature.

What I do know, however, is that if you walk around it in a 90 degree arc, take a picture every few seconds and then layer all of the photos together when you get home, it takes on a rather wonderful, ghostly eeriness.

And, as an added bonus, something strange and other-worldly happens to the college facade too - it looks almost as if one were leafing back through the pages of it’s history.

Or something like that.

Usual caveats etc.

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20 hand-held exposures representing 1 minute and 5 seconds of March 8th 2024. Taken at West Dean College, West Sussex.

Tags:   multiple exposures West Sussex West Dean College

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As you know, clouds are surprisingly heavy. There are a lot of variables to consider, but, a bit of googling reveals that for a grey cloud layer like the one seen here at Westward Ho!, ‘surprisingly heavy’ might mean something along the lines of 8 to 10 million tonnes of water and around 30 to 50 billion tonnes of air.

Just floating above your head.

That’s it really, that’s all you need to know.

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Usual caveats etc.

Tags:   Westward Ho! North Devon

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The Instow Skiff has moored itself on the Appledore side of the River Torridge, in a protest over working conditions.

It seems that Appledorians are a little better at wiping the sand off their boots before climbing aboard than the folks at Instow. I pointed out that there is more sand on the Instow side, so a few more grains on the planks are to be expected.

A compromise was soon reached however, with the Instowers agreeing to be more careful with the sand and the Appledorians agreeing to share their fabled boot-washing tips.

This was, of course, a copy-cat protest - only last week the Appledore Skiff beached itelf over on the Instow side in order to try and secure improvements to the usage rota. In that instance, Elders from both towns agreed that as soon as the financial situation improves a little, they would take a look at the rotas with a view to easing the workload of both boats and would also look into updating the age-old law that allows only one Skiff per harbour.

"Perhaps", they said, "it's time for a change..."

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NB. It should be obvious to everyone that this is all total nonsense. The Skiffs of both towns are happy to be used willy-nilly. They love their work and couldn't care less about a bit of sand under the gunnels. And anyway, why would a harbour need more than one Skiff?!

OR

A misty morning at Appledore, looking over the River Torridge towards Instow. The tide is on its way out and the sun is on its way in.

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Usual caveats etc.

* This photo does, of course, depict the Appledore Skiff. Poetic license has been liberally applied.

Tags:   Appledore black and white North Devon sea Instow

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Another boat from Appledore.

I know, I know, I’m having a bit of a boaty binge at the moment - they’re just so moreish, like, say, a dark chocolate digestive biscuit, a Fortnum & Mason mince pie, or nice big chunk of extra-mature cheddar.

Obviously, this particular boat is nothing like the aforementioned comestibles, but the first-sight excitement is just the same.

Anyway. Enough of all that.

I just wanted to let you know that it really was as serene as it looks down there on the sand, with the tide slowly rising and the clouds promising rain.

Tags:   Appledore River Torridge North Devon

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