October Sunshine

There have been plenty of ways to enjoy the October sunshine, but the best two I can think of are fieldwork and a day at the beach in our new(ish) car !

We still love mud:

A week and a half ago a small group of us went to check on the submerged forest site at the Erith foreshore and take some surface samples... Sometimes I feel like a muddy Cinderella, because the mechanical corer is still broken. We have been to the site so many times, and it is still as magical as the first time I visited it. I can’t wait to take a core and start some analysis, I’m hoping that one day my research supervisor will ride in brandishing the newly repaired mechanical corer and say ‘you shall go to the ball!’

 

A day at the coast :

Last weekend there was yet more glorious sunshine, but with a slight bite. My friend ‘Y’ aptly referred to it as ‘the sun with teeth.’ Still it was warm enough for a day at the beach...
On Sunday ‘S’ and me gathered our things together and set off for Dungeness. Our day started at the Pilot Inn, which is renowned for serving fish and chips with gargantuan sized battered cod. I enjoyed watching everyone else chow down while I munched on my salad sandwiches (ever the veggie !). I wondered if they had been genetically modified due to radiation from the local nuclear power station until I remembered it is in the middle of being decommissioned J.

We had a good hunt for shells and brought lots home to add to our collection, on our way back to the car we noticed that the lifeboat station was open and were shown around by some very enthusiastic  volunteers, who explained that at any one time there are about 600 vessels in the English Channel – amazing !
After leaving the lifeboat station we decided to look around at all the little cottages and shacks, with their imaginative shingle gardens incorporating drift wood, fishing floats, old bottles and plenty of other interesting things including one with an old locomotive tank and a big rusty anchor. There were some funny things too, for example; the cottage next door to Derek Jarman’s cottage (which was wonderful -  I wish I had taken a photo), had  a mini version of Derek Jarman’s cottage in the garden which made us chuckle !
Driving down the road towards the miniature railway station, we thought our day was just about finished, when we noticed that the old lighthouse was open to visitors.

Now it would have been a bit obvious if I had chosen anything by the Lighthouse Family, but don’t worry I’m not about to do that ! On the way home from our little jaunt to Dungeness I heard quite a surreal song on the radio. While I was listening I thought ‘this sounds familiar, actually no it doesn’t, but then again may be yes etc. etc.’ Only to find out that it is that latest single from Kate Bush. I’ve never been a particular fan of Kate Bush (even if she is from  Eltham, for all you Avery Hill types), but I rather like the spacey, wild, ethereal feel of this song – perhaps it suited the location ? Jerushah X