13th November

It is Sunday so we can squeeze through the barricades and, for once, walk the length of the beach. The bags continue to multiply and a portaloo stands like a tardis in their midst.

It's sunny and unseasonably warm (shorts weather for some) and there is a huge harvest of seaweed and plastic with balloons (McDonalds as usual), bottles, boots and turtles tangled in the the shiny fronds - and even a plant pot with its own harvest of sea plants. More paraffin wax too... and three Pot Noodles.

The anglers have been here also, leaving their packs of frozen calamari and pre-packed squid.

The Fa Ocean Dive Active shower gel - vitalising with plant extracts - looks tantalising nestling on the weed.

There are a lots of foreign language packs - including 4 tubs or lids of margarine and a large catering size pack of Ariel. The main languages that wash up are Dutch and French, perhaps not surprising given that Holland, Belgium and France are our nearest North Sea neighbours. Washing powder, dried parsley, shampoo and margarine certainly aren't beach visitors' normal picnic fare - so is this stuff washing down the big European rivers or being flung off ships??

On the way back I found a Smartie top (treasure to me) sitting amongst the weed.

high tide: 12.07 hrs 2.7m; low tide 17.51 hrs 0.7m

time of arrival: 12.48 hrs

weather: sunny, wind E 10mph, temperature 14c
marine litter: many plastic pieces, some quite large; 8 balloons mostly with strings, a lump of paraffin wax.

25th October

 

A grey day with big, steely seas... There is an unusual amount of seaweed washed up on the shore. A mysterious triangle of posts has emerged from the shingle north of the works - what purpose do they serve?* 

Meanwhile, beyond the barricades, the diggers are busy filling the geo-textile bags with shingle and sand and banking them up beneath the cliff.

Amongst my finds, a large and much-pecked polystyrene tray - most of the peck marks are on the underside of the tray - it has obviously been floating upside down across the sea. This everlasting floating bird-feeder will be a useful resource for my next exhibition...

*I investigate the meaning of the posts when I get home - they are markers for where the shingle is permitted to be taken for filling the geo-textile bags.

high tide: 08.48 hrs 3m; low tide 15.07 hrs 0.3m

time of arrival: 12.05 hrs

weather: overcast, wind SE 12mph, temperature 14c
marine litter: a typical 'north sea' mix of the usual culprits including 4 sanitary towels. Also a large and much-pecked polystyrene tray.