Beach Afternoon

When the good weather finally arrives everyone is suddenly in a better mood. I have always thought it has a lot to do with pretty girls wearing bright summer dresses. Now I know the ‘official reason’ is a lot more scientific. The Sun of coarse emits a form of energy and in nature a calling for animals to come out of hibernation and start reproducing. Food sources replenish: the land grows lush. Psychologically speaking people are excited about ‘Get-aways’, Holidays and late nights out in town. But definitely a key factor is skimpy dresses! Put simply: Hotter weather ÷ less clothes = Hotter looking people. (Maths was never my best subject). Summer time comes and everyone’s thinking about Sex all the time….. I know I am!

Brighton beach in the summer is jam packed with people wandering around and interesting things going on. There are often Human Robots and Michael Jackson impersonators. Sometimes you will see Dancers, Sword-swallowers and stalls along the promenade with affordable wares. Bars to drink with Singers singing; Jugglers juggling and Basketball players…basketing? Plenty of little games to play on the Pier and fast rides placed precariously close to the edge. The Sun reigns high in the sky and brings with it all the things we have missed. I feel the heat as it presses down on me. I can smell the salt from the sea and the vinegar on my chips. Kopperburg, Ice-cream and lazy afternoons sitting with work pals on the beach.

On Saturdays the office closes for business at 1pm. In the good weather its tradition for us to grab some booze and meet up by the shore. We hope to see faces from the past – Allie, Sam, Grant or Jo or maybe even Emily. Everyone’s smiling, talking and joking around. Vague and idle clouds are smudged against a brilliant blue sky. Everything feels lazy, even the waves have little strength to claw away the pebbles. Slumped together in a circle we take the mickey out of each other and the girls make me drink shots to see how silly I get! 

Last weekend Stuart and Hannah.B  a.k.a ‘Biscuit’ organised a picnic on the lawns. Just behind the beach huts there is an area of grass where we can sit together and play ball games. Everybody chipped in a little money or bought drinks and food along. The spread was immense with a smorgasbord of global delights. Tikka Pasties, French sticks, XXX.HOT Mexican Cheddar, BBQ Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork Bites. A meal infused with all the cultures of the world, brought to us by TESCO and served on mother natures table. In all its glory Celine’s homemade salad looked gorgeous, though sadly contained cucumber.

There were nearly 30 of us this year, though many faces were missed. But we did have some little children join us, so bad swears were a no-no! They played together and my friends ran after them, ate crisps and snacks till our belly’s were sore and our legs’ grew tired. Later their parents packed them into their buggies and took them home for snuggles on the sofa and rubbish TV. To a child the sea is a magical place, we  look out together and wonder what amazing things are left to discover. Tiny glimmers sparkle across the water and converge into a trail of white light that leads beyond the horizon. This must be the way Peter Pan leads all the lost souls to help them find their rest. There are certain kindnesses we forget as we get older. Days like these remind us of the importance of sharing and ‘please and thank you’. Without the laughter and mischievousness we learn as children we all risk drowning in the mundane.

One thing I hope will be true as long as it can be: that myself and my work pals will meet up every summer, sit by the sea and drink ourselves into oblivion. Maybe Leroy and Henry will make a little fire and I'm sure the girls will endlessly take photos. Its funny watching them agonize over which pictures they look the best in - the one’s they’ll put on Facebook. There will be days that we watch the sun melt across the sky and sink into the sea. The wind may gather about us and the crowds that flocked here just scurry away. But we will sit here chatting and laughing long into the evening. Or at least till one of us realises how cold it has become.