Watch The Birdie!

I've been struggling to decide what to write about this week, hence the slight delay. I could write about the painful experience of making myself go to my drawing class on Thursday, only to find halfway through that my inner critic had firmly taken over my brain, shouting obscenities about how rubbish I am and that I'll never be able to draw: I came home in tears. I could write about the led primary class that our yoga teacher gave on Sunday morning, complete with Q&A session about the traditional method of Mysore style Ashtanga, which was very inspiring and really got me thinking about trust, surrender, dedication and our intrinsic search for meaning in our lives.

I could write about all the bad news I've heard this week: people suffering from emphysema, lung cancer, a brain tumour; relationships on the rocks; people in pieces. Or about my job interview. Or about another song I wrote. Or I could write about a weekend away at my grandparents' which left me full of nostalgia, sadness and talk of wills.

But I won't. Instead I'm going to write about birds. Starlings to be precise. Over the West Pier in Brighton. If you've never seen this incredible spectacle, I urge you to take a walk along he promenade at dusk and just take a moment to observe what I can only describe as a stunning natural phenomenon. It really is a sight for sore eyes. Hundreds of tiny winged wonders dancing through the sky as a single, magical entity. They appear to glide effortlessly on the breeze, almost disappearing from view, then suddenly swoop off at top speed in a dark black cloud, as if someone's tugging an invisible string to which they're all attached. It rather reminds me of that scene in Finding Nemo when Nemo and Dory meet the shoal of fish. Any moment I expected the starlings to suddenly form themselves into an arrow or a grumpy face.

And it's not just me who finds this winter murmuration (ooh hark at me) so breathtaking. Hoards of people gather along the seafront to witness this acrobatic display and even the pigeons and seagulls know it's something of a special occasion and seem to want in on the action.

So, another busy week in the life of the Seaside Scribbler then, but the avian beauties win the vote hands (or should that be wings?) down. These birdies really are worth watching....

Faces, Places, Bits 'n' Pieces

I thought I'd tell you a nice summery story today, seeing as we're all desperately trying to avoid the inevitable onset of autumn. A couple of weeks ago I was on the beach with my partner - I know, actually sunbathing on the beach only a couple of weeks ago, can you believe it? Being a South African who's only used to dazzlingly white, babysoft sandy beaches, he usually rents one of those green foam mattresses when we go to Brighton beach (well, Hove actually), while I bravely endure the painful bed of pebbles like a true Brit.

The way the mattress system works is that there's a pile of them on every beach, along with deckchairs, parasols and the elusive sunloungers. You help yourself to what you fancy, then a little while later a friendly man comes along and asks for your money. But the amazing thing is, no matter how many times we've done this, whether on a quiet Wednesday afternoon in spring or on a manically busy weekend at the height of summer, this man (yes, always the same one) never fails to approach us for the money and has never asked us twice. Not once. Ever.

We've often wondered how on earth he keeps track of the hoards of people who constantly borrow his beachware throughout the day. So, finally, we asked him. And his answer was "Faces, places, bits 'n' pieces". Basically, he has a photographic memory and uses visual cues to remember who is sitting where on the beach, e.g. the tattooed man with the white baseball cap, the couple with the orange baby buggy, etc. But what if they move, we asked? Well, he assigns several cues to each person based on their location, appearance and who they're with. Fascinating, eh!

And guess what cue he assigned to us? That's easy, he said, how could he forget the man lying on the nice comfortable mattress while his poor girlfriend suffered on the stones beside him?! Ha!