summertime!

[llywela]

So, every summer we take our Sunday School for a day out on the beach at Barry Island, and we've never been rained off yet.

We had an absolutely glorious day yesterday. After two days of nonstop rain, and one of the wettest summers on record, the forecast for yesterday was 'bright and breezy'. What we got was blue sky and sun with barely any wind at all, and it was a lot hotter than forecast, too. Clear enough that we could see right across the Channel to north Somerset on the other side. I was plastered in suncream and still managed to burn a bit!

This is my cousin Stephen, but ignore him and focus on how pretty the beach looks.


We took about two dozen kids, aged between three and eighteen, and they were all were astonishingly good, apart from one learning disabled six-year-old who insisted on throwing sand all day. No one wandered off, no one threw any tantrums, they all took part in all the games that were organised for them. Even I ended up having to take part in the games! I usually just cheerlead from the sidelines, but one little girl from my class asked me to be her big person, so I kind of had to run. Also spent a large amount of time playing bat-and-ball with another little bunch. We did sand modelling, took the kids in the sea - and I'm very impressed at how clean Barry Island is these days, both sand and sea were immaculate. We also had a first class view of some kind of junior lifesavers tournament that was going on a bit further down the beach; some of them in turn came to watch our races!

Ended the day with a ride in the funfair for each of the kids, and then came home with about half the beach in my hair, clothes and bags. I've had Small sleeping over for the weekend, so we were competing to see who could get in the shower first. She won.

And this morning? Absolutely pouring down again. So - timing is everything!

Comments

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

I am so happy to read the weather was perfect for you all. You must be exhausted today.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Yup, knackered. So I really can't explain why I'm up and about so early! But it was a glorious day, and the kids had an absolute blast.

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Sand all washed away now ?

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm going to be finding sand in my hair, bag and pockets for weeks!

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Someone needs to invent a vacuum cleaner specifically for beach sand ;)

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

The beach looks gorgeous! It sounds like fun. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're up...as early as me! *G*

When I was little, Barry Island was a dump. It's the nearest beach of the traditional tourist/day-out variety, and has always been a mecca for anyone within driving distance. We used to go there a lot - my parents would take the three of us, and often four cousins while their mother was ill, which was a lot of kids to shepherd on the beach! And it was an absolute dump. It's been cleaned up so much now, it's almost unrecognisable and wins those coveted blue flag awards and the like.

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

It feels weird, I am never up this early! :)

My neighbourhood beach is like that too: used to be a complete dump, and now it's all pristine and ratless. It's very pretty but feels peculiar because it's completely changed.

Seven kids on a beach must have been crazy! I have enough trouble when I try to keep track of three cousins.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, the two dozen we took yesterday had enough adults to go around that it was child's play! I can remember those little trips to the beach with the cousins - those were the days it was perfectly acceptable to let kids ride in the boot if there were too many for the car...! *G*

The funny thing about Barry Island these days is that the beach is beautiful now, but the town gets more and more run down by the year. The holiday site has closed, so there's very little accommodation, and the funfair is a shadow of its former self. Barely any rides open any more; it really needs to be pulled down and start again from scratch, which means investment, which is going to be hard to come by. Tourism isn't the easiest industry, I guess. Especially in a summer like we've been having - yesterday was glorious, but there was plenty of room on the beach. Go back 10/15 years and it would have been heaving.

[justwolf.livejournal.com]

I remember the good old days of riding in the boot! They were fun :)

Beach tourism must be very tricky. At least in a city, people will turn up to museums regardless of weather, but with summers like these, it's got to be hard to drum up any enthusiasm for investing in beach tourism. They put up a funfair in my town every summer, but so far I've barely seen anyone using it!

[sunray45.livejournal.com]

You were lucky to have such lovely weather for your day at the beach. It sounds as if everyone had a great time.

Why ignore cousin Stephen - he makes a very nice centrepiece there. :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Hee. Stephen is a darling. And we did have a really lovely day, thanks.

[callistosh65.livejournal.com]

Y'know, I have very similar memories of Barry Island. We used to go there on school trips a lot (I grew up in Swansea) and I always remember it as ..well.. rather grotty. So it's lovely to hear that it's all sparkly and clean now. And interesting what you say about the town itself. I hadn't been back to Swansea for years. Went back a couple of years ago and was saddened by how run-down the city centre seemed - or is it me with rose-coloured spectacles??

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's funny how little seaside towns can go. I have clear memories of Barry from when I was growing up - the beach was grotty, but the town itself was pretty vibrant and full of life. Of course, they had a steady source of visitors and therefore revenue from the Butlins holiday site, which is now closed. Fast forward to today and the beach has been cleaned up beautifully, but the town seems to be dying. No holiday site for visitors, therefore less revenue to maintain the facilities. It's really sad.

But still perfectly possible to have a marvellous day out there, as we did yesterday.

Couldn't possibly comment on Swansea, as I've not been there for years. I know there's a lot of redevelopment going on of late. But I suppose things always look different when revisited after a long absence.

[jayres.livejournal.com]

You were so lucky with your timimg. :D I'm glad you had such a good day.

We had our seaside day at school on Friday and it rained all day. Luckily in the morning it was light rain so the kids still went in the paddling pools and played in the sand under an awning. We put the bouncy castle up in the hall, which is where the Punch and Judy man did his show anyway. They all had a thoroughly good time, but Saturday's weather would have been perfect!

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Timing is everything - we were so lucky yesterday! Torrential rain all day today. Sorry to hear you weren't so lucky with yours. Fortunately kids tend not to mind being a bit damp, but the adult helpers usually do!

[ehlwyen.livejournal.com]

YAY!!! It didn't rain! OMG look at that sky, what a beautiful day you must have had! *heart* I'm so envious! :D So glad everyone had a good time! :D

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Thanks, honey *hugs* Big yays for a sunny day - we've had torrential rain all day today!