A day at the seaside

[mickthecactus]

I know that Kent coast area well (family for generations back come from Ramsgate) and I'd certainly go with Whitstable. Broadstairs is lovely for a visit and has some good restaurants but not necessarily a fishy place. I go down there quite often.

Avoid Margate and Ramsgate if I were you...

[mickthecactus]

I lied about Broadstairs...

Just remembered an excellent fish restaurant above the pub opposite the pier...

[tod2]

Appreciate that Mick! Sounds very similar to the Cafe`Fish restaurant above the ferry terminal in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull - beautiful food even if we found it a bit heavy on the pocket.

On the toilet door inside:
"I must go down to the sea again,
for the call of a running tide
is a wild call and a clear call,
that may not be denied;

All I ask is a windy day
with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray
and the blown spume,
and the seagulls cry"

Chesterfield

[patricklondon]

Er...............John Masefield.

Or, in Spike Milligan's version

I must go down to the sea again,
to the lonely sea and the sky;
I left my shoes and socks there -
I wonder if they're dry?

[tod2]

You're right Patrick - I've just been to have another look behind the loo door! Masefield it definitely is - good spotting, thanks!

[bixaorellana]

Ha -- love the Milligan version, too.

I used to frequent a bar that had the whole first paragraph of Walden Pond on the wall in the ladies' toilet.

Um, that was off-topic!

Hey Patrick -- have you been down to the sea again lately?

[patricklondon]

No, actually, I haven't. The summer was a bit of a wash-out, and I got sidetracked by other interests. Haven't been too good about country walks either.

[lola]

So do the British become irritable when others expect quaintness of them? Is "charming" okay?

We had German visitors once I dragged around to what passes for our stately homes and historic areas, before finally realizing they wanted funky blues dives and immense roadside soft drink bottles.

[patricklondon]

So do the British become irritable when others expect quaintness of them? Is "charming" okay?

All a matter of context. If you live in an eighteenth-century village full of thatched cottages with dinky little tea-shops you can't complain if you're expected to be "quaint".

But if you're from the council houses on the outskirts of the village and your grown-up children can no longer afford to live there or find a job that doesn't involve being quaint on demand, you might have a different view.

Double that and add a bit if you live in a big city with all mod cons and think you're an up-to-the-mark sort of go-getter in the global economy. "Quaint" isn't on the agenda.

[lola]

Thanks, Patrick. That makes sense.

Can't blame travelers for wanting what they don't have at home.

[mickthecactus]

Took the dog to the Essex coast yesterday. Holland on Sea. Perfect resort for Mr Whatagain I would have thought.

[lugg]

Lovely Mick - I have a yearning for the sea ...this Easter weekend's weather looks promising for a walk on a beach

[bixaorellana]

You sure got some lovely pictures. Lucky little dog! Bet he had fun.