Out of Season

I was in Scarborough, on the East Coast of North Yorkshire, yesterday, where I saw our actress Rachel Jane Allen giving an excellent performance in Jack Lear at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

I was with my mother and hence we needed no discussion: Scarborough has a beach, so that was where we went.

There were huge waves.

I know it's hard to see the scale of the waves without a bit of foreground interest but actually I was too busy trying to avoid drowning either me or the camera. Here are the waves splashing up the wall of the promenade:

and here they are looking towards the Grand Hotel and the harbour on North Bay:


I'm not one for the amusement-arcade type of seaside (though anything's better than no seaside, and I do have a bit of a soft spot for the brash-and-proud-of-it Blackpool).

But I love that melancholy, out-of-season feel: here's the Spa in Scarborough yesterday, with the sea in the background:

and again:

And the light was wonderful:

just before sunset:

If I lived by the seaside, I'd be so busy staring at the sea that I'd never get anything done. It was freezing cold - there was a blizzard as we drove into Scarborough - and we loved every moment.