My Dad didn’t like going to the beach very much as he swam like a brick and hated sand sandwiches.
But that doesn’t mean to say we didn’t go, and I have fond memories of Punch and Judy shows, candy floss and donkey rides.
Mother in law wasn’t one for candy floss, and sadly Punch and Judy and donkey rides seem to be absent from our beach promenades and holiday resorts.
We walked up to town this afternoon as we’d heard there was a sand sculpture competition going on. I remember the amazing sand sculptures at Weymouth over the years, though Hubby and I have seen artists at work on the High Street in the past making sculptures of sleeping animals. One ‘labrador’ was so lifelike, I had to stop myself offering it a biscuit, and put 50p in the guy’s hat. He really had talent and I could have watched him work for ages.
It appears that this weekend has been an education in sand art, Friday and Saturday being lessons ready for the grand finale competition today.
It was wonderful to see so many kids taking part without the need for batteries or laptops, generally having fun and being creative.
It was all a far cry from my pathetic efforts of sand castles as a kid. I could never get them out of my bucket whole and my ‘moats’ always dried out.
This particular part of the beach is off limits for dogs, so the sand is lovely and clean.
I’m not sure if this is a bell, rocket or sand castle, but the feathers were a nice touch.
A young girl was working on this sea turtle, which was coming together nicely.
This was the Professionals enclosure, and some of the entrants were copying the idea of dolphins or whales by just showing their fins in their personal sand pit.
The following are the professional sculptures, and although very good, I still remember the sea horses and the like at Weymouth with awe.
I also made some new friends today which made a change from talking to the geese, ducks or dogs. These guys were very pleased to know me, though sadly I had no treats in my pocket to give them.
The guy I spoke to has been doing the donkey rides for years, having grown up with them and taking over the family business.
He agreed with me that you don’t see many on the beaches these days, and Punch and Judy is definitely a thing of the past.
These seven were all extremely docile and well cared for. I got well and truly nudged for fuss from all of them.
A little boy came up and wanted a ride. At £3 a pop, you can choose which donkey you want to ride, but they are all tethered together so they all go, not one at a time.
I hope I’m correct in my assumption that it’s only kids that get to ride them and not the horrendously obese adults which I feel could do serious damage to the animals.
Despite my weight gain recently, I felt like Twiggy compared to some today.
pensitivity101 
A lovely reminisce of the old beach days. 🙂
I loved the donkeys too – tho as you say you don’t see them much nowadays. We were so lucky one summer when my Mum and I had gone to Bridlington with my girls, to see donkeys on the beach. We had just arrived and they were just leaving, but the nice lady owner let my kids have a ride. (There are never donkeys on the beaches here.)
I think they still have them at Weston Super Mare. It was lovely to see them and have a fuss…….. yeah I know, I’m a big kid.
I also have a soft spot for donkeys. 😀
They’re cute aren’t they. I read once that they need to be in pairs or groups as a single one gets lonely.
Aw You often see one in with some horses.
It really is good to see kids getting involved in something like this – so much better to get outside and enjoy some fresh air than so many other things kids spend time on these days.
Even the parents were surprised at how much fun their kids were having. One Dad was saying his son wanted the tools etc for sand sculpting for his birthday this week. I thought it would be a marvellous idea, unless of course he wanted his own private stretch of beach to go with it. Mind you, there are some pretty reasonable sandpits to purchase!
Love and love this post, it brought me good memories. I lived by the ocean until I got married, and my parents always took us kids to the beach, such fun! Now, my house is by a river and the only beach we have is a lake beach. I love the river and this beach, when we got married I told my husband that I would leave the ocean, but only if our home would be close any body of water, I can’t be far from water, it’s part of my nature.
I am so pleased it brought some good memories and have visions of you being a mermaid Elizabeth. What a lovely thought.
We loved it on the river when we had the boat, though our residential mooring was in a marina. We are only five/ten minutes walk from the beach here and it is truly lovely (when it’s not freezing cold or blowing a gale, and interesting when it’s covered in snow!)
I’m putting together a series of posts on our beach for this week which is mainly photographs. Hope you like them.
Thanks for letting know! For sure I’ll check out the beach posts.
They start tomorrow until Saturday, but are mainly photos. Enjoy the relaxing views, 🙂