Wednesday 16th September 2020 - Blow & Throw, Indian Summer and Incy Wincy

Litter picking in the mornings for over eleven years, either on the west beach or in the village, we have noticed there is a pattern in the types of items we collect. But before I go on to this, I must mention how much cleaner the west beach has been over the last couple of summers. In the past it was nothing for us to walk back up the zigzag path with a sack full of bottles, cans, clothing, food packaging etc. which we had cleared. I am surmising the acclaimed programme Blue Planet has had an influence on the reduction of litter left behind. Back now to the different items, once we move into September we see an increase in the number of tissues dropped. This is not something we actively monitor; it is something we sadly see happening every year. We term this as ‘blow and throw’. In these difficult times it is particularly important to dispose of tissues thoughtfully and do as everyone was encouraged to do, at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak - ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ and not ‘blow and throw’.

Up until this week, I would have described the increase in temperatures along with the sun and blue skies we have been enjoying, as an Indian summer. Not so, according to the TV weather report the other day when it was explained, that a return to summer like conditions is only classified as an Indian summer, if it occurs after the first frost. Overstrand, in its coastal location, often does not experience a frost until December, so in this case it is likely that Indian summer’s will be something of a rarity here.

Memories returned yesterday of our sons learning, in playgroup, the rhyme about Incy Wincy Spider, who climbed up the spout. This was when Peter found the reason why one of the burners on our BBQ was not functioning correctly, was due to a spider and its web in the gas pipe. Suitably removed, the flame is running blue again and not orange as before. Now sorted, the next the time Peter uses the burner to fry onions there shouldn’t be a black carbon deposit left on the bottom of the pan.

Our tomatoes in the greenhouse are nearly finished but we still have cherry tomatoes and ‘Big Daddy’s’ on the plot – the ‘Big Daddy’s’ are definitely big. One, I picked the other day and photo’d, weighed just under a pound/half kilo; sweet and juicy, it cooked well on the BBQ. Today’s other photo was taken from the cliff top and shows just how busy, for September, the beach was yesterday.