Beach BBQ

The other day, the wife came home from work and decide that an impromptu visit to the beach, including a BBQ. It was a nice sunny day and the wife had been stuck in doors all day and decided she needed so time out in the sun. We made a quick stop at Tesco's, to pick up supplies and a disposable BBQ. The disposable BBQ's are brilliant, they are cheap and cheerful and can take it anywhere. 

The picnic area

The BBQ

Its not a bad view for a impromptu BBQ, sitting on the beach, just a few minutes down the road. The place was completely disserted, not a soul insight, not something that you would find down south on a beach on Friday night. While the skies weren't clear and blue, it was certainly pleasant sitting there, munching on a sausage sarnie, watching the bairns playing. There are not many days when its possible to do this sort of thing up here, so sometimes you just have to get out and do it, and i'm sure that this wont be the last time we try such a thing.

The bairns playing 

It really is one of the biggest advantages of living up here, there are so many different experiences and opportunities that just aren't available down south and certainly weren't available back in London where I grew up.

Fun at the beach

Last weekend we headed to the local beach with some friends, just a little get together to take advantage of the spring sun. While the car boot looked like a miniature construction site on the way down, with diggers, dumper trucks, bull dozers and more spades than you can shake a stick at, the kids didn't really make the most of it all when we got there. That's not tonsay they didn't play with it, not at all, it got played with and deposited around most of the beach. I think the monster trucks went down best, especially with one of the younger ones! The little chap got quite possessive at times! Anyway, while the kids were off rock pooling and looking in caves, I thought I would have a little fun by myself. Now, I usually attempt to build sand castles but get about 2 sandcastles in before the first is destroyed by some rouge construction vehicle or dinosaur or child, but with the bairns occupied, things got a little further!

Almost complete.

I almost got the thing complete, the main castle is pretty much finished and I was just working on the gate houses (just visible on the far left) when the bairns appeared, their feet are just visible at the right of the picture! The photo isn't the best, as it was snapped quickly before anything happened to the castle! And it was a good I deal that I did, as I tried to get a second picture from a different angle when this happened;

Rouge bulldozer and feet!

The mote never even got started and I had grand plans for a draw bridge as well!

After the castle, another request was made, so I set about building a tunnel or bridge as the bairns called it.

Entrance

Internal shot

The tunnel went quite well in the end, it only took 3 attempts to build, the first was collapsed by a small foot from a nosy little person, the second collapsed all by itself, although that might have been because I was being a little ambitious with the design. The third however, worked just fine. It even survived being stood on by two small bairns! I realise that the beach is supposed to be for the bairns to play, but there's no reason us adults can get in on the action!