In Praise of the English Seaside
The Bucket and Spade Brigade are Returning to the Fold
Last time I had a 'foreign' beach holiday, I stepped on a sea urchin and got an infected toe. I also got so sunburnt I had to stay in the shade for the last three days.
When spring is on the way, people in the UK start thinking about the ‘holidays’, by which they mean the summer holidays - the big vacation of the year. This is when the Brits flock to the overcrowded beaches of southern Europe to bake their pale wintery skins under the scorching Mediterranean sun.
My happiest memories of childhood are of the visits to ‘the coast’. Not to the Mediterranean beaches but to English seaside resorts. Donkey rides along the beach, slot machines, carousal rides, ice cream, sandy beaches - everything a kid could want.
All this changed with the advent of ridiculously cheap air fares - think £25 ($50). for a return flight to Spain’s Costa del Sol where grown ups are so stupified by the heat they can hardly lift their Pina Coladas. Kids wear big hats and are covered top to toe with sun tan protection cream.
Personally, I just cannot see the point in roasting onself on a beach. It’s not everyone who wants to turn their body into a piece of burnt toast. Give me the English seaside any day. Many resorts over a certain size have wonderful covered Victorian piers where you can stroll if it should rain (of course, it never does!),
However, change is in the air and many people are holidaying at home; fed up with the hassle at airports where security precautions mean hours of boredom spent hanging about. Then there’s the question of what all this flying is doing to the environment. Don’t get me on that - there just isn’t enough space left on this page!
Think about it and plan your next holiday at an English seaside resort.
