It's A 5 O'Clock Thing

If there is one thing I hate about winter time it is the fact that it gets dark so early. Wandering about in the gloom ate 3.30 in the afternoon is just not right.

There are two points in winter when I start to feel that the year is heading in the right direction.

The first is the 21st December, Midwinter Day or Yule as it was once called. Yes folks your Yule Log comes from this Pagan festival celebrated mostly by the Norsemen of old. The birth of the new sun when the days start to lengthen and we move inexorably towards the spring.

The second is just a personal thing for me. No historical or religious significance. It is when it is still light at 5 o'clock in the evening. Don't ask me why I feel this way as I could not give you a logical

answer. I just do.

When it is 5 o'clock and still light it tells me that we are nearly there, nearly out of the darkness of winter and into the real New Year rapidly heading towards spring.

Daft as it seems, I just cannot wait for that to happen. Lifts the spirit and the heart. Definitely not a 5 o'clock shadow!

Soon be summer!

Skegness - Best Beach In The Country?

Having been about a bit in this great country of ours, I can honestly say that I have never found a beach that can match ours at Skegness.

Fantastic yellow sand that runs for miles, finishing in the lovely Girbraltar Point Nature Reserve in to the south of the resort. It is no wonder that so many people come to Skegness for the day, park themselves on the beach with their beer and sandwiches and don't move again until they set off for the car park to go home.

Even on the busiest day there is always room on the beach. The sea is clean (not very often warm I will admit) and sometimes, at very low tide it can be a bit of a hike to go for a dip. Plenty of kiosks in the vicinity selling all sorts of food and drink and if you can work out how to put one up you can hire one of the ubiquitous stripey deck-chairs.

In the last 12 months or so the beach has hosted an opera concert, motor-bike racing and professional beach volleyball.

Just to top it off the beach also hosts the official best group of donkeys in the country.

We have our own beach guards and also the Lifeboat Station is situated slap-bang in the middle of the main beach. It houses a full-size life-boat and also inshore rigid boats.

Beautiful beach and safe.

If there is a better beach in his country, I don't know where it is!!!