Friday, 13 July 2012

Day 20 begins


10/7/2012
Day 20 begins





Do you ever get those days that are kind of surreal but very good as you watch them unfold? Yeah today was going to be that. The pain of the sprain from the beach debacle had eased off and I was feeling very keen to get out of the camp site before they realised I had been given the best gift of all, free accommodation and free services. Seriously I don't mind paying my way at all, but neither will I look the gift horse in the mouth. (Does anyone know why we use this expression? I know it is the right one but not why.)

I needed a morning call to the bathroom and to brush my teeth etc, so hurried away from the F this and F that from the neighbours who obviously weren't enjoying their camping expedition. Whilst there a big guy came in and I said the normal good morning. He just looked dozedly at me and walked past. I couldn't tell if it was ignorance or just he couldn't see me at this moment, but he oozed a negative aura. Not a nice one...Nooo...












I got the hell out of that place fast and the campsite, not before popping in to use the local camp shop. (Well I had to contribute in some way) I made a good progress using the roads for a few yards before heading off across the fields and the soggy tracks towards Filey. It seemed to be taking ages to get there, but the scenery was good. I had to drop down into a road that came to the shore and here I found the lovely cafe at Hunmanby gap. The two charming ladies working here were Carol and Irene and they made me very welcome. They were a bit bored at first (not with me) but because the rain was putting some people off coming down to the beach. I got chatting as I have habit of doing these days firstly with a couple out walking their dog, Susan and David Bates. They were keen walkers too and the dog gave them a good reason to walk the beach this morning. They were waiting for the tide to begin going out, so that they could walk all the way to Filey. This was good news as I too didn't really feel like climbing back up the hill just yet. After a few minutes they left to get going, they said that they walked at a slow pace these days and that I would possibly pass them later. No goodbyes, just a see you later, my new choice, and then they were away. The friendly staff made me another cup of tea compliments of their generosity, and I sat chatting with them about the local village and its weird ways. I made my excuses to go as I saw that the tide was well on its way out, and braced the fresh aired chill again.





You know how sometimes you can tell if people are decent at first glance? Well this is a talent I am developing, but sufficed as to say that good people ooze a kind of presence, an aura of light or something almost discernable but not quite visible, and it can be seen or rather felt if you are paying attention. Well, before I had gone a few feet from the cafe, I felt that presence coming towards me, smiling and happy and cheerful despite the miserable summer. As if I had been needing a pick me up, the arrival of the new people did just that.


Sarah, Richard, Sally and Toby the velocoraptor, (well he was a dog with a name similar to that but nothing as scary looking as a dinosaur) came bounding up the path towards me and really made my day. Although our conversation was brief, they had filled me with an incredible energy to see the day with fresh eyes. Smiling and chatty and full of good tidings they brought a happiness to me that had disappeared when the big guy had drained the bathroom this morning. Unlike him they had something positive to say and added a new dimension to my energy levels. I don't mean to sound judgemental but from what I heard from the big Scottish guy this morning he was the creator of his own unhappiness and that of his family. I almost went over and spoke to him about how his constant moaning and hypocritical chastisements of both his son and wife were the sign of a weak leader, a man without control and a sorry excuse for a father and husband. A person without respect for the views and emotions of others who bullied like a coward. (Ooh got that off my chest...!!)


You see I see and hear it all, but would he have appreciated my observations? Unlikely, as he didn't even acknowledge me in passing. I do hope that he learns a better way sometime soon before his family desert him and reinforce his self loathing misery.


Here before me were the complete opposite and unbeknown to them, they had re-fueled me where I had allowed my energy to be sapped this morning. If I am paying the correct attention, then no-one can rob me of this energy, but as a mortal human being, I like everyone get the times when others can draw it away before I have had time to blink.


So thank you for all your kind encouragement the above named people. All of them.

I set off along the beach and decided to write a note of thanks to the Universe from me in the sand, as it can help to get the wheels moving faster. A message of Love Peace and Harmony for the world. Before long I had indeed caught up with the Bates' and they were doing some dog training I think. Filey was a pretty seaside town, not much beach side, most of it up a steep hill into the town. I passed a posse of school kids on the beach getting thoroughly wet but I didn't see a single one of them complaining. Children love the seaside and especially making and castles. Pity It was nissing down (raining heavily) on them.






The town promised a break for me from the drizzle and now more persistant rainfall. I walked about spying a great place called surprisingly enough, The Lighthouse Tea Rooms and Coffee House. It was charming, as you kind of expect from seaside towns and oldy worldy quaintness. I was busting for the toilets so quickly dropped my stuff and ran, leaving the waitress wondering what I was on. She promptly informed me on my return that table service was provided and that she would be over soon. I sometimes forget that services like these are the norm in some places.


I ordered soup of the day and it came with wonderfully warm bread. Tea enough to sink the Titanic, again, and I was set for the next outing. Well actually I had been writing poetry whilst sitting here watching the world go by. The cafe/tea rooms had a very warm and friendly feel to it, much the same as my favourite Miss B's tea rooms in Melton Mowbray. I relaxed and soaked up the atmosphere and felt like I could have spent at least the rest of the day sitting writing and watching the rain soak someone else. Before I left I got into a very nice conversation with Paul the owner of the tea rooms and Brioney the waitress. Paul was very interested in helping me so he made a very generous donation, which is a lovely thought and one that so many of you wonderful people are constantly showing.




I only hope that people will be as generous to my Just Giving pages for charity donations. I know that we are in a recession despite whatever the government and the banking quangos tell us, but it is still vitally important that people who care continue to see that the amounts they give, however small or large are helping to aleviate the suffering of people far worse off than you and I. Charity is not always a scam as some people would have you believe. Yes it would be great if the funds we spent on our taxes were being spent doing better things than buying arms to use on other human beings suffering already. But the crazy world we live in is so mixed up it is going to take a huge shift in consciousness before that is eradicated, and so charity is still vital to get things done in the here and now. I personally support regularly all the charities I am raising for and others too. I don't expect anyone else to, but I hope that you will think about my request and give generously to whichever one you prefer to receive your donations. If you have any problems at all getting the pages to work, then email me and I will sort it immediately or sooner. Your giving is helping to change the world....

























The walk out of Filey surprisingly lead me to the Cumberland sausage. Sorry I mean the 'Cleveland Way.' It begins or ends here, depending on which way you walk it and covers a huge part of the North Yorkshire coast. I am not sure yet as to its complete finale, but I may know soon. I meet with people all the time who offer me snippets of information about stuff, and that is a big help. The views were glorious as I hacked my way along the muddy and deluged grounds that used to be well worn pathways, before the flood of recent days. I have to admit that the cliffs were very scary, as I came closer a few times than I would have liked to the edges of recent slippages. My boots and trousers were covered in so much dirt I thought that I had swam in the mud.





During the walk towards Scarborough I found a Haven Trailer park site called Blue Dolphin on the Filey hills above Filey. Now all the signs say stick to the paths, but when the path cuts over into their grounds then obviously I will go and have a look and save my boots from whatever exhaustion they are dealing with. I stopped and asked a bewildered looking security guard if I could use the bar to get a hot drink, and he kindly radioed through to the head office and got a response. I had done a blinding job cleaning the mud off myself with a cloth when he said that they were ok with my request. I got a free use of the internet to upload my blog and several nice hot drinks for my couple of hours here. Again thanks where they are due, and the staff were all very accommodating.

I got back onto the Cleveland Way and headed north into the hills again. Scarborough was within reach walking, but I felt no great hurry to get there. I half hoped to have bumped into the family with a dinosaur for a dog again and get another boost where the rains were drawing me away from happiness, or at least total contentment. (I swear that I am working on this, following the examples of the Dalai Lama who is a present day warrior of love compassion and peace, but I fail miserably some times.)

I came to a place where I saw a lot of evidence of land slippages and made a small video of the findings. (I bet you laugh) I then met with Bob who lives in one of the houses I talked about in that video. He was out with a strimmer to clear a path where he went out daily to walk his dog on the beach. We chatted about lots of things and I asked specifically about the beach and land slippages and he told me that they were only falling away at about 3 inches per year on this part of the cliffs, and that what I had just reported on was things that had happened either by the local councils request or the design of the world war efforts of other eras. There you go, me and my assumptions again....!!!


He didn't know why I was so shocked or what I found so funny, but he did explain all that I had asked and even supplied some new data about cables going all the way to Europe across the sea from the point a few yards away, where surfers went down to the beach to surf. He was a nice Yorkshire man who was very engaging and who clearly loved to chat freely. He showed me where to get along the coast, as the route had changed a few years ago due to slippages further along the coast. I made another video hopefully correcting all the rubbish I had spouted before, but at least It makes good viewing, right???














The day was getting closer to dusk and I finally arrived at the signs to Scarborough, but didn't want to go in to the town just yet. I found a great little place overlooking the bay I had passed earlier in the trees and hopefully away from any noise. The spot was close to an edge, but safe enough to be a good hiding place for the evening. Tent set up I got myself ready for the night and ate my spoils collected shopping in Filey earlier. Oh the joy, the sheer joy of freedom and tranquility and a great views to rest my soul and my feet. My body ached only a little now and the ankle had held up well as the night finally closed in swamping me with needs to stop the tent leaking.



And here was day 20 coming to an end.

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