A RAINY DAY ON THE BEACH: Southerndown with Tara and me camera.

Although winter has not yet arrived, the summer is most definitely over. But despite the fact that it was hammering with rain, I decided to take Tara Iguana to the beach today. We drove down to Southerndown, just east of Ogmore by Sea.

The journey was quite nostalgic; driving through Bridgend reminded me of the times I have made that journey to go to Bridgend College. I did two TUC Health and Safety courses, a NEBOSH Health and Safety Certificate, and started a degree.

When I say ‘started’ a degree, I suppose I mean I got a Certificate of Higher Education. I had originally started a course in Labour Studies through the TUC, at Bridgend College, franchised from University College of Wales Newport. The plan was that after two years we would be awarded a Certificate of Higher Education, then after 4 years we would get a degree.

The course was perfect for me; it covered politics, sociology, trade union studies and much more. It was all evening study, so I did not have to take time off work. Unfortunately, by the end of the second year there were only three of us that had lasted the distance, and one of them was now doing the course on a distant learning basis from prison! The university then turned around and said that they would not continue to run a degree for three students and unceremoniously pulled the plug on us. None of us were in it for a certificate, we all wanted a degree and we all felt sold out. If we had known we were not going to go the distance we might not have started the course in the first place (although on reflection I am glad I did, I thouroghly enjoyed it an learnt a hell of a lot). I now have credits I can take on to another course, but I am struggling to find one that does not involve taking time off work.

Anyway… after driving through Bridgend we made our way through the winding lanes that eventually take you down to the beach at Southerndown. I like beaches like this, there is a car park, a toilet and a lifeguards office and very little else. We met up with my friend Squirrel with her two kids, parking next to her car and talking through the windows of our cars to avoid getting out of the cars and getting wet.

Eventually I bit the bullet and got out of the car and went for a little walk in the rain, leaving Tara with Squirrel. I wandered out across the rocks, this part of the coast is legendary for its geology, there are some incredible rock formations here and in the summer I have spent many an hour walking across the rocks with the girls checking out the rock pools looking for crabs.

I started snapping photographs of the waves crashing against the rocks in the rain. Initially I used colour but as the weather was so grey and colourless I decided to switch to black and white. When I reviewed the pictures I could not tell the difference, proof of how grey the day was.

After the walk along the beach we all got umbrellas out and wandered up along the cliff top path to check out the views, getting thoroughly soaked in the process. I managed to get a few decent photographs, but again the mist was a hindrance, and eventually I had to give up because the lens was covered in rain.

Then, back to the car and home to dry out. Despite the weather I had a great time, it reminded me of one of my favourite sayings “there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”.

To veiw a selection of the photographs CLICK HERE