Yes it is the storm at Whitby. I do get homesick for Whitby, though I know it is not my hometown. But walking down to the quay early morning and watching the waves break across the pier gives you an awareness of the sea. I still have that childish notion that the sea is going to tip over into space as our planet whizzes around.
I am frightened of the sea but it's beauty as a storm roars through needs to be contemplated with awe.
You will see the piers and then two fisherman walk along even as the waves tower above and think how foolish they are. I remember in another storm how idiotic people were wandering along the stone jetties, and some had even been trapped in a safety hole in the wall. Firemen and Lifeguard men had to come and rescue them and guide them to safety.
I have almost been drowned in the sea, as children we were allowed to go off ourselves down to the beach, and one embarrassing time I had a ring round my tummy in the water. When somehow the ring managed to find the equal weight of my body and I turned and turned and turned head over heels in the water. Luckily someone saw me and I was rescued.
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| Safe Harbour |
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Lobster pots  The constant force of the sea wears away the coastline, and this also happens in Whitby. the little small black mark, St Mary's church to the right of the Abbey ruins is perilously near to the cliffs and already the graves are beginning to tumble down. |
There aren't similar places in the world to English east coast villages, perched near slowly eroding cliffs. I think there must be many towns at risk now, along with monuments and churches.
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