MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS
by
MICHAEL NORFOLK
It's a nice day for taking a drive into the
countryside, but where should we go? It's always lovely by the side of
the water so why not find a peaceful place along the canal where we can
take our dog, Charlie, for a stroll.
It sounds idyllic and it's a great choice of
location but finding the right spot isn't always as easy as you first
imagined. We headed south a short distance towards a local canal basin
only to find the marina accessible to boat-owners only and nowhere for
casual visitors to park. There was a local pub car park across the road
but I'm always wary about parking in a private car park when I am not
actually patronising the establishment. It was one of the few warm and
sunny days we have had this summer and the frustration of not being able
to find a safe and secure parking place was upping the heat somewhat. In
the end we decided to abandon our plans for a walk along the canal and
head towards the coast, by which time we had already covered enough
miles to be looking out onto the North Sea. On our way, we even had the
opportunity to call back at our home to visit the toilet!
It was tea-time when we eventually got under
way again and Charlie must have been wondering what on earth was going
on. He'd already done a circular tour of South Yorkshire without his
daily walk, been taken back home again for a quick run in the garden and
all of a sudden he was being bundled back into the car for another
journey.
What can at times be a weary drive along the
A64 was, for a change, quite refreshing. The majority of the traffic was
making its way home in the opposite direction with long queues forming
as the stretches of dual carriageway came to an end. We decided to head
for Scarborough and entered along the sea front, driving down to the
North Bay where there's a sea-front cafe that sells fish and chips. The
tide was in when we arrived and we stood for a while watching surfers
braving the cold waters, while the late evening sun was beginning to
clothe the landscape in a warm glow, highlighting the ruins of
Scarborough Castle high up on the headland.
After all the time we had spent getting
there, standing in line for twenty minutes or so waiting to be served at
the cafe was hardly something we could complain about. I can remember
when fish and chips at the seaside was something to really look forward
to but these days I prefer fish cooked closer to home and so we both
settled for a tray of chips while Charlie was treated to a fish! It was
the least we could do for him.
In the expectation that the beach would be
out of bounds to dogs we walked towards Peasholme Park but just managed
to notice a sign that asked dog-owners to be responsible and clean up
after their pets when taking them onto the beach. As we set foot onto
the sand, recently washed by the ebbing tides, the sun was beginning to
set and for security more than the expectation of capturing any decent
photographs, I had brought my camera along with me. Within a matter of
ten minutes or so we witnessed the complete transformation of the sky
from a gentle orange glow to a rich fiery red.
I would normally prefer the use of a tripod
when taking photographs in such low-light conditions but I hadn't
brought that along and so I just snapped away in the hope that some of
the images would turn out okay. On the north side the sky was fiery red,
reflected in the wet sands, while to the south the clouds were a lovely
slate blue-grey, tinged with edges of red. I panned round, taking
photographs in all directions. Within a matter of minutes it was all
over.
We spoke as if we had just witnessed
something extraordinary and each of us expressed our views over what we
had seen. On my digital preview the photographs appeared to have
captured the moment, but I wouldn't know for sure until we got home.
Stunning sunsets aren't unusual even in this
part of the world but you have to be out there to see them. Sunrise can
be equally impressive but you need to be up early to witness the best of
them. It's all a matter of being there at the right time and recording
them as best you can.
Despite a small amount of camera shake, my
photographs of Sunset at Scarborough were as good as I could have wished
for. The highlight of our twelve-hour Yorkshire Tour was captured in a
brief ten-minute spell that overshadowed everything that had gone
before.
It's exactly how memories are made.
Michael Norfolk
Sunset at Scarborough
|
