Yesterday's Treasure

Destination Wembury - our fav beach of the summer.  Just one problem - the car park is full and, as there is a wedding later, the church car park is unavailable. There are residential streets where we could park, but that doesn't seem fair, so we decide to head off to South Milton. The forecast is fair, but even if the main car park is full there should be space in the overflow field. We ponder further. The lack of parking at our original destination provides the opportunity to go somewhere new.  Wembury is the easy option - free car park for National Trust members, facilities and a cafe if we choose to use it. So we divert to Mothecombe - a place we had long intended to visit. The beach is accessed through a private estate, and until recently access has been restricted to a few days a week.  To date these days had never coincided with good weather, us remembering and having the inclination to go to an unknown destination. Today was going to be different.  We negotiate the narrow lanes, paid our £4.50 and unpacked the car. We knew from the online beach guide that the only loos were close to the car park, so it was essential to take advantage of these before we embarked on our walk to the beach.

A sign on the gate of the Schoolhouse Cafe directed us to the rear of the building. We then followed the footpath down the hill, past a field where an event was being set up. The workers looked rather warm as they laboured under the sun.  We passed through trees and suddenly the most beautiful beach was there in front of us.  We set up our chairs close to the high water mark. This was not a place where we would find sea glass, as it was too far from any major settlements.  However, there were some fascinating groups of people to watch, including those who dressed up, rather than down, to go in the sea. I overheard one of them say as they walked past
"Just remember, if anyone asks we are doing this for charity...!"

After lunch the family on the edge of the beach packed up and left, so we moved over to the spot they had vacated.  Shortly afterwards four small boys aged from about 3 upwards approached us.
"Excuse me, our rock is under your groundsheet. Would you mind if we get it ?"
Who could possibly refuse such a request?  We duly moved our groundsheet, but could see no sign of a rock.
"Are you sure it is here?" we asked.
"Oh yes. It is buried it in the sand. We need to dig it up."
The treasure hunters started digging. I looked at the smooth sand.
"The sand here has not been disturbed today, are you sure it is here?"
They gave me a look. The sort of look you give someone who should understand, but somehow does not.
"That is because we buried it yesterday!"

Dad was growing increasingly uneasy about their excavations close to our sitting place.
"Can't you find another rock?"
"But Dad, it is Fergus' rock.  We have to find it!"
"Well Fergus will just have to have another rock"
They struck rock, and the digging continued with renewed enthusiasm.
"We have found it!" They were delighted.  However finding rock is not the same as digging up a  rock. For all we knew it could have been part of the substructure of the beach. However, following further instruction from their father, they agreed that Fergus would be satisfied with a substitute and departed, leaving behind the evidence of their excavations.

The other strange thing was that there were about 4 large family groups of orthodox Jews on the beach, notable by their distinctive clothing. The older boys and men wore white shirts and black trousers, some changed into grey shorts to bathe in the sea.  The girls seemed to wear the same clothing as their sisters, and paddled and splashed around in their matching dresses. It seemed a good way of keeping track of your offspring. The ladies paddled in tights and most had their heads covered. We had seen some Jews on the beach at Wembury, but I do not think I have ever seen such a large number in any one place before. By 5 o'clock I estimated there were about 120 people on the beach, of which over 60 were Orthodox Jews - easily identifiable by their distictive clothing.  It made me wonder, if there had been 60 Christians on that beach, would anyone have known?

We watched the waves swell up the river, there were dark clouds to the east.

As we returned we could see that the event was an open air cinema, but apparently, it was sold out. I later found this Link.
What a fantastic setting to sit and watch a film under the stars. Even if the view would not be visible in the dark, it would still be a magical setting.