Wednesday 28th December 2022 - A Peaceful Christmas

It’s been a peaceful Christmas, not just for us but it has been noticeably quiet in the village. Our Christmas started on Christmas Eve evening when we linked up with family in New Zealand where it was Christmas morning and lunch preparations were well underway. Then on Christmas morning we chatted on Google Meet with our family in Bucks. Our grandsons had opened their presents, delivered by Father Santa, (a combination of Father Christmas and Santa Claus, a name which our eldest grandson created), showing us some of their gifts. We lunched on smoked salmon and scrambled eggs before taking a walk and in the evening settled down to dinner which this year featured guinea fowl followed by traditional Christmas Pudding.

Going back to saying ‘it has been noticeably quiet in the village’. I said this because we are used to seeing holiday homes and lets filling up for the festive period but this year, we couldn’t help but notice empty drives and properties with none of the usual decorations, we have seen in the past. I could speculate the reason(s) behind this but I am going to leave it for readers to make their own deductions. It wasn’t quiet on Boxing Day morning; the ‘Swim’ brought numbers into the village both on foot and in cars. We have had better conditions in the past for this event with a calmer sea and more beach for the dippers to run across before braving the sea but you can’t book a low tide or the conditions; nature decides this. There was a good turnout, with people gathered below the sea wall waiting for the bell to ring at the appointed time, of 11.45 a.m., for their plunge into the North Sea. Nearby, spectators lined the promenade and up the zig zag path as well as along the top of the cliff. Judging by the shouts and squeals, as the dippers entered the sea, it was definitely cold but expressions on a lot of faces also said it had been fun too. I put up some photos on Facebook and I have included these below, along with a few more (click on each frame to expand) but it’s Peter’s video, posted on Youtube, which gives the real feel of the event. Not just this year’s but all of Peter’s videos of prior Boxing Day swims can be accessed on Youtube.

So that’s it from me for 2022, back again in the New Year……. I wonder what 2023 will have in store for us!

Best wishes everyone for a Healthy New Year.