The moment the lockdown guidelines eased, we emerged from the North London suburbs and headed straight for Leigh-on-Sea. The sea!

Someone said, “Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, is a town full of unique character and charm and is a must-see when visiting Southend-on-Sea.” 

The sea. Having grown up with the Indian Ocean at my toes, being near the sea is like home to me.

I can’t quite put my finger or should that be toes? on it, but there’s something peculiarly different about the seaside along the coast from Bell Wharf Beach to Southend-On-Sea when compared to other English seaside towns. Could it be the… mmm… dense, sinking-mud?

ALL ALONG THE SOUTH COAST

All along the south coast the sea is sort of there. The sun is sort of shining through a sort of salt-sea air. There’s a sort of “shall we” or “shan’t we”, a sort of “yes” or “no”, A sort of rolling up of trouser legs and a dipping of the toe.

All along the south coast the day is sort of bright. At least it’s sort of brighter than it sort of is at night, A sort of “should we” or “could we”, a sort of “yes” or “no”. It could be sort of fun. We ought to sort of have a go… ––Jeremy Taylor

Please Note: For copyright purposes, the resolution of each image below is considerably reduced.