22/10: LOST & FOUND

I've lost an earring.  I discovered the loss yesterday afternoon and immediately checked all the usual places - in the bed, in the linen basket in case pulled off when changing clothes, around my desk and areas I'd been sitting throughout the day.   I wear them day and night so don't actually know when I lost the earring - I'd like to think I'd have noticed one missing when brushing my hair in the morning but who knows?

For the first time in weeks the weather was good enough for us to go for a long walk along the beach yesterday so I could have lost the earring anywhere between home and Whitstable town ... I'd also replenished all the bird feeders in the garden and picked up windfall apples and pears so we spent a good deal of time checking the grass and garden paths but to no avail .....

We'll check with the local jeweller how much it will be to make a copy but s*ds law this was a 'good' earring, gold hoop set with diamonds.  Why can't I lose the cheapos??

Anyway ... 

we did enjoy our walk yesterday.  The morning started out wet and windy but it turned into a lovely warm/sultry afternoon and we had to dispense with our coats part way round the walk.

Tankerton slopes (a few minutes walk from my house) has lots of beach huts lining the beach path into Whitstable.  Lots of them had been given a new lick of paint before being shut up for the Winter.  These huts have no electricity or running water but the going rate is currently around £25,000 to buy one and they rarely stay on the market for long as Whitstable is a very 'trendy' area and popular with the DFLs (Down from London's) who come in hoardes in the warmer weather.

The weather was balmy, the sea was calm and the place was deserted - we're used to battling our way through crowds of visitors with pushchairs and BBQ kits etc., but I guess the early bad weather had put visitors off ...... Perfick!!

the gulls were chilled

there were people and pooches in the water   brrrrrr (bit cold for me)

We were happily wandering along the beach picking up small pieces of driftwood (as you do) with a view to doing something 'arty' with the bits sometime ... when David spotted this in the pebbles.  

We picked it up and carefully carried it into Whitstable where we took it to the local pharmacy for disposal ...... should have known better in this day and age

Sorry!  we can't dispose of that, we don't where its been!    We asked what we should do with it and the suggestion was to try another pharmacist at the opposite end of town.   But as we had to walk past a large medical centre first we decided to take the syringe/needle to them. 

Receptionist said No!   They couldn't take the offending needle for disposal.  I asked if we could speak to a nurse on site as they have 'sharps' disposal facilities and so we were sent round to check at a different department.  Same answer ... no they couldn't dispose of the needle, but they did give us a free swipe of anti-bacterial gel to clean our hands with! 

By this stage we planned to take it home and contact the local newspaper and let them find out what should be done with the syringe but thankfully a very sensible assistant came out with a yellow 'sharps' bucket and allowed us to put the syringe in there.   The syringe was for insulin and had been used.  We'd like to give the user the benefit of the doubt and hope the item fell out of his/her bag ... but it isn't the sort of thing we like to find on our beaches ...  

Given the 'jobsworth' 'big brother' world we live in I'm really surprised that we don't have instructions on the local noticeboards telling us what to do with items like this ... how about these new signs that have been erected at the beach

I really don't understand the warning about Groynes ... they are the wooden breakwaters which are in place to stop the pebbles/shingle/sand being washed away with the tide but they aren't aggressive to my knowledge??  

Whitstable is a working harbour so isn't 'pretty' but it is quaint I guess ... and there are a couple of very expensive fish restaurants adjacent specialising in oysters and champagne.   For the less well-heeled, the fishmarket at the harbour sells herring rolls and bowls of cockles/winkles which can be eaten outside at cafe tables/chairs

The boat with the tall mast on the left is the Greta, the Thames Barge that David and I took a daytrip on a while back.  Doesn't look so impressive with those huge sails folded away

The harbour looking very quiet and sleepy

and these huts are teeming with tourists in the Summer - they sell all sorts of arts/crafts/foodstuff

This art class was being taken outdoors - plenty of things to sketch at the harbour - always lots of colourful nets and equipment laying around.  The students seemed to be enjoying working outdoors

There were a lot of starlings around - handsome little birds aren't they

Today the weather is back to wind/rain and not at all nice so it was great to have such beautiful weather yesterday.