Tag Archives: Camber Sands

Rebel without a greenhouse

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kirk brandon rockThe last post about Bauhaus reminded us of a gig many moons ago in Birmingham when they supported Theatre Of Hate. While the headline band were playing, we could see from the circle above there was some sort of chaos developing in front of the stage. A man in distress was frantically shouting at Kirk Brandon but couldn’t be heard through the roaring din of the band playing their garden fire classic “Incinerator.”

Were people getting crushed? Could somebody be seriously injured down there? Kirk Brandon waved his hands to the band to stop playing immediately, the tune coming to a crashing halt, the band members and the audience wondering what the hell was going on.

There was now silence in the venue, the worried punter shouted again and was picked up by the lead singer’s microphone and his voice relayed throughout the venue. “Kirk, Kirk, I’ve lost me shoe. Can you see it from up there?”

Mr Brandon didn’t see the funny side and carried on with the set visibly fed up (after being upstaged by a single-shoe wearing punter.) I always wonder if that bloke ever found his piece of footwear.

Pic above: A stone originally found on the beach at Camber Sands rediscovered while cleaning up around the pond a few years ago (left.) What a ringer for Kirk’s band’s logo eh? (right.)

A surrealist style summer

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Here's gone summerAKA Is this the summer or are we in a perpetual state of hoping for one?

I’ve haven’t long got back from a family break in Camber Sands. The night before I left for the seaside I gave the garden a good old dousing with a hose, thinking it wouldn’t get another drop until I got back. All through that evening and during the night it tipped it down, great eh?

Yesterday I popped into my local supermarket to “get some bits” and said to the chap behind the till, “where’s the sun gone, mate?” as it wasn’t the best of days weatherise.

I thought I’d just get a smile or a jokey reply but he came back with a long bonkers theory that the british government are firing chemicals into the atmosphere during the evening (so no-one will see) to make sure our summers only last a few weeks or even days. The conversation went like that for a few minutes much to the disgust of the long queue forming behind me (he was the only one serving!)

I nodded and picked up my shopping bags. Judging by the weather forecast for the next few days, perhaps he’s right! Solitary squashOne thing in the garden that seems to like the rain, is the mad butternut squash that has filled the square bed at the side of the garden (only one squash on it though) and now trying to climb up the plum tree. Madness!

Seaside special

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Last weekend we were away in the land of glorious sunshine, Camber Sands. You’d honestly think you were somewhere exotic what with the glorious weather there. The picture above was taken down the road from where we were staying, and it’s an ingenious way to use a boat in the garden!

While I was at camber I took home a carrier bags worth of seaweed to use in the garden (I’m not sure about the legality of doing that) alongside tasteful bits of driftwood, shells, stones and the odd old beer can to stick around our pond. All I got off my kids was “why are you bringing all that rubbish home for, Dad?”, brilliant eh?

As soon as I got back to London I gave the seaweed a good hosing down to get the salt off and left it at the bottom of the garden. After a couple of days in the hot sun it frizzled down to such a tiny amount there weren’t enough left to use as a mulch. I could have always make a seaweed plant feed but as there’s already a bucket of foul smelling liquid stinking up the garden it’ll be bunged into the compost heap. Seaweed is a great compost activator and adds minerals and trace elements to the heap. Nowt wasted then!

Here’s a tune that got played a few times while chilling in the sun at Camber. It’s from a while ago but a tune all the same!