Monday 12th July
Off to the beach today. Praise the Lord for the Sat Nav. The beach at Carnac was one recommended in the Tredion folder of information for those staying at the Chateau!
It wasn’t sunny, but it was still very warm and there was less chance of getting burnt to a crisp by the sun. To my delight, even though we parked right at some trampolines and a bouncy castle, the children ran straight past them without a word and onto the beach. They were much more interested in using their buckets and spades and playing football.
Off to the beach today. Praise the Lord for the Sat Nav. The beach at Carnac was one recommended in the Tredion folder of information for those staying at the Chateau!
It wasn’t sunny, but it was still very warm and there was less chance of getting burnt to a crisp by the sun. To my delight, even though we parked right at some trampolines and a bouncy castle, the children ran straight past them without a word and onto the beach. They were much more interested in using their buckets and spades and playing football.
Once a great sandcastle had been built and Iona had appropriately decorated it with some carefully selected shells she had gathered, she decided that Badminton was the game to play. The fact that it was extremely windy and she had no hand to eye co-ordination yet did not put her off at all. As she attempted to hit the shuttlecock, I had ample time for some people watching.
The lifeguard seemed to be actively discouraging people from going into the sea. It didn’t look too rough, but something sinister was afoot. The beach is fairly long and there was one life guard and two other people wearing a uniform which I assume made them the Beach Police. So no sooner had they blown their whistle and removed one hapless bather from the water, but another one was in further down the beach. They were up and down, up and down. There had to be an easier way.
Meanwhile, at the back edge of the beach, a rotund woman was carefully preparing to go for what must have been a daily swim. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the water held some inexplicable danger. With great precision she donned her black bathing suit, folded and placed her clothes in a blue flowery bag and took of her watch and placed it in the bag. She then removed a string of bathing floats and a combination lock from the bag and proceeded to lock the bag to the beach railings. No one was in the water. She took off her shoes and placed them one by one, suspended between two railings just above the bag. Then she took the floats and placed one strap under her breasts and the other under her ample tummy, so that the floats were on her back. I couldn’t help but notice that she had already whitened her lips with some protective ointment – had she also greased herself up while my eyes had strayed to Iona’s valiant attempts to hit the shuttlecock?
She headed down the beach carefully and into the water. I had a sudden urge to tell her about the unknown danger that lurked in the water and that she must not go in, but I was transfixed and didn’t have the French for it anyway. She swam out and out. No Lifeguard appeared, no Beach Police blew their whistle.
You’ll be glad to hear that she did make it back alive and no mysterious creature grabbed her, or current dragged her under. I think the float and the tummy probably would have kept her afloat in a force 9. However, she was about to go back in when the Beach Police arrived and she was stopped in her tracks. I didn’t hear what they said, but she was not happy, “noooon!” She headed towards her padlocked bag and shoes, picked the lot up and then, keeping an eye out for the Beach Police, walked purposely down the beach to another spot where she hoped she could swim undiscovered.
Sam, Alan and Iona (who had just given up trying to hit the shuttlecock) were watching Sam’s sandcastle being washed away by the tide when the Beach Police arrived. They were all fully dressed and did not have any intention of going for a swim. Alan smiled and tried to remember his only phrase of French (Je ne parle pas le Francais) but nerves got the better of him and he was only able to stutter, “Anglaisé”. The Beach Policeman used his English to make sure Alan understood the gravity of the situation, “Do not touch the water. It is dangerous.” At last we knew, it wasn’t the currents or the waves, or indeed a sea monster in the depths, it was the water that was dangerous.
Then it started to pour with rain and the entire beach scattered in about 3 minutes flat.
The lifeguard seemed to be actively discouraging people from going into the sea. It didn’t look too rough, but something sinister was afoot. The beach is fairly long and there was one life guard and two other people wearing a uniform which I assume made them the Beach Police. So no sooner had they blown their whistle and removed one hapless bather from the water, but another one was in further down the beach. They were up and down, up and down. There had to be an easier way.
Meanwhile, at the back edge of the beach, a rotund woman was carefully preparing to go for what must have been a daily swim. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the water held some inexplicable danger. With great precision she donned her black bathing suit, folded and placed her clothes in a blue flowery bag and took of her watch and placed it in the bag. She then removed a string of bathing floats and a combination lock from the bag and proceeded to lock the bag to the beach railings. No one was in the water. She took off her shoes and placed them one by one, suspended between two railings just above the bag. Then she took the floats and placed one strap under her breasts and the other under her ample tummy, so that the floats were on her back. I couldn’t help but notice that she had already whitened her lips with some protective ointment – had she also greased herself up while my eyes had strayed to Iona’s valiant attempts to hit the shuttlecock?
She headed down the beach carefully and into the water. I had a sudden urge to tell her about the unknown danger that lurked in the water and that she must not go in, but I was transfixed and didn’t have the French for it anyway. She swam out and out. No Lifeguard appeared, no Beach Police blew their whistle.
You’ll be glad to hear that she did make it back alive and no mysterious creature grabbed her, or current dragged her under. I think the float and the tummy probably would have kept her afloat in a force 9. However, she was about to go back in when the Beach Police arrived and she was stopped in her tracks. I didn’t hear what they said, but she was not happy, “noooon!” She headed towards her padlocked bag and shoes, picked the lot up and then, keeping an eye out for the Beach Police, walked purposely down the beach to another spot where she hoped she could swim undiscovered.
Sam, Alan and Iona (who had just given up trying to hit the shuttlecock) were watching Sam’s sandcastle being washed away by the tide when the Beach Police arrived. They were all fully dressed and did not have any intention of going for a swim. Alan smiled and tried to remember his only phrase of French (Je ne parle pas le Francais) but nerves got the better of him and he was only able to stutter, “Anglaisé”. The Beach Policeman used his English to make sure Alan understood the gravity of the situation, “Do not touch the water. It is dangerous.” At last we knew, it wasn’t the currents or the waves, or indeed a sea monster in the depths, it was the water that was dangerous.
Then it started to pour with rain and the entire beach scattered in about 3 minutes flat.
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