First I take Jake for a walk along Penwarren Beach, near to our home. The tide is in and there’s only a small expanse of sand where I throw a ball to Jake. When we’ve had enough of that game, we explore the bottom of the cliffs, Jake looking for interesting dead sea creatures and me for treasure. Not that I’ve ever found anything of value but the sea does wash up some odd things. I’ve found a tin box, rusted through, which when pried open at home revealed what could have once been a letter. I’ve also found a few lovely green and blue bottles, quite old, which I’ve cleaned and put on the bathroom windowsill. As I wander I stare up at the cliffs. Here they are not granite but a kind of chestnut-coloured earth, quite crumbly, as once this was the bed of a great prehistoric river. They collapse frequently, which is a good thing to be aware of. When parts of the cliff fall they change the landscape yet again so that it’s never static but a changing organic entity. Walking along I watch tiny crabs make holes in the wet sand as they dive beneath it.
