Lincolnshire 6 - Skegness/a visit to the barbers and to the seaside/Skegness is bracing but closed

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Lao Tzu said that "Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes" Today was one of those days in our lives where we make a plan , slightly keep to it but lose sight of it quite quickly.

Do you love the seaside? The sound of the waves crashing on the rocks on the harbour. The feel of sand like time slipping through your fingers. Memories of making sand castles , carrying the bucket and spade home, eating doughnuts and rock. Fish and chips. The smell of the sea, tangy in the air. The noise of the bingo callers and the excited children. The music that escaped onto the street from the penny arcades. Go on , you can think it - Penny arcades - now that's a long time ago. I don't remember going to the seaside as I child but I must have been as I have old black and white photographs showing a smiling child dressed in a pretty frock holding a bucket and spade. How we got there I will never know. My mum and dad did not have a car. Rhyl on the cold grey Irish Sea was the nearest seaside resort to our home. It must have been a long bus ride away. I cannot imagine carrying that bucket and spade on the bus but I must have done. There I am in front of a wall standing on Rhyl beach. Rhyl was popular with all the miners from the North East Wales Coalfield. Most of our village spent time at the miners camp every year. We didnt so our trip must have been a day trip. In teenage years I spent a week in a caravan staying with a friend and her family. Days were spent in the arcades, walking to the fairground, riding the rides and enjoying life to the full. It was the 60's we all wore denim material skirts in pastel shades . Mine was pink held up with multicoloured braces. Topped off with a multicoloured jacket and bright red shoes. The height of fashion we thought. Had we had more cash we might have gone to Blackpool as that was slightly more up market. A larger fairground with more rides, the Tower with its ballroom and the trams.

So what was the equivalent for the Derbyshire miners? Skegness. We left Bolingbroke castle and headed into Skegness. Our sat nav shouted to us that there were diversions . Clever girl we thought as she guided us successfully to a long stay car park just behind the sea front. How long are we staying I asked ? Who knows? I need a haircut said Glenn , we can go for a walk around town, perhaps find a chemist that will give us our flu jabs. So we had a plan . Later we would ring Newark to find out if Gabby was ready for us to pick up. If so we would head that way and take her home. If not well plan B would come into force - a hotel at Skeggy for the night. That was the plan Remembering the quote from Lao Tzu we were used to changes and he did tell us that " we should not resist changes as that only creates sorrow" An interesting thought . We were playing this visit by ear. Who knows what the day would bring now.

Skegness - Skeggy - SkegVegas . I have been once before, Glenn a few times more. I remember the clock tower and I remember the North Sea which was as grey as the Irish Sea that I was more used to seeing. Why did we pick Skeggy? Why not ? We had to waste a few precious hours.

Skegness has been settled by the Danes and its name means one of two things perhaps Skeggis Headland or beard shaped headland which refers to the shape of the land. Skegg being the Old Norse word for a bearded person. It belongs to the ancient Wapentake of Candleshoe. I am going to have to look that one up. It feels like the sort of question you might be asked in some obscure quiz. It was certainly bracing when we left the car park . Skeggi was living up to its reputation of being bracing.

It started its life as a simple quiet fishing town before the railways arrived . Bringing with them day trippers and holiday makers looking for clean air and entertainment. And so it grew from that humble beginnings when Billy Butlin arrived and set up his holiday camp in 1939. The holiday camp still caters for themed weekends and cheap holidays.

Our first task was to find the Turkish barber that Glenn had searched out on the internet . It was hidden away up a quiet side street off the main drag and down in the cellar. I worked out he would be there at least 20 minutes which gave me time to walk to the seafront and get some investigations under way. The first thing I clocked was the clock tower erected to celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. A brick and stone clocktower it reminded me of Rhyl in its design. I found it hard to take photographs . The sun was low in the sky, pale and wan. The wind blew in off the sea. Did I say that Skeggy is bracing? The clock tower stands at the end of the towns Lumley Road and was built in 1898 - 1899. It was like many clock towers funded through public subscription . The next thing I fell upon was the sunken garden where stood the statue of the Jolly Fisherman. He was designed or so the boards told me as a symbol of Skeggy by John Hassall in 1908 for the Great Northern Railway.

Looking at my watch 20 minutes had flown by and it was time to reunite with other half who by now should be shorn. I walked past what Skeggy does best . Rows and rows of shops selling beach items. Each shop sold tat , magnets , tea towels, gifts to take home to remind you of your holiday. Beach balls, buckets and spades, Kiss me Quick hats and postcards. Even Peaky Blinders hats . There were ice cream stalls and shops selling rock and candy . Most where empty . The holiday trade had gone home. The Bingo caller did call out but the arcades were either shut or lacking in any trade at all. It all had the feel of end of season. Even the rides in the fairground were being dismantled . We searched out the pier but did not go on it . Instead we walked to the side of it . In the height of the season there would be entertainment which even included camel racing . Camel racing in Skeggy. Not that would be an interesting diversion. We walked along the shoreline , the sand was pristine , the sea as always was grey and the wind bracing. It was living up to its reputation. The aquarium was open but seemed more like a pirate adventure theme park than an aquarium.

We headed for the shops past the fish and chip shops the smell of vinegar and cod wafted out into the street . Had I not eaten my full English I might have fancied cod and chips. The smell of fish, batter and vinegar would normally have made my mouth water. Boots had flu injections in but could not book us in for a week . There was just nothing left to entertain us. As hard as we tried we had spent an hour and half of our three hour parking ticket and had to move on.

Too early to pick Gabby up. We had promised to ring at 2.30 for a progress report . Should we head for a hotel for the night or just head back towards Newark? It would take us an hour to get back. Shall we stop at the other dealer just up the road from where Gabby was having her service and have a look at an Adria Twin?. Although we have no intention of swapping her we wanted to see what a rival van looked like. Our first stop cup of coffee and a millionaires shortbread . Then we started our tour of the Adria. Apart from the colour from the outside she is on the same body as Gabby. We opened the boot . It looked smaller than the one in Gabby and the cupboards slightly cheap looking and not so well designed. It had a different configuration for the bed which would not have worked for us. We moved on to the interior . Nice seats - leather . A carpet on the floor. We had to buy our own. Nice table , slightly smaller than Gabby but with a larger secondary table hidden beneath. Clever we thought but we noted again the quality was not in Gabbys league . A TV bracket and 12 volt socket . Again two items we had to install ourselves. It had a lovely sunroof but this was at the expense of storage space. Very little compared to Gabby. A good fridge at an excellent height. An ingenious tap which folded flat and a reasonable bathroom area. It did however look cold as the units were grey, black and white . Gabby felt more comfortable and warming. The heater was under a seat which meant losing yet more space. Of course there were things we liked but on balance we felt happy with Gabby and wouldnt change her for the Adria .

After our walk around the Adria we rang "Is she finished?" Sadly the answer was that she would be ready tomorro. We headed home - our plans changed again. The next morning we picked Gabby up. She had been serviced just an oil change and filter, her brakes had been checked and the handbrake tightened. Her habitation check had passed by with no problems however they had found a leak on the fresh water tank and had ordered a replacement part from Germany under warranty. How good was that for service? We just have to wait for the part to come in . At the same time we might order an all dancing , all singing navigation system. An early Christmas present to both of us perhaps.

So that's another few jobs done with and we can make a start again on using Gabby . Our bracing day at the seaside over.

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