Somewhere in the porous matter of the mind, a though endures, an echo through time of a point when everything coalesced to a moment of clarity, of existing and being aware of that existence, rather than taking it for granted. Carefully probing through the archaeological strata of thought, this remembrance prevails and demands to be retold in the less than perfect medium of language.
The problem with that is that I don’t have the language, by which I mean I do but I didn’t at the time. There is a theory I read about in Dr Glenn A. Bassett’s fascinating book WordPlay that states (and I am recalling this from memory as the book is packed away) that we can only recall what we could describe in words known to us at the time, so the younger you are the less chance you have of solid memories as the vocabulary base you had recedes as you go further back.
One particular day I visited Robin Hood’s Bay, which is the classic small village clinging onto the Yorkshire coastline, it has narrow streets, plenty of cobbles and all the usual things you would expect in such a town, cliffs, predatory seagulls, old houses, local craft shops and boats bobbing up and down in the bay. It sounds idyllic, which is why it’s popular, a boon and a bane for the locals one would expect. My true memory of that day though was the ocean, something that seems to pull at us all, the yearning to be beside the seaside.
The tide was in that day and so what else to do but enjoy the ocean, the spray, the gentle sounds of water gliding back and forth. It is always something that gives me pure pleasure but this time it allowed me to exist in the moment as it were, to perfectly appreciate all around me, the small pleasures in life that are fascinating and yet so humble.
It started with a wave, a cascade of water spiralling back in on itself, the sun glinting off the back of its ever-changing apex giving it a golden back accompanied by the pleasing sound of that journey’s end. The sound of many waves crashing and splashing on the shore, energy spent. The endless repetition of both sound and view is mesmerising, since time immemorial this has been witnessed and ingrained into the human consciousness, a source of innumerable mysteries.
As the sea draws back to make another infinitesimal assault at the village, it reveals a treasure, rock pools, each its only micro galaxy with living creatures and separated by spaces, the water only allows for a quick survey, making one feel like a space probe collecting images to send to the brain for later study.
This was my fixed point around which all of nature swirled, the other people interacting with the world didn’t seem to notice it which made it my personal pleasure, a secret hidden in plain sight, a knowing wink from nature. I wonder how many of these I have missed over the years, I don’t mind as long as somebody else has their secret memories even if they didn’t know it until much later.
Love it when you play with words and memories 🙂
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I shall endeavour to keep it regular this year as last year was as ever hit and miss. Whilst trying to write my thoughts down, I did find myself wondering how much pioneering research into squeezing my readers into my consciousness would cost. I decided that it would have given a more accurate description but would be more time consuming and my bank balance had plenty of zeros in it (to the left of the decimal point I regret to say) which I assumed were shocked mouths like those in cartoons, so that settled it.
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oh my, I can visualize those shocked mouths 🙂
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They mirror mine every time I go to the bank haha.
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your bank is in all your beautiful books 🙂
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That is a good point, the O is now a ) but horizontal, otherwise that would just look out of place.
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Loved this, Ste J. Great picture too!
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It is one of those places that lends itself to beautiful photography and whimsical thoughts of course!
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a marvelous coalescence methinks 😉 Not to mention, I’d love that point of view!
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It is a place that can conjure thousands of stories, I must go back again and take some photos for myself.
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I should love to sit along that avenue w/ pen and paper and let Memory and Imagination Conspire ❤
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Maybe you will some day, it would be worth it, I assure you.
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Nice piece Ste J!
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Thank you, it’s something a bit different from the reviews but I do like a bit of variety.
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I love Robin Hood Bay! The first time I went was when my younger daughter was very little and in a pushchair. The difficulty of controlling the speed going down that steep road to the beach and then the agonising return with back bent double and hands ‘above’ my head as I pushed the buggy back up the hill.
Memory is so strange. Our senses are involved so deeply in some of our memories. Sometimes, only when we see a certain colour or hear a certain sound are we transported back to that moment.
Beautiful writing Ste. Thank-you for this post.
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That hill is a killer, especially that first time back up it when it didn’t seem half as steep on the way down. I quite like how memories sneak up, I often ponder why a certain thing (if I realise it at the time) brought back that certain memory, then the insides of my head become fascinating and I sit there in my own world, usually when I should be doing something of some urgency. I hope to do some more of these in the future should memory be kind.
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Excellent!
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How beautiful! You helped me to visit the place through your mesmerising imagery. The interweaving of memories and place taken us to a zone which is ethereal yet so real.
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It is an interesting juxtaposition of image and place, it is fascinating to journey back and try and make sense of what triggers memory, how we see things and what our thoughts were at the time. The real albeit slightly ghost like images contained in my brainbox is something I am happy to take along with me.
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I have so many questions when it comes to memory. If I could only remember what they were. Seriously, though, memory and it’s malleability is vastly interesting. Nice post.
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Haha, the old ones are always the best ones! I like having total recall(ish) of an event, it would be nicer to be able to pull them out at will but I will settle for surprise memories as and when they come, it keeps life interesting or nightmarish if I don;t have a pen to hand so I can write my thoughts down.
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Exquisite.
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Thank you, there was so much more I wanted to do with this post but at the risk of droning on and getting into stuff I would have inevitably ended up having to research properly, it became what it was. That you like it is good enough for Ste.
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I would love to go to Robin Hood Bay. You know what I’m going to ask, don’t you? What was the pub like?
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I don’t remember a pub but I was too young at the time to have appreciated the fine ales it would surely have had, with a tang of sea salt no doubt! That question does encourage a return trip in the future so it’s all good.
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You could have sat in a pub garden with a glass and a bag of salt and shake. I did that many a time…
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Salt and Shake are great, tey lead to the most uneven salting, that is if you get a little blue bag that is. I don’t recall there being a pub, but there must be…
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It sounds wonderful. And I really liked the way you put it in words. Loved this post.
Here’s hoping you’ll visit my blog sometime soon. 🙂
http://www.thewhimsicalandwanderingsoul.wordpress.com
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Thank you, it took a while but was worth all the tearing out of hair lol.
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I can never get sick of seeing photos such as this one. The U.K has so many beautiful old historic places to visit. I am 100% envious of all of you that live there!! Have a great weekend. Hugs from across the ocean!! Paula xxxx
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Well you are welcome over anytime my friend, plenty to see and plenty of fish and chips to go with it! Big hugs backatcha! xxx
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God I love fish and chips! Haha Sorry for the late reply. I barely get a chance to blog anymore. Hugs xxx
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I think we are all in the same boat with time and blogging my friend. xxx
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This is beautifully written. The idyllic village with its bucolic beauty, the charming seaside with uncountable waves playing on the shore….all have produced a perfect picture, drawn with words. I think you are right that those memories attributed with appropriate words are best remembered…. 🙂
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I’m glad I could creat a picture for you, something tangible to hold in your mind’s eye. It makes me feel exhilarated to be a writer.
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That explains why my memories of childhood are so poor! Beautiful piece of writing Ste, vivid and lyrical.
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Thank you! It is rare I venture into my past for the same reasons that I don’t recall it with the clarity that my vocabulary now has. Perhaps soon more will occur to me soon, or maybe I can venture into the recent past.
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Hey Ste, you are so great with words, such and awesomely descriptive piece. My grandparents were from Yorkshire – no longer alive, but never forgotten. My parents still have a strong Yorkshire accent, even though they moved me to Devon when I was one and a half.
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Thank you my friend, it is nice to flex the creative muscles now and again. The Yorkshire accent is one that is never conquered, you can’t beat it.
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Thanks. I will tell my mum and dad that. I haven’t got a Yorkshire accent. Some people think I am from London! Some people from foreign countries have said they like my British accent in my videos.
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Hi Ste; thanks. I’ll let my parents know. I haven’t got a British accent; some people think I am from London. Some foreign people have commented that they like my British accent in my videos.
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Beautiful post, Steve. Memory is both amazing and a puzzler for sure. I’ve never heard of Robin Hood Bay, but the photo is lovely. I could put it on my bucket list, which is about as impossibly large as my TBR.
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It is a small place, yet always busy. It would inspire you no end and is a worthy addition to your bucket list, that it rivals yor booklist is indeed impressive, my bucket list usually involves me taking a bucket to the pub and asking them to fill it for me hehe.
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LOLOLOL!
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Beautiful! A perfect capture of a moment in time.
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I wonder how much better my descripton would be these days, perhaps another jaunt up that will inspire something.
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Thanks for sharing in your memories. 🙂
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Thanks for reading. I had to share this one as it came to me out of the blue.
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I just love England.
That I never saw it is true but completely out of point.
Your account sounds wonderful and I am sure I would do the same if I was in Robin Hood’s Bay that day.
These are the moments I, too, seek in every place I visit, because they bring me closer to those places and make them part of me.
I am curious – have you ever played with MBTI tests?
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It is difficult to soak everything in and assimilate its meaning as you go but I like to think those special moments will come to the fore even if it takes a few years.
I had never head of MBTI tests so I did one at myersbriggs.org and my results were interesting, ‘joy in action’ is definitely me! In fact I may get a T-short printed with that on.
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I did the test several time but on other pages.. Sometimes I am impelled to print out the main things and give it out to some people I work with as an instruction manual. haha
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Haha, that’s a good idea, at least that way people could attempt to define you better. If you could charge them for the privilege as well, it would be a bonus.
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Love this and wish I could see pics of the place. You are so fortunate to be in a country rich with history and beauty from ages ago…that place s sprinkled with fairy dust, I say!!! LOL
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There are plenty of images out there on the web! It is great to be able to potter around and find a plethora of history close at hand and it is intriguing to find it further afield as well though, the perceptions of ‘the foreigner’ is always intriguing, which explains my love for the travel book genre.
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But you get to live and travel amongst it all. I’m kind of jealous! Lol.
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True, although my cash doesn’t go far enough at the moment!
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Neither does mine, but maybe someday! At least I’m in Florida and there’s no snow and I can walk around a park or even walk along a chilly beach (chilly is now relative).
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What a beautiful photo of a beautiful place. Love this: ‘… a secret hidden in plain sight, a knowing wink from nature..’ Oh to by the seaside. This is a lovely post my friend, I am transported…
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Thank you, I often wonder how the reader interprets something written, I am sure it is completely different to what I saw and yet at the same time, you are there where I was, that is fascinating and paradoxical all at the same time.
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Now you must read The Waves by Wolfe and post it quick to make this a trifecta! In all seriousness, it was a pleasure to read your wave of memory. You had a very zen moment of clarity and connection to nature – perfect!
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I should have planned that out better and I could have had a sea theme going on for the week. I need better glasses to be able to see and plan further ahead. I think we get so wrapped up in needless stuff like work and such that we don’t really see those special moments, I am trying to shut off the world of stress as much as possible to just enjoy the simple things in life, easier said than done.
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