DetectingWales.com

                    My wife Margaret and her cousin Mavis love to play bingo and the seafront arcade machines. I once had a share in a bandit win and walked away with enough cash to buy a Nel Big coil for the safari and was even left with some change. But with gambling not being my forte, I tend to amble around town, read my latest magazine, or a book. With a little lateral planning I found that I was able to get my wife's permission to beach detect whilst the ladies played their favorite gambling machines.

                   Gee, I was in a win-win situation and things are looking good. I don't have to pay any fuel costs, the ladies pay for my breakfast, and at the end of the day they buy me my supper at the Bombay Buffet in Kinmel Bay. Who's a lucky boy then?

                   Still on a roll, the wife said that our seven year-old grandson had expressed a wish to metal detect with granddad. Ho Ho, destination Ainsdale Sands. Daughter dropped the grand-kids off at 0830 hrs and we headed to a local pub for an all you can eat breakfast and 'I' didn't have to pay a penny for food or fuel.   ;D    That was the good bit!

                  Arrived at Ainsdale and unpacked the big sun parasol, anchorage weight, sand toys, beach towels, drinks, sandwiches, extra cloths for both kids, and a few other bits and pieces. Having decide that the Quest Q40 should be the machine of the day, I took it out of the boot along with the finds bag, ProPointer, and cleaning brushes. It was only then that I realized that the spade was back in the house; along with the kitchen sink!  ::)   Not to worry, we could manage with the plastic garden trowel.

                 Several swings into the session and few targets, other than bits o' scrap, our seven year-old grandson, (along with me ProPointer), disappeared into the dunes to play tag with his five year-old sister.
Knowing when I am beat, I packed away the detecting gear and joined the kids in the dunes. First challenge was to climb the biggest sand dune in sight. With the kids already two thirds up the slope, I struggled to catch up, only to be greeted by cries of 'granddad, why are you so slow?' Yes, granddad hurry up!  I eventually made it to the crest of the dune, only to see both kids gallop back down, screaming and laughing as then went.

                With my wife being disabled and unable to chase around after the kids, I spent the rest of Sunday chasing around after two excited grandchildren in blazing sunshine.

                Next time I will leave the detector back in the house, along with the spade and the kitchen sink.

                 Sadly, the poor old Q40 didn't even get a chance to show it's metal. Pardon the pun.

                Well, you lose some and you may just win some. Slowly planning a rematch with a North Wales beach and the Q40; possibly.

                                                  Chris  ;)

Poor Chris. You don’t get that easy, do you ?
I just thank my lucky stars the rest of the family still live in the Midlands. Don’t do kids these days. When they visit they stay at Blue Stone and just pop in for a day. Takes me 2 days to get over that.
Best of luck next time out. You Deserve a good find.

               Thanks for the condolences and the good wishes Val. Planning a rematch come this Friday but the big question is, which beach! Talacre, Prestatyn, Rhyl, or Kinmel Bay? Having a full contingent of passengers in the car and the wife's scooter in the boot; the equipment for the day will have to be the Q40 and spade. The Safari, sand scoop, and kitchen sink will be left at home.

                   Stay safe, stay well, and happy hunting.

                              Chris  ;D

I have a similar problem with my children - they get bored after 15 milliseconds - and so there is no point taking my detector on holiday, or even to the beach with them as I spend most of my time keeping them on the beach rather than wandering off or jumping into the sea...My metal detecting spades come in handy though as (having three of them) we can share - and they shift a lot of sand in a short amount of time.

I've added a picture from a few years ago, but you can see the spade :)

I hope you made sure they filled all the holes in  ;D

                          Love the armchair. Have they not tried to bury you yet?   ;D

                          I did contemplate planting some targets to get the kids interest but that somehow didn't feel right! The five year old granddaughter did ask me why I couldn't run fast.
Putting it gently, I said; 'if granddad runs too fast darling he will disappear'. To which she replied..'go on show us!'  ::)

You know what they say Chris, out of the mouths of Babes etc.  Had to smile though  ;D

Just mind you don’t over do things in this hot weather  ;)

                            Evening of the same day, the wee lass pointed at a glass I had on the kitchen table and said 'what's that?' I said it's a glass! She replied 'I know it's glass but what is it?' It's a drinking glass Katie. I know it's a drinking glass but what is it.

                             By now, a little frustrated I said........'It is a San-Miguel beer glass!'

                             Big sigh and..............'Why didn't you say that in the first place?'   ???

I thought I might post a few others :)

The first is at Redcar-sur-la-mer, the second on the eastern side of Swansea bay.

And for comparison - what happens if I don't have a spade - near the Great Blasket Islands off the end of the Dingle Peninsula - when I managed to get the family there 4 years later, my missus said it was the nicest beach she'd ever been to.

Ah, happy days. Days you’ll look back on in 20 years time and smile.
It seems like another life time when mine were like that. I’m lucky enough to have a pic of my eldest, on a beach, ice cream cornet in one hand, taking his first couple of steps.
Treasure the moments. They pass all too soon.

What amazes me is how grown up the little ones seem to be. They come out with the most surprising comments. I’m not sure, I’m certain, I was never that grown up at such a young age.

                               Looking at those sand sculptures above reminds me of the front in Benidorm. Guys, or gals, build sand sculptures close to the walkway and leave a tin for passerby to throw coins into.  Worth a try!  ;)

As soon as we left the first sand chair, people were sitting in it and getting their photos taken.......

Sometimes we build those stacks of pebbles -I've attached on I made on North Uist last year :)

I've even left a dry stone wall on Penarth beach before now too......

The other 'ball tower' was at Formby (also last year).

I remember being fascinated by the first ones I saw. Couldn’t make out why or how.
Those sand balls are amazing, have you mixed grass in to hold them together ?
Passes the time when you can’t detect  ::)

                        Yesterday I spent an almost zilch detecting day at Rhyl, west of the blue bridge, and there wasn't even a single sandcastle in sight; let alone sand balls!

                         Traveled down with three ladies, one of whom was my wife, and was treated to an all you can eat breakfast prior to commencing the drive from our home town. Fueled up the car and it didn't even cost 'me' a penny. By the time we arrived in Rhyl the sun was high in the sky overhead and things were truly  beginning to warm up. Breaking into a sweat as I offloaded and assembled my wife's invalid buggy I secretly pondered your advice to take care out in the sun Val.

                        Arrived west of the blue bridge and took advantage of the 'free' parking. Offloading all my detecting gear, I felt the heat of the sun burning down upon the car and wondered if I should go ahead with the detecting session, or not. With the high tide at 1230 hrs, I found my planned area for the day's detecting was covered in seawater and I had to content myself with scanning the small section of beach close to where I had planned to detect. Once the tide had turned and receded sufficiently to allow me to access my chosen area, a cool wind was blowing off the sea and I didn't even break into a sweat. It didn't last long though.

                     As I was just getting into my stride and ignoring all the small arms copper shrapnel, lead inserts, and iron; I managed an old one pound coin, a cruddy premedical halfpenny, and a Victorian heavy lead projectile....'but' ....the breeze dropped and the sun turned up it's thermostat! 

                      Well! I can just see our Val sitting in front of her computer with a big smile upon her face and thinking..........'I told him to take care!'  ::)   

No smile Chris. I suffer in these high temps. Makes me feel quite poorly. That’s why I ‘preach’ be careful. Heat stroke can be a killer.
I’m sitting quietly, just me and 3 sleeping dogs. Sunny side of bungalow all closed, shady side wide open, child/dog gate in front doorway. Been asleep myself for a while, had a bad night with one of the dogs, it was quite pleasant in the garden at 3am this morning. Felt tempted to get a Sun Lounger out  ;D
John, in his wisdom (?) has gone with some friends to a model aircraft show down by Western Super Mare.
It’s my turn to be driven mad by relatives today. If I were to have a nightmare it would be, John  gets back at tea time and is followed onto the drive by another car and out spills, the driver, his partner, their 3 kids, all shouting and screaming, and the family dog who instantly pees up one of my plant pots. My 3 dogs going balistic (got to kill the invaders) and me trying to look as though they’re all welcome.
No nightmare. Just don’t come anywhere near my place, it’s going to happen.

                          What was it Noel Coward sang, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun? It all took the edge off what should have been a fare day. They say that the hours between 1100 hrs and 1500 hrs are the most intense hours on hot days and silly me was out there swinging. I can't remember the last time I felt so drained and exhausted. Despite free breakfast, free fuel. and a free supper at the Bombay Buffet in Kinmel Bay; I will be declining to detect on such arrangements again and will instead take a couple of magazines and a good book to keep me occupied whilst the ladies play bingo n go shopping.

                         With my permission fields being hard n as dry as bones, my regular beaches offering conditions much akin to the background scenes for 'Ice-cold in Alex', me thinks I will be returning to crack of dawn starts, short sessions, and heading home before the sun turns up it's thermostat. I will then have to pay for my own breakfast, fuel, and supper. but at least the timing will better fit the tide times.

                        I was amazed at some of the people that had their dogs out in the blazing sun. One dog was having to be carried by it's owner and an other animal distanced it's from it's owner and hid in the shadow of a low wall. Upon returning to our car I took a small bar of chocolate from the glove box and the chocolate had turned to liquid within the wrapper. A bottle of water that I had in the boot was only a little short of being 'hot'. Whilst packing away my gear I chatted with a fellow driver and his small dog sheltered in the shadow of our car. As the little dog sat panting the driver took out a bottle of water to provide his dog with a drink in one of those doggy drinkers that is attached to the bottle. Take care m8, that water is going to be quite hot! Oh it's fine, I filled it up fresh two days ago. Hmmm!

                    So, for me, lesson well and truly learned.

                               Chris  :)

                         

I often wonder how many ‘visitors’ leave woofta in the caravan.
Poor Jack just couldn’t get comfy last night and kept moving position and panting, very loudly. Hence the time in the garden. I did think it was just about right for detecting but then remembered the ground conditions.
I went beach detecting, once, at 6am. It was one of the nicest outings I can remember. Sun shining, tide well out, birds calling and just me.
Thought about doing it again, a few times but we’ve got a lovely new mattress  ::)
Had a quick play with the NOX Just to remind myself how it works  ;D

                          Hi Val,
                                       I woke this morning at 0500 hrs, and despite having run a large cooling fan in the room all night, the room felt considerably warmer than recent mornings. I got to thinking about your dogs and wondered if you run a cooling fan for them.

                                                         Chris :)

Yes Chris. Had one running all through the day. It’s the nights that are bad for them.
John won’t have electricsrunning through the night, pig !
It’s me that has to get up all the time.

Val                         
        I is gobsmacked but shall refrain from making any further comments. We live in a middle terraced house with gardens back and front. The back garden has always been something of a suntrap but since painting the brickwork at the rear of the house white and installing 6' concrete fencing it has become more so. Today, at the peak of the sunshine, the inside temperature topped 34 and the temp in the back garden climbed over the 50 mark. Even our fig tree was starting to look a little jaded and I had to give it some extra water. Other than that and making up a salad for us tea, I haven't done a tap for two days.

       Chris :)

Well, we like to be creative :) - the one in the Outer Hebrides - the next land is the states - mad to think of all that water out there.

The sand balls are just that - I had to dig down until the sand was wet enough - never usually have a sand castle bucket in the car, so just have to make do with what we have - our hands.

If there's a stream on a beach we usually re-route that too.

We're not 'hot beach' people - but whilst the missus (usually) sits on dry sand or in the car, the rest of us enjoy making things / finding things (by eye) - I've always done that - i remember digging a moat on Cromer beach on my third birthday :)

Haven't been out detecting this weekend - it isn't fair on the farmers' land - what little is available anyway.

Well, good news folks. Come Wednesday the temps are going DOWN.
Bad news is, the fields are full of crops or grass and still growing despite the ground being like concrete. And we’ve missed low tides, again.
But at least we can feel comfortable while we moan  ;D

what happened to the promised rain ?

Apparently it all happened in Porthcawl, yesterday  - we had a few spots in Cardiff, but that was all.