Some days are diamonds and some days are stone!

[Resurgam]

                          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 

                         

[Val Beechey]

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 

[Resurgam]

                          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

[Val Beechey]

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.

[Resurgam]

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

[probono]

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 

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.

[Val Beechey]

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 

what happened to the promised rain ?

[probono]

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 

what happened to the promised rain ?

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