Creative Writing Walk

Autumn Colours

by J R Cooper

On the High Plains; Bishop's Park

Autumn colours fill my eyes
Set the scene for winter skies
Longer nights and shorter days
Catching evanescent rays.

Experts tell us that the unusual weather conditions over the summer months have produced exceptionally good Autumn colours this year.  I can vouch for that!

On Sunday, on a Creative Writing Walk in the Bishop’s Park- here at Bishop Auckland - the colours of the leaves were absolutely stunning, beating any I’d seen in other locations.The walk was organised by Durham County Council, led by Chris Robinson who invited us to base our writing on Lewis Carroll and The White Rabbit and let our imaginations run riot along the 3 mile route. As I tried to imagine lollipops growing in fields; a talking animal and a toy-town train, the colours of the leaves were quite a distraction..

Across the High Plains and round the Deer House, the trees were breath-taking and glorious – but then they  have been in all the years I've walked there!

Redcar, Cleveland.

Work in Progress on the Vertical Pier

Have you visited Redcar lately?

If you have, you’ll have seen this strange new building on the promenade.  Is it a Helter-Skelter?  Is it a small Lighthouse? No – it’s a Vertical Pier and in the future the only way to see that wonderful sea-weedy beach and shimmering sea, will be from the top of it.

In recent years the town had become less popular as a holiday resort, but the good thing was still the view of the beach and the sea and the easy access to it.  Now all that has gone; hidden by a sea-wall that must have been needed to prevent flooding, but did it have to be such an ugly one? Presumably it’s meant to be the colour of the sand; the promenade is raised in places to allow a view over the top and a few fishing cobles still stand where they've  always done, so there must be access to the beach for them, but Redcar has changed out of all recognition.

Fishing Cobles on the sea-front.

The bucket-and-spade holidays; the pony-trekking by the water’s edge and the long dog walks on that firm, flat beach are all memories now.  But I’ll treasure them as I look out from this Vertical Pier along the miles of sand and I'll hope to see the sun making a golden pathway across the water as I’ve done so many times before.

Antiques

It's sad when well-established businesses close down, but I was particularly sorry to see that a furniture warehouse on the edge of town will be doing that soon.  Not because I've been a regular customer,  but because of a notice outside which makes me chuckle.

Antiques Old and New it says

I've always smiled as I passed that.