Yesterday The Great North Run made a trip into any part of Newcastle unattractive, including the Quayside. Too many people and the possibility of congestion and parking difficulties.
So we went to Whitley Bay street food fair outside the Spanish City instead.
I drove to the Briardene carpark, which has three advantages.
1. It is free.
2. It is far enough away from both the Spanish City and St Mary’s lighthouse that it is seldom full.
3. Point 2 means any visit to either the Spanish City or St Mary’s island involves a nice walk along the beach, promenade or links, long enough but not too long.
Even though it was gloomy and threatening to drizzle it was still warm enough for me to remove my shoes to walk in the sand. I wasn’t tempted to paddle though, the sea was rough enough to be quite exciting to listen to.
At the Spanish City we bought a dozen DeliChurros for the boys and a cup of coffee for me.
As organisers insist on inflicting music on people at such events, we walked away until we found a bench where the volume was bearable.
I do wonder who chooses the pap muzak, why, and why it has to be played at such ear damaging volume. There were two towers of three speakers, overkill even for an outdoor event.
Surely someone on North Tyneside has a decibel meter.
It’s not just autistic people prone to sensory overload that can’t cope.
The elderly, hard of hearing and hearing aid users find making conversation against excess background noise difficult and painful.
No doubt, if challenged, they’ll say “But nobody complained”.
No, like us, they went somewhere else more congenial.
If organisers must have music to create “atmosphere” (?) then make it live and, preferably, acoustic. Then they wouldn’t have to fill in forms and pay fees to the Performing Rights Society.
After a quick visit to the Co-op for the Sunday papers we walked back along the links and the prom. As usual this year I was amazed at the number of dogs on the beach.
The vast majority of dogs, and owners, were well behaved and a joy to behold.
There was one particularly daft cocker spaniel who was so excited he ran past his squeaky ball at least three times before noticing it and taking it back to his master.
But Daisy and Willow were another story. Both little dogs with no manners or respect for their owners. Willow insisted on playing with any ball going. Every dog-walker with a ball to throw had to put up with this little brat of a creature jumping up at them, yapping and getting in the way of any fun that person’s own dog might have. Her owners were a young middle-aged couple who had not taught her recall, and it took a long time for them to even get around to catching her and putting her on a lead. The fact I can recall the dog’s name should tell you something.
Then, on the way back, there was Poppy a large Labrador sized thing, young and very fast.
Her owners were older and well on the way to obesity. He carried one of those things that allow you to throw a ball a long way. As Poppy had no interested in retrieval this wasn’t much use.
All Poppy wanted to do was dash from the sea to the top of the beach and back again, regardless of any animal (canine or human) that happened to be in her way. The owners’ frequent bellows of “Popp Aye” seemed to work as she pelted towards them. The problem was she just went straight past and they weren’t fast or fit enough to catch her.
All those lovely lockdown puppies have reached the awkward adolescent age, teenagers, and it’s easy to see who took the trouble to teach their dogs manners and lifeskills.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike dogs. If I were happy to pick up shit, and it wouldn’t freak out the cats, I’d probably have one as I’m home all day.
But please.
If you have a dog and it hasn’t learnt to come and stay, when called, then please put it on a lead for the sake of its safety and so that other dogs, dog-walkers and beach users can have a fully enjoyable time.
It might be less stressful for you too.
Beautiful beach art at Whitley Bay - whoever created it must have had a whale of a time.
No comments:
Post a Comment