Or as estate agents (trans: realtors) put it: location, location, location. You need obviously a beach, but it doesn't have to be sand. On Saturday we were in Whitstable which is pebble and mud but still very authentically English seaside. Find a free spot and look out at the sea.
As you can see the tide has gone out a bit and anyone wanting a dip would have to go for a walk first. But tide and weather are two out-of-your-control variables. I managed to get a swim in before the waters disappeared off towards the horizon.
This was another brother and family production, so here was definitely Uncle JP, above entertaining a nephew with a lesson in how to take that all important feet with shoes on beach shot.
Ok obviously there was a BBQ and big thanks to A - or should I say Professor A now - for his stirling work feeding the hords.
My contribution was the Chocolate Tart above - or maybe, given it was from a French shop, Tarte au Chocolat. Doesn't really matter whether you call it Tarte or Tart as it disappeared quicker than you could name it.
What, you might be saying, about going for a sail? We were at Whitstable, which is a cracking place for a sail, as can be seen from the picture above. And Professor A has a cat, which in previous years has gone for out for a blast out to sea. So why not this time?
Well, many there had small children, including Professor A, who as noted above was also hard at work at the BBQ. This was a children's party, with kites and silver plastic balls (as per previous photo), and there wasn't time or energy to add sailing (or kayaking, though other parties on the beach had a number of sea kayaks).
In years gone the party goers were twenty something, events went on long into the night, included skinny dipping and gossip for the next day.
In years to come the children will have grown up to either crew the boats or (preferably) the BBQ.
In the mean time, you can still enjoy the beach, the company and the food.
