Clevedon pier

We drove to Bristol Airport this afternoon to pick up Maria, Helena's cousin, who is staying with us for a night before we return her tomorrow for her flight to Glasgow. Maria is 14 and this was her first solo flight from Heraklion in Crete, where she lives with her Greek mum and Ben, Helena's eldest brother.

I managed to get there late, much to Helena's annoyance, as my Google directions to go on some small cross-country roads led us to a 'Road Closed' sign. All was well in the end and on the way home we took Maria to visit the pier at Clevedon on the Bristol Channel, just west of Bristol. It is a wonderful small old-fashioned seaside town, looking across the Channel to Cardiff in Wales.

We walked along the pier, and found the plaque on the wooden planks which Helena bought as a way of contributing to the upkeep of this wonderful monument. The pier is about 150 metres long with a small elevated pavilion built of metal and glass, where a small traditional tea-shop lets you eat scones and muffins with a pot of tea, sitting forty feet above the sea, and feel the breeze and the warm sun on one's skin. Helena walked ahead to buy the tea and cakes, as I clicked away. I looked up when I heard a commotion to find that Helen's paper plates with the cakes on it had blown away, to land on the main pier, one deck below the tea-room. They were rescued by some other people much to everyone's amusement. When I asked them what had happened they jested that my cakes had blown down which was true!

Before I reached the pavilion, I saw a couple of fishermen with extensive gear by the side of the pier. I asked how their day had been and they said that despite catching no fish, they had really enjoyed themselves, particularly commenting on what a good pier it was to fish from, unlike many of the other places they go. The guy I spoke with, nearest to camera, said he had come down from Swindon, about 50 miles away, whilst his friend had come from London! I asked if I could take their photo and I then snapped this one picture. I think it shows what a kindly looking fellow he seemed to be. It was good to meet them.