Life is strange

Life is strange. I was brought up in Uganda but after we retired we moved to live in Spain. At my book group one month I got chatting to a very sprightly 92 year old lady. During conversation it came out that she had lived in Uganda at the same time as me. She had gone out there to teach. When she told me her maiden name I remembered her immediately. She had been my teacher when I was 6.

It was so surreal to be meeting her again in a small village in Spain after last seeing her 64 years ago in Africa.

Anniebach ...sory to hear you cannot get down to see them...just a thought ...some of the big coach firms (Leger Travel is just one I can think of !) do trips to Cornwall ....which would include all travel and a hotel as well ) reasonable prices and probably many go to Newquay ...have a look at the coach holiday websites !

I do hope you manage to get down this summer x

I seem to have the sea in my blood, never happier than when I am in it, on it or beside it. With the family firmly rooted in central Scotland, I have never had the chance to live by the sea, but every holiday has to be by or on the sea. I have even been known to spend the odd day off driving to the nearest seaside just to check that the sea is still there.

We are off to Aberaeron next Friday. We might call in at New Quay if the weather is good. I have never been there. Porthcawl and Barry Island were the places we went when I was a child.

craftynan, my paternal grandfather and his five sisters born on Anglesey, my grandfather , one sister and her husband came down to Aberfan to find work in the coal mines, four sisters never left the .Island so it was with the g Aunts I holidayed . Early 20th century a lot left Anglesey and came to the South Wales mining areas . Late 19 century there was an exodus to Liverpool , there was a part of Liverpool known as little Wales. I transcribed BMD for Anglesey and for Anglesey archives so was lucky to read much about the Islands history from documents

anodomini I am also Clyde built.
Now south of the border I also miss the sea.?

Anniebach and craftynan, some beautiful places, I love them all, also Church Bay, Trefadog, Sandy Beach. Trearddur Bay for eateries and Cemaes Bay too.
The marina at Holyhead took a battering during storm Emma, poor fishermen lost livelihoods but will battle on.

Ladies please.
There are all kinds of seaside places
Deserted sands and rolling waves.
Busy promenades with music and fish and chips.
Rocky cliffs and gulls screaming.
Many more examples, all can be enjoyed for what they have to offer if you’re open to enjoyment.

Annie, I know all the places your ancestors were from. A beautiful area. I also know Newquay and have watched the dolphins playing. Forgive my nosiness, but how did your family come to travel south? These things always intrigue me and I’ve come to the conclusion that few people (myself included) actually stay in the same area as their ancestors.

Try tongue in cheek Juggernaut, though if you deem it to be nasty then nasty it is!

Annie, I must admit I didn't know where New Quay was until today, I googled it. Looks so beautiful, and of course if you have happy family memories, that makes it your special place.
I'd always fancied Pembrokeshire to visit, but now I find a new area I never knew about.
I just love to see dolphins, we saw then on a boat trip in the Canary islands once, following the slip stream of the boat. They are magical to me.

holdingontometeeth
Not all coastal areas are fish &chips, burgers and kebabs you know!
Where I live is a promenade, houses one side of the road, the beach the other. The only property which isn't privately owned housing is the Lifeboat Station!
I can't decide whether your post is sarcastic, nasty, or just misinformed

I too like to be by the sea, breathing in deep gulps of air.
The overwhelming whiff of fish and chips, burgers and kebabs always gives me an appetite.

Peardrop, they hail from Trewalchmai, Llanfaelog ,Red Wharf Bay , Caemaes Bay and Holyhead , I loved holidaying there when young. You Truly are blessed x

Anniebach, I hope that one day you get to Newquay and breath in the bracing fresh sea air.
I’m blessed to live on the island of your ancestors, I look out of my windows at big grey seas, deserted sands and ferries on their way to Ireland. In summer I can hear the fffff sound of children entering the cold Irish Sea and the screeches of joy as they start to swim. From the north facing windows I see a rolling green landscape currently dotted with the last of the snowdrops and flowering daffodils.
The best of all worlds. Perhaps your ancestors walked on our lovely beach.

seacliff, I have many,many photographs of New Quay , one I love is our two small daughters in white macs and wellies, me in Jeans, a rainproof jacket , my husbands socks and scholl sandals ! Pool fishing as the tide was going out. Even some of me in a bikini !

My younger granddaughter hopes to go over there this year and will take her iPad so I will see it and hopefully the dolphins

Annie, I so wish you could get back to New Quay. If only there were a GNetter or two in the area, it would be a lovely day out. Is there a coach that goes there from your area?

We’re 20 minutes by bus from the sea front and have a river and nature reserve at the back of our home. It’s made a huge difference to my wellbeing and also general health as I walk far more than I have done at any other time in my life. Where we live is so important.

I love the sea and am drawn to it, always have been. We lived in London, but on seaside holidays when young, I would have to be dragged out, blue with cold but not wanting to go.

Now we live about 15 mins from our nearest beach. I don't go as much as I'd like. The sea does not have the same pull for OH, so I usually go alone. Even sitting in the car there on a winters day with a flask and book is calming and reenergising for me.

I am a water sign if that means anything!

My dream would be to have a bedroom where I could hear the sea at night, and be near towering cliffs, with beautiful wild thrift growing and seagulls whirling in the wind. We are on the flat Suffolk coast, but it's better than nothing.

I like the coast but have never wanted to live by the sea. I moved 3 years ago from Somerset to Devon, I live in a small Town on the edge of Dartmoor which I love as I grew up on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. My DD lives nearer the sea & it only takes me about 20mins to be on the coast (except in Summer when there's lots of Tourists) My DiL was brought up in a seaside Town & couldn't bear to live away from the coast

St Ives was one of my parents' favourite places.
They always planned to retire to Cornwall, but my Dad died very young, so it never happened.

From 1958 until 1963. My parents had a house in Cornwall overlooking the sea.
I was devestated when they left, but since then I’ve always
managed to go back and stay at b&b’s or apartments in the area.
A few years ago I managed to stay in the house we had lived in, which had become a B&B.
I even managed to get my old room and being able to look out of the window and see St Ives Harbour that I had last seen 50 years ago was a wonderfully emotional experience.

I used to live close to the sea but the salt in the air killed the plants and ruined the paintwork, the windows were always salt coated

Yes that’s the downside Harri my plants get battered by the wind and my windows are almost permanently salt coated.

I’m like you Juggernaut and would find it hard to move away from the seaside. We are about a 5 minutes walk away.

juggernaught Please don't move. Thirty four years of that sea view. You'll regret losing it.
A couple of roads back will never be sufficient for your need to see the sea from your home.
I'm talking from personal experience.
From a couple of roads back you'll be able to hear the sea, particularly when rough, but not see it, tormenting yourself further.

Like NanKate, I too can easily do day trips to the IoW (athough I live further inland) and have enjoyed many hot lazy days on the beaches there. I was brought up with a river and beaches directly at the bottom of our garden and have always felt the pull of water and endless horizons.
Luckily, I'm fit and able to travel to coastal resorts quite frequently.
Last year (Feb 2017) I booked into a b&b in Whitley Bay for a week. I had a great time, travelled by train, ferry then metro and was met by my host who took my luggage ahead after handing me the bike he'd hired on my behalf from a local shop. I visited the lighthouse and had a show-round at the local lifeboat station. It was a fantastic week and one worth repeating.