WHISPERING SMITH: September’s Song

Our lovely beaches have been less than crowded most weekends, although on a couple of weekends it reminded me very much of the old days when the tide drove folk shoulder-to-shoulder up the crowded shingle beach.

Only the queues at the Pier Road fish and chipperies seem not to have diminished, sometimes leaving very little space on the wall for finger-eating a cod and chips.

Several of the seasonal events have not enjoyed the fairest of weather, either.

Not all doom and gloom, though, there is still some summer left and September can be one of the loveliest months of the year, leading into an autumn where you will find that, by donning an extra sweater, you can enjoy many of the things that summer offered, but from a different perspective.

Try an autumn walk on the beach, or ramble the lovely hills behind LA – whatever the season, this area and this town has a lot to offer all year round, grab it!

THE SHOW MUST GO ON This Saturday, the combined Town Show and Family Fun Day unite once again and I guess it will be packed and enjoyed by all. Let it not be the last of such combos. Sign the petition to keep the two together and, remember when signing, it is not a political issue but a practical one…

AND THE BAND PLAYED ON …and on and on! Toilets or bandstand? We need both. Many folk like the East Beach Café, the shelters have become part of the Promenade and the longest bench is strewn with heart-warming messages, many showing a great and moving fondness for LA. There is no graffiti on it that I could see on my daily walk along the front, although a few of the slats are a little weathered.

Graffiti appearing on the shelters is quickly removed by a council worker. Shelters, café and bench, all are here to stay, accept them, no point chewing over old bones!

THIS SPORTING LIFE In keeping with the legacy of The Games, I decided to take up a sport, the only problem being, which one? Cycling was out – sideburns don’t suit me. Running and jumping? No, too old by far. Equestrian eventing? Not on your life, fell off a horse once and it really, really hurt!

Rowing? Wouldn’t fit into one of those little boats now. Diving? No, don’t get on well with heights. Then it hit me – swimming! Not too late to learn and living by the sea in LA, with an excellent pool, what could not be more convenient?

After the first lessons, given with great encouragement by friends, and filled with enthusiasm at my progress, I rang my 27-year-old daughter and told her I had floated on my back for nearly a minute and breast stroked almost half a width without a buoyancy aid. She laughed and, later, I remembered her telling me much the same thing when she was five years old and I had laughed at her then. What goes around, comes around…