To the coast we go!

The heat here in the mountains can only be described as relentless... and don't get me wrong, its brilliant but you can only lie in it for about 20 minutes at a time before even the most hardened sun worshipper would be running for the cool indoors...

So yesterday, craving breeze like a reformed smoker lurking outside a pub, we headed to the coast and the sea...to Gaeta with its palm trees and busy marina...

...and its lovely Lido style beaches...

...where the sand is clean (not like the public beaches, a friend of mines child stood on a syringe a few years ago!)and the water clear and warm...

Why is it impossible to resist a cigarette on the beach?

How does the sand always make its way into your sandwich!!

Joe had a great time, bar two sand-in-eyes incidents which had me almost implode with helplessness, and another wave-in-face incident due to bad timing (mine).
But the sea air wore him out and he slept for most of the day!

The day was great, Bill swimming miles off shore though nearly giving me a heart attack, but mostly I was found, sqwauking like a chicken, making an absolute show of myself, at one point helplessly flayling, like a limp hotdog in a small childs hand, off my Lido bed, all at Charlie Brookers Screen Burn, if you haven't read it do yourself a favour - get a copy now - I defy the most pebble minded dullard not to weep with laughter.

At about half 3 we suddenly noticed all the italians (ie the whole beach) packing up frantically and running like mad. Like a scene by Roland Emmerich, as we turned we saw the darkest navy blue clouds rolling into place, soon to be above our noggins! We ran like hell, and just jumped into the van as the most enormous raindrops started crashing like enthusastic cymballists onto our little tin bird!

Mental!