Michael Stead

Living close to the seaside it is easy to take it for granted. When I was young, we would be taken to the seaside, being lower-middle-class our parents couldn’t afford foreign holidays, and would go for a walk along the pier. There would be the upper wooden deck, where we could walk up to the end, Dad would put a penny in the telescope and then I would argue with your sister over who was to have the first look, so that by the time one of us stared through, willing ourselves to be able to see over the horizon to France, the viewing time was almost up.