North Sea surge spells clear out

On Friday 10th March, mid afternoon after I had completed the long drive from the fine roman spa town of Bath, where I had visited to have lunch with a relative and to see Professor Sir Christopher frayling give a talk on 100 Years of Vampire Cinema, Sir Christopher is a speaker I have always wanted to see, his 'Face of Tutankhamun' programme got me seriously into Ancient Egypt and public speaking! I also enjoyed his "Nightmare: The Birth of Horror' series that followed. His lecture certainly didn't disappoint it was one of the best I have ever since and a real privilege to see this storyteller, raconteur and cultural historian in action. I even asked the first questions about why hadn't the actual town of Whitby with its picturesque locations featured in more Dracula films bar 2. Sir Christopher agreed with me and even suggested a future film could start with the SS demeter crashing into Whitby harbour and the action starts there! At the end I was first up to get his latest book signed and I asked him about "The Face of Tutankhamun" whose idea was it? (first 2 episodes the producers but it was Sir Christopher's to look at the cultural impact. He'd even suggested to the BBC of repeating it (for 100the anniversary last year but the repeat clip fees for the Universal Mummy film were too much for the BBC to pay, sadly). I visited Hamilton Dock but no sign of the Cuddy Duck and no Purple sandpipers at Ness Point, the sea was very rough with waves crashing over the rocks and making any walking along the Point quite dangerous. Instead, I visited Link's road car park and nice to see some bush saplings planted around the margins, let's hope they planted the right mixture of trees/ shrubs and they survive vandalism/ sea air. On the car park itself amongst the BH Gulls was a Common Gull and 1 fine adult almost full summer plumaged unringed Mediterranean Gull. Car used as a mobile photography hide once more!