The East Sands - my childhood playground

SC80 - Post 28 January - Archive

You may wonder why this is one of my favourite photos of 2023. After all, it is a fairly unremarkable coastal photo with not a lot to commend it. For me though, this takes me back to the late 40s and early 50s when I lived in St.Andrews. I passed this beach every day on the way to school, and visited it almost every day in the school holidays. It represents freedom and so many hours of pleasure, lost in my own little world of shells and seaweed, sounds and smells of the sea, and carefree days. I'd paint some of the shells I found here with water colour paints, and they would eventually return to the beach. Sandcastles with protective moats were built against the ravages of the tides as I stood, like Knut, wishing to control the inevitable destruction, only to start building again the next day.

We walked along this pier so many times, my dad and I, never tiring of the view. Each day was different, the sky, the sea, the weather, the coastal flowers, the birds, and the inevitable crowds of summer visitors who came to play golf in the town and left the women to amuse the children for the day. Yes - it brings back so many happy memories, one of which was even the distinctive smell of calamine lotion, starting pink and soon turning to white on my sunburnt skin. No factor 40 in those days to prevent the UV rays. This is my favourite place in the world. Unremarkable to most, yet I still feel at home here, and lose myself in childhood memories.

The East Sands in St.Andrews.