Pebblebashing

Last year it had to be postponed. This time we all thought history would repeat itself and indeed the weather forecast was dire for Bank Holiday Monday 25 June, the day chosen for Budleigh Salterton Gala Week’s Pebble Building Competition on the beach at Marine Parade from 10.00 am to 11.55 am.

Happily, Budleigh’s micro-climate played its part and the rain held off.

There were three classes in this event, organized by Budleigh Salterton Lions, with prizes of £15, £10 and £5 offered for the best three entries in each class. One class was for the tallest family-built castle.
Above: The three ages of Man at work






Pebbles, like people, can be big or small.








And, like people, they come in many colours.






Colours can be used to good effect in castle-building.








The second class offered prizes for the tallest castle built by children up to 13 years.








But I noticed some mini-builds.









A father and son are pleased with their stonemanship.
(Yes, that is a boat.) (Sorry!)








Finally there were prizes for the best construction and design.
This was a clever pebble Pingu.






The main picture's a lion.



A sunny beach is a good place to find butterflies









An illuminating concept in pebble construction







Majestic work.
Gala King Benjamin Shiel crowned on the previous day and still wearing his royal sash admires his creation.
The competition was sponsored by Budleigh solicitors firm Symes, Robinson & Lee.
http://www.symesrobinsonlee.co.uk/budleigh.asp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People from the Past: 3. Reg Varney (1916-2008)

Image
Reginald Alfred 'Reg' Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as a cheerful Cockney bus driver in the 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses . For ten years he lived at Dark Lane House on picturesque Dark Lane in Budleigh Salterton, seen above.  Millions of television viewers remember him with affection. He has been described as belonging to the old school of comedians, with his dislike of much contemporary television and his pride in never using swear words to get a laugh. Varney was born on 11 July 1916 in Canning Town, which was then part of Essex but is now part of East London. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy at the Regent Palace Hotel, pictured above.  
Read more

WW2 100 – 3 July 1941 – ‘Our beloved son’: Private Stanley John Holloway (1914-41) 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment

Image
Continued from 11 June 1941 ‘A German platoon fired a salute of honour over the grave’ FLYING OFFICER PETER HAROLD HOWARD PRITCHARD (1921-41)   https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/11/ww2-75-11-june-1941-german-platoon.html   Image credit: www.FindaGrave.com Stanley’s sad death at the age of 27 stirred various thoughts in me when I first read about it. He is not listed on Budleigh Salterton’s War Memorial, yet his grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground on Moor Lane. His family were not local, yet he seems to have been killed while engaged in the highly hazardous work of protecting Budleigh against invasion.   The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as a member of the 12 th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment with the Service Number was 5627659. According to the same source, his parents were George and M. Holloway, of Hounslow, Middlesex.   Tackling this WW2 project chronologically as I am, it was clear that Stanley had died on the same day as Private Clifto
Read more

WW2 100 – 23 January 1945 – A tragic accident in Burma: Captain Gerald Arthur Richards (1909-45), Royal Army Medical Corps

Image
Continued from 21 January 1945 FLIGHT SERGEANT RENNIE ARTHUR LOADER (1915-45) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), 518 Squadron https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/04/ww2-75-21-january-1945-forecasting-for.html         A photo of Gerald Arthur Richards sent to me by his daughter Louanne   Like a number of war dead whose names are not listed on Budleigh’s War Memorial,  Gerald Arthur Richards is mentioned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as having a link with the town through his wife Kirstine. It was difficult to confirm that link, but there were enough intriguing aspects to Gerald’s story to raise questions that I wanted to see answered. Further research led to more East Devon links – to Honiton, Exmouth and further afield. In a very roundabout way I finally made contact with his daughter Louanne, to whom I am grateful for providing information about the family, not least some family photos like the one above. Gerry, as he was kno
Read more