Trevor and I were both keen to visit Canvey
Island. For him because Canvey Island is the birthplace of the rock band Dr Feelgood, for me it was another
opportunity to make sideways celebration of the English seaside.
This is a town, which is connected to Essex
via causeway and a land of gas and oil silos. Link
for detail
Architecturally speaking there is little to
commend the place. Homes with sea views have had these snatched away from then when
a high concrete coastal defence was built around the whole perimeter of the
coast.
We arrived on a grey mid-morning – ideal for
beach combing amongst the cockles and mussels and oyster shells. Looking out to
sea we saw the Kent coast on the other side of the Thames Estuary.
By midday the sky was a lot less the glum.
The sun was shining and being the half term holidays people were starting to
emerge. Outsized mums were driving
pushchairs and their older offspring were bemoaning the fact that the funfair was
not yet open
Trevor captured this crowd as if on
assignment for the Sunday Times Magazine.
We went to Concord Beach, on the Eastern
Esplanade. It was alive with families having fun. The Concord Beach Café
provided excellent fish and chips and cups of tea; Trevor’s treat in lieu of
petrol money.
We sat back to enjoy the view, and with T’s camera
on self-timer we hold the moment; the sounds of kids, mums and grandparents drift
across our table.
Canvey Island is a self-contained place, and
out of the wind, it is warm and lovely as anywhere. We looked across the
estuary towards Kent, with its containerships, a Thames barge, and various freighters
jockeying for position on the water, this is still a working river.
