Mining the Diaries 2: Yorkshire 1976

Galleon Cottage, Whitby, 5^th July 1976

A day of first impressions: the town with its harbour, hills, winding alleys and courtyards; the echoing greenhouse like Spa Pavilion; the rowdy Yorkshire holiday makers; and the quayside service for the Blessing of the Boats.

All fascinating in their way, but what left the deepest impression was the host of sensuously eroded gravestones around St Mary’s Church, perched high above the town.  The nameless sandy markers resting in softly waving overgrown grass have been etched into a honeycomb texture by the salty North Sea wind and rain.  They looked as impermanent as those they once commemorated. In the strong, oblique evening light they took on a beauty that even the most skilled sculptor would find hard to match.