Sunshine on Leigh

The Crow Stone at high tide

Enjoyed a fine weekend trip to Leigh-on-Sea. A mixture of sunshine and strong winds made for a very enjoyable walk along the beach, watching the choppy waters of the estuary at high tide and seeing windsurfers shoot across the waves. Our party's dogs Vulcan and Livvy enjoyed being allowed to race across the sand towards Chalkwell, surely the most scenic commuter station in the country. 

We looked around the Leigh Heritage Centre in the Old Town and learned a lot about the history of Leigh, which was once a deep sea port and home to an impressive shipbuilding industry, before silting eroded its role. The centre also has a renovated fisherman's cottage attached, where the parents and eight children would have slept upstairs. The day was rounded off by excellent fish and chips in the Crooked Billet and a pint of Jack The Lad IPA. Forget Kent, Londoners in need of the sea can find the charms of Leigh just half an hour from Barking on the C2C line.

Firestarter dimmed

Very sad to hear of the death of the Prodigy's Keith Flint at his home in Dunmow. Keith had a difficult upbringing in Braintree, but always retained strong links with Essex. He looked demonic but according to DJ Jo Wiley he was "an absolute sweetheart" in real life. And in happier times, Keith had a sense of humour. Love the story that at the pub he owned, the Leather Bottle in Pleshey, he had a jar into which customers had to put a pound every time they made a Firestarter joke when he lit the pub's fire. The twisted Firestarter will be missed.