A Beach Hut by the Sea - 仙台の小さな英会話スクールTea&Talk’s blog

こんにちは！

仙台・大町の小さな英会話スクールTea&Talkです。

今日のブログは、オーナーのLeeが夏の思い出について書いています。

It's the summer holidays and the weather is fine. One of my students told me about their trip to the beach a few days ago, and it reminded me of something; my family's trips to the beach hut in Walton-on-the-Naze.

My grandparents decided to buy a beach hut after they retired. A beach hut is a small wooden building that over looks the sea. It was a little run-down when they bought it, but my grandad, with the help of his son-in-laws and grandsons, managed to fix it up nicely.

Some people give their beach huts interesting names, such as ‘Thistledo’ (this will do), but my grandparents never gave a name to theirs.

Inside the beach hut was a portable cooker, which was used to heat an old fashioned kettle for tea. When the water had boiled, it whistled. There was also a radio, which my grandad would sometimes tune in to a football game or the news.

Outside there was a decking area, big enough for three or four deckchairs. From there you could sip on a cuppa and watch the tide come in and go out. We usually had lunch on the decking, though sometimes we’d have a picnic on the beach.

My brother, my cousins and I would play cricket or tennis on the beach in the afternoon. Or we’d just joke around, telling school life anecdotes.

The beach huts weren’t connected to drinking water, so we had to bring bottled water. For the kettle we would use the public tap, fill a large empty bottle with water, and carry it back to the beach hut.

Around 6PM, we’d all go into town to get some tea. We usually had fish and chips, though sometimes pie and mash. After dinner we’d walk to the pier where there was an arcade.

I can’t remember the arcade well, but I can recall there were some roller coasters, bumper cars, and a ghost house. There was also a doughnut stall outside. The smell of fresh doughnuts filled the air, which brought a welcome change to the smell of fish.

Finally we’d go back to the beach hut, the parents would have their last cuppa, and then we’d drive back home.

The beach hut was sold after my grandparents passed away. I'm not sure if it's still there anymore. But it would be nice to go back and visit there one day. Maybe another family will be sitting on the very same decking we did, watching the sea.

- Lee