401. Storm damage & debris

Yesterday it never got properly light outside.  It felt like dusk at around 1:30pm and we were well and truly battered by wind and rain all day.  Last night this continued and combined with a high tide to produce massive waves which have caused a lot of damage to the roads.

I only had time to get along to the harbour area before opening up the shop this morning, but I heard that it's a terrible mess in the other direction too.  Several residents were clearing boulders from outside their houses along Fore Street for well over 2 hours this morning, and Alison's much admired quirky garden has been completely destroyed.

At least the seagulls are loving it as there are dead crabs all over the place!

 Great chunks of tarmac have been lifted up and smashed.

This is the usually stone-free grassy area beyond the harbour where the kiddies' rides are at the Fish Festival.

Look at the size of the big piece of tarmac under the pile of debris here!

400. Snow (at last!)

During the entire year that I was doing this blog on a daily basis we had NO snow at all, and I was really disappointed not to be able to include any snowy photos.  

At long last, on post no.400, here it is!  This morning it was snowing really heavily, but now the sun's out and everything's sparkly and white.  Beautiful.

399. Shortlived sunshine!

It's a wild, wet, horrible day here today, but shortly before the rain started the low sun was casting a lovely light onto the waves as the wind was getting up.

398. Johnshaven Calendar

A selection of photos from the blog have been complied into this 2013 calendar sold in aid of the Johnshaven Community Cafe Group.  Calendars are available in the shop or from Johnshaven Stores at £5, every penny of which goes to the group.

If any followers of the blog would like to order a copy to be sent by post, please email me kate@starfishstudio.co.uk

UK postage would be £1.50, postage to Europe £3.00 and to the USA & Canada £4.00

397. Morris Dancers

Here's something you don't see every day!  A group of Morris Dancers called in this morning on their annual tour of Scotland.  They performed down at the harbour before heading off to dance again at Dunnottar Castle.

396. Bovine love

These beautiful beasts are on the steeply sloping field just past the Narrows.

395. Half and half

This large boat has been sitting on the wall dividing the inner and outer harbour for a few years.  

It's now getting a paint job and at the moment the two sides are completely different!.  

394. Flowers at the park

I took this photo at Wairds Park in Saturday's evening sunshine.
The flowers are growing in the top of the wall by the entrance to the park and they look absolutely lovely.

393. The Plough Inn (as was)

This house, formally a pub, is the building across the road from the lobster shed.  

Over the last few years it has been undergoing a massive refurbishment.  

Unfortunately I don't have any photos from before the work started (that predates this blog), but these show recent developments which have dramatically improved the appearance of the building.

392. Fish Festival 2012

The village was buzzing today!

391. Dedication

It is bucketing down here today, but dedicated, hardy volunteers are out there battling against the rain to get the stalls up ready for tomorrow's Fish Festival!  Thankfully the forecast for tomorrow is much better.
The fun kicks off at 11am.

390. High tide/ low tide

The new owner of Hilda Cottage, which featured in a previous blog post, kindly sent me these photos taken from inside the cottage showing the harbour at both high tide and low tide.  I do enjoy seeing photos like this which give views of the village from vantage points that you don't usually have access to!

389. London cab

I'd love to tell you that someone hailed this cab in London and said, "Take me to Starfish Studio, I hear it's awesome", but that would be a lie.

However it is a genuine London cab driven here by a genuine London cabbie who's visiting my neighbour for a few days!

387. Mine, all mine!

 Yesterday evening this gull was proudly strutting around the harbour with a beak full of fresh crab.

386. Lollipop tree

The shape of this lovely tree reminds me of a child's drawing!  This is at the entrance to Station Place.

385. Reaping?

Is 'reaping' the right word?  Is it only reaping when it's cut by hand with a scythe?  

Whatever the word, work has started on cutting the grass in this field. 

 Do you 'harvest' grass?  I guess it's going to be used for silage and is therefore a crop.

384. Herd Crescent

Here's a photo I took last week.  It's looking towards Herd Crescent from the Baron's Pade.

383. Jubilee Celebrations

Yesterday the sun shone as Johnshaven held a street party to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.  It was a lovely chance to chill outside with a glass of wine, lots of goodies to eat and excellent company.

The highlight of the day was the Royal Dook - 5 brave queens went for a dip in the harbour to raise money for Johnshaven Primary School.  They were absolutely brilliant - congratulations to Kelly Shankland, Karelia Wright, Gillian Longmuir, Linni McBay and Lauren Anderson.

There was the opportunity to make a crown with lots of materials provided in the village hall and free face painting outside.

382. Beechgrove Garden

In 2002 the BBC's Beechgrove Garden came to help develop a community garden on part of the old railway line.  They were back a couple of weeks ago to see how the garden is doing ten years on, give advice and tips, visit the community composting site and plant tubs at the harbour.  I don't yet know when their visit will be broadcast but I expect it'll be pretty soon

Close up of the plaque on the new bench (please excuse the reflection!).

381. Haar rolling in

On Sunday afternoon Johnshaven was bathed in scorching sunshine, but from the top of the road it was clear to see a bank of haar slightly further to the south.  This photo was taken from the layby beside Balandro Cottages.  The lighting conditions weren't great - bright sunshine reflecting off the sea and cloud - so the photos don't really show it too well.
Hopefully you'll be able to see how the haar was encroaching on Seagreens, and probably the beaches at St Cyrus and Montrose too.

380. Beat the tide

I was out looking for beach glass in yesterday's gorgeous evening sunshine when this boat, which had been sitting calmly out at sea, suddenly sped through the water to get back to the harbour before the tide went out any further.  

The following photos show it coming in to the harbour and tying up.  

If I'd planned this a bit better you could have printed them off, cut them out and made a flick-book out of them!