“Shush“, the Dover shingle whispers softly, sub-surface, sub-marine.
“Shuuush“.
In the silty harbour sea, I cannot see my arms or hands or life.
The Dover shingle shifts. Slides and settles. We sigh together.
I am swimming with my eyes closed, and the shingle says “shush” and I open them and swim on.
“Shush“.
Dover Harbour
*
I’ve written about the sound of swimming in Dover previously, but without explanation. Dover Harbour, not the most pleasant of swimming locations, is aurally different to any other location that I’ve swum and something about that sound reaches into me every time I hear it. Sometimes you really have to write for yourself.
Related articles
- The sound of Dover, Port of Kings. (loneswimmer.com)
- A guide to Dover for Swimmers – Part 1 – Dover Harbour & Swimmer’s Beach (loneswimmer.com)
Fascinating attention to detail. And all I could hear up to now about Dover was
Vera Lynn!
Thanks Jean. There are three new fake two-dimensional sculptures on Dover Esplanade. One of them is Vera Lynn, but while I was in Dover the past 3 days to crew on another world record swim, English Channel Butterfly, I didn’t get a chance to get a photo. I’ll show you the Ian Fleming one as soon as I can get them processed.
Thanks!