ROUSING STORM ROUND SANDSEND'S GROYNES... (My new poem inspired by Sue Nichol's painting about Sandsend, near Whitby...)

 Rousing Storm Round Sandsend’s Groynes…

(Inspired by Sue Nichol’s new painting…)

The rousing array of yellows, blues and strips of amber

Complement the wild, seething North Sea, boisterous

And aggressive, its white tips flicking in irritation.

Rising at the headland in a belligerent siege, it breaks on umber

Rock, pummelled by the tousling tide, turbulent and cantankerous,

Surly and objectionable in a chilling demonstration…

The watching groynes hold their ground doggedly,

The worn stumps of glistening wet anchored wood

Holding their ground in a regimented display of permanence. The wild and stormy sky, daubed egg-yolk yellow, its swirls violently

Formed captures the chaotic beauty of nature’s truculent mood,

Whilst the stunted sentinels endure, break some water and survive the malfeasance… 

Pete Ray…

23rd February 2026…

Love Sandsend and love the groynes…

Before I visited the place, I had already written a poem about a Sue Nichol painting of those very same groynes…

The Sand Martin appreciated the painting too and commented:

‘This vibrant colourful painting of a dramatic coastal scene demands attention. It features a wild sea, a virtually sheer cliff-face and such a sky.

The sea is remarkable, appearing to lash out as if trying to reach upwards for the sky. It looks like a rage as sharp spikes of water edge the furious waves, vividly painted in bright blues and yellow along with deeper shades of green, white and reddish brown. 

Perhaps the darker colours show sea bed disturbance, swishing and swirling upwards to the surface. 

It reminds me of a crazy brain with a myriad of thoughts crashing into the mind and trying to find release out into the world. 

By contrast the six sturdy groynes hold their ground firmly like well organised people surrounded by the discombobulated who feel frantic. 

The smoothness and colours of the steep cliff contrast beautifully with the colours and textures of the ocean. 

The use of oil paints gives the painting texture, dramatising the forms, particularly of the waves.

There is reassurance in the blue of the sky and evidence of sunshine, offering a happy and bright feeling, although the shape and direction of the clouds indicate that a strong forceful wind is blowing. 

The yellow and blue is reflected in the waves as livid seahorses crowned with white surf lunge towards the coast and the base of the ominous looking cliff. 

One could feel frightened of that sea but the groynes in the foreground offer reassurance that one can keep calm whilst all around is chaos, disorder and madness. 

This wonderful painting evokes an emotional intensity, reminding one of the awesome powers of Mother Nature…’