Watching 'Eternity's Sunrise'

 

This photo is pretty much my all time favourite. It was taken by a photographer called Tim Matthews and it was a complete surprise to receive it.

This was up at Walberswick and it was nearly the end of the season on the campsite. Cro and I were sticking it out to the bitter end and had got up early to watch the sunrise, as we often did. You can judge by Cro's Pussy Hat (thank you, number 45) that it must have been a slightly chill morning. You can also work out roughly when it took place.

And as you can see it was a glorious sunrise, with all the things you would want, including contrails to catch the early sun up at 40,000 feet and a glorious spread of colours from top to bottom. You can also see the jug of coffee that we have been sharing to get ready for the glorious show of the sunrise. 

    So Tim was taking some last photos in the days he had spent there and we never noticed him at all taking all the different angles and shots. He just came up to us the next day and said " I think I have some photos of you two; would you like me to send you them?" Which was so kind.

The thing I most like, apart from its compositional perfection, is that our relaxed pleasure comes across in the poses and balance. We are just loving seeing that big old sun come up for another day out of the North Sea, to warm the finite heaven that the campsite gave. And it was a scene that we repeated year after year, so seeing this one instance of it also reminds you of the other years before and after.

I have watched sunrises without number over the last 20 years, and then when Cro became ill and we knew she was going to die, this picture was almost an icon of Blake's poem that tells you how best to know the joys of the world. This was actually a picture of Eternity's Sunrise.

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy
He who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity's sunrise

A          

The thing about watching sunrises is that they always happen. It's not like birdwatching or trainspotting or a Taylor Swift concert. Nothing can derail the pleasure or cancel the show, because it happens on time, every time. And it might be cloudy and you might only see that the light has come and the birds are awake, but sunrise has been there, loyal and reliable, just like on every other day of your life.

And you also know that across the whole world, that show has been available to everyone. You don't need a Sky subscription, or be first on the Ticketline, or to be rich. You just need a view of the sky. within the last year I have watched it rise over Felixstowe, Ocean City NJ and Geldermalsen, NL. I've also in my life seen it set off San Francisco, the Haida Gwaii and Bombay Beach. And timely reliability has always been the Sun's strong suit. 

So please have a go, if you haven't yet. Check the time and get somewhere where you can see it, by the sea for preference, and watch it come up. I will leave you with a glorious one from last year. You can work out where this one is.