The birds & the bees
Back in the late 70's & early 80's when I was around 10 / 11 my Dad & I got a hobby for long distance walks & back-packing around the countryside of England. During the term time at boarding school I'd plan out the route (I think these walks where partly educational) and read up beforehand on all the places on the trail, things to see and all the supplies bits of kit etc and turn it into my own boys own adventure.

Off we'd go with our tent, sleeping bags, de-hydrated ration packs, compass and ordinance survey map. We'd walked the Ridgeway (from High Wycombe to Avebury & Stone Henge). But this particular year the plan was to walk the Dorset coastal path from Bournemouth to Lyme Regis. Mum dropped us at the railway station and arrange to pick us up in a few weeks time.

After a rattly railway journey, we tramped our way to the Chain ferry at Poole harbour, for the start of our big adventure. It was a scorchingly hot summers day (the kind you remember from your childhood), families where overheating in the back of Morris Marinas waiting in the traffic queue for the ferry, but being foot passengers we wandered to the front and where soon across at Studland Sands. Perhaps we got the odd look from people, somewhat contemptuous of our boots and back-packs, or just the sight of a middle aged man & young lad walking slap bang through BRITAIN'S BIGGEST NUDEST BEACH!

Now in my research of the route this particular piece of information must have been redacted from the encyclopaedias available from the Library, so it was a bit of an eye opener, but for my Dad it must have been worse as his stride obviously quickened as we walked down the beach with happy naked people popping out from behind the dunes like some episode of meerkat manor and the odd couple heavy petting (and then some).

Dad imagining that he was going to be arrested at any second for corruption of a minor (or worse), thought that it was time to fast track some information to his son (& being the practical person he was) took it on himself to explain the birds & the bees to me. Perhaps the impromptu demonstration and examples where a little more than you'd get at school, but I learned something that day.
( rwbthatisme is on holiday this week, Sun 28 Nov 2010, 13:23, Reply)