Quicksand Fans

I visited Herne Bay at the weekend for a bit of sun and sightseeing as a friend wanted to go there. Along the front near the clock tower is a small harbour and signs saying DANGER SOFT MUD. The tide was out on Sunday afternoon and with no chance of finding out first hand exactly how soft and how deep it was, I took a few photos of the signs as a momento.

BUT...

As we came off the pier, i noticed a woman had waded out a few feet in the mud, and as she tried to get further out, she sank to her thighs, while her friend laughed! It was actually her laughing, even from a good hundred or so feet or more, that attracted my attention! I whacked the zoom as far as I could on my digicam and hoped for the best... so here's the two pics I took after she waded out, with her legs all muddy. I did shoot some vid as she was wading out too but it's not quite as clear.

Did you give it a try?

If I'd have been by myself and had a change of clothes and a means of washing it off, I'd have been there in a shot! Sadly with a friend who doesn't know about the mucky side of my interests and with too many people round on a very public, very sunny tourist attraction...

That stinks. I'm sure you were thinking about it!

tanya_wam wrote:If I'd have been by myself and had a change of clothes and a means of washing it off, I'd have been there in a shot! Sadly with a friend who doesn't know about the mucky side of my interests and with too many people round on a very public, very sunny tourist attraction...

It may not be the case here but this sort of illustrates what happens to most of us as we grow up. We learn to worry about what other people might think if we do something, whereas a child would just charge right in. Also, as we grow up we learn that simple things, such as playing in the mud, are not so simple. They may have connotations beyond the direct. Perhaps the person you saw get waist deep and laugh about it enjoys the freedom of being totally unaware of any indirect connotations, so she just charged right in.

Fred588 wrote:

tanya_wam wrote:If I'd have been by myself and had a change of clothes and a means of washing it off, I'd have been there in a shot! Sadly with a friend who doesn't know about the mucky side of my interests and with too many people round on a very public, very sunny tourist attraction...

It may not be the case here but this sort of illustrates what happens to most of us as we grow up. We learn to worry about what other people might think if we do something, whereas a child would just charge right in. Also, as we grow up we learn that simple things, such as playing in the mud, are not so simple. They may have connotations beyond the direct. Perhaps the person you saw get waist deep and laugh about it enjoys the freedom of being totally unaware of any indirect connotations, so she just charged right in.

Yah, and a three to four hour drive on my recently cleaned car all covered in mud and sand!? Sure. Great! Why not?

tanya_wam wrote:

Fred588 wrote:

tanya_wam wrote:If I'd have been by myself and had a change of clothes and a means of washing it off, I'd have been there in a shot! Sadly with a friend who doesn't know about the mucky side of my interests and with too many people round on a very public, very sunny tourist attraction...

It may not be the case here but this sort of illustrates what happens to most of us as we grow up. We learn to worry about what other people might think if we do something, whereas a child would just charge right in. Also, as we grow up we learn that simple things, such as playing in the mud, are not so simple. They may have connotations beyond the direct. Perhaps the person you saw get waist deep and laugh about it enjoys the freedom of being totally unaware of any indirect connotations, so she just charged right in.

Yah, and a three to four hour drive on my recently cleaned car all covered in mud and sand!? Sure. Great! Why not?

At the university where I taught until retiring two years ago there were a fair number of students who engaged in what they called "mud bogging." This involved driving their pickup trucks (everyone in the southern US except me drives a pickup truck) through pits of muddy water. They would then use the same vehicle to get to school and of course would leaves the mud where it was until washed off by rain.

Fred588 wrote:At the university where I taught until retiring two years ago there were a fair number of students who engaged in what they called "mud bogging." This involved driving their pickup trucks (everyone in the southern US except me drives a pickup truck) through pits of muddy water. They would then use the same vehicle to get to school and of course would leaves the mud where it was until washed off by rain.

Oh, so you have pick-up trucks where the rain gets on the inside and cleans it too, huh? We're in the mid of a heatwave here anyways...

Fred588 wrote:At the university where I taught until retiring two years ago there were a fair number of students who engaged in what they called "mud bogging." This involved driving their pickup trucks (everyone in the southern US except me drives a pickup truck) through pits of muddy water. They would then use the same vehicle to get to school and of course would leaves the mud where it was until washed off by rain.

In southern Louisiana here and driving a PT Cruiser >.> But I've seen said trucks plenty of times. Makes you wonder how they're even able to drive considering the vehicle is completely covered, windshield and all.

Niveous wrote:

Fred588 wrote:At the university where I taught until retiring two years ago there were a fair number of students who engaged in what they called "mud bogging." This involved driving their pickup trucks (everyone in the southern US except me drives a pickup truck) through pits of muddy water. They would then use the same vehicle to get to school and of course would leaves the mud where it was until washed off by rain.

In southern Louisiana here and driving a PT Cruiser >.> But I've seen said trucks plenty of times. Makes you wonder how they're even able to drive considering the vehicle is completely covered, windshield and all.

I'll give no further details but the university alluded to WAS in Louisiana. Given the driver's apparent pride in covering their truck with mud I suspect the method driving may have been to navigate by leaning out the window.

Without identifying anyone I will tell a related story. there was a couple from not all that far away from my Studio who planned a visit here. Apparently they tried to explain to one person they knew what they were going to do. I suspect they merely said something about playing in the mud. "Oh, you mean mudbogging," was the reply they got. The left it at that.