3rd Feb.: Early morning at Lepe

I was on watch at NCI Stone Point on Sunday 2nd February while on the same day at Calshot the RNLI Calshot Lifeboat had been scattering the ashes of one of our watchkeepers, Bryan Howells. Bryan had been with NCI Calshot Tower since the station was opened in summer 2010. The next morning I discovered I’d been sent some photos of the ceremony at Calshot and wished I’d brought back Bryan’s Funeral Order of Service, which was in the Stone Point station, so I could add his photo.
I decided to drive out to Lepe early to bring it back before the build up of traffic in Southampton. Arriving at Lepe around 06:45 I stopped in the entrance to the (closed) western car park and walked down to the path under the Millenium Lighthouse. It was still dark. There was the sound of geese and various waders. The buoys were flashing their various identification patterns. It was magical. The photos don’t really capture what it was like!