SEASONAL TALK

Most folk in our north Norfolk seaside town talk of 'seasons.' The crabbing season, the holiday season. That sort of thing. But in fact at least three things tend to dictate whether the seafront and shops are busy or not - the season, the weather, and the tides, which in turn dictate if the beaches are available. Even so, it is a complex business, constantly taking people by surprise, and you can sense the off-season puzzlement if the weather is good, the tides are low and the town is busy, but the ice cream shops are closed.
'They've missed a trick,' you think. Yet it was probably all due to a quirk of the calendar. Had the weather been dodgy the place would have been deserted, and anyway, even ice cream retailers have to take some time off.
Occasionally, perhaps in February or March, and particularly if the weather is deceptively mild, the ice cream parlours are open even if the seafront is only moderately busy, and you think, 'They know something, these shop people.' Do they, or are they gambling?
Mild weather and low tides bring visitors in at any time, even in the middle of winter. But the 'summer' visitor season usually kicks off well before Easter and then receives a further shot in the arm when the school 'season' opens, or rather, when the schools close. Then, all the trains - main line and steam - are busy and the trippers, many of them grans and grampas, troop away from the stations usually with grandchildren and dogs in tow, looking for a seafront place in the sun.
This is also the season when the locals do their own shopping early, before 10.30am, otherwise  there is nowhere to park and little pleasure to be gained in wandering crowded pavements.
The carnival season, and events like the potty (Morris dance) day, extend this period somewhat; but then, as soon as the schools go back, it is noticeable that droves of grans and gramps, perhaps worn ragged by a summer of entertaining the grandchildren, take two or three weeks' off, or even a day or two off, and come back in order to be able to watch the crab boats launching off the beach and to watch the sea in peace.
The next season is a strange one, for in our town 'summer' is further extended by a 1940s weekend. Originally centered on the steam railway station, it now embraces the whole town and is becoming bigger and more successful every year. In essence, enthusiasts come from all over the country in order to enjoy it or, more likely, to take part in it.
Ostensibly, this is a 'late kicker' for holiday trade, because after that, after all the traditional and mid-year seasons have come and gone, then the town depends almost entirely not only on the inevitable Christmas season, which flickers into life in November, but also on those other factors mentioned earlier: weather, and low tides.
This, of course, is known as the late Autumn or Winter season which, once the Christmas season has ended, comes into its own early the following year when the locals are largely left to their own devices again. Until the early ice cream season begins and all the other seasons start to roll once again, of course.