Wandering around Amble harbour in the middle of summer I felt inconspicuous, blending into the throng of summer tourists with either cameras or fish and chips in hand. I suppose that to most onlookers I am a tourist, not having lived in Amble for many years but inside, I don't feel like one. Amble has changed in many ways but the people haven't. Everyone I talked to was warm and friendly, willing to take a little time out of their day to chat.
The tide was coming in bringing with it the much reduced fishing fleet of trawlers and lobster fishermen. Stumbling on an open door to one of the fishermens' huts, I found Ronnie Falcus, Michael Howleston and Tom Handyside chatting away the afternoon waiting for the trawlers to return. We reminisced about how the harbour used to look when I was a small child, their easy conversation made me feel welcome, and I ended the day with a stronger sense of belonging, part of the scene and not a stranger.
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