Quiet day in Old Orchard Beach. Skype calls, work in my motel room and a walk along the beach late afternoon where some nifty painters were busy at work in the sky.

I had dinner in Strike Zone, sitting next to Peter who was carving an enormous piece of meat for an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. Another deadpan legend.

“The pumpkin mash is amazing. Did you make it?”
“Nah. None of it”.

Custom was steady with a few rules in operation.

“You need a clean plate.”
“This one’s fine.”
“No you need a clean plate. It’s the rules.”
“Ah. I’m all for rules.”

I started to take some pictures.

“Where are you from?” He asked.
“Oxford, England.”
“We had someone from Manchester the other week. He really loved the pickles. ‘I love the pickles so much!’ he said.”
“That’s cool. Is that beef?”
“Yep. Prime rib beef. All you can eat. On Fridays it’s all you can eat haddock.”
“Wow.”
“Make sure you take a photo of Eric Spoonton.”
“Who?”
“Eric Spoonton. Like Eric Clapton.”
“Ok.”