Pete Smith Obituary, Death– It is likely to be upsetting for a good number of you to learn that Pete Smith, the proprietor of Polzeath’s Galleon, passed away earlier this week. Beach Art extends condolences to his family and friends as well as gratitude to all that assisted him yesterday.
My piece from 2017 on Jonathan Smith, Pete Smith’s son who grew up in Polzeath, and the surfing dolphins film that he made for the BBC is the thread that binds us all!
When one of us passes away, the universe will experience a heightened manifestation of the ripples that we all send out into it. In the ancient Chinese culture, this concept was represented by the yin and yang symbol, which we used to encircle the waves of life force as they traveled further and further away from the center of the piece of art we created on Polzeath Beach yesterday.
Without death, life would be devoid of any significance; together, they constitute the yin and yang of our existence, with one rendering the other meaningless in its absence. Metaphorically speaking, as we pass the bar, we come to the realization that we have been dancing with this duality for a very long time.
Beyond the beach and the surf, you can make out the Doom Bar, which was once known as the Dune Bar. It’s possible that Pete’s Galleon Cafe on Polzeath beach assisted him in getting through it. I’d like to believe that’s the case!
The ongoing journey, or circle of life, that Pete is on is the one that Pete’s loved ones will focus on commemorating and remembering in the days ahead.
ideally with the realization that the close of one cycle marks the start of the next, and that there is joy to be found even in the loss of such a wonderful person as he was.