summer's close (as diana sees it)

Summer is drawing to an end. Colder airs are ebbing in--yet the sun just keeps on shining.

I took these with Diana last year. They're a little oddly cut, it has to be said. But I love the colours.

carnival

Every year, this seaside town hosts a carnival--a proper one, gaudy floats and all. It's kind of a tradition--you know, an unspoken one: nothing more than an assumption, really--to group together and go. We know, every year, that we'll never see the floats through the crowd or that, in the end, twelve year olds will find their alcohol and fight (the things I simply, simply don't understand are endless), but we wouldn't miss it for the world. Mostly, it's about community and it is so, so nice to see that spirit--a little, sleepy town coming together for a week-long event. (I think the whole of the town just might come out for Bingo--and no, sadly we didn't win this year. We didn't win any of the eighty-eight raffle prizes, either...)

I brought my camera, but forgot its memory, so a few Instagram's will just have to do.

It feels so good to have friends home, again--and even if they're here for just a short, short while--I'm glad our tradition was upheld for another year.

it's so soon!

A couple of weekends ago, I got myself down to London to celebrate with friends. As per usual, we drank a lot of tea; ate a lot of cake; and (especially, oh, especially in my case) obsessed a lot over vintage china. (The Soho Secret Tearooms really is further inspiration for that one-day bakery dream. There will be more on that later--there will always be more on that later).

This trip wasn't just about tea, though. It was more about celebrating the impending marriage of a very good friend. (This week: the wedding's this week! And I couldn't be more excited).

It sure was a beautiful day!

seaside searches

I always relish the fact that I live pretty close to the sea. Arnold, though? He works right beside it.

Since he got that job, I have started spending more time there. For little lunch-dates, petting local dogs and a whole lot of shore-line reading. (The ebb and flow of tidal movement is, by far, one of the sweetest songs I know).

Starting next week, though, I'll be doing more than just that. I'll be volunteering for a museum there and working on a research project that I couldn't, really, be any more excited about. (The subject matter is so precisely my thing--loosely based on British seaside holidays around the 1920s-'50s!)

You see, the last few weeks have been marked by an inability to get a summer job. (I lost my old one back in April--so now, really, it's more necessity than a simple change of scenery). I've been kind of sad about this--and, well, more than a little frustrated.

Whilst this project will not bring in any finances--a fact I have been reminded of over and over again--I will, at least, be doing something worthwhile. And enjoyable. And creative. And those, to me, are the things to count.

when you live...

...relatively close to an English coastal town, you kind of get used to this.

A nautical graveyard, of sorts--of abandoned boats and haunting stories.

Oh, and that beautiful, beautiful sky.

summer's past

This was taken in a 1940s Blackpool. How beautiful are those dresses?

And it may be a little premature, but it makes me think of the summer---I hope it will be a summer to remember. I hope, I hope, I hope.

(Actual image found here).

a little short-term reminiscing

I just came across these photographs from the summer.

A few little camera finds from an antique shop and a steam engine journey to find them...