Larking about

I recently drove down to Sussex to visit my friend Felix in her new home.

This was a proper break for me, of the kind I take all too rarely. I got to spend a whole week happily hanging out with Felix in some wonderful places that are very special to her, but are new and completely unfamiliar to me: Hastings, St Leonards, Rye, Bexhill on Sea.

Felix took me to her lovely beaches . . .

We embraced Hastings’ many excellent attractions with joyful gusto . . .

. . . including the West Hill lift and castle (a great place for a fascinating history walk); the smugglers’ caves (where we enjoyed eighteenth-century graffiti and Hairy Jack’s lo-fi animatronic antics); and the aquarium (a chromatic feast for the eyes, including – yes – a mantis shrimp!)

We visited thought-provoking exhibitions (an especial treat to see Eden Kötting’s Tell Tale Rooms, having followed her work and that of her father, Andrew, for many years); pottered about in many inspiring wee shops (including Warp & Weft and Merchant & Mills) and hung out in some lovely cafes (I especially enjoyed the second-hand vinyl-filled basement in Dandelion, and the cakes at Hanushka).

We walked for miles around the shoreline at St Leonards, Rye Harbour and Pett Level, idly beachcombing, chatting, listening to skylarks, terns, and geese . . .

. . . enjoying light, space and some truly glorious spring weather.

What a special few days I had, larking about with my dear friend!

As you can see, I also had fun recording our trip with the instax camera, which Tom bought me for my birthday last year, and of whose pleasures (in producing quite rubbish, yet somehow genuinely atmospheric images) I’m a massive fan.

I also love arranging my instax images in an album, whose shonky materiality is far more satisfying to me than any endless scroll.

More rejuvenating breaks! More material pleasures! More larks! Thank you, Felix, for a truly fabulous week. Let’s not leave it too long until the next time!