Films, Frocks and Fun

 As I mentioned in last week’s post, my week was already off to a good start. My friend was coming over for a visit from Leeds. I met him from the train, and after grabbing a coffee at Greensmith and Thackeray I gave him a whistlestop tour of some of the beautiful sights of Scarborough.

As a fellow fan of visiting churches, I took him through the old town to the beautiful Catholic Church, St. Peter’s. All the years I’ve lived here and this was the first time I’d been in. It was beautiful.

We also visited St. Mary’s, home to the grave of Anne Brontë and with one of the most beautiful views out across the bay. 

We pottered around some charity shops. I was thrilled to find Less by Patrick Grant in Oxfam, I’ve been after it for a while. I read a lot of it during my week off, and it’s very interesting, the history of industry certainly makes you realise how political everything we buy is. I’m not sure it will stop me buying altogether, but at least if Vinted and charity shops are my main sources then I can be confident that at least I’m saving things from the potential evils of landfill!

Tuesday morning little Miss had a play date with her friend and I had a good catchup with her friend’s Mum, who happens to be a very good friend of mine. We pondered going to the pictures in the afternoon, but instead, while waiting for a prescription for Mum we decided to peruse some charity shops. 

After bemoaning the poor pickings of charity shops during the previous week, declaring them dead to me, I couldn’t believe my luck. I found two gorgeous dresses, under a tenner for both! Not bad at all, and not least because the green one is still £62 on the Debenhams website! Charity shop faith restored! 

Still £62 on the Debenhams website

After a lazy Wednesday morning we decided to head to Malton for a potter, and to see the new Super Mario movie. It was hot! So hot that I didn’t even need to wear a coat, a rare occurrence in April! 

After a leisurely lunch in the Chapel house cafe, which, as the name would suggest is within a church, we perused the charity shops. I was lucky once again, getting a nice skirt for work and a Falmer Heritage boho top. I also managed to get a lovely skirt for little Miss (that I forgot to photograph). 

Thankfully we had booked a late afternoon viewing of the film, so we didn’t miss too much of the glorious sunshine. I fully expected to endure rather than enjoy the film but actually it was quite fun and cheerful so we had an all round good time.

I always love this little building by the cinema in Malton. I can just imagine Scrooge and Bob Cratchett at their little desks.

The rest of the week was mostly occupied with boring but necessary jobs. Clearing the lean to, a tip run and cleaning the car, as well as the far less boring task of collecting my Vinted purchases from the locker. A new book and an amazing whimsical skirt! 

Sunday we finished off the week with a trip to our favourite arcade, which has now added a rather enticing ice cream parlour.

Followed by a walk on the beach, a perfect end to the week before returning to the routine of school and work.

Easter Weekend

 When I logged off last Wednesday it was in the knowledge that I wouldn’t be back online (for work purposes at least) for well over a week. As much as I enjoy my job, there’s nothing quite like a week of freedom! I met the chap after work, and we went for a pizza and beer to celebrate. 

On Thursday, we were unexpectedly graced by the sunshine, which was welcome since we had appointments in town. An eye test for little Miss and nails for me. Although the sun didn’t bring much warmth, it was perfect for wearing these Joe Browns boots Mum bought for me a few Christmases back. I love them but only cool dry days work for them.

Boots - Joe Browns, Dress - River Island.

Thankfully, little Misses eye test came back perfect. After a spot of shopping, including getting some gifts for little Misses birthday later this month, and raiding the Claire’s accessories clearance sale for bag charms, it was time to get my nails done. I plumped for a beautiful iridescent pink for my nails, and then it was a relaxing evening ahead.

YSL Cabas tote and Claire’s accessories bag charms!

Good Friday was very relaxed. I spent the morning reading in bed. That’s a rare luxury because I always feel like I ‘should’ be up and doing stuff, so I rarely allow myself the luxury of staying in bed to read. Later in the afternoon we went to mass, stopping off afterwards for a coffee. Later in the evening me and little Miss made some collage bookmarks before settling down to watch Zootropolis 2. 

Easter Saturday arrived and with it the first blusterings of storm Dave. It wasn’t too terrible though, so we took a trip to one of our favourite failsafe destinations, Helmsley. I took the opportunity to wear my new Fairfax and Favor boots for the first time, and was surprised at how comfortable they were for a full afternoon spent perusing the boutiques. 

Boots - Fairfax and Favor, dress - Jolie Moi, awkward facial expression models own

The lady in the Fairfax and Favor shop complimented how good they looked when we went in there for a browse. I was also overjoyed to find some vintage long faux pearls in a little vintage market in the town hall. These replace some I broke I while back. I know faux pearls are ten a penny, but modern ones are always too lightweight and white in comparison. I like them to look old!

Making the most of so much free time, on Sunday me and the chap took a trip to Saltwick Bay near Whitby to hunt for the shipwrecks on the beach. Ever since the chap told me about this place I’d been eager to visit with my camera. It did not disappoint but I won’t share too much until I get my images back from the film lab. Sufficed to say, after walking 8 miles we were very grateful of our fish and chips in Whitby.

This week has already started off strong, but I’ll save that for my next post. 

On Film

 You may remember a short time back I bought a film SLR camera. A Canon EOS 1000F. Something I could only have dreamed of owning as a photography student at secondary school in the 90s, and yet I picked it up with a lens for around £30 on eBay.

Mother’s Day Lillie’s using the built in flash

It sat for a few weeks while I waited for the opportunity to take it out for a test run. That opportunity came the day we decided to go to York Minster. Loading up the camera I realised I’d made a rookie error. I’d bought ISO 200 film. Not a disaster but not ideal for the overcast day and definitely not for the interior of a medieval cathedral. Nonetheless, I was determined to try this camera out, so accepted that this roll would probably produce less than ideal results.

Boring skies, but check out the definition on the building 

Once I’d finished the roll I sent it to Leeds based, Take it easy Lab, and then I waited. Oh the thrill of waiting to see if you’ve got at least one decent image from that roll of 24. It took me back. I have to say, the lab were super fast. Once I’d actually posted the film off to them, they notified me they’d received it one morning and by that afternoon I was accessing my images on Dropbox. What a perfect amalgamation of analog and digital.

Do you know what? The images weren’t all that bad! Ok, so there are definitely improvements to be made, but not bad for my first time back behind an SLR in about 15 years.

These ones of the Morris Men (ironically they were from Coventry) are by far my favourite and demonstrate the exact reason I want to return to the world of film photography. No filters, just perfect imperfection. Atmosphere and something I can’t quantify that really makes me happy.

Needless to say, the next day I was back online ordering film for my next analog adventure. 

Petticoats and Penguins

 Last week brought glorious sunshine. Even the North Yorkshire Coast gave the impression that summer was on the way, paving the way for a fun filled week. 

On Thursday I was in London. It was a work trip, and as much as I do enjoy an odd trip to the London office, I do find it exhausting. Early in my career I used to spend a lot of time in London, but I never found it as draining as I do now. I did also live a few 100 miles closer to it, which is probably a factor.

Anyway, it was lovely to be in the office and catch up with so many of my London colleagues. I’d been saved a desk with a view out over the City skyline and at lunchtime a few of us went for a wander. Someone who obviously knows their way around led the expedition and within 10 minutes we were standing in the middle of the crowds on Petticoat Lane market. I’ve never been here before and was awestruck. There were Indian and African fabric shops and lots of street food stalls selling cuisine from every corner of the globe. We all split up to get our respective cuisines. I had Jerk Chicken and rice and at £7 for a large portion, it was no more expensive than I pay for similar in York. We all perched together on a wall in the sun to eat our lunches and mine, was delicious.

It was a long day. I wasn’t home until after 10 having left before 8am, and I’d enjoyed both the event I’d travelled down to attend, and catching up with people who I don’t always get to see. 

A parrot at the zoo

Saturday morning started off grey, and we thought our plans to go to the zoo at nearby Sewerby Hall were going to be scuppered by the weather. Thankfully, the sun managed to break through the clouds in the afternoon so we stuck to our original plan.

Puppucino in the cafe

After a snack in the cafe, we went to the zoo. It’s a small zoo with exotic birds, goats and other farm type animals and little Misses favourite, Penguins.

We were just in time for feeding at the Humbolt penguin enclosure and little Miss was over joyed. She asked lots of questions. We took lots of photos (I’m yet to download the ones from her camera), and she decided she’d really like a pet penguin.

After the zoo we took Thelma for a walk around the wonderfully picturesque gardens, alive with squirrels and birds. As the sunset, it was time to make our way home. 

Yes, I have used a filter 

Sunday I was off to York to meet the chap. He met me from the train, and first stop was some lunch. Then, I had a bit of a spending spree at Hotel Chocolat. In my defence, it wasn’t all for me, in fact most of it was Easter eggs for other people, including little Miss and the chap! Any visit to hotel Chocolat is always a good excuse to treat myself to some champagne truffles though.

Afterwards, we walked through York to the cinema. The chap had bought us tickets for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. We’re both big Peaky Blinders fans, so we were very excited.

The Everyman is probably one of our favourite cinemas, and the chap treated me to one of their delicious ice cream sundaes and a glass of red wine, to enjoy with the film.

Blurry photos in the cinema 

We really enjoyed the film. No spoilers, but there were definite differences between the style of the series and the film, but there kind of had to be because of the time period and the events. We enjoyed it, and I’m so glad I got to see it on the big screen.

The Everyman Cinema 

Soon enough I was heading back home on the train, ready to start another working week after a very busy few days. Fear not though, the customary grey skies we’re so familiar with have returned. Let’s hope it’s just a blip!