Friday, May 25, 2012

 

Strangers on the Shore

This is a morning of getting organised for a weekend away, which includes a family wedding.
Why, oh why do we not get organised in advance of events?
Oh dear, we don't even know if we have sent a wedding present yet! Definitely don't have a wedding card.
It is the wedding of our nephew and his bride, in lovely Worcestershire.
This afternoon we will join my brother and his wife in readiness for the big day.
The weather forecast is fantastic - much sunshine and warmth.
We return home on Sunday.

Now, to Strangers on the Shore - no, not the Acker Bilk clarinet record of long ago, though it still sounds good.
These are pictures I took yesterday of strangers at Littlehampton.
I love doing it, and the pictures have been well received by those who have seen them already.
I thought people would just think I was crazy for taking pictures of strangers, but they seemed to understand the fun of people watching (we all do it). Then as I work on the pictures I seem to invent stories about my "victims" - some could become characters in a novel; except that I don't write novels.

The first three were taken as we ate our breakfast in the riverside cafe. There is a low wall beside the river at that point where people sit and chat or eat.....fish and chips and  ice creams.


I felt sad for these two. I felt they were the sort not to feel they have much control on life.
Why oh why did they choose to sit right by the huge litter bin?










That ice cream was rather big for the toddler.
It was dripping - hence the tissue in Mum's hand.



















Enjoying the sunshine and the view....and the chips.




















On weekdays men gather at the Oyster Pond to sail their model yachts and have a gentle time.



















A bit of glamour by the river.
A. told me that the word "glamour" has origins in medieval witch craft.


















Taking the boat out to sea.















Not quite asleep, but lost in thought.




















I decided that these two would be meeting a couple of others for lunch, but were early.
So, they sat for a while in the sunshine.
The woman in the foreground was anxiously playing with the tails of her bolero.
Why? What traumas are in life for her?
















Nice looking woman, with a gentle face.
She was strolling with two men.
Could there be an intrigue here?
I doubt it, probably her husband and his brother.
















Jaunty eh?
Red braces, purple shirt.
The colours suggest to me that he is loving life.



















"If you say so"

A life time of being together has taught her not to bother to argue with him.













"He told me to wait here"

We saw the owner come back for him, so no worries.

















No people in the picture - but somebody put the beach umbrella up.




















The reading today is......

It's a book by somebody, who some deem to be a bit of a religious crank.


















Just asleep or sleeping it off?

I was fascinated that the hand stayed in that position.










And now a true Strangers on the Shore picture which J sent from Thailand today.