Great Swimwear History Video

Love this - love the background music, the funny dance the man does in his bathing suit, the cheeky comments that would be considered politically incorrect today!, the narrators voices and love all of the swimsuits modelled (except for perhaps the mans unflattering trunks at the end!)

Indian Summer

Well the beautiful sunny weather has been a welcome surprise this week! Who would have thought that it would be blue skies and temperatures hitting the mid 20s as October approaches! Almost unheard of in the UK! Well I've been making the most of it! Spent a lovely day at the beach hut and took some photos of the latest swimsuits I have acquired! It certainly created some interest as people strolled along the prom and stopped to chat!

I've also been out kayaking at a local lake which was just lovely! I got my dads Triumph Herald out and have been driving with the roof down. I find when I'm in the Herald, it's a totally different driving experience - instead of racing around feeling rushed I just cruise along it easy in the slow lane. I'm not sure why this is but I like it!! The only snag when driving it is that I never quite know how much petrol I've got in the tank or how fast I'm going! Really got to make the most of this weather though as I've got a feeling that when it goes that could be it for a long time!

Summer Highlights

Hope you've had a good summer! The weather could've been better but overall it was a good one! Now it well and truly feels like Autumn is here! Here are some beachy and vintage highlights of summer 2011!

Vintage Markets Emmie's Stall

Kimberly, who paints vintage plates above

Bev, one of my oldest friends from school days.

MUDDY FESTIVALS!

I volunteered at Glastonbury for a major charity and we raised £55,000 from 3 shops! I have never been exposed to so much mud and we worked really hard for 7 days. It took me about 2 weeks to recover! Made some new friends and had an unforgettable experience including going backstage at The Pyramid to a party Michael Eavis puts on for the charities he supports!


A Whole Month Spent Down in Cornwall - Secret trial move there!
The Blue Bar, Porth Towan - best bar I've been to in ages. Perfect location on the beach to watch the sunset, nice mix of people and good food and drink.



Stunning St Ives Bay. It was my 7th visit to Cornwall and I often think about moving there. However it's a long way West from family and I have a husband and 2 daughters who aren't quite ready to move there yet! After spending 4 weeks there I could've quite happily just stayed there! In fact, seeing these photos is making me pine for it! As well as the breathtaking beaches, the people were so friendly, and it has the perfect environment for all the activities I like doing. We spent pretty much every day at the beaches of St Ives Bay, Porth Towan and Chapel Porth.

The photo above is of a little creature called a Goose Barnacle.

A Vintage Barbeque!

My friend Kimberly, had a vintage BBQ at her house with great detail going in to the food! I wore this 1970s maxi dress by Miss Mouse. I look like I'm going to Abigails Party!!

Look forward to reading and catching up with your summers!

It's been a long time!

Hi there! Wow - can't believe it's been so long since I posted on here. I look forward to catching up with everyones blogs to see what you've all been up to! Here things were abit up and down - a bumpy ride - but summer is on the way which has got to be a good thing.


Talking of bumpy rides - last weekend I went on my first ever classic car run. I drove my dads Triumph Herald (which I am kindly looking after for him!!) and he drove his Triumph Stag. The photos above were taken on the day (by Shema Leith and Bev Watling-Smith). Two friends came along and we truly had a blast. There were approx 600 cars and it was the 41st Ipswich to Felixstowe classic car run. The cars dated from the 1910s to the 1980s. At the end of the run all of the cars lined up on the promenade. It was a beautiful day but very windy! It was really really good fun! We kind of dressed up a little but next year we are going to definately dress 1960s style! The Triumph Herald dates from 1966. My friend, Kimberly made a video of the day - here is a link to it!

http://youtu.be/E6OQKjSbKIg

It makes me laugh but it also makes me cringe abit! At the beginning I think I sound like Beverley from Abigails party!

Next weekend is the Ipswich Waterfront Market on Sunday 15th May. It will be my first fair of the season so I have lots of stock! I will be next to my good friend, Emmie and we are really looking forward to it. If you're in the area, come and say hello!

The other exciting news is that I am going to Glastonbury with Oxfam this year! I only found out this week and am really looking forward to it. I will be helping to set up their shops there and working in them. They save alot of vintage stock, wellies, blankets and sleeping bags over the year and then take them to sell at the festivals and last year they made £43,000 just at Glastonbury alone. Fantastic! I am off to London tommorow to meet everyone.

Surfing Morocco!

Had a great time in Morocco! It was a very short trip but we had perfect weather and perfect waves. Because it is such a rarity to get time to ourselves we definately made the most of it! We spent 2 whole days pretty much entirely in the sea surfing (or trying to!) We were zonked out asleep every night by 8pm. It was better than brilliant though - even if I did end up with a few grazes and bruises. The sinuses were certainly flushed out on more than one occassion! But overall I did improve but it was just not long enough and as soon as I felt progress was being made it was time to leave. I am having withdrawal symptoms! The people were great and the whole atmosphere was very laid back.

On our last morning we explored the local village - Taghazout - as we hadn't really seen it as we'd just been in the sea the whole time. We stopped at a few shops and I was very pleased to spot this blanket! It reminded me of a vintage deckchair!


It was hanging on the wall at the back of the shop. When I asked the guy how much it was, he replied ' This is old one' and looked at me in disbelief. He tried to show me the more modern ones that were for sale but nothing compared with this one. Sure it was frayed, dusty and ragged at the edges but so much nicer than the other ones. He eventually took it off the wall and I bought it (much cheaper than the other ones too!) . It will now be a very treasured beach rug that I look forward to using every summer!

It was nice to come home and see the girls again although my mum who had been looking after them was keen to get home too! I think we'll be doing a few more surfing trips in 2011 but next time as a family!

Finally I would like to wish a BIG HAPPY CHRISTMAS to everyone. Hope it's a good one! xx

Brighton and Morocco

Hi- It's been a while but glad to be back on here today. In fact, on a gloomy winters day it's quite nice to be indoors all warm and cosy catching up with everyone's blogs. I was meant to be visiting the Vintage Textile and Clothing Fair in Norwich today but an unwell husband means I haven't been able to make it sadly. Hope my friend, Emmie, has a great day there.

I won't be doing any fairs myself until next year now. I do miss them in the winter but it's not really beachy weather is it? I think people are thinking more about boots, coats, gloves and ski jackets rather than swimsuits!

A couple of weekends ago I managed to spend a weekend down in Brighton. I lived there for 10 years for most of the 1990s. It was so nice to visit there again. I had forgotten just how vibrant and alive the whole city is. There was so much going on and I spent lots of time catching up with old friends which was just brilliant. It was also the London to Brighton veteran car run which was fun. We hung around at the finish line cheering the drivers as they came to the end. There were a few cars being towed by others and one man ended up pushing his vehicle through!

The only thing about being away is that sometimes it's hard to come back to Suffolk! We have been back in Suffolk for 4 years now and I do appreciate living here. It's a great place for family life. However just recently (and I think this is directly related to it being winter!) I have started to feel a little restless! I really really miss being near oceans. As much as I can admire the North Sea it's not the same as living right next to the Pacific or Indian Ocean! However we are lucky in the UK that we are in a good spot for travelling - this is why all the Aussie backpackers head here! So in a couple of weeks we are off on a short break to Morocco! We looked in to the idea of a luxury hotel and just relaxing in spas etc but then decided it might be quite boring! So instead we are going surfing and will be spending 3 solid days in the waves of the Atlantic ocean! It is a little surfy town called Taghazout and we are staying at Hash Point!!! So it's going to be a little adventure and hopefully some fun too! I have spent so much time over the years trying to surf - surf schools in Cornwall several times, surf trips to Byron Bay, Manly and Bondi beach, 3 months in California at Mission beach where we went in the sea nearly every day as well as a week long surfing course and then more lessons again for my 40th! And can I do it? Well - I can sometimes stand up, paddle out, duck dive etc but I have only ever caught an unbroken wave twice! I've caught plenty on the white water but the intention of this trip is to catch a REAL wave! And if I don't? It's sure going to be good fun trying!

Today!

Hi - can't believe I haven't written on here for over a month! Life has been quite busy with a few ups and downs and sadly Beach Bygones got a little neglected along the way. However I am very happy to be back here again tonight and look forward to catching up with everyones blogs. I thought I would write about today as it was one of those really nice days!
It started off by visiting the vintage and contemporary market at Ipswich waterfront. I am generally not too keen on Ipswich but the waterfront is a really nice spot. I love old wooden boats and Thames Barges and there were a few moored up there. These were my faves!

Having the market there really brings the whole area to life. It was buzzing with people with a good atmosphere. It was great to catch up with some vintage friends!

Emmie and Graham

Fiona from Nigels Emporium, Framlingham

Jackie and Richard who help organize the market

General crowds with lots of people there this morning.

A couple of buskers

Then I spotted this campervan and had to stop to take a photo. It was immaculate!

I got talking to the owner who I discovered was involved in organising the mid Suffolk vw festival where I did a stall earlier this summer. He had bought this campervan in California and shipped it over. It has been quite sun faded and worn out and he had completely done it up. I think he's done a great job, don't you!

I headed back home around lunchtime and then went over to my parents house with the girls. Sitting at my parents house was the Triumph Herald.

This is a car that has been in the family since the 1980s when my dad rebuilt it. I have always wanted to drive it but never really have. Well I am finally on the insurance and today I went on a proper drive in it for the first time! It was BRILLIANT! It will soon be coming to our house for a holiday!! After the spin about, we decided to head down to the beach hut as the sun had come out. It was beautiful down there. Spotted another campervan in the car park there too!

There was quite alot of sand on the beach today and we spent time trying to find amber (even though we've never ever found any before!) and generally pottering about.

We didn't find any amber but we did find some well worn sea glass. Just as good!