Plus ça change

British housewives in Southend chatting during the Second World War.

I bought this postcard at the Churchill War Rooms in London, and found it in a pile of papers this afternoon.

The masks we're wearing don't make us look quite so much like anteaters -- and these women are standing much too close together -- but it all looks strangely familiar. 

Year-end housekeeping, continued -- Southend

The modern version of the English seaside resort, in the harsh light of early morning. I like the contrast between the sharp detail of the amusement park in the foreground and the misty ships in the distance, which turned out to be more obvious in black and white.

This was from an overlook just down the road from the B&B where I stayed  -- the famous pier is just out of frame to the left.

Urban poetry

The high street in Southend.

I like the juxtaposition -- you can stop in at Mr Simms for something to bite down on before heading off to get your tattoo at Low Tide (Walk-ins Welcome).

Sunday bird blogging

The picture is a little blurry, but here's another robin, this one in Southend.

Row houses in the UK

The variety in (clockwise from top left) Portree, Southend, Inverness and London.

Southend

The pier in Southend-on-Sea, a seaside town in Essex where I'm staying for a few days to see family.

That is advertised as the longest recreational pier in the world and I'm willing to take them at their word. My cousin Bridget and I walked out to the end, and though it was a lovely day, the wind became more enthusiastic the farther we went, and it is most definitely a very, very long pier.

There's a cafe at the end and we had a restorative cup of tea, but it didn't inspire us to do the return journey -- we took the train.