Monday 29 November 2010

The Seaside in Winter

Anyone who has visited the seaside in the winter knows what a different place it is compared to the height of summer. One of the things that is most noticeable are the local people who live there all year round. In the summer, when these seaside towns are brimming with visitors, it is easy to forget that the space we occupy as tourists is actually the home of many of the people who we do not tend to notice as a visitor. Many old people retire to the seaside. Hunstanton in Norfolk, is one of these coastal towns. Quite a few of the elderly who live there have buggies. Below is a photo of three buggies outside the Union Church, where they have a coffee morning and bring-and-buy on a Wednesday:



In order to get a sense of winter-time at the seaside and to experience what it is like to move about town on a buggy, I decided to take one out on a psychogeographical expedition. These buggies are slightly counter intuitive to use if you are used to driving a car, as there is no break. Instead you release the accelerator when you want to stop and it comes to a gradual standstill in a few feet. Hence you have to plan ahead - there is no emergency stop! Below is a short film of me taking the buggy onto the promenade...



Related seaside blog: Reading the Arcades/Reading the Promenades

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