An evening with friends

Last Saturday started out as normal. We got up at 6.30 and spent the next six hours or so doing our animals. By the time we had finished cleaning the ferret room we were both tired, so my husband sat down in the front room while I caught up with a few things on the PC. The cats were still full of energy and I heard them being told off more than once for ripping bits of wallpaper from behind the curtain. We only got around to decorating one room when we moved in twenty years ago. It has lasted pretty well, but they had obviously found a loose bit and it had quickly become their favourite game.

I don’t spend a lot of time on Facebook, but have found it useful recently for local bird and butterfly groups. Members (who are far more expert than I will ever be) find various species and I simply turn up and take photographs. This particular afternoon there was a post in a small sub-group about meeting up that evening to do some wire wool spinning. The venue was at Leysdown on Sea, on the north coast of the Isle of Sheppey. It would be a long drive and mean a very late finish, but hubby was happy to do the animals and so I charged my batteries and packed my trusty rucksack.

The drive was stunning, with the low evening sun casting shadows across the landscape and with little traffic I made the journey in exactly one hour. Leysdown is a small town, almost entirely dedicated to static caravans and camping and in fact, has one of the largest concentrations of holiday parks in Kent. I was surprised to find that this type of holiday was still popular. The fish and chip shops and arcades were crowded with families enjoying a traditional summer break.

I found the car park at the far end of town, but a large sign claimed it was locked overnight. Not wishing to run into trouble, I turned around and found a space in the middle of the town. It didn’t take long to walk back and I made a beeline for the colourful beach huts. Setting up my tripod, I was lucky enough to catch the sun setting behind. The image has become one of my own personal favourites and can be seen featured at the top.

Moments later, the rest of the group turned up and we got ready for an evening of fun. One lady took charge and did all the spinning while making sure we kept at a safe distance and were using the right camera settings. It was wonderful, but by the time she had run out of wire wool, I was ready for home. The others lived much closer and opted to stay a while longer to photograph the Milky Way.

As I made my way back to the car I caught glimpses of life in the parks. Barbeques were being put away, rubbish was being collected and from behind closed curtains I could see the faint flickering from television sets. Colourful lights in the shape of flowers or animals were draped along the chain link fencing. This was a world away from our own life at home, where we can’t see another property from anywhere on our land. Here, people were living in close proximity, but I felt safe. As I walked along the pavement, three men approached from the other direction. “Hello love” one called out. “Are you staying on the site?” They weren’t a threat and so I replied in the negative, stepped behind them and unlocked my car.

It was midnight when I finally arrived home. The cats were pleased to see me and five of them followed me to the study where I left the rucksack. It was too late to clean my gear and it would have to wait until morning. As I turned around, Vicky (our nearly blind Bulgarian kitten) greeted me with a strip of recently torn wallpaper. She dropped it at my feet as a welcome home gift. All was well.