Hi everyone
How are you all? Weather good where you are? I read of bloggers across the pond who currently have weather in the 90s! That’s, of course Fahrenheit, which would be 32C in our part of the world. I grew up with Fahrenheit measuring temperatures (how many of you remember those days) and this range does sound better when it’s hot weather. I mean, 90 seems so much hotter than 32! But hey Celsius is so much more logical with freezing point being at 0 degrees Celsius, hence, I feel totally at home talking about colder temperatures in Celsius. And boy, has there been some cold weather lately in the UK, like last Saturday when it started out beautifully warm and sunny so I got out a short-sleeved top and thinner cotton pants, but on going out in the afternoon I found it wasn’t that warm, in fact there was this freezing cold wind, and I really mean freezing. In fact I rushed back for some warmer clothes!
And the weather has continued to have that little nip in the air, made that much cooler with an offshore breeze. Because people I’m beside the sea in my favourite place – Dungeness. Yes, I know there are beaches that are much warmer, and places too, but oh how I love the bleakness of this stony spit of land. We’re here because, dear readers, I didn’t tell you about one quite major issue with our flat, which didn’t stop us moving in, but even so when you hear….
Yes, shortly before our move the shower failed – and it’s the only shower in the one bathroom. So we’ve been there since 4th April without the ability to have a proper wash apart from a very basic all over using the basin. Hmmm! Fortunately we have a guest suite in our little Close and we are able to use that but it is quite a fiddle to have to get your things together and walk over to the guest suite. Anyways, what a first world problem, to worry about not having a shower every day. It wasn’t always that way. Do you remember when bathrooms were cold places and there were no showers, only a ceramic bath and you bathed according to a rota. In Mr F’s household a bath was once a week, in ours it was three times a week, but only on certain days as you couldn’t have two baths on the same day. It was the boiler, which I always remember as being very temperamental and tricky to manage. Fuelled by coke, of course. So no way, do I look back to the 50s and say, those were the days, they were, let’s put it this way, very different to today.
Anyway we managed without our shower and our plumber has moved fast and put us ahead of other clients and began gutting the bathroom yesterday (25th). And oh joy, last week some unexpected days became free at the lovely cottage in Dungeness and we jumped at the offer and are here for 3 nights, and then back to my wonderful daughter. They give up their bedroom and we hope we are not too much of an inconvenience but we do cook the meals during their working week to contribute to the household.
Here’s a reminder of Dungeness and a glimpse of my latest charity shop buy – another jacket! I bought it because I have a lot of city-type coats and jackets but I don’t have much in the way of outer wear for country walks. Here you can see, it is a padded jacket with a hood and it was very necessary and toasty yesterday when we arrived mid-afternoon and went for a walk in that cool, cool wind. It cost £12.50 and is hardly worn, in fact it’s as good as new.
It’s big enough to take another layer underneath and I half wished I’d added that! There’s the discontinued lighthouse in the background and don’t forget the nuclear power station, which is now being decommissioned. There are notices around telling you what to do if you hear sirens! What a hoot!
And here are some pix of Dungeness.
Mr F striding ahead of me!
That’s the view from the back of the cottage.
And from the front of the cottage.
And it’s interior.
Everywhere you look there are books.
The cottage was once the writing retreat of a well-known playwright and has that literary feel to it. The family still own it and it is delightfully stylish while at the same time being cosy and homely.
That’s all for now,
With love, Penny, the Frugalfashionshopper
Hi Penny, Nice to hear you are enjoying your quick holiday ,isn’t great to be able to nip away for a few days! Another benefit of being retired ,just pack and go!
I well remember the bathing situation when I grew up in the forties. One bath a week ,sometimes in the same water! Eldest first, that was me, then my younger three siblings! We lived near the sea so in the summer when we had been swimming, my parents decided we didn’t need baths so often!
It really makes me appreciate now our lovely hot daily showers! But on the other hand we were all very healthy, makes you wonder doesn’t it?
Best Wishes from Judy( Brighton)
It is great to get away from all the noise of the refurb and to such a lovely place. Breezy though but feels healthy! Tonight we shall have a pub supper of pie and mash – yum!
Yes, I expect we were healthy then although it’s all relative as I do remember several summers of avoiding our town centre because of a polio outbreak. Now all sorted with vaccines of course, so swings and roundabouts. What we didn’t have then was climate change – that’s food for thought, I think!
Thanks Judy and best wishes to you too 😊
Great cottage and nice flat region for walking or cycling. There was a ‘home & garden’ there recently in the Guardian (?), Dungeness looks like like a place apart.
Yes, I saw that article and I know I’ve seen it last time we visited Dungeness but not spotted it this time – yet.
And yes, Dungeness is really unique.
Oh how great Penny to be in Dungeness, we were there in January. It was cold but sunny, we loved our first visit there.
Your coat looks good and no doubt will be a good investment!
We too had no hot water when we moved in here during lockdown but appreciate it very much now. I have to say I’ve started feeling the cold a bit more now. We had a recent stay at our daughters in London and there was a really harsh wind but really sunny, I ended up buying a furry waistcoat(fake) in a charity shop which helped. Our grandchildren said it’s the the same colour as their hamster, so when I held him they laughed!
Oh yes I remember baths in front of the fire, there were six children in our family so it was a bit of a performance!
All the best Penny xx
I’m glad you visited as Dungeness is so unique and my word I’m glad I bought that jacket as the wind has been freezing.
Hopefully we’ll have a shower and a completely new bathroom in 2 weeks time. And I know, I think we feel the cold more too, thankfully our new flat is very warm being south facing.
Your furry waistcoat sounds great!
All the best to you too Vivien x
When you moved, I looked at a map of England to find Lewes. Now, I’ll have to find Dungeness! Your cottage looks so cozy and charming. And you look cozy and charming in your new-to-you jacket! Perfect!
Tonight, we spontaneously packed up our dinner and headed to the beach for a moody sunset outing. The fog had rolled in but we could still see the hills of the two Channel Islands offshore. The sunset was a mix of grays and bright pinks. It was a wonderful way to end a busy day and just minutes from home.
Growing up in a two bedroom/one bath home with grandparents, parents, and three kids gave all of us challenges in bathing. I remember bathing in the laundry room tub until my scrunched-up-knee position would no longer fit! I lived there until my early 20’s. Now, in our 70’s, like you, husband and I moved near to our son and his family in a beach town. Our first attempt to wash after a day of moving was a little surprising. We have TWO bathrooms now, both with a tub/shower combination! But…one had no shower curtain and the other’s shower head only emitted a dribble of water! HA! We had to scramble to get to church on time!
I’m happy for you, Penny! Thankful, too, for your resourcefulness and ability to seize the moment!! Makes life grand!
Good to hear from you…Charlene
Hi Charlene
Dungeness is further down the coast eastwards and a 2-hour drive from Lewes in almost a straight line so a very easy drive. It really is or was pioneer living but sadly that is not quite how it is now as many of the old fisherman’s huts are being bought up at huge prices and turned into Airbnb stays. This is why this cottage is so unique as it’s owned by a family and feels homely unlike the pristine and minimalist Airbnbs. And fortunately too that the local council has very strict planning laws so these bought up huts have to stick to certain guidelines so all are single storey and coloured black, but they’re easily spotted. There are still some original huts and of course, no new building so it all looks very unique.
Your spontaneous sunset dinner sounds wonderful. And yes how things have changed – a lot of it is for the better and that includes warm bathrooms!
Thanks so much Charlene 😊
Last March, guests in our b&b told us that we had to go to Dunchyness for fish! We didn’t buy want to go there next time. They loved the place and said, you hate it or love it.
Oh you have to go to Dungeness as it is so unique. If off season go on a weekend as the fish shack is open and you get amazing fish rolls and other fishy things cooked freshly by a local fishing family. During the season I think it’s open most days.
I guess, yes, Dungeness is a very marmite place, you either love it or hate it and no in-between!
Thanks for sharing your new place. I love how open and spacious it is!!
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Oh I wish that was my place, Jodie, but it’s a holiday cottage!!! They sell for huge sums of money – now if I won the lottery…….!
What a lovely place to visit, Penny! I do hope your shower is soon fixed so that problem is take care of! Our weather has been all over the place…last week we hit 80 F (27C)…tonight we have a freeze warning! That jacket looks quite warm and toasty…what a fabulous buy! Enjoy your mini vacation and time with your family!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Oh yes, we are so looking forward to having our new bathroom – hopefully in less than 2 weeks time now! The weather here has been exactly like yours just not as high temperatures, but it is hot one moment and freezing the next. This wind though has been around for several days – time for it to go!
I’m fascinated by Dungeness, it always seems to have a unique sky and looks like something out of a US film! You’ll certainly need that jacket, chilly again today! When we’ve had problems with the boiler (which are all too often) I head over to my gym for a shower – but not everyone can do that. Nice to escape to that cottage haven!
Yes, we have options, like the guest suite or my daughter’s but it does cut a chunk out of one’s day! Really, it’s just a minor inconvenience and we’ll soon have a lovely new bathroom. And of course, after our short break in Dungeness we’re at my daughter’s – problem solved!
The cottage is amazing – http://www.wiwurri-dungeness.co.uk
sorry about your shower situation but you seem to have come up with the perfect plan to deal with it. the cottage is charming. I am late in writing this as i had some crazy unexplained abdominal pain last evening. i did get checked out, everything is fine and pain gone as mysteriously as it came. even planning a day trip today with a group I belong to. Still no real warm weather here in New York, still layering up for my shelter dog walks and my own walks around the park. I think I feel about the island of Chincoteague as you do Dungeness. my favorite place. and as in Dungeness you really can’t touch real estate. even the most delapadated fishermans cottages are going for astronomical sums. So I am off to the Bronx today.
Love, Darby
I am so sorry to hear about the abdominal pain. It must have been quite frightening so I am glad you got yourself checked out and it’s gone now – phew! The weather here, like yours, is still cool. As in, no way will I be wearing the three dresses I bought in March when it was very hot (for the UK). There’s still that chilly wind even inland in Lewes.
Yes, Sounds as though Dungeness is very like your island of Chincoteague – prices are going up and up. And of course, because the ‘estate’ of Dungeness is privately owned (actually by the energy company EDF who own the nuclear power stations) all the properties are leasehold which means no loans/mortgages. You’d have to pay cash up front. So that’s either the very rich or a lottery win!
Have a lovely weekend Darby x
I too remember primitive bathing facilities as a child. At one point our rented house had a toilet down the garden and the bath was in one of the bedrooms, screened off by a wardrobe. There was a terrifyingly noisy ‘geyser’ which often ran cold. I recall Dad bringing up a kettle of water to ‘tickle it up a bit’! I’m not sure my Mother ever used the bath at all. Our first owned house had a black & white tiled bathroom which was considered quite the thing! My parents never went beyond a weekly bath & could not understand why people were always ‘jumping into the shower’. I’m not keen on showers myself unless it’s very hot and I get claustrophobic in closed cubicles one my eyes get water in them I panic.
Just found out that my melanoma has not spread beyond the 3 lymph nodes that were removed although it’s likely to come back. I’m starting drugs next week to reduce that possibility, as long as I can cope with the side effects. Can’t go cruise or foreign holidays for a while so we will be looking at UK options. I’d really like to go to Scotland. There are a lot of places we have not been to yet, including Lewes and Dungeness.
Ideas about bathing were very different when we (or certainly me at 75)were young. But it wasn’t at all because we were unhygienic or not wanting to wash, it was just the lack of hot water. Our boiler run by coke was an absolute b……rd to run and was the bane of my parents life. I think the worse part was in winter if the pipes froze in the loft and the boiler was still hot and full of burning coke, I remember my mother being absolutely hysterical dampening the boiler down to prevent an explosion (or that’s what she thought might happen). Until this latest vast increase in energy price we really were living a life of luxury. Now I rather wonder what people might do to ease these ghastly price rises.
Oh what a bother re: the melanoma, Lynda, I mean I’m so glad it’s not spread beyond the lymph nodes, but even so it’s not the best situation. Fingers crossed re: the drugs as I hope you can tolerate them. I have my mole check booked for mid-May and about time too, I’m covered in old age spots and other blemishes but haven’t seen anything outstanding, but so important to have that scrutiny from people who look at every single mark on ones body.Usually have this check every year but because of the pandemic…..
The cottage Wi-Wurri gets very booked up but is very reasonably priced in comparison to, I have to say, the tarted up fisherman’s cottages that are on Airbnb rates – they’re shockingly high.
http://www.wiwurri-dungeness.co.uk
There are so many beautiful places to explore in the UK, we are going to look at parts of Kent that we’ve never been to before. Scotland is amazing and you’ll love it. Personally I’d go by train and then pick up a hire car. Rather like train journeys – now if they could only be made less expensive….
Thanks as ever for your comment, Lynda 😊
Penny, we had the same problem re the shower and it was only fixed last Friday. It was either baths or all over washes. I really could not live without a shower. I lived in a house with no bathroom and an outside toilet until I was 15 years old so to move somewhere with a bathroom was luxury indeed – even if it was freezing. If my dad thought I was having too many baths in a week; he would charge me 1 shilling for the gas meter per extra bath! Those were the days….
The new jacket is the perfect walking jacket and you do look snug in it.
The cottage is gorgeous; loved the puffin on the windowsill and all the books, of course. Will you/did you go/get to Derek Jarman’s garden? I’d love to go one day
Let’s hope the weather warms up – today is slightly warmer and we have a bit of sunshine!
xxx