Running low on a few things, I had picked up that the art supplies shop in St. Anne’s had been rejuvenated and decided to take a trip out (26th October 2022). The medium format camera and a roll of film accompanied me. With a day pass on my phone, I took the service 3 to town and then caught the service 7 in Market Street, which soon had me in St. Anne’s town centre.
I walked up the small incline to The Crescent to find Dawson’s Art and Craft Emporium. This is well stocked with high quality materials that you can actually examine before buying, unlike when internet shopping. I came out with new paper, alcohol pens, a portfolio and my favourite kind of putty rubber. These will keep me going for a while, although I’m getting through that white cartridge paper. There are also plastic models and materials and tools. A good selection of kits, but I managed to restrain myself from buying one. When there were 24 marks of Spitfire alone, one can quickly build a stash that will never be built.
So with that shopping done, there was plenty of time for a stroll round and shoot my twelve 120 frames. But first to Cafe Nero for coffee and chocolate cake.
Replete with sugar, I walked down to Ashton Gardens. With the right light, even simple gates can offer a good composition.
The St. Anne’s war memorial is in my opinion actually a radical structure. While it has heroic and militaristic images, it also has bronze reliefs of suffering, also representing the war’s impact on women and families. It also fits perfectly into what is a very well designed park and greenspace that offers tranquillity in the midst of a busy town.
From there to the truncated pier. The remnants of the lost section must be one of the most frequently photographed objects in the Fylde, alongside the Lytham windmill and the Cleveleys shell sculpture. I have my own pictures of the lost pier remnant and basically refuse to take any more.
The pier remains an impressive structure. An amusement arcade occupies the majority but, having traversed that, there is an island of peace outside where one can look out to sea and down the magnificent beach (if the tide’s out, which it was).
The promenade is pleasant to walk down and one soon leaves the madding crowd. As I strolled a miniature train trundled passed carrying happy families; I didn’t know that was there. The beach huts might only be that, but they add to the coastal scene and ambience. Reaching the promenade’s effective end, and my twelfth frame. I turned back and took a slightly more inland route back to St. Anne’s centre and the service 11 bus stop for my return.
A very pleasant run out: retail therapy, chocolate cake, nice photography and fresh air. I’ll certainly be back for more art materials. What could be better?
