St. Peter’s church stands in Trusthorpe, a village that sits between Mablethorpe and Sutton-on-Sea. The village just merges into the two other locations though with no countryside in between. Much of the land just behind the sea defences is now the home of a large caravan park, which can be seen in the bottom two pictures. If you look very closely at the second caravans photo, you can just see the tower of St. Peter’s poking up out of the treeline.
Something good that happened today…
I had a Jamaican salt fish patty for my lunch today. Never had one before and it was pretty nice.
There is a house behind that tree. You can just about make it out…
Something good that happened today…
I was told today that I’ve been successful in keeping my job, which is a huge relief.
The relief and gratitude is, however, considerably tempered by the fact that lots of my colleagues have not been so fortunate and will be leaving the team (and possibly the business) in the near future, which is horrible. I’ve been in that position myself, and it was awful. I expect that all of them will be able to find new jobs given the line of business we are in and their hands on experience, but it’s still not a happy situation for them to be put in through no fault of their own. They are all good people and I will really miss them.
The last batch of last year’s Mablethorpe / Sutton-on-Sea chalet / beach hut pictures (although I may have a few more worthwhile digital picture that I might pull out of the hat if I need something to post one day).
These four were all shot on Tri-X, rather than the expired Plus-X of the others.
Something good that happened today…
It’s been a bit of a lazy Sunday. My dad visited this morning. Then I developed a roll of film I shot a couple of weeks ago (my first official 2025 film photos). Then I spent the rest of the afternoon doing not much apart from browsing the internet and watching a bit of TV. A roast chicken Sunday Dinner has filled my belly.
Given the uncertainty over what could happen tomorrow, I think this relaxed day is something to be happy about and be thankful for.
Another Lifeguards hut. Never photographed this one before, although given that they all look pretty much the same, it’s not so much the hut as the surroundings. This one overlooks the beach at Sutton-on-Sea.
Something good that happened today…
I’ve done little today other than scan some negatives and watch TV. But it’s been relaxing, and that’s a good thing.
This is the new “Cultural Hub” building at Sutton-on-Sea. Still under construction when I took this photo, I believe it is due to open sometime in 2025.
It replaces the old Colonnade and Pleasure Gardens development that stood on the site since the 1950s an, as such modern developments often do, has caused some debate, some residents and visitors welcoming the new, modern structure, others criticising the loss of the old and viewing the new structure as an eyesore.
Whatever people’s views, there is little to be done now but accept it for what it is.
From my perspective, it made for an interesting photo, and I’ll have to revisit it to perhaps photograph the completed building (and maybe go onto the sun terrace to take a picture from there!).
Something good that happened today…
The uncertainty over my job continues, although I will find out one way or the other on Monday. My mood seems to shift from day-to-day – yesterday I felt quite upbeat about things, but today I’m the opposite. I’ve had hints that I have a good chance that my role is safe, but not a guarantee, so I’m tending towards a pessimistic view today as I don’t want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed. This has made it quite difficult to find something good to write about, but I’m going to say that it was the team call we had this afternoon. Most of the people present (and some were not) are in the same position as myself – stuck with uncertainty until after the weekend – and some of them are in a more difficult position as certain grades have fewer available roles between them. Despite this, and although everyone is clearly unhappy about the situation, we are still able to come together and support one another with encouragement and advice. I work with good people, and that’s definitely a good thing.
I cropped in on this a little, but the big 6×9 negative took it well, and the GW690 still keeps it nice and sharp.
Something good that happened today…
A simple thing, but this morning, as I was cleaning out the cats’ litter tray into a bag to go in the bin, there was a very loud tweeting in the garden. The singer was a small robin atop the fence, chirping at the top of it’s little lungs. It was a really nice start to the day (although maybe not the cat litter part…).
A couple of pictures from Mablethorpe beach today, and my last (possibly ever?) Kodak Plus-X shots given I have no more of this expired film left – although I do have a single roll of Plus-X Pan, which I think may be an earlier version. That one is 35mm though, and expired in 1988.
The second picture shows the outfall where The Cut, a man-made drainage channel that winds its way through the flat Lincolnshire countryside, enters the North Sea.
Something good that happened today…
I had a parcel to send so I went for a walk to the collection point (a local convenience store about a mile away). The weather was lovely, with bright winter sunshine, blue skies, and a relatively mild 10° C temperature. After this week’s unsettling news, it was good to get out in the fresh air and stretch my legs.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
This bridge crosses a narrow part of the boating lake in Queen’s Park, Mablethorpe. A sizeable population of ducks, geese, and swans make the lake their home for at least part of the year, and while I took this picture a number of them looked at me hopefully in case I might have some food.
Something good that happened today…
It’s quite difficult to find a good thing today. Our team was notified that a restructure is taking place which will remove around 70% of current roles. While I had some expectation that something like this was probably going to happen, I didn’t expect it to be so significant, or to happen so soon. Obviously the affected people are shocked, frightened, and unhappy about the situation.
I have some hope that my role may be spared, but won’t find out just yet so all I can do is hope for the best. While this is obviously better than hearing my job is definitely being removed, it’s still been a challenging day.
I’ve reached out to colleagues to give support. I know how difficult these situations are, having gone through it before, and I think knowing there are people in a similar situation who will listen and share is a beneficial thing and much better than feeling alone with your concerns. I’m anxious myself, but I hope that I’ve been able to make others feel a little better by lending them an ear.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
It took a little effort to get this picture of these donkeys on Mablethorpe beach. There were plenty of people taking rides on them, so I had to wait for a gap. The lady looking after the donkeys kindly corralled them for me after I asked if it was ok to get a picture. I think I’ve front focused by a tiny fraction (although you can’t really tell unless you zoom right in), but I did quite well considering the rangefinder patch om my GW690 isn’t the easiest thing to use, especially on moving subjects.
Something good that happened today…
This isn’t a particularly good thing in itself. We received notification about a mandatory team call tomorrow and the feeling is that it won’t be good news. I guess the worse case scenario is that jobs are being cut, although I don’t know that for certain. Whatever the case, I don’t think they will be announcing inflation busting pay rises or anything.
I guess the good thing is that, while I feel unnerved about it, I don’t feel as anxious as I have when similar announcements have been made in the past. This is a small mercy, but I’ll take it. I guess I’ll know more tomorrow.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
Another Mablethorpe location that I’ve photographed many times before. It kinda shouts out to be photographed though.
Something good that happened today…
I was going to develop a roll of film today, but I couldn’t be bothered. Rather than beat myself up about this, I put it to one side and spent the day watching TV (Squid Game today). Sometimes it’s good to just relax, and I feel better for doing one thing, rather than ending up frozen by indecisiveness and doing nothing. My dad visited this morning too, which is always a good thing – he generally comes over every Sunday but I visited him last week as the weather was snowy.
Fujica GW690 & Kodak Plus-X (expired January 2008 and shot at 100asa). Adox Rodinal 1+50 13mins @ 20°
Steel City Snapper photography 