The delightful Scottish custom of alfresco fridge burning. Stevenston Beach Park, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Scottish word of the day: Drookit
(droo·kit) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~adj.
1. drenched, soaked through. (used in “Ah fell in the burn an’ got drookit“)
Stevenston Industrial Estate, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland.
B P I Visqueen, a Plastic sheeting manufacturer, Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Breakwater, Saltcoats, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Ardrossan Harbour control tower, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Coast path, Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Seascape in rain. Boydston Shore, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Yes. Boydston Shore, Ayrshire, Scotland.
Some extreme deprivation in The Three Towns area in North Ayrshire I’ve been walking through today. The degree of inequality throughout the coastal towns of Britain is staggering. (Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2016)
There is a high level of deprivation in the three towns, as you so rightly point out, but the photos maybe reflect your mood as well!. Perhaps if you had been less drookit, you might have found some more positive images! I’m hoping you’re going to be kinder to West Kilbride, Portencross and Largs, though meeting you in the castle, sheltering from the rain, with a dismal wet walk to Wemyss Bay ahead of you, I am concerned! Looking forward to seeing your take on my patch, anyway!
Hi Sue, I’m sure the photos reflected my mood on this occasion too. I make a very conscious point to try and show positive aspects of wherever I go and to put aside any preconceptions as that can encourage photographing what one expects to see rather than what is there in front of you. These few days were unusually challenging physically and photographically as the weather was so unremittingly windy, wet and cold with very few people about. As a result, the images certainly have a desolate atmosphere, although seen in the context of the whole project that does reflect the reality of the coast at times. Sadly, they don’t show all the friendly encounters I had on the way, and if the sun were out the images would tell a very different story!
In fact, there was so much rain on the day I met you that my camera stopped working later in the day, thankfully resurrecting the following day after drying out!
Glad to hear that your camera dried out and good to see that the photos taken at Portencross were benign at least!
Deprivation in coastal towns a UK problem – same here on the Isle of Wight. As regards the comments above – you can only photo what you see – I too would of taken a photo of the burnt out fridge (sad I know!)
It certainly is. https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/sep/04/seaside-towns-among-most-deprived-communities-in-uk The fridge did seem to symbolise the discarded feel of the coast and edgelands here. If it were an anomaly I wouldn’t have felt it fair to include it.
I felt they were very thoughtful pictures. Life isn’t always sunshine and happiness, unfortunately.
Thank you and yes, Indeed it isn’t.
I have biked that coast path to Ardrossan – tough place to photograph as a landscape – you did great.
it was a tricky stretch!
Is a more positive image possible than the parting picture?
No!