What do you do in a blistering heatwave?

Not very much as it turns out. Keep doors closed and blinds down. Write the blog at 4 a.m in the yard, drinking tea.

Yesterday’s planned social dog walk turned into four women sat on a hillside trying to catch a breeze with our feet in a childrens paddling pool. There was a romantic view over recently cut hay fields towards a river estuary. Romantic until a farmer, working at the peak of the day, started to turn the hay to dry. Dirt, dust and a plague of horseflies sent us scattering, wet- foot to our respective homes. Grateful that we were not that poor farmer. My afternoon of sweaty domestica was rewarded by a swim in the sea. Hundreds of people had found their way to our usually quiet beaches.

Warships, Ferries, landing craft, commercial shipping and Police boats  all passed the swimmers by. More people doing their normal jobs in the relentless heat.

Normally I like to photograph Firestone Bay looking interesting but largely uninhabited. Yesterday was not normal. The area was heaving with people. Normal photography wasn’t very pretty. Too much sunshine, too many people, just too busy.

Simplifying an over busy photograph to the style of a 20th Century postcard  makes the whole scene more calm. At a highish tide every possible sitting space on these cliffs was filled with people. Many with lap tops and headphones ‘ Working from home’

Today is going to be another record breaking day. More postcards from the edge , I think.