Late to the Fashion Party wearing a Dress Grandma Made Me
It’s late. I’m upset because even after all this internet the only way I can reliably filter rooms according to basic, minimum requirements – such as number of sleeping spaces – is painstakingly and by hand. What is up with that?
So in the spirit of spending five minutes harking back to moments less full of spoiled and petty frustrations, I’m posting this image as part of Kukolina’s outfit-and-favourite-toy photo challenge. It was taken yesterday, so life can’t be that bad, I suppose.
Other participants:
I’m probably a little late coming to the party, but this suits the dress, which has seen a few comings and goings – my grandmother sewed it for me when I was in my late teens. Two children and more than, uh… five… years later, the fit is a little different, but it still does the job. Goes well enough with the signature hat, too.
The children are pictured with some of their all-time favourite toys: sand toys. You can’t see the toys very well, but that’s kind of the point, because sand toys are often a pain to pack on a beach trip – they can be bulky and they tend to get all full of sand – but they are deliriously easy to improvise.
No spoiled or petty frustrations in sight.
We later found out that this area of Sentosa is actually a private beach for the exclusive use of guests of the nearby hotel. We come from one of those places where privatising beaches is considered roughly on a par with patenting oxygen, so we weren’t inclined to feel too guilty about missing the sign.
Out of interest, what do you think of privatising beaches? I’ve grown up with the vague idea that there’s something not quite right about it, but I haven’t heard a good, reasoned debate. Is there a reasoned debate, or is it just a cultural thing?
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I’m not sure they know just where Ned’s bones lay. They used to bury them face down in an unknown grave as part of the punishment didn’t they? I seem to remember they found some bones recently they thought could be his and returned them to the family but I could be wrong.
Anyway – to use a quote from Fiddler on the Roof – I’ll just say that for a man who had been dead for so long, he looks pretty good.
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🙂
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Chuckle
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🙂
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I grew up just after the Napoleonic Wars and I inherited a strong dislike for private beaches from my parents who went right back to the time of Adam and Eve. Overheard conversations about the matter seemed to hark back to a time when only the rich could afford a house on the beach (or anywhere else for that matter) and use of the beach area came with the house as a matter of privilege. Actually the same went for parks and gardens. Queen Victoria had a great deal to do with opening these up to the public. I well remember the day I read about it in the newspaper.
Anyway – to sum up…. Although I have no scientific proof, I’ve always gathered that Australians regard private beaches as a direct attack upon their rights as citizens, that you can’t oppress the masses and everyone has a right to be eaten by a white shark, stung by a blue ringed octopus or step on a stone fish no matter what their colour, class or creed.
btw I well remember buying the material for that dress. It was about the time Ned Kelly was hung
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Well, I was trying to keep our status as vampires under wraps (I had people thinking I just really liked big hats) but you might be onto something with the Australian attitude towards beaches. Certainly with all the great whites, box jellyfish and stone fish around, the attitude towards beaches and escape was very different here compared with the attitude of the Soviets in Estonia. Then again, they have some pretty cold winters up there.
You remember buying the fabric for that dress? Was I with you? Have you visited Ned in his crypt of the undead lately? How is he these days?
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I do not want to be a party pooper with my opinion but I can understand privatizing beaches because when something is for free people do not give a shit about it! They break it, they mess it up, they do not protect it because they did not have to do anything to use it (pay for it; work to pay for it) so they feel it is theirs to do whatever…
We live on an island and I could cry the way the beaches opened to the public look. Disgusting.
On a more positive side: you are so cool! I love your “granny dress” and the sand toys must be awesome too because that is one thing you can always say about sand toys…they are awesome!
Next Saturday’s topic will be eating (kids…) and outfit of the day… But you can also eat… It is a bring the community together project so having fun with it is all that matters.
xoxo, Eszter
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Not a party pooper – that’s the first decent argument I’ve heard in favour of privatisation, and I think it probably says something about why different attitudes exist in different places, too. Where I come from, developers have really ruined some great beaches, whereas those protected by the public (national parks etc) are great places for visitors and wildlife. But this depends on the attitudes of each party and how they interact with the beach environment. Perhaps I’ll have a bit more of a think and pull together a few conclusions, if I can make any! In any case, thanks for the input.
In any case, thanks and yes! sand toys. They are always a winner!
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🙂 xxx
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awww! nice one! hitting 2 birds with one stone 🙂 outfit of the day and favorite toy in one photo. btw, i added your photo challenge link to my post and thanks for the follow b! your blog is awesome, really.
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Thanks! Good to have all the challengers (challenged?) all linked up.
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I was a teenager in New Jersey, where there were miles of private beach clubs. I thought the public beach was fine, but everyone at my high school belonged to a beach club. It was a status symbol. We joined one, too, but I can’t say it was any better than the public beach.
Now, all the beach clubs have been washed away by Hurricane Sandy.
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I think the status symbol thing rubs me the wrong way, and I think this applies heavily to the situation on Sentosa as well. Then again, people have large houses/grounds as status symbols, so searching for the difference.
Mother nature has a way of overcoming all status symbols, though, doesn’t she? That was a terrible storm.
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Btw, a good picture for the photo challenge with outfit and toys and all that they symbolise in one.
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Thanks 🙂
That’s an interesting story about the privacy of beaches in Estonia. I like the reasoning, even if it isn’t very sound and/or the whole story! I think the fact that the beach is open to the sea and “escape” does have an impact on how people think about it (also the beach is an escape from the sea if you’re on a boat). Hm. Points to ponder.
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I may not know the whole story here but I was told that all beaches in Estonia are public as a consequence of them being off-limits to everybody during the Soviet era (risk of escape?), and that the country now wants to make sure everyone gets to enjoy what the best parts of it. I’m not quite sure if that qualifies as a reason either but I like their reasoning anyway!
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When I was 19 and living in Hobart, the house I was renting with 3 others had a private beach (we were the sore thumb of the neighbourhood and the house got torn down a few years later), however, we always welcomed people to walk though (again much to our neighbours disgust!) A beach is a beach…should be free for all! Great photo BTW
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Yes, there’s a difference between having a private beach and enforcing it, too. I’ll pass your compliments on the photo through to A. 🙂
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Beautiful beach! I don’t agree with private beaches either 😦
Playing in the sand is great, and these sand toys are always cheap:)
Wow you fit in a dress from your teens? I envy you 🙂
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Well, I imagine fitting into it won’t last forever 🙂
Cheap or free for the toys – if you can find a piece of driftwood or whatever.
Another one who agrees with me about the beaches! But why should it be so?
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I absolutely agree with your analogy of private beaches as patenting oxygen (great analogy btw!). Here in Florida, we have no lack of beach but certain towns, like Boca Raton, build these awful high-rise apartments right on the shore and then block beach access to all but those who live there. This is why we live just south in a town that has miles of public beach for anyone who wants to enjoy it.
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It’s not just me then! But what’s the justification for the beach having to be public space? Not that I’m against it, but it suddenly strikes me that I don’t have a great reply.
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Hmm, true. We can make land, forests and other types of landscape “private” and prohibit people from trespassing on them. Maybe it’s because there are so many parts of the world (especially in the States) where there are no beaches and no ocean access, so it just seems quite unfair to restrict that access.
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Exactly. I think I’ll have more to say on this.
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