The best second hand shop in the world, ever

Having a rummage

Ladybird books

Iron-with-a-face

We went in search of air…  Brighton is great on a hot day, and it was toasty. The sea breeze wafted up from the front, and we trawled charity shops and flea-markets in search of the perfect find.

I was looking for aggressive 70s wedges in a size 4, to wear with a dress which I rather impulsively bought from ebay. I want to wear it to get married in, later this year. It's small - I'm on a diet.

In the best and biggest flea-market in Brighton, I nearly bought some foldaway opera glasses for £4.00 (but a glimpse into the future revealed my even-more crumpled self regretfully passing them on for 50p at some car boot sale in a few years' time). I probably should've bought the 'making a transistor radio' Ladybird book pictured above, or Marco Polo and his excited camel. Or the lovely sixties umbrella. Or the forties bathing suit, (made for a belle - but I'd never have filled it properly). Or the toy iron-with-a-face (so tempting). But no, I was uncharacteristically strict with myself. Number One Child, though, who is a lot less blurry than she looks in this photo, has an art project on the go, and bought a fistful of tiny photos of people. Taken between the 30s and the early 60s, each captures an unfamiliar face in their respective moment, and fires the imagination with possibilities.