St Laurence's cemetery Hawkhurst

Now spring is here James and I are going out exploring every weekend and I'm taking lots of photos. I've debated whether to post the scenery photos I take with their corresponding fashion photos but have decided to post them on a standalone basis. I'm happiest with a camera in hand and there's no sense taking photos for them to just sit on my hard drive, is there?! I've got such a backlog of photos (both fashion and scenery) to share, but I'm trying to space out the frequency of my posts so I can enjoy life a bit more. The trouble is if I'm not working I tend to feel a bit lost, but I'm working on relaxing more. ;)

This set is from St Laurence's church in Hawkhurst, Kent, about a half hour drive away from us. 

Now, why the appeal with churches and cemeteries? I'm mostly drawn to the outer reaches of churches, although churches themselves do bring me peace on the rare occasions I enter them. I've been exploring cemeteries since I was a child. I've never feared the dead (apart from one time I must share at some point. It's a pretty epic ghost story!) So why the obsession? Cemeteries are free to enter, they usually have lots of lovely trees, plants and flowers to look at, and they tend to be mostly devoid of the living. For a nature-loving empath introvert like me it's a dream come true. I'm also a massive history nerd, and spotting a grave from the 1700s gives me a thrill, as does seeing a skull and crossbones on a grave. I love the way the oldest graves are smothered in moss and lichen and I can barely make the words out. I'm the biggest nerd ever. I feel at peace in places that have existed for hundreds of years. It brings out a historic romance, wondering who walked these places before me.

This last photo was taken through a tiny gap in a grille. The stairs lead to some kind of crypt room, long since unused. I wonder what led to it being abandoned? Perhaps that's what I love about history the most - unanswered questions.

If you want to see more from Hawkhurst, check out my post from 2014. It's good to see I didn't take photos of the same things this year as at the first visit. ;) We first visited at the end of April 2014, and it's amazing how much more in bloom everything was in the April visit as opposed to this mid-March one. One day I might actually make it inside!

St Laurence Church

The Moor
Hawkhurst
Kent
TN18 4NT

Thanks for reading.
Leah xoxo

Photoshoot with Jim Hawkins

Hello pickles,

A few weeks ago I had a photoshoot with Jim Hawkins. He's always been very supportive of me and my blog, and after meeting him at Plus North last year I contacted him to ask if I could hire his services to take some photos of me.

Jim has a lovely way about him - he chats away so effortlessly that soon you forget he's taking photos of you, and it results in lovely natural images. It might surprise you to know that I'm not totally comfortable in front of the camera. Yes, even though I regularly take photos of my outfits using a tripod and self timer, and sometimes get James to take my photos. I am often on edge, and what you don't see are the dozens of photos where I pull goofy faces to mask the tension I feel on that side of the lens. (I'm actually happier behind the camera!) Jim is brilliant with nervous subjects. At first I was a bit tense, but I soon warmed up and was so relaxed a lot of the photos show me laughing my head off.

Here are a selection of my favourite shots.

Out takes from my last outfit post

Hello love bugs,

The Mr took so many photos on Sunday of my outfit and the scenery that I have some more to share. He did really well considering I was under the shadow of the tall net huts one minute and standing in glorious sunshine the next. He's an uneasy photographer I'd say, less certain of things like ISO settings and F-stops than I am, but he's really improved over the months and I'm glad he's willing to put up with me flouncing around for blog photos.

In case you didn't read Monday's post, I'm wearing a dress by Scarlett & Jo from House of Fraser.

Being dwarfed by the net huts.

I love this gnarled ol' tree.

Looking bored of life, ha!

Here are a few Instagram photos of the day too.

Thanks for peeping!

Leah xoxo

A lovely sunset

Hiya pickles!

I watched the sun go down the other day and took some photos to share with you.

Look at that sea! It's like a pond.

I hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for peeking.

Leah xoxo

St Mary's Church & Frewen Mausoleum, Northiam

Hiya loves,

Here's another lovely cemetery we visited, although it was 6 months ago! Bad, bad blogger. These photos just fell through the cracks, but no more. :)

This part of the building you see on your left is the Frewen Mausoleum

The nave and tower of the church are 12th century and there's been a lot of work done in the centuries since. The Frewen Mausoleum is 19th century and was built by one of the Frewens after his wife died. The Frewens were an important family in Northiam. You can read more about the mausoleum here. We couldn't make out what most of the names below the shields said and the church appeared to be closed when we visited. I'd like a look inside. You can read about the church here - it's a long but informative read.

New graves don't interest me at all. I love the mossy, the faded away, the broken and the aged gravestones. I love the history, and wondering who these people were and what life was like when they were alive. I are history nerd. :)

Our next trip to a cemetery will be to a huge 87 acre site in Hastings. We've never visited the biggest graveyard in our (adopted) home town. How daft is that?! I've looked at some photos online and there are some proper bobby dazzler graves so I'm rubbing my hands together with glee at the thought of that.

The ultimate cemetery for me to visit would be Highgate in London (37 acres) - I think I'd burst with joy! Pere Lachaise (110 acres) in Paris looks grand too - Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison's graves? Hell yeah! I'll hopefully tick Highgate off the list next spring or summer.

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo

Out & About - Flower Show

Hiya!

We went to a flower show at St George's church in Brede on Sunday. Almost all the flower arrangements were inspired by children's books and there was a lot of creativity on show. There were flowers everywhere you could imagine - on windowsills, on special stands, in alcoves and even in the baptismal font (below).

It's also the church where my best friend Rach is getting married next year, so we had even more reason to scope it out. Now I know how gorgeous it is I'm even more excited about the wedding!

The people holding the flower show were so friendly, and I didn't creep around like a guilty sinner like I normally do in a church because they put me at ease. ;) On the way out we chatted to a couple of ladies who are also amateur camera-slingers and James gave them his tips on capturing lightning. (That reminds me, I still need to share the photos from the super-storm over a month ago.)

Flowers make me really happy, so I think I'm going to treat myself to a cheap bunch every few weeks throughout Autumn and Winter as an antidote to the misery of dark nights and S.A.D.

Thanks for reading!
Leah xoxo