I can't quite believe how quickly November is shooting by. 

It's already the 15th which means its halfway through the month which means I've only got another couple of weeks to finish drafting the paper we're hoping to submit to a scientific journal. Eek! It's my first paper and whilst I'm trying not to get my hopes up about it being published, I'm still kind of excited!

Meanwhile In the office, we've started discussing Secret Santa and how much we should spend (it seems that £5 has been the tradition for at least a decade now and it's just not enough with inflation people!!)

I also tried forcing some tears out of my office mates by making them watch the German supermarket Christmas advert from last year, which I personally cannot get through without sobbing. No tears from them annoyingly but I have been left with some rather intense mince pie cravings...

Anyway.

I wanted to set a post aside for the pictures of Southwold Pier at sunset. 

(I mean, I assume the sun was setting somewhere - we didn't actually see it but the clouds had turned the most excellent shade of candy floss pink.)






We went for a quick stroll on Sunday afternoon, after a wonderful weekend spent in Southwold (seriously, it was my idea of a dream weekend - you can check out part 1 and part 2 here and then tell me what you think and whether I'm a weirdo for liking such old fashioned pursuits!)




The weather was fresh and biting on our warm skin. Huge waves were rolling in from the sea - it was fascinating to watch. Where you would normally expect them to break and crash down into the surf, they continued travelling along, their crests curling over far beyond the normal tipping point, before almost jumping up and onto the sand.

Southwold Pier has a few cute shops and cafes along the wooden deck as well as amusements for kids, both young and old! We didn't have too much time as Michele and I had to drive back to Exeter (6 hours, yawn) so we skipped along towards the end of the pier, past the hall of mirrors...





At the end of the pier, the horizon stretched out in front of us, miles and miles away. It was far too cold to stand and look at the horizon for too long, no matter how pretty it was in all those shimmering, glowing pinks and blues.

On the way back in, we ducked into the amusement arcade for a quick look at the games.

Which were definitely not your usual seaside arcade fare!!




Largely made by local amateurs, the attractions have a largely satirical theme. From "Whack a Banker" to "The Housing Ladder", they are all little social commentaries - and pretty damn hilarious!

I stood and watched the adverts roll across the screen of the "Micro Break" (above) - images of people sunning themselves on beaches would suddenly be covered with labels screaming "skin cancer", photos of lavish hotel pools would suddenly turn brown (in a very amateur Paint job!) with an arrow pointing out the dodgy hygiene... none of these problems would occur on a Micro Break, where you have to simply sit in the armchair and relax!

I also watched a kid playing on what seemed to be a zimmer frame "driving" test (with different ages - 80, 90, 100+ - as the difficulty level) as you try and manoeuvre your way across a motorway.

Very, very silly.

Unfortunately I think the silliness may have worn off on the incredibly impressionable Michele who once more impeded us having a nice photo together...



Look familiar...?


Three years later and nothing's really changed!