by James Balston | Oct 27, 2017 | Boats, Landscapes, Seaside, Travel
Thank goodness we weren’t in this beautiful corner of Kerry a week later than we were, as it stands right in the path of Ophelia. Apparently the damage wasn’t as extensive as they feared, but power was lost for some time. We last visited ten years... 
by James Balston | May 4, 2016 | Architecture, Brighton, Cityscape, Classical, Heritage, Seaside
I was in Brighton (& Hove) with time to kill between taking a couple of shots of someone’s garden, and meeting an old friend for lunch. The sky could not have been bluer, and was clearly not to be wasted. Back in my student days in the city, I had probably... 
by James Balston | Oct 28, 2013 | Antiques, Art, Blog, Restaurants, Seaside, Shops
Rather like Brighton & Hove, or even Ant & Dec, Hastings & St. Leonards are inseperable. I would say indistinguishable, but unlike the northern celebrities, the Sussex towns have plenty that sets them apart from each other. While St. Leonards was... 
by James Balston | Oct 12, 2013 | Blog, Seaside, Shops
The plan had been to go to Berlin for my birthday last month, but for reasons I can’t quite recall, we ended up in Hastings and St. Leonards. Why there? You might well ask. Well actually I was born there and spent my first ten or so years in the town, and now... 
by James Balston | Sep 30, 2013 | Antiques, Blog, Seaside
I’ve had several trips to the coast recently, and without fail, I always spot someone with a metal detector, hovering hopefully over the shingle. I’ve no idea how expensive these contraptions are, but does anyone ever actually make their money back? It... 
by James Balston | Sep 13, 2010 | Architecture, Seaside
Growing up in Hastings & St. Leonards, I developed an early interest in architecture, and in particular the distinctive styles of the seafront. At one end, literally and metaphorically, stood the black weatherboarded fishermen’s huts, slightly menacing, to a...