Ladies shade themselves with parasols,
Lace and silk to filter sun
In starlight bursts upon their china skin,
The children queue for the thrilling drop
Of the helter skelter ride,
And fluffy clouds of candy floss,
Cling to sticky fingers that
Pull at whisps and coat their mouths
With sugar flares, before they swim,
The sparkles on the rhythmic waves
Lapping at their tiny toes.
These are days that live forever
In the silver sheen of film,
That captured such a perfect time.
Margot Kinberg
What a lovely portrait of the Victorian summer holiday, Rachel! It’s so interesting that we want to have that almost ideal picture of what that period was like. Intellectually, we all know that those bathing costumes were made of itchy wool, and that women had very little freedom, and children were only free to be children if they were rich, etc… But it still looks so peaceful and almost idyllic on the surface, doesn’t it?