Wishing you a Happy Hutty New Year from Darling Beach Huts!
January has a way of stripping things back to their essentials and nowhere is that more evident than along the coast. The beach huts, usually synonymous with high summer, ice creams and sunburnt afternoons, take on a very different kind of beauty at this time of year.
At the beginning of January, the beach woke to a rare dusting of snow. It was only a light scattering, just enough to cover the tops of the huts and turn the promenade into a black ice nightmare. The familiar row of colourful stripes, blue and white being the favoured colour combination in Hove (possibly because of the Brighton and Hove Albion Football team), stood quietly beneath a very cloudy sky, their brightness muted but somehow more striking against the white frosty morning. The snow didn’t last long, as coastal snow rarely does, but for a morning or two it felt like we were in our own Winter Wonderland.
It was a pleasure to take part in the Beach Hut Open Day.
The sunset was one that would give any dramatic sunset around the world a run for its money. Beach Hut 71 entertained us with live music and warmed us with mulled wine. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the fairy lights began to twinkle, instantly putting us in a Christmassy mood. Scores of children were tempted into Beach Hut 128 (which is currently ‘For Sale’) by chocolates and coloured brochures. We talked with many interested people strolling past with kids and dogs. Hopefully next year will be bigger and better and including some new Beach Hut owners, perhaps the festive visitors I met before Christmas.