Oh wow, what a beautiful day we had yesterday! Luckily I had the day off and by lunchtime I managed to persuade Steve to sneak a half day off too so that we could skip off-island to a remote beach. As we motored off in our boat, it felt like it might be the last chance for a summer picnic this year. And we weren't the only ones making a break for it - the sea was teaming with small boats like ours, all hoping to find a secluded spot to claim for themselves. Our favourite beaches over on the Eastern Isles were already occupied so we turned back to Tean (no), then St Helen's (full of kayaks) and then finally across to Northwethel before we could claim our own island for the day.
I'd taken a couple of outfits for my beach romp. I'm sure I've shown these cover-up trousers before as they're my go-to piece for picnic days on the beach. I found them in an Op shop in New Zealand when Steve and I went touring over there in a camper-van. Oh happy, carefree pre-Covid days!
The multi-coloured swimsuit is by Boden, gifted from a friend. The very nature of being strapless means it's well constructed with lots of inner support as well as stretch. I haven't worn it for swimming, but I fancy it would withstand the normal rigours of a dip in the pool, if not the sea.
I was very pleased with the impromptu picnic I pulled together at short notice; I made Steve a couple of sandwiches of french baguette filled with mashed avocado, crisp fried bacon, sliced fresh tomato and a sweep of mayo. I had tuna, tomato, avocado and beetroot salad and we both had some sweet baby tomatoes from our greenhouse followed by banana icecream made by yours truly.
It's ridiculous how quickly this summer seems to have shot past us, don't you think? Indoor and outdoor life aka beach life for me has felt much more normal than last year when we were all quite jittery about the pandemic. Our guests on the island seem much more relaxed too, although this has meant that we have a rising number of cases of the virus being reported on the Isles of Scilly of late which is inevitable. The easing of rules was always going to result in numbers rising. However, the upside is that the local economy has thrived with the influx of cruise ships as well as almost every bed on Scilly being fully booked for the entire season. It's been a great year.
My necklace is by Charlie Dodge, rings are both pre-loved and sunglasses by Quay Australia. Thanks for dropping by. I'll show you my second beach outfit in my next post, so please do swing by again for another dose of sunshine on the beautiful Isles of Scilly.
Another picnic and another day to count our blessings for our life here.
Anna x
