Joan’s Jolly Summer Afternoon
Dearest Readers, a gosh darn long while ago, the Author started out on what was planned to be Wednesday adventure of investigation and discovery: uncovering the mystery of Joan’s Youth.
If you recall, Joan’s Youth is a photo album that the author found in a Pimlico Charity Shop. 11 Wednesdays after Joan’s first appearance on this forum, she returns, on a lovely summer day:
Image 1: Two tots (cousins, or perhaps neighbourhood kiddos) ride a pony. Where did the pony come from? Is there a nearby petting zoo? When will it be the older girl’s turn to ride the pony? Is Joan too big to ride the pony? Idle questions.
Image 2: Joan herself, with a jauntily Punter’s hat, poses for the camera.
Image 3: Joan and a friend Phyllis* huddle on the steps of their holiday home. Judging by the interior, the identical dwellings of this little vacation neighbourhood hardly have much in the way of bedrooms, let alone a bathroom or kitchen. Are they merely huts, in which you keep your croquet set and chairs?
Image 4: Joan and Phyllis with three charming gentlemen. Turning our attention from the handsome fellow in the middle and his obscured buddies, let us consider again the setting of these photographs: Where could this tidy community be located? The structures vaguely remind the Author of the beach huts in Shoreham, but they seem to be arranged in a square, with an abbreviated town Green in the middle.
Image 5: Four gal pals at the Seaside Francine, Helen, Joan, Lois.
*All names, aside from Joan’s will be made on a whim (a slightly guided whim–all names were chosen from a relevant list of most popular baby names).
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