A Postcard from Skegness

East Coast to East London with love

I miss him. Longing for belonging leads me to corners where I hope to feel something.  Recently a solo trip to Skegness with my dog, a place I visited often with my dad. Seeking connection but experiencing tides of tired feelings of shame & abandonment due to being there alone. The Liberal Social Club was the first place I was immediately drawn to, a community I was securely connected to growing up as my Grandad was a member. Located centrally in our town, I had my 18th there & so many other meaningful moments with beloved people in my younger life. I entered the club as a perceived outsider in my own mind but was welcomed wholeheartedly. The entire time I was there, these connections grew as did the challenges in my mind of my disconnected longing versus the reality of my ever-present belonging; here, there & everywhere. 

This is part of a developing body of work exploring abandonment, belonging & community via a process of understanding & an acceptance of early life trauma through a photographic, autoethnographic & occupational science lens.