Funny how often two challenges collide, or rub shoulders. I had barely posted Urban Design on Friday when the Weekly Photo Challenge loomed into view : Nostalgic. Old films and Nat King Cole. But that very morning I’d been reliving nostalgia at the top of Christ Church tower.
I’d been on a mission to purchase a few “surprises” for my husband’s birthday next week. The sky was blue. My camera was in hand. What better time to climb the tower for the promised “bird’s eye view” of Hartlepool? I reached the top and was just starting to take some shots when I heard the door open behind me. Darn, I thought. It wasn’t a large space and I greedily wanted it all to myself.
The lady smiled at me, and of course, I smiled back, and as I never can resist doing, slipped into conversation. She had been born and raised in the town, but had later married an American and now lived in the States. Over the years she had visited mum and dad in Hartlepool, but now both were dead, and after settling their affairs she was saying a final farewell to the town. She had climbed the tower because at last she could, knee surgery having given her back that ability.
Looking at the town below us, we traded memories. Do you remember Lynn Street? The Indoor Market with it’s treasure trove of stalls? Corned beef slices, fresh from the tray? The sweet shop with chunky “rhubard and custards”? The docks were over there- do you remember the chain links and gangways? Hasn’t the town changed?
On and on we went, reminiscing, exchanging snippets of our lives. We parted, finally, and I made my way back down to the ground, full of nostalgia for what had been, but a little proud of the survivor that Hartlepool still is. I can’t show you the past, but I can show you the now.
I don’t want to repeat the photos you can see on Urban Design, but I did want to share the experience. I wish the lady the very best for the future. I so enjoyed our memories. This is my entry for Weekly Photo Challenge : Nostalgic.
restlessjo 
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