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The Mad Woman in the Attic

stories of a serial expat and solo traveller

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View from my window: A few new cranes but otherwise unchanged.

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Recent Posts

Revisiting my shady past in Beer, East Devon
Tyneham: visiting a ghost village in rural England stuck forever in a 1940s time warp.
Celebrating the easing of restrictions with a few days in London, while meanwhile my blog turns seven
What Sarah Everard’s murder says about the safety of all women
February’s Challenge: Giving up Diet Cola

Top Posts & Pages

Driving the Great Eastern Highway from Perth to Kalgoorlie: first leg of my Western Australia road trip
Mexico: The Road to Toniná and encounters with the Zapatistas.
El Bolsón: Hanging with Hippies in Patagonia
The Artists of Eel Pie Island
Looking for my Inner Hippie in Ubud, Bali
Things to do in Kalgoorlie

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Meandering home from Dungeness and I stopped off at #alfriston . It’s a pretty little place but the tracks were all muddy and I wasn’t dressed for rain and mud after my 2 days in the sun.

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#themadwomanintheattic #roadtripuk #eastsussexlife #englanddaytrips #traveluk

This house belonged to filmmaker #derekjarman and is by the beach at #dungeness
Derek jarman believed that the nearby pub served the best fish and chips in #england. I went there today and I have to say they aware pretty good.
The etching on the wall is a poem by John Donne.
The cottage has been bought by an art charity to save it from a private bidder, so it is ok to go wander around the garden.

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelso #dungenessbeach #prospecthouse #derekjarman #derekjarmansgarden #visitkent

You have to get up super early to catch #sunrise these days, so this was best I could do. Sun was well and truly up already but I still love the light here

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #traveluk #roadtripuk #dungeness #visitkent #kentlife

So if it’s Tuesday then I must be on another #roadtrip
This week I’m in #dungeness on the coast of #kent.
Dungeness has a nature reserve, a nuclear power station and a house that once belonged to filmmaker Derek jarman, but I’m choosing to share a tatty boat on the beach

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#themadwomanintheattic #roadtripuk #greatbritain #travelengland #kentlife #englishdaytrips

Great time at the #victoriaandalbertmuseum #aliceandwonderland exhibition this afternoon. As always at the v&a it was beautifully curated, but very busy. Here is #madhattersteaparty

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #bemorealice #artoftheday #londonmuseums

For anyone who feels the trip out to #walthamstow in travelzone 3 is just too far, the good news is that #godsownjunkyard have this popup shop in #leadenhallmarket
It reminded me that it’s high time I took the train out there again.

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#themadwomanintheattic #londonlife #girlswhotravelsolo #neonsigns #neonsignsonly #cityoflondonpics

There was a time when st dunstans was a nice place to stop off from a busy London day, to enjoy a sandwich and a cold can of coke. Then it was ‘discovered’ and every travelling instagramer came for a photo shoot, tutting at you if you sat where they wanted to take their picture.
Now for just this short while we have it back; even the office workers are scarce now, still working from home.
I enjoyed a very pleasant hour here today, sitting in a shady nook reading my book.

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#themadwomanintheattic #darlingescapes #stdunstanintheeast #londonparksandgardens #inspiremyinstagram #londonlife #mylondon

I’m back in #londoncity again. The bubble man was out again on the #southbanklondon whilst I was walking about in the sunshine

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#themadwomanintheattic #londontown #londonlife #prettycitylondon #lovelylondon #londondiaries #londoninsta #culturetrip

Indulging my obsession with #dandelions I found this little specimen over the weekend, hanging out on its own at the edge of the lawn.

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#themadwomanintheattic #uktravel #visitengland #greatbritain #mythical #purple

I went to Chichester to look at art; I actually found quite a bit including at #pallanthousegallery
The last time I was in #chichester I was working in a dreadful summer school whilst waiting for a family of Colombian squatters to get the hell outta my home, so things can only be better this time.

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#themadwomanintheattic #missingtravelling #culturetrip #visitengland #greatbritain #uktravel

I remember now why I like to leave the uk on bank holiday weekends; traffic and crowds are unbearable.
The car hire co made me a good offer to keep the car for the weekend, but there was nowhere left to stay so I came home with it.
I drove up to #sevensisterscliffs yesterday. Very nice as usual but ridiculously busy later in the day.
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#themadwomanintheattic #beachyhead #birlinggap #eastbourne #eastsussexwalks #weekendvibes

From one end of the #jurassiccoast to pretty much the other. This is #wobarrowbay just a short-ish walk from the abandoned town of #tyneham

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#themadwomanintheattic #mytravels #ukroadtrip #beachesofinstagram

Stopped off enroute to this great #swannery in #abbotsburyvillage #dorsetcoast
So many #swans and little #cygnets all in one place. So glad I made the detour

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#themadwomanintheattic #dorset #dorsetlife #amazinganimals #travelpics #jurassiccoast #jurassiccoastroadtrip #writersofinstagram #visitengland #greatbritain #uktravel

#beerbeach looks a bit better now after a sunny day. Today I actually took off my little jacket; it was that warm.
Tomorrow I head further up the #jurassiccoast for the next couple of nights but this part has been good to me.

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #uktravel #visitengland #devonlife #beerdevon #twilight

Today my #ukroadtrip took me to #lymeregis #dorsetcoast #jurassiccoast

It was a lot busier than I’d been expecting but I enjoyed tramping along the sand

#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #greatbritain #visituk #visitengland #writersofinstagram #beachesofinstagram

It’s a #roadtripuk and today me and Jarvis the overpriced hire car made it to #beerdevon on the #jurassiccoast .
No profound thoughts yet; it was a long drive and it’s been raining pretty much non stop since I got here

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#themadwomanintheattic #beach #uktravel #visitengland #girlswhotravelsolo #instatravel #girlslovetravel #greatbritain #writersofinstagram #fishingboats #fishingvillages #devonlife

It is strange when you go to the touristy parts of London that I normally avoid, yet they’re virtually empty. This is #coventgarden

#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #thisislondon #londonlife #mylondon #lovelondon #writersofinstagram

With the fashion for all things retro, this replica police box has appeared next to #earlscourtstation in London.
As someone who does vaguely remember the original police boxes I’m pretty sure they were never this big.
#doctorwho #tardis #policebox
#themadwomanintheattic ##thisiondon #retrolondon

I had to go over to #kensington today. I don’t go to that side of London very often, so I took this photo of pretty colourful townhouses. What would it cost to live in a little square like this? Never mind; photos are free.

#colouredhouses #themadwomanintheattic #earlscourt #girlswhotravelsolo #prettycitylondon #londonsquares

My suitcase is queuing by the door looking very excited.
Tomorrow the rules change and we can go about our lives in the outside world.
Some people are saying that the easing should be delayed while we get to grips with a possible new variant, but I’m just exited to be getting out.
When you live in a small space without family or friends nearby, watching your income dwindle to nothing, then this semi- normality can’t come soon enough.

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #suitcasetravels #endoflockdown #lifeinbrighton #brightonvibes #writersofinstagram

I spent yesterday trying to paint a sunflower; it’s surprisingly hard and mine looked more like weird yellow daisies.

One of my happiest travel memories is of driving past field after field of beautiful yellow sunflowers in rural NSW Australia.
It’s still far too early for any fields of sunflowers in UK, so I bought this little fella this morning.

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#themadwomanintheattic #sunflower #naturephotography #brightonlife #yellow #writersofinstagram #becreative #picoftheday #artistsoninstagram

Our first weekend in this new lockdown lite and I chose not to queue for 2 hours to get a table in a pub but instead to go to #beachyhead
I did this last year whilst I had a car; it’s much easier with a car. I got the train to #eastbourne and planned to walk to beach head and get the bus back, except bus doesn’t run on Saturday. Who knew? Even my transport ap didn’t. Ended up with a 18k walk.
Beachyhead is very pretty; I’m going to ignore its status as a notorious suicide spot.

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#themadwomanintheattic #travelengland #visituk #southdownsnationalpark #southdownsway

Today I took a trip to #arundel . I last came here last summer, as we were easing out of lockdown number 1, so it seemed fitting to come back. Plus I now know how to pronounce it, as I was corrected by a helpful rail employee (you stress the first syllable apparently)

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#themadwomanintheattic #westsussexlife #arundelcastle #uktravel #visitengland #englishdaytrips #writersofinstagram

With international travel still seemingly a while away, this is what I’ve been working on.
This design is called #dandelion and is available in my shops on #etsy and #redbubble .
These samples just arrived today, and I have a mag, cushions and a soap bag.
I can’t wait to be able to test them out in a real live market.

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#themadwomanintheattic #artoftheday #etsyshopsofinstagram #shoplocal #shopsmall #lifeinbrighton #becreative

It’s been very spring-like this week and the blossoms are out.
I’m feeling optimistic; days are getting longer, restrictions are lifting and today I managed to make a hair appointment.

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#themadwomanintheattic #brightonviews #springtimevibes #springiscoming #springflowers🌸

So the rules changed today from stay at home to stay local. Nobody really knows how to define local but apparently we have to avoid frivolous travel.
With that in mind I took a completely unfrivolous trip to #cuckmerehaven in #sussex . I only had half a day to spare so I got the train to #seaford , walked about 10k and then got the bus home. The bus was slow.
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#sussexdowns #sevensisterscountrypark #sevensisterscliffs #themadwomanintheattic

This is the kind of thing I’ve been getting up to in the absence of travel atm.
These designs are available on a variety of products in my #redbubbleshop (link in bio)
I miss travelling so desperately but I really don’t want to scratch the itch by trawling through my old photos.

#themadwomanintheattic #artistsoninstagram #artwork #artistsofinstagram

Vigil for #saraheverard at #brighton.
I’ve been following this all week just hoping she’d be found alive somewhere but really we all knew how it was going to end. I feel overwhelmed with sadness but also I feel so angry.
The vigil was declared illegal using COVID rules as the excuse, but I just needed to be around other people similarly angry.

#themadwomanintheattic #reclaimthesestreets #reclaimthesestreetsbrightonandhove

Watching sunset from a packed #brightonbeach

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#themadwomanintheattic #brightonbloggers #writersofinstagram #sunsetsofinstagram

Breaking my own rule about not taking midday photos. I sat on the beach for an hour or so yesterday, albeit in jacket and boots.
It’s been good to get out for a bit longer with the nice weather, even though nothing is open still.
Now I need to face reality again and get some work done.

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#themadwomanintheattic #brightonphotos #lockdownlife #lockdownwalks

Today’s walk in the sunshine to #devilsdykebrighton
Makes a nice alternative to the seafront. I love the beach but I am sooooo bored of that same lockdown walk every day.

#themadwomanintheattic #brightonvibes #sussexdowns #devilsdyke

#lockdownuk
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With travel at a standstill for the foreseeable future I’ve had to pivot my working life somewhat ; there’s not a lot of freelance travel writing around right now for obvious reasons.
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Here are some of the arts and crafts that I’ve created through January.
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Mostly I’ve been producing digital art which I’m hoping to sell online.
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I’ve also needed to break up my screen time with some jewellery making and crochet projects.
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In the centre is a selfie I took on my birthday earlier this month. With hairdressers closed for probably a long time ahead it’s all downhill from here on.
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#artvartist2020

I’ve been trying to get out for walks but sometimes the time it takes to put on all the layers of clothes I need, just to walk for an hour, completely demotivates me.
I spend a lot of time walking along the sea front. I’m quite bored of the same walk

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #brightonbeach

Really great light today, though bitterly cold.
I realise this is not the most inspiring photo ever but choose is limited. I’ve taken to riding the bus just to get to a slightly different view for my daily walk.

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#rottingdeanwindmill #brighton #themadwomanintheattic

Bit of #streetart at the back of the Churchill centre. I came across this on my afternoon walk.

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#themadwomanintheattic #graffitiart #brightongrafitti

The sky looked so amazing today.
We go into lockdown again at midnight tonight.
I feel as if mentally I barely survived the last lockdown but hopefully this one won’t be so bad. We’re starting from a semi-lockdown for a start and the rules are a little more relaxed this time out.
We’ll see how it goes.

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#themadwomanintheattic #brightonseafront #sunset

Sea was rough today along #brightonseafront
It’s hard to imagine that just a few miles away on the other side of this stretch of water, there are people so desperate to get to the country that they get in little rubber dinghies to attempt to cross this.

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #roughseas #brighton

Autumn Red

I’m not really a big fan of #autumn in the UK. I’ve lived in plenty of places where I’ve been glad to see the end of a humid summer, but here autumn is cold and comes around too soon; particularly when we lost half of our summer to the lockdown.
Never mind; I love the red colours here anyway.
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#autumnvibes🍁 #autumnreds #themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #brighton

Canal path along #regentscanal in London
Makes a nice little walk on a (semi) sunny day and yesterday was certainly better than today.

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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #prettycitylondon

Made another mad dash to London today. The way things are headed it could be my last for a wee while.
I remember when we thought #camdenpassage was so cool, before every neighbourhood got a market and gourmet food stall. Strange to see it all again and all still there; must be 15 years since I last had an excuse to go to #islington
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#themadwomanintheattic #girlswhotravelsolo #prettycitylondon

Insta: @sarahma516

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Revisiting my shady past in Beer, East Devon

June 6, 2021 2

Tyneham: visiting a ghost village in rural England stuck forever in a 1940s time warp.

June 2, 2021 6

Celebrating the easing of restrictions with a few days in London, while meanwhile my blog turns seven

May 23, 2021 2

What Sarah Everard’s murder says about the safety of all women

March 14, 2021 3

February’s Challenge: Giving up Diet Cola

February 24, 2021 6

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Recent Posts

Revisiting my shady past in Beer, East Devon
Tyneham: visiting a ghost village in rural England stuck forever in a 1940s time warp.
Celebrating the easing of restrictions with a few days in London, while meanwhile my blog turns seven
What Sarah Everard’s murder says about the safety of all women
February’s Challenge: Giving up Diet Cola

Sarah’s mad woman blog

Sarah’s mad woman blog

Top Posts & Pages

Driving the Great Eastern Highway from Perth to Kalgoorlie: first leg of my Western Australia road trip
Mexico: The Road to Toniná and encounters with the Zapatistas.
El Bolsón: Hanging with Hippies in Patagonia
The Artists of Eel Pie Island

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