Modern Times

Well, it is not often I have good things to say about modern times - and by modern times, I mean the cold, unsophisticated, charmless world of today, not the 'modern times' we used to gaily refer to - but, for all its faults, the internet has been one of the best things to happen in terms of finding the perfect vintage dress at short notice. In a word, eBay.

Surprised by my beau a week ago, I was informed, to my delight and subsequent hysteria, that I was being whisked away for a trip to Burgh Island. That jewel of an Art Deco hotel, sat atop of an island just off the coast of Devon; most famous for one of my favourite authors, that being one Agatha Christie. It is where she wrote Evil Under the Sun and And Then There Were None; and while I gazed at the photo gallery on the website, the memory of the novel came flooding back, and the words she used to describe this paradise came alive in ways that one who loves the idea of a seemingly fictional, fantastical place suddenly finds out it exists, and that it exists unchanged at that.

And so, there came about a desire for a suitable evening dress for the dinner dance that evening. And here it is; antique black lace, a sweetheart neckline, a drop waist, and delicate lace hankerchief side drops. It fits like a dream and looks like one too.

At this time, three days prior to our expected arrival at Burgh Island, I can only imagine myself standing on the terraces, feeling the sea breeze tousle my hair and fairy-kiss my face, while I look out at the sea and at the super white crisp walls of the Art Deco buildings where once upon a time, Noel Coward, Agatha Christie and Josephine Baker to name but a few did exactly the same thing.

And somewhere within me, I feel incredibly saddened; because I know that when it comes to leave that precious untouched little world, far out in the sea, I will have to return here to these modern times. I can feel the breaks in my heart start to rupture already.