#somewhat saucy but not smutty

[invisibleraven]

"Don't look at them, look at me." for PeterPatterLina?

With the band's fame skyrocketing, the label wanted the members to do a photo shoot for a magazine spread. Everyone was gung-ho for it until the terms came to light.

"You want us to be naked?" Julie shrieked.

“Not naked, no,” the executive amended. “But stripped down I guess? It goes with the vibes of the new album.”

“We’ll have to discuss it,” Julie replied primly.

“It would be a closed set, good exposure, and the magazine is willing to pay you a hefty fee. Let me know by the end of the week.”

The band went through a lot of debate on the subject, and finally decided that as long as they got to approve all the images prior to release and no one associated with Ray was involved, they would be okay with a more salacious image.

Alex went first, taking a shot of him playing drums in nothing but a tiny pink pair of briefs. Another with Willie's skateboard covering his modesty. Willie asked the photographer if he could have a copy of that one to keep, which the man chuckled at before agreeing.

Luke had said he'd be fine with only a sock, a la Chili Peppers, but both Julie and Reggie vetoed that, so he instead posed with his back to the camera, guitar covering his ass, torso twisted around so you could see his smoulder. The other shot was him writing lyrics, only in just a towel, made to look like he was dripping wet, fresh from the shower to capture the words, something that he did in real life.

Reggie was the last of the guys to go, and he shyly peeked around the partition before emerging in a silky red robe. He only dropped it when he was sure his bass was covering him, though his blush also rivaled the colour as he peered up at the camera with a bitten off smile. The second shot had hit lying on his stomach, nose deep in a book while wearing some tight red boxers.

Finally it was Julie's turn and she kept the robe tight to her body as she walked on set. Alex was off getting them all coffee before the group shot so it was just her and her boyfriends plus the small crew. But still she was extremely nervous. She was proud of how she looked and didn't mind wearing the occasional skimpy thing to go clubbing or something, but this was different. This was pasties and some flesh coloured underwear as she sat with her knees drew up to cover all her bits.

"Hey boss, you doing okay?" Luke asked. Julie nodded, but her expression said something completely different.

"There's just... a lot of people looking at me nearly naked," she whispered.

"Hey, don't look at them. Look at me," Reggie said. "Look at us. This is for us okay? No one else. Show me that smile angel."

Juliet Reggie's bright green eyes, Luke's encouraging hazel and finally released her lips from her teeth and beamed at them. Then gave a sultry come hither stare, crooking her finger. Then laughed as Luke and Reggie almost stepped onto the set to come over. The second shot had her lying on top of a piano in a tiny negligee, crooning into a microphone. In truth she was making up a silly song to sing along with her ridiculous boyfriends, but the shot was gorgeous none the less.

They did take one shot of them as a band, just their bare backs to the camera, with their logo covering the underwear they were wearing. But the photographer did offer to do some shots of the couples. They all declined, but Julie slipped him her card for the future because some tasteful boudoir shots sounded like excellent wedding gifts for Luke and Reggie in a few years time.

Julie and the Phantoms: Stripped Bare flew off shelves, and the album went multi-platinum thanks to the photos.

Julie found that made it all worth it, but decided she was fine not doing another shoot like that any time soon. But she did treasure the photos of her guys now adorning the wall, flanking the one of her blowing them a kiss in all her somewhat naked glory.

[jisungscaramel]

『masterlist』

{UPDATED: 210108}

18+ UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

✯ midnight drabbles =  really ~tiny~ fics; prolly spent a minute writing it in the middle of the night ✲ drabbles = pieces under 0.5k words (in this context)

【𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫】

♥ drabbles:        ⤞  midnight kisses         ⤞  hugs        ⤞ under the table  ♥  unconventional         ⤜ genre; smut, college au         ⤜  pairing; chan x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, unprotected sex (stay safe y’all), public(ish) sex, (mild) daddy kink, (a little) erotic asphyxiation ♥  decadence         ⤜ genre; smut, vampire au        ⤜ pairing; chan x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, unprotected sex (stay safe y’all), biting kink, (rough) vanilla sex, blood

【𝔩𝔢𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔥𝔬】

♦ drabbles:         ⤜ lessons  ♦ early mornings          ⤜ genre; smut, college au          ⤜ pairing; minho x reader (fem)         ⤜ {warnings}  explict sexual content, unprotected sex (stay safe y’all), lazy sex, exhibitionism (not really but like if you ever lived in a college dorm, you already know what time it is), cockwarming

【𝔰𝔢𝔬 𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔟𝔦𝔫】

♠ drabbles:         ⤞ transparent         ⤞ metronome        ⤞ f&mu        ⤞ elusion ♠ seven        ⤜ genre; smut, angst        ⤜ pairing; changbin x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  swearing, explicit sexual content, power play, face sitting, make up sex (sort of), dom fem reader, sub changbin ♠ desire        ⤜ genre; smut        ⤜ pairing; changbin x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings} explicit sexual content, unprotected sex (be safe y’all), public(ish) sex, car sex, size kink, (mild) s&m ♠ can i         ⤜ genre; smut, college au        ⤜  pairing; changbin x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, oral (fem receiving), public sex, bathroom sex, alcohol consumption ♠ voices        ⤜ genre; smut, college au, fwb        ⤜ pairing; changbin x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, dirty talk, masturabation, (slight) ownership kink, (mild) dom changbin, phone sex, (which includes imagery of) oral (fem receiving), bondage, spanking, unprotected sex (stay safe y’all), overstimulation, creampie

【𝔥𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔥𝔶𝔲𝔫𝔧𝔦𝔫】

♣ drabbles:         ⤞ one night        ⤞ vivace  ♣ residual         ⤜genre; smut adjacent, incubus hyunjin        ⤜pairing: hyunjin x reader         ⤜{warnings}  somewhat explicit content, reference to bondage and erotic asphyxiation ♣ vexation        ⤜genre; smut, college au, enemies au        ⤜pairing; hyunjin x reader (fem)        ⤜{warnings}  strong language, explicit sexual content, dry humping, (mild) begging, hate sex

【𝔩𝔢𝔢 𝔣𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔵】

♥ drabbles: TBA ♥ café au lait         ⤜genre; fluff w/ smutty undertones, barista felix         ⤜pairing; felix x reader (fem)        ⤜{warnings}  explicit sexual content (not that much of it tho), unprotected sex (be safe y’all), (slight) size kink

【𝔥𝔞𝔫 𝔧𝔦𝔰𝔲𝔫𝔤】

♠ drabbles:         ⤞ transparent        ⤞  pick your poison        ⤞  running back         ⤞  please        ⤞ melatonin ♠ tinted glass       ⤜ genre; smut, mild angst, office au        ⤜ pairing; han x reader (fem)       ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, (mild) power play, dom Han, face fucking, spanking, (mild) s&m, (mild) degradation ♠ dare        ⤜ genre; smut, a little fluff, best friends au        ⤜ pairing; han x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  explicit sexual content, oral, unprotected sex (be safe y’all), (mild) edging, cockwarming, saucy truth or dare

【𝔨𝔦𝔪 𝔰𝔢𝔲𝔫𝔤𝔪𝔦𝔫】

♦ drabbles: TBA  ♦ rendezvous        ⤜ genre; angst (with a dash of sauce and fluff), college au, pianist reader        ⤜ pairing; seungmin x reader (fem)        ⤜ {warnings}  mature content, verbal and emotional abuse (not from seungmin though)

【𝔶𝔞𝔫𝔤 𝔧𝔢𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔦𝔫】

♣ drabbles:         ⤞ burgundy 

[samanthasroberts]

Scarborough: The enduring appeal of the English seaside – BBC News

The Englishperson’s lack of interest in the national seaside is so dire calls have been made for a special “tsar” to be appointed to deal with our apathy. But no matter how the issue is tackled, are we really going to flock to the grey, windswept expanses of gritty sand to frolic in icy brown ankle-deep water?

Perhaps a leaf can be taken from Scarborough’s book – it’s one of the few domestic beach resorts bucking the national trend and actually attracting holidaymakers and day trippers.

So what does it have to offer?

Scarborough is a place of two halves. The south has a funfair and arena – the Sun Court – for an orchestra to put on open-air concerts. The north is quieter in terms of attractions, but has a wilder, more rugged feel and is popular with surfers.

Clinging to the cliffs above the North Sea on England’s east coast, the town was enormously popular in the 19th Century for those seeking spa cures.

Out and about with holidaymakers around England

Now, although the wide sweeping beaches are still beautiful and the harbour bustling and picturesque, any residual glamour has faded.

It’s hard to imagine well-to-do Victorian ladies demurely taking the waters.

Beachfront shops sell confectionery in shapes which could be described by some as “saucy” and others as “smutty”.

Some are so explicit they’re covered in bubble wrap or only stocked on the top shelf.

BB guns are displayed alongside buckets and spades, and giant games arcades and a casino dominate the main road between the South and North Bay.

But alongside the more salacious elements, there are traditional activities.

Donkey rides are available – so long as you’re aged 12 and under and weigh seven stone or less.

End-of-the-pier entertainments – such as The Billy Pearce Laughter Show – are “here all season”, and dressed crab is sold from kiosks along the front.

It’s a proper seaside resort.

First thing in the morning street-sweepers remove the traces of late-night revelry, making the town feel clean and new.

Dog-walkers briskly follow their charges, throwing tennis balls into the surf. The fishing fleet comes in and cafes and stalls bustle into life.

As soon as the sun falters from behind the clouds, the beach fills up with barely-clad children digging holes and squealing.

Some admire fish-heads left on the sands after a day’s catch has been hauled in.

Parents in jeans and anoraks huddle behind wind-breaks. Teenage girls take the least opportunity to pose in bikinis, their male counterparts making the most of the view.

Older couples, wrapped up warmly, gingerly paddle.

There’s an open-air theatre and a castle that overlooks the bay.

There are modern attractions too, such as the newly-opened water park, and a sea life centre. Flamingo Land is not far away. The Tour de Yorkshire cycle race sped through here, and a sea festival has been held.

But despite these newfangled introductions, there’s an air of stepping back in time. The hotels are unfashionable yet most are fully booked for the summer season.

According to Visit Scarborough, the majority of tourists come for the day, although there has also been a rise in overnight stays – the average is between two and three nights.

Stag and hen parties drive up the numbers – and the popularity of anatomical confectionery.

The soon-to-be-wed emerge mid-morning, drinking coffee and heading for the funfair.

Sara Jones is a bride-to-be. She says she picked Scarborough for her pre-wedding celebration because “it’s relatively cheap and fun”.

“We’re mainly here just to have a good time,” she says. “Have a drink, go on the beach and go clubbing at night.

“I wasn’t after anywhere to have a grown-up time, just a place to let our hair down”.

The appreciation of Scarborough’s lack of refinement is echoed by many other visitors.

At lunchtime Pat and Dave Gammon, both in their 70s, sit on the harbour wall eating chips. They say they enjoy the old-fashioned atmosphere of a traditional seaside holiday.

“We like walking along the promenade and the cliff gardens,” says Mr Gammon.

“Yesterday we went to watch the orchestra play and had a coffee. Then later fish and chips or whatever – although I was accosted by a seagull which stole my crabstick,” he adds, somewhat ruefully, while his wife rolls her eyes.

“He’s being going on about that crabstick all day,” she good-humouredly grumbles.

Although the vast majority of adult holidaying visitors are Britons, some overseas tourists also make their way here.

Carla and Luise are two friends in their 30s from Austria, who are staying in York.

In the late afternoon they plod up the steps from the beach to the town, looking weary. They’re heading back to their car.

Carla says Scarborough “is fun. It is not nice, but it is fun”, while Luise says she preferred Whitby, which is just along the coast.

In the early evening, school-age children, many local, roam the seafront and arcades before gathering in McDonald’s.

Zoe, who lives in Scarborough, says “it’s an all right place to be, I suppose. Kind of boring. I like it when it’s proper summer and people are around all night.

“In the winter I pretty much know everyone around here. But in the summer we get the exchange school kids and that. That’s more interesting, when they’re about.”

The people she mentions are usually on a trip to learn the language at the Scarborough International School of English. One of them, Giulia, says she likes the town because “it’s alive”.

A fair proportion of people staying at one of the hotels are couples with young children. Jason Philips and Jodie White have a three-year-old daughter, Scarlett, and another on the way.

Ms White is too far advanced in her pregnancy to fly and Scarlett gets bored on long journeys, the couple say.

They decided on Scarborough because they wanted to visit somewhere “with a holiday feeling”.

What’s Scarlett’s favourite thing about the trip?

Mr Philips laughs resignedly: “She likes pressing the buttons of the lift in the hotel and loves the tram down to the beach. We’ve been up and down on it three times now.

“In the end we told her it was closed.”

Near the harbour, where their three dogs are sniffing at the stacked-up lobster pots, Sue and Michael Chandler, from Leicestershire, are having sundowners. They’ve been visiting Scarborough annually for 20 years and believe its star is rising.

“It’s getting really busy again,” Mr Chandler says. “It’s not as busy as after the financial crash in 2008, mind you.

“I’m expecting it to pick right up after the whole Brexit business.

“Not that we came because of that, we just like it here. We like being able to bring the dogs. I think they like the way it smells.”

The couple, along with Mitzi, Bruno and Pie, saunter off to their B&B.

As the day draws to a close, the character of Scarborough begins to change.

The die-hards on the beach pack up their flasks and wind-breaks, the young children and their adults wend their ways back to the hotels – sandy, sticky hands clutching helium balloons and soft toys won by granddad at the grabber machine.

The music from the games arcades increases in volume, as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston howl at the world.

The pavement is coloured with pulsating red lights – now a runway for people dressed up for a night on the town.

Jade, 18, is one of a pack of young women who’ve emerged from a budget hotel. She’s on holiday with three of her friends – their mums wouldn’t let them go abroad and Scarborough was a compromise.

It’s the first time any of the girls have been away without adults. All four are wearing enormous grins, tiny shorts, high heels, and vest tops. It’s drizzling but they don’t seem to have noticed.

“We’re having an awesome time,” Jade says. “We’re here for a week, just hanging about. We met some lads at the fair earlier, probably going to meet up again later, like.

“It’s a bit of fun, nothing serious. We’re here just to have a laugh. We’re all staying in the same room, it’s crazy but we’re having the best time ever.”

Jade’s friend Millie says the four of them plan to go abroad next year “for a bit of sun”.

“And hot foreign boys,” Jade adds, while the others giggle and agree.

Would they ever come back to Scarborough?

“Yeah – let’s come back for our 40th birthdays,” Millie laughingly suggests, as if 40 was an age far too distant to comprehend.

The group totters off to town.

Later, in the early hours of the morning, Jack and Tom stagger back along the main street of the town, looking slightly worse for wear.

They’ve had a good time, they say, and “lots of beer”.

Then, over the next half hour, the town goes quiet once more – until the street-sweepers, dog-walkers and cafes begin their daily cycle, ready to do it all again.

Perhaps Ms White has it in a nutshell.

Scarborough, unashamedly old-fashioned and unsophisticated, is a place where you feel like you’re on holiday.

There’s sand, sea, donkeys, fish and chips, arcades, candyfloss and a funfair.

Everyone, regardless of age or interests, appears out to have a good time. It seems everyone is with someone – it’s rare to spot people alone, unless they’re queuing for ice-creams or waiting for their family to clamber off the Ferris wheel.

Maybe that determination to enjoy life is the reason Scarborough remains so popular.

Related Topics

Scarborough

Source: http://allofbeer.com/scarborough-the-enduring-appeal-of-the-english-seaside-bbc-news/

from All of Beer https://allofbeer.wordpress.com/2019/03/21/scarborough-the-enduring-appeal-of-the-english-seaside-bbc-news/

[adambstingus]

Scarborough: The enduring appeal of the English seaside – BBC News

The Englishperson’s lack of interest in the national seaside is so dire calls have been made for a special “tsar” to be appointed to deal with our apathy. But no matter how the issue is tackled, are we really going to flock to the grey, windswept expanses of gritty sand to frolic in icy brown ankle-deep water?

Perhaps a leaf can be taken from Scarborough’s book – it’s one of the few domestic beach resorts bucking the national trend and actually attracting holidaymakers and day trippers.

So what does it have to offer?

Scarborough is a place of two halves. The south has a funfair and arena – the Sun Court – for an orchestra to put on open-air concerts. The north is quieter in terms of attractions, but has a wilder, more rugged feel and is popular with surfers.

Clinging to the cliffs above the North Sea on England’s east coast, the town was enormously popular in the 19th Century for those seeking spa cures.

Out and about with holidaymakers around England

Now, although the wide sweeping beaches are still beautiful and the harbour bustling and picturesque, any residual glamour has faded.

It’s hard to imagine well-to-do Victorian ladies demurely taking the waters.

Beachfront shops sell confectionery in shapes which could be described by some as “saucy” and others as “smutty”.

Some are so explicit they’re covered in bubble wrap or only stocked on the top shelf.

BB guns are displayed alongside buckets and spades, and giant games arcades and a casino dominate the main road between the South and North Bay.

But alongside the more salacious elements, there are traditional activities.

Donkey rides are available – so long as you’re aged 12 and under and weigh seven stone or less.

End-of-the-pier entertainments – such as The Billy Pearce Laughter Show – are “here all season”, and dressed crab is sold from kiosks along the front.

It’s a proper seaside resort.

First thing in the morning street-sweepers remove the traces of late-night revelry, making the town feel clean and new.

Dog-walkers briskly follow their charges, throwing tennis balls into the surf. The fishing fleet comes in and cafes and stalls bustle into life.

As soon as the sun falters from behind the clouds, the beach fills up with barely-clad children digging holes and squealing.

Some admire fish-heads left on the sands after a day’s catch has been hauled in.

Parents in jeans and anoraks huddle behind wind-breaks. Teenage girls take the least opportunity to pose in bikinis, their male counterparts making the most of the view.

Older couples, wrapped up warmly, gingerly paddle.

There’s an open-air theatre and a castle that overlooks the bay.

There are modern attractions too, such as the newly-opened water park, and a sea life centre. Flamingo Land is not far away. The Tour de Yorkshire cycle race sped through here, and a sea festival has been held.

But despite these newfangled introductions, there’s an air of stepping back in time. The hotels are unfashionable yet most are fully booked for the summer season.

According to Visit Scarborough, the majority of tourists come for the day, although there has also been a rise in overnight stays – the average is between two and three nights.

Stag and hen parties drive up the numbers – and the popularity of anatomical confectionery.

The soon-to-be-wed emerge mid-morning, drinking coffee and heading for the funfair.

Sara Jones is a bride-to-be. She says she picked Scarborough for her pre-wedding celebration because “it’s relatively cheap and fun”.

“We’re mainly here just to have a good time,” she says. “Have a drink, go on the beach and go clubbing at night.

“I wasn’t after anywhere to have a grown-up time, just a place to let our hair down”.

The appreciation of Scarborough’s lack of refinement is echoed by many other visitors.

At lunchtime Pat and Dave Gammon, both in their 70s, sit on the harbour wall eating chips. They say they enjoy the old-fashioned atmosphere of a traditional seaside holiday.

“We like walking along the promenade and the cliff gardens,” says Mr Gammon.

“Yesterday we went to watch the orchestra play and had a coffee. Then later fish and chips or whatever – although I was accosted by a seagull which stole my crabstick,” he adds, somewhat ruefully, while his wife rolls her eyes.

“He’s being going on about that crabstick all day,” she good-humouredly grumbles.

Although the vast majority of adult holidaying visitors are Britons, some overseas tourists also make their way here.

Carla and Luise are two friends in their 30s from Austria, who are staying in York.

In the late afternoon they plod up the steps from the beach to the town, looking weary. They’re heading back to their car.

Carla says Scarborough “is fun. It is not nice, but it is fun”, while Luise says she preferred Whitby, which is just along the coast.

In the early evening, school-age children, many local, roam the seafront and arcades before gathering in McDonald’s.

Zoe, who lives in Scarborough, says “it’s an all right place to be, I suppose. Kind of boring. I like it when it’s proper summer and people are around all night.

“In the winter I pretty much know everyone around here. But in the summer we get the exchange school kids and that. That’s more interesting, when they’re about.”

The people she mentions are usually on a trip to learn the language at the Scarborough International School of English. One of them, Giulia, says she likes the town because “it’s alive”.

A fair proportion of people staying at one of the hotels are couples with young children. Jason Philips and Jodie White have a three-year-old daughter, Scarlett, and another on the way.

Ms White is too far advanced in her pregnancy to fly and Scarlett gets bored on long journeys, the couple say.

They decided on Scarborough because they wanted to visit somewhere “with a holiday feeling”.

What’s Scarlett’s favourite thing about the trip?

Mr Philips laughs resignedly: “She likes pressing the buttons of the lift in the hotel and loves the tram down to the beach. We’ve been up and down on it three times now.

“In the end we told her it was closed.”

Near the harbour, where their three dogs are sniffing at the stacked-up lobster pots, Sue and Michael Chandler, from Leicestershire, are having sundowners. They’ve been visiting Scarborough annually for 20 years and believe its star is rising.

“It’s getting really busy again,” Mr Chandler says. “It’s not as busy as after the financial crash in 2008, mind you.

“I’m expecting it to pick right up after the whole Brexit business.

“Not that we came because of that, we just like it here. We like being able to bring the dogs. I think they like the way it smells.”

The couple, along with Mitzi, Bruno and Pie, saunter off to their B&B.

As the day draws to a close, the character of Scarborough begins to change.

The die-hards on the beach pack up their flasks and wind-breaks, the young children and their adults wend their ways back to the hotels – sandy, sticky hands clutching helium balloons and soft toys won by granddad at the grabber machine.

The music from the games arcades increases in volume, as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston howl at the world.

The pavement is coloured with pulsating red lights – now a runway for people dressed up for a night on the town.

Jade, 18, is one of a pack of young women who’ve emerged from a budget hotel. She’s on holiday with three of her friends – their mums wouldn’t let them go abroad and Scarborough was a compromise.

It’s the first time any of the girls have been away without adults. All four are wearing enormous grins, tiny shorts, high heels, and vest tops. It’s drizzling but they don’t seem to have noticed.

“We’re having an awesome time,” Jade says. “We’re here for a week, just hanging about. We met some lads at the fair earlier, probably going to meet up again later, like.

“It’s a bit of fun, nothing serious. We’re here just to have a laugh. We’re all staying in the same room, it’s crazy but we’re having the best time ever.”

Jade’s friend Millie says the four of them plan to go abroad next year “for a bit of sun”.

“And hot foreign boys,” Jade adds, while the others giggle and agree.

Would they ever come back to Scarborough?

“Yeah – let’s come back for our 40th birthdays,” Millie laughingly suggests, as if 40 was an age far too distant to comprehend.

The group totters off to town.

Later, in the early hours of the morning, Jack and Tom stagger back along the main street of the town, looking slightly worse for wear.

They’ve had a good time, they say, and “lots of beer”.

Then, over the next half hour, the town goes quiet once more – until the street-sweepers, dog-walkers and cafes begin their daily cycle, ready to do it all again.

Perhaps Ms White has it in a nutshell.

Scarborough, unashamedly old-fashioned and unsophisticated, is a place where you feel like you’re on holiday.

There’s sand, sea, donkeys, fish and chips, arcades, candyfloss and a funfair.

Everyone, regardless of age or interests, appears out to have a good time. It seems everyone is with someone – it’s rare to spot people alone, unless they’re queuing for ice-creams or waiting for their family to clamber off the Ferris wheel.

Maybe that determination to enjoy life is the reason Scarborough remains so popular.

Related Topics

Scarborough

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/scarborough-the-enduring-appeal-of-the-english-seaside-bbc-news/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/183617050472

[allofbeercom]

Scarborough: The enduring appeal of the English seaside – BBC News

The Englishperson’s lack of interest in the national seaside is so dire calls have been made for a special “tsar” to be appointed to deal with our apathy. But no matter how the issue is tackled, are we really going to flock to the grey, windswept expanses of gritty sand to frolic in icy brown ankle-deep water?

Perhaps a leaf can be taken from Scarborough’s book – it’s one of the few domestic beach resorts bucking the national trend and actually attracting holidaymakers and day trippers.

So what does it have to offer?

Scarborough is a place of two halves. The south has a funfair and arena – the Sun Court – for an orchestra to put on open-air concerts. The north is quieter in terms of attractions, but has a wilder, more rugged feel and is popular with surfers.

Clinging to the cliffs above the North Sea on England’s east coast, the town was enormously popular in the 19th Century for those seeking spa cures.

Out and about with holidaymakers around England

Now, although the wide sweeping beaches are still beautiful and the harbour bustling and picturesque, any residual glamour has faded.

It’s hard to imagine well-to-do Victorian ladies demurely taking the waters.

Beachfront shops sell confectionery in shapes which could be described by some as “saucy” and others as “smutty”.

Some are so explicit they’re covered in bubble wrap or only stocked on the top shelf.

BB guns are displayed alongside buckets and spades, and giant games arcades and a casino dominate the main road between the South and North Bay.

But alongside the more salacious elements, there are traditional activities.

Donkey rides are available – so long as you’re aged 12 and under and weigh seven stone or less.

End-of-the-pier entertainments – such as The Billy Pearce Laughter Show – are “here all season”, and dressed crab is sold from kiosks along the front.

It’s a proper seaside resort.

First thing in the morning street-sweepers remove the traces of late-night revelry, making the town feel clean and new.

Dog-walkers briskly follow their charges, throwing tennis balls into the surf. The fishing fleet comes in and cafes and stalls bustle into life.

As soon as the sun falters from behind the clouds, the beach fills up with barely-clad children digging holes and squealing.

Some admire fish-heads left on the sands after a day’s catch has been hauled in.

Parents in jeans and anoraks huddle behind wind-breaks. Teenage girls take the least opportunity to pose in bikinis, their male counterparts making the most of the view.

Older couples, wrapped up warmly, gingerly paddle.

There’s an open-air theatre and a castle that overlooks the bay.

There are modern attractions too, such as the newly-opened water park, and a sea life centre. Flamingo Land is not far away. The Tour de Yorkshire cycle race sped through here, and a sea festival has been held.

But despite these newfangled introductions, there’s an air of stepping back in time. The hotels are unfashionable yet most are fully booked for the summer season.

According to Visit Scarborough, the majority of tourists come for the day, although there has also been a rise in overnight stays – the average is between two and three nights.

Stag and hen parties drive up the numbers – and the popularity of anatomical confectionery.

The soon-to-be-wed emerge mid-morning, drinking coffee and heading for the funfair.

Sara Jones is a bride-to-be. She says she picked Scarborough for her pre-wedding celebration because “it’s relatively cheap and fun”.

“We’re mainly here just to have a good time,” she says. “Have a drink, go on the beach and go clubbing at night.

“I wasn’t after anywhere to have a grown-up time, just a place to let our hair down”.

The appreciation of Scarborough’s lack of refinement is echoed by many other visitors.

At lunchtime Pat and Dave Gammon, both in their 70s, sit on the harbour wall eating chips. They say they enjoy the old-fashioned atmosphere of a traditional seaside holiday.

“We like walking along the promenade and the cliff gardens,” says Mr Gammon.

“Yesterday we went to watch the orchestra play and had a coffee. Then later fish and chips or whatever – although I was accosted by a seagull which stole my crabstick,” he adds, somewhat ruefully, while his wife rolls her eyes.

“He’s being going on about that crabstick all day,” she good-humouredly grumbles.

Although the vast majority of adult holidaying visitors are Britons, some overseas tourists also make their way here.

Carla and Luise are two friends in their 30s from Austria, who are staying in York.

In the late afternoon they plod up the steps from the beach to the town, looking weary. They’re heading back to their car.

Carla says Scarborough “is fun. It is not nice, but it is fun”, while Luise says she preferred Whitby, which is just along the coast.

In the early evening, school-age children, many local, roam the seafront and arcades before gathering in McDonald’s.

Zoe, who lives in Scarborough, says “it’s an all right place to be, I suppose. Kind of boring. I like it when it’s proper summer and people are around all night.

“In the winter I pretty much know everyone around here. But in the summer we get the exchange school kids and that. That’s more interesting, when they’re about.”

The people she mentions are usually on a trip to learn the language at the Scarborough International School of English. One of them, Giulia, says she likes the town because “it’s alive”.

A fair proportion of people staying at one of the hotels are couples with young children. Jason Philips and Jodie White have a three-year-old daughter, Scarlett, and another on the way.

Ms White is too far advanced in her pregnancy to fly and Scarlett gets bored on long journeys, the couple say.

They decided on Scarborough because they wanted to visit somewhere “with a holiday feeling”.

What’s Scarlett’s favourite thing about the trip?

Mr Philips laughs resignedly: “She likes pressing the buttons of the lift in the hotel and loves the tram down to the beach. We’ve been up and down on it three times now.

“In the end we told her it was closed.”

Near the harbour, where their three dogs are sniffing at the stacked-up lobster pots, Sue and Michael Chandler, from Leicestershire, are having sundowners. They’ve been visiting Scarborough annually for 20 years and believe its star is rising.

“It’s getting really busy again,” Mr Chandler says. “It’s not as busy as after the financial crash in 2008, mind you.

“I’m expecting it to pick right up after the whole Brexit business.

“Not that we came because of that, we just like it here. We like being able to bring the dogs. I think they like the way it smells.”

The couple, along with Mitzi, Bruno and Pie, saunter off to their B&B.

As the day draws to a close, the character of Scarborough begins to change.

The die-hards on the beach pack up their flasks and wind-breaks, the young children and their adults wend their ways back to the hotels – sandy, sticky hands clutching helium balloons and soft toys won by granddad at the grabber machine.

The music from the games arcades increases in volume, as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston howl at the world.

The pavement is coloured with pulsating red lights – now a runway for people dressed up for a night on the town.

Jade, 18, is one of a pack of young women who’ve emerged from a budget hotel. She’s on holiday with three of her friends – their mums wouldn’t let them go abroad and Scarborough was a compromise.

It’s the first time any of the girls have been away without adults. All four are wearing enormous grins, tiny shorts, high heels, and vest tops. It’s drizzling but they don’t seem to have noticed.

“We’re having an awesome time,” Jade says. “We’re here for a week, just hanging about. We met some lads at the fair earlier, probably going to meet up again later, like.

“It’s a bit of fun, nothing serious. We’re here just to have a laugh. We’re all staying in the same room, it’s crazy but we’re having the best time ever.”

Jade’s friend Millie says the four of them plan to go abroad next year “for a bit of sun”.

“And hot foreign boys,” Jade adds, while the others giggle and agree.

Would they ever come back to Scarborough?

“Yeah – let’s come back for our 40th birthdays,” Millie laughingly suggests, as if 40 was an age far too distant to comprehend.

The group totters off to town.

Later, in the early hours of the morning, Jack and Tom stagger back along the main street of the town, looking slightly worse for wear.

They’ve had a good time, they say, and “lots of beer”.

Then, over the next half hour, the town goes quiet once more – until the street-sweepers, dog-walkers and cafes begin their daily cycle, ready to do it all again.

Perhaps Ms White has it in a nutshell.

Scarborough, unashamedly old-fashioned and unsophisticated, is a place where you feel like you’re on holiday.

There’s sand, sea, donkeys, fish and chips, arcades, candyfloss and a funfair.

Everyone, regardless of age or interests, appears out to have a good time. It seems everyone is with someone – it’s rare to spot people alone, unless they’re queuing for ice-creams or waiting for their family to clamber off the Ferris wheel.

Maybe that determination to enjoy life is the reason Scarborough remains so popular.

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Scarborough

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/scarborough-the-enduring-appeal-of-the-english-seaside-bbc-news/