A town’s edges tell a different story from the one printed on its postcards.

Centres get curated and edges do not. A postcard shows the square, the church and the good light, while the ring road, the yards, the housing and the places people actually work are left out of the picture. Neither view is false, though only one has been chosen for you. Where a place stops caring how it looks is usually where it tells you most.

Next time you visit somewhere, walk twenty minutes out from the part you were sent to and look at what is there. Do the same at home, since your own town has an unphotographed version too.