After so long away it’s great to put our feet back onto solid ground in old Blighty

Drove to Harwich to take Gwen to her cousin in Little Oakley, Near Hawrich, Essex, stopping off at Ikea on the way to buy a few lamps and fittings as well as box's for the camper van.
Traffic was horrendous, both going and even worse coming back to Dover. Accidents all over the place. Not surprising really when you see how close people drive the one in front. Sure they are trying to get inside the boot.
Winter evenings are dark and often wet, so the on coming lights dazzle you mercilessly, so you really have to concentrate. But it is the M25 and its also going home time.

Presently in Eastbourne enjoying the sun, albeit with a bitterly cold North Easterly blowing across the downs. Unfortunately the reason for the trip was the departing of an old friend. Judith's best friends mum who passed away after spending her last few years with Alzheimer's. An insidious illness that as we know first hand doesn't only effect the patient, but all those who are close to them.
Judith's friend has come over from Australia for the funeral, so we shot down to see her and give our respects to her father. It was great to see Jill, but as you can imagine it was difficult, as you wanted to be pleased to see them, yet also there was the need to be polite and considerate in keeping with the situation.
Had lunch out in Arundel alongside the river, reminiscing over days gone by with a good pint and great fresh food. Then into Arundel proper and a cup of coffee, retuning to Jonnies, before bidding everyone good bye and heading off to Eastbourne.

It took us 2hours to make the sort hop from Worthing to Eastbourne, the traffic was unbelievable, stop start all the way. And it became increasingly worse the nearer we got to Eastbourne.
But all of the frustrations wafted away when we drove down the seafront, the lights on the pier were just magical.

Jill and Judith at the Black Rabbit in Arundel

Young lad at the front and 153 years on his shoulder. But Jonnie and Parker are looking good for their ages.

Mafia arrive in Arundel, casing the local sweet shop.

Must say Eastbourne has a great promenade, but the police presence was very noticeable, sirens screaming, lights flashing every few minutes. Security personnel on guard at the entrance to the pier. We would call them bouncers in our day. Now they have branded bomber jackets, earphones and sporting dark glasses. Worse than New York.
Nevertheless, surprisingly enough it didn't seem intimidating. Perhaps if we had been around once all the clubs chucked out it may have been a different story.

As we continued our evening stroll before retiring for the night we came across plenty of girls seated on the benches, bleary eyed, smoking fragrant wacky baci . Not being sexist here, there were only girls hanging about!


Judith dashing on after a couple of drinks at dinner. But the lights on the front are exactly what the doctor ordered. A real seaside scene.

Have to try and catch her up now. She doesn't realise l need to stay quite still to take an evening shot.



Saturday morning sun shining so we took the opportunity to walk over the hills on the south downs way before driving to collect Gwen.
Took us a good 30 minutes to try and get through the incessant traffic that seemed to be normal in this suburban sprawl they call Eastbourne. Must be because there is a bottle neck to go over the railway bridge, with a population of nearly 100 thousand upwardly mobile commuters on the road it soon gets totally grid locked from all accounts. Give me a train journey any day.




Had to walk the three miles along the promenade before we even managed to put foot on chalk.




















Interesting development at one end of Eastbourne. A marina development, with quite of style linked around shops, restaurants and bars. Just like those often found in Florid, but without the climate.












Collect Gwen from Little Oakley and stop off at Bluewater, not surprisingly exceedingly busy as its on the run up to another commercial Christmas celebration. Had a meal at Loch Fyne oyster bar before extricating ourselves from the hordes and continue back to Dover.
Following day we take the car into the body shop for them to polish out some scratches and take the opportunity of stretching our legs. Walked round the harbour, bought some fresh fish from the fisherman's shop along the quay, check out the new restaurant and book Sunday lunch for when we get back from France. Then its up the hill into town, meandering amongst shops we had never seen before.
Goes without saying that Judith found a little jewellery shop with excellent and unusual pieces. One set of earnings found a place in heart.