Back in Hassocks

Bodiam Castle from the drawbridge side

The last two days were unfortunately not very pleasant for me, as I spent one day travelling back from Cornwall while being pretty ill, while the other was spent in bed. Sore throat with large ulcer deep down in my throat, earache and severe dizziness. I somehow made it to Hassocks and tried to ring the local surgery without success. After spending most of yesterday in bed I decided that even at death's door I would not miss Callum's trip to Bodiam Castle. I dosed myself up with painkillers and off we went. I must admit, that place is still as magical as it has ever been and Callum had a really good time. He bought himself a knight in shining armour on horseback with the last remnants of his birthday money.

The castle from the South East

Showing off on top off the Soth Tower

Bodiam was Stephen andq Alex's favourite castle and Callum seemed to have entered into the spirit of the place. As he is a forever moving object with little inclination to pose for photographs, my pictures had to be taken on the go. He looks happy though!

In the stocks

Free transport from Dad

Moving with purpose

A stroll along the River Rother

After the purchase of the knight

A friendly little squirrel by the car park

I love apple juice!

In the pub awaiting the arrival of lunch

Grandad's beer and Mummy's cider

Some tather unusual urinals in The Roebuck Inn 

The Roebuck Inn

Immediately after leaving the castle we had a drink in the pub right across from the car park. We decided to have food later, closer to home. In Laughton, en route to Lewes we found an interesting pub  called The Roebuck Inn. It was under new management, after standing empty for 2 and half years, and we chose well. The food was excellent and we even saw jellyfish and 2 pigs. The star attraction, however, proved to be some weird gargoyle-like pissoires in the gents. All male members of our party found them hilarious. Tomorrow we are planning a trip to the Downs. Either the Devil's Dyke or Ditchling Beacon. Possibly both. Meaghan and Callum are leaving on Saturday, so tomorrow is our last day together.

9 Grants and Freemans in St. Columb Major

On Saturday I woke to my Border Crosser post having been put up with over a dozen of my photos. I read the comments and happily discovered that digger was pleased that I was back. I must make sure that I get some tickets to Diggerdrajver as soon as they start selling them.

We spent the morning at home, although some people had gone off to shop for food and for a few other things. Alex fixed lunch and then we departed to the beach.  Mawgan Porth is the closest little beach to Sheila's and we were there in less than 10 minutes.

The weather was a bit windy, but warm and there were not too many people on the sand. The sea produced really nice breakers, so there were quite a few surfers around. Callum enjoyed his afternoon on the beach, he buried himself to start with,

then went for a walk, followed by sand castle building.  His castle looked really professional (Mummy helped!!) and he won some prizes, like a kite, wrist band etc. We then all went to the pub and sat outside until it was time to go home.

In the evening we went out to dinner in the pub, I had scampi and Callum had chicken nuggets and chips. Others had a variety of dishes, from jacket potatoes with prawns, through steak and lasagne all the way to a mixed grill or cajun chicken. Sheila treated us, which was very nice of her and we all had a good time.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is unfortunately not good. Should it really pour, we might go to the pictures.

Travel to Cornwall and the first day

We left a couple of minutes before 10 am, which was pretty good going. Google said the trip via the A23/M23/M25/M3/A303/A30/M5/A30/A39 was going to be 284 miles all the way to Newquay. As it happened, we went via Taunton to spend an hour or so with Naomi and family plus we only had to go as far as St. Columb Major, so it ended up 295 miles. I never thought that going via M25/M3 would be so good. Alex didn't feel like struggling round Chichester and the motorways were behaving themselves on the whole.

Stonehenge

What was an incredibly nice surprise, that coming this way we drove past Stonehenge and I managed to take a really good photo of it on the move.  Admittedly, we were not moving too fast, but I took about a dozen before this good one happened.

Naomi and Sid were really lovely.  They are such nice people and never change. We saw Joseph, who is 16 now and I managed to embarrass him grossly by giving him 2 kisses. Callum spent an hour and a half in the garden playing, which was great, as he was really cooped up for 3 and half hours from Hassocks to Taunton.

Sid

Sid suggested that the remaining trip would take 3 hours, which turned out to be a gross exaggeration. We were at Sheila's in 90 minutes and we were not hurrying either.

Naomi

The weather has been great since we arrived, although quite windy. My head cold got really bad and I had to sit up for about an hour in the night and take some painkillers. My head is now a lot better, but still a bit shaky. The plan for today is to go to St. Michael's Mount, which is great as I have never been there in all our trips to Cornwall before.

Later
The weather stayed nice and we had a fantastic day out. In the morning we did three lots of washing and Meaghan put it on the line. We decided to leave before having lunch and find a pub once we got there.  Alex had marvellous instincts for pubs and kept driving until we found a lovely one with a car park and a garden.  It was called The Fireman's Arms and on top of all that, the views over St. Michael's Mount were gorgeous from the garden and we spent quite some time taking photos from every conceivable angle.

St. Michael's Mount

On the boat

The food was lovely: Roy and I had fish and chips, Meaghan and Alex Cornish pasties and Callum a beefburger. Once our tummies were full, we found a reasonably priced car park for £4 and took to the little boat to take us over to the Mount. That was £9 for us, which while not unduly expensive, was quite a lot to fork out twice. However, we were told that the causeway will be in use after 5 pm, so we decided to return that way.

Callum with the cannons

The castle was quite interesting.  I haven't yet found out, but will Google it when I get a minute, when it ceased to be a friary and became a private house/estate. Callum was using the quiz book that he was given on entrance. Once it was filled with his answers, they presented him with a medal, which he was very happy about.

People crossing on the causeway still under a bit of water

We had a couple of Cornish cream teas between us at the end and waited for the causeway be clear of water. It was a splendid day, everybody had a good time and we got home to a lovely spaghetti Bolognese for dinner. Jo and Chris are arriving late tonight, so tomorrow will be spent with them. Another group of 9 Grants, but mixed with some Freemans this time as well.

A day in Brighton

We got up reasonably early and Alex fixed us a big fry-up. We started with Cornflakes with hazel nuts and strawberries and blueberries. Alex had toast, black pudding, sausages, bacon, an egg and mushrooms, Roy had all that minus the black pudding, I only had toast, mushrooms and an egg, Meaghan had bacon as well, I think. We finally caught the bus at about 10.30am and it was really convenient way to get into Brighton.  Cheaper than the train, plus a lot less walking as the bus stop was 200 yards from the house as well as it took us all the way to the seafront.

We first went to see the Pier. You don't have to pay to enter any more, but the rides and slot machines, games etc. cost a fair amount.  Still, one does not do this that often, so we treated Callum to a lot of fun. He had an arm band for limitless rides and also got some presents, as well as winning the Dolphin Derby with his dad.

The weather was up and down, lovely and sunny one minute, chucking it down the next.  Afterwards Roy and I went to the Bank, which is another story, that is so annoying I intend to forget about it, while the rest of them went onto the beach and walked through the Lanes.

We all met up at the Basketmakers, had lots of lovely food (hamburgers, seafood etc.) and caught the bus home.

I hurt my right little toe yesterday and had some concerns whether I would be able to walk too much today, but I managed it with not too much pain, so that was OK. Callum dropped off en route home on the bus, but was alive again once his cousins were there to play with.

Tomorrow we are off to Cornwall, let's hope the weather is kind!

The family holiday so far (2)

7th July
On Monday, the 6th Alex and I went to fetch the hire car. Nice Astra, drives well and is comfortable.When we got back I didn't feel very well, so I had a nice long sleep in the afternoon. The rest of the family (minus Roy) went to the farm, where the kids were very happy.

Today (Tuesday 7th) we went to Paradise Park where there was a lot of fun to be had.  There were dinosaurs, various playgrounds, fish, ducks, little trains, just for starters. Soft play area and much more. We had a snack there and returned via ASDA in Hollingbury.

Tomorrow Alex, Meaghan, Roy, me and Callum will be going into Brighton by bus. Bank, Pier, Lanes and a few other attractions await. The Level has a nice new park, we're told, we might get over there too.

The family holiday so far

July 3rd
The last few days in the village went past fast. The strawberries have finished, the raspberries have started, we harvested all the Morello cherries and the rhubarb, both got put into jars: as cherry jam and as stewed rhubarb. We agreed with Ildi's brother Csaba to water the garden in our absence, let us see if he turns out to be better than Sanyi!  On Sunday we caught the bus and it took 2 hours door to door. Thannkfully the camera chip was in the old laptop, as I worked it out by process of elimination in the meantime. On Monday we did the shopping for presents. The little ones got some more lovely wooden toys from the usual toyshop, Ginny a lovely ethnic shawl from the big market,  Stephen and Lucy we bought presents for already: he a hipflask set, her a little embroidered dshoulder bag. Alex, Meaghan and Alex will get money, as that's no bother taking home on the aeroplane.

On Tuesday we visited Ian and Ros at their now beautifully furnished flat for drinks and nibbles, followed by dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant where I had home made spaghetti with muscles in a delicious tomato sauce. They are having their kitchen installed next Monday, after which the flat will be perfect. We both really like Ros and Ian, they are marvellous company and truly nice people.

On Wednesday we packed and on Thursday we travelled. The house in Hassocks is really great. The two new rooms in the attic are lovely and large. The little ones have grown a lot and have enjoyed playing with their presents. Unfortunately Xander is having trouble with his ear again, a staph infection this time. Poor little might! Such bad luck!

Today we did a few bits of official stuff (bank, building society etc.), had the compulsory lunch in the Basketmakers and shopped for food. In a minute we'll go and fetch the little monsters from nursery.

July 5th
Yesterday (Saturday) morning Lucy was doing a fun run in Stanmer Park and Stephen went to fetch Alex, Meaghan and Callum, so Roy and I were baby sitting Elian and Xander. We took them to the park, which was much enjoyed by all concerned. Once back home we fixed lunch and put Xander down for a nap. Elian flatly refused, so he was around when Lucy appeared covered in mud after her run. Ann hour or so later the Canadian mob appeared with a couple of bagfuls of Tesco shopping. Callum is the big boy of the three and it was lovely to see how well he looked after the little ones. Presents were exchanged with lots of excitement until Callum came up to me and asked: Have you got a present for me? I then presented him with his envelope which made him very happy. Stephen and Lucy produced a lovely lunch of pasta, pizza, chicken nuggets, chips, broccoli, veggie fingers, coleslaw, peas and carrots which disappeared quickly. The new IKEA dining table was brilliant and put to good use. In the afternoon all the kids got into the paddling pool and the adults were either out there with them or watching the Silverstone qualifying.

In the evening Stephen went off to work while Lucy, Meaghan, Callum and Xander went to the park with Roy, Elian and me staying at home. Before going to bed Callum, Elian and Xander had a bath together which was fun.

Most of us had an early night to be well rested for Sunday.

Today (Sunday) Alex and Meaghan took forever to get up and it rained, so we have played indoors. Daddy's daddy and Grandma watched Lewis Hamilton win the British Grand Prix (yippeeeee!!) and the three boys played all sorts of fun things.


And in the afternoon, after all little persons had a bit of a nap we went to the Jack and Jill pub in Clayton for dinner. I have driven past that pub a thousand times, but other than a hash run some 20-25 years ago I have never been inside. The weather cheered up and even the sun came out.  The rain didn't depress the temperature sufficiently to be cold, so we sat outside with the children playing on the climbing frame and other play things while we ordered drinks and food. I had sea bass, which was glorious, if somewhat Nouvelle Cousine-ish in quantity. Alex had whitebait, Roy roast lamb, Meaghan a large ploughmans and two different ciders. It was a delightful outing with everybody having a very good time and even the bill only came to £103, which considering that it was for 6 adults and 3 children, was reasonable.

Doctors, a funeral, some gardening and a birthday

I went to the doctors last Friday and had a very annoying full hour wait. Should it be that many people are waiting, I know I have to wait my turn.  But that was not the case this time. The extra annoyance came from a mixed system of seeing people.  It is grossly unfair and gets my goat every time.  It is apparently possible to ring up and ask for an appointment.  This is not something that is advertised and while I have discovered this some time ago I keep forgetting it. Once you are in the waiting room there is nothing you can do about it other than wait your turn, but I find the feeling of total uncertainty as to how many people are ahead of me intolerable.  More than once the queue got to me and then somebody who came after me got called in, because he/she had an appointment. I was hoping she wasn't going to take my blood pressure once I got in as it would have been very high indeed. As it happened she was sweetness and light, happily gave me some medication to take should my blood pressure ever jump again and as for the dizzyness, she seemed totally laid back about it.  She reckons it was something wrong with my ear, but as it settled down since, there is no need to worry.  Let's hope she is right!!

The St. Gellert urn cemetery

Just before we left on the Thursday one of our neighbours came across and told us that the ex-mayor's wife had died and the funeral was in town on Friday at 11am. As we happened to be in town that day we decided to attend. We didn't know her, but we did know the mayor and I always liked him, so we went to show our sympathy. She had already been cremated and the service was conducted in a hall which had lots of niches for urns. I have never been to one of these before, but it seemed a lot more straightforward and quicker than traditional burials.

We also had a few errands to run in town and as we managed to do everything we planned on the Friday (including a nice lunch at the Jelen), we decided to get back to Ber on the Saturday. Unfortunately, just as we were leaving I discovered that the chip was not in my camera. I thought I brought it in, as there was one photograph I posted here in my last post from it.  In spite of that I could not find it, so I convinced myself that it must have been left in Ber, so we left without it.  Since then I worked it out (after not finding it anywhere in Ber either) that it must have been left in BP. Perhaps I took it out of the laptop but didn't return it to the camera, so it could have fallen down into the bedding or onto the floor. It has been a bit of a nuisance that I couldn't use the camera all this week, although I have recently decided to take some photos with my old phone. They are not nearly as good as those taken with the camera, but will have to do. Let us hope we find the chip on our return to BP, or I will have to buy a new one, which will set me back a minimum of £30. The missing one was a special buy in Argos with the camera, 32 gig for only £20. Drat!!

On Saturday night I managed to come across Rush on Channel 4, a really good film about the rivalry of James Hunt and Nicki Lauda in F1 of the 1970's. It was because I faded out at 4pm in the afternoon having done all the travelling and shopping earlier in the day and slept until 8pm that I could stay up and watch it. I heard about this film, but have never seen it. It was really amazing that the director found Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl who were absolute clones of Hunt and Lauda to play the roles. Apparently Lauda was involved with the film in an advisory capacity and said that Hunt would have loved it. Well, we'll never know the truth of that, but I enjoyed it tremendously.

CompassSport and a cup of tea! Who needs more?

The rest of the time since Sunday has been spent in the garden, mowing the garden short (Roy managed to get in down to an inch and a half), weeding, dead heading, watering and finally just hanging around out there on the swing, reading, snoozing and generally enjoying the good weather. Marci turned up one day asking for work, so the rest of the detested weeding got done by him as well as helping Roy to cut down and dig out the apricot tree that died last year.  The tractor mower has now come into its own.  Last week Roy was still moaning about the amount of cuttings and that we have no space for them.  Now, provided we can keep it regularly and closely mowed, there will never be too much of it hopefully again.

The two loving little brothers

Yesterday Elian was 3 years old and he really enjoyed all his presents and his party. I managed to have a little chat with him on Skype, wish him happy birthday and promise him a present when I see him next week. He is such a beautiful boy I am not surprised that strangers often think he is a girl. The lovey like hystrionics often underpin this misunderstanding, but then again lovies are like that!

Aren't bubbles fun?

Today, after we have harvested all our Morello cherries and rhubarb, Roy made 4 litres of bottled rhubarb compote and just now we managed to catch one of our neighbours to get him climb up on the Kottage roof to put back a slipped tile. I noticed that the gutter was full of rotten leaves, so after he left I went up the ladder and cleared the gutter as well. Before he left we managed to get him agree to come in and water the garden while we are away, so hopefully that problem is also sorted.

The Morello cherries and the rhubarb

Roy in the courtyard

Ros (with a broken ankle) and Ian have arrived 2 days ago and I had an e-mail from Ian asking after us.  Hopefully we should be able to see them before we leave, Roy has not yet seen their flat since a lot more furniture was added. We are off to BP on either Saturday or Sunday and to Hassocks on Thursday. I will probably next post from there.