A lovely day

Alison and I did an hour's housework this morning before we 'hit the shops'. I bought a jacket, face products and a birthday present for one of my grndchildren. Then we went to the movies. We saw "American Ganster" which was great. It was showing in an old cinema which suited us and was just the thing for two ladies on a Friday afternoon. There were no drink holders and a lingering smell of mould and old popcorn. The seats were red plush and installed before the obesity epidemic. It was quite violent but that doesn't bother us. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe were great. I'm going home tomorrow - back to the grind of garden and home improvement. By the way, don't comment on my mispelling of Eastbourne. I've been leaving out the 'u'.

Eastborne

There is something about being in Eastborne that promotes blogging. I've been letting this slip because I have been busy writing for my class and doing minutes for the Neighbourhood Watch along with my many other duties and pastimes. I love being down here with Alison and Sian. Alison is three weeks away from motherhood and feeling very large and tired. We went shopping today and it just about finished her. She is not sleeping well at night due to size and internal activity. I'm thinking that Harry can make an appearance just about any time now. I go back to Ox on Sat and won't see them again until early Dec unless, of course, she pops before that. Last Monday I went to London and met Vanessa and her mother for dinner. They were telling me to come for a visit to South Africa and I'm thinking I might do that next year. Zoe and I are threatening to visit out allotment this weekend. I will take some pictures so that you can see how wonderful it is. I am quite enthusiastic about it even though I never go there and do nothing to clear or plant it. Fortunately the cold weather has come so we don't have to dig for several months. We can count the weeds (sorry Leo, I mean wildflowers). Diana promises to come to advise us but other than bringing a flame thrower, I don't think we need advice, we need muscle. I'll probably take the easy way out and hire someone.

Weekend in Eastbourne

Charles and I left at 8:30 on Saturday morning and had an uneventful drive to Eastbourne. After catching our breath, we all headed for the pier. It's a lovely old fashioned place with a working camera obscura at the end. Unfortunately it was closed for the winter. As it was a warm sunny day, we were disappointed. But there was plenty to do in the arcade building. Charles won about 60p. Everyone else lost. I forgot to take my camera but if you check out Alison's blog, you will see some excellent shots taken by Sian with a digital SLR camera. It's the way of the future. Sian took Charles to Beachy Head which is the suicide center of the world. Eastbourne is full of old people who live in defiance of this landmark. In the evening we watched XFactor and then went to dinner at a Chinese Resaurant. Charles is adept with chopsticks and loves sweet and sour. Next day we went to Pevensy Castle ruins and tried to pretend that William the Conqueror was conquering. It was a popular spot for the invading Normans. Then on to lunch at Pat and John's (Sian's parents). We picked up Eileen on the way and had an excellent Sunday lunch. Charles and I had to eat and run because of the fairly long drive back to Oxford. My car is fine for around town but not terribly comfortable for the long haul. I was very happy to come home and climb into bed. A lovely weekend.