Oh what a lovely house

Sunshine on Leith

If the sun was shining in Leith it certainly wasn't in Brighton yesterday! It poured all day not the best time to be painting your front door.

Last night we headed down to the Brighton Dome to see Charlie and Craig Reid better known as The Proclaimers.

They played some new stuff which was nice they are fine musicians but it was the 80's favorites that got everyone on their feet singing along and punching the air.

Building Bridges

We seem almost free of our builder.....after 5 months perhaps a bit of light at the end of the tunnel! After threatening Nigel with solicitors, nasty emails and wailing and screaming down the phone, he sent us Dave the alcoholic handyman....not the best in the world but perhaps we will finally get our home back.

I started my Swedish massage course last night, seem like a decent bunch of people and I'm really looking forward to learning something practical. The uniform is not nearly as bad as I thought it might be!

It's been a long while

11 months since my last blog, I really must try harder!

A lot has happened, most significantly my Mum died in July.

We have been having building work done on our house since late April, a 6 to 8 week job which is still not finished! Expect to hear many moans about this work or lack of it. Perhaps a few choice words about our builder Nigel.

After 20+ years working in the IT industry, I have finally seen sense to give up to pursue something resembling a portfolio career or at least it will be once I get rid of these builders and finish up the work on the house.

I am still studying via the OU and have enrolled on a massage and anatomy course. I still try and learn to play guitar but don't practice nearly enough.

My old laptop finally gave up on me, so I have a snazzy new red one, complete with wi-fi catcher and webcam. So expect to see images and maybe even some videos. Its a lovely day in Brighton today and I decided to take the new laptop out to check out this wi-fi milarky. I sat on the beach with a salad I'd prepared and my study books as I have an assignment to get in Friday. Did a bit of work then decided to try the laptop out, it was sunny and after a few frustrating minutes of trying to find some shade with my bag, I realised that the idea of sitting on the beach with a laptop in the sun was a silly one I was never going to see the screen. I expect my attempts made a few people laugh though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. So I still don't know if this wi-fi thing on the move works or not. I notice lots of the local pubs have wi-fi these days but Jo has got us on another healthy regime at the moment so I don't know when I'll be giving that a go.
On the subject of pubs, thank god for the smoking ban. You can actually go out for an evening without stinking of fags when you get home. The only thing is the outsides are all smokers and in this summer sunshine you feel like retreating inside to avoid the fumes.

Anyway as I was saying ,I was sitting on Brighton beach today the sea was absolutely beautiful just laping up to the shore. I sat there realising how lovely it is to live here, water often makes me emotional and I cried a little at the beauty of the sea and how much it was making me think about people I love and just how much I miss not having my mum around anymore.

It's a family affair

Saturday Morning saw us take off for Bournemouth for a family 'get together', the A27 traffic was it's usual slow pace and a couple of accidents hampered progress further. Around 12.45 we arrived at my brother's new house, where he his family and my Mum and sister were drinking cups of tea, two of their boys were dispatched downstairs to say hello, before disappearing off to their rooms and PC's again (did I mention they are teenagers). Later my eldest nephew returned from his weekend job at Tesco's complete with Tesco shirt and trousers. We spent the afternoon chatting and mum was trying out a hearing device made by one of the nephews which consisted of a couple of microphones and a circuit board with a pair of headphones attached. It was an unsubtle attempt to encourage her to get a hearing aid which she insists she doesn't need!

Fiddle & Fins

Last night we decided to treat ourselves to a little nosh up and a few drinks. I wanted to try Riddle & Finns a new-ish Champagne & Oyster Bar in the twittens of The Lanes in Brighton. We settled in on the high marble bars and perused the menu, after much deliberation I settled for the fresh crab salad and Jo chose the fish stew all washed down with a bottle of white Rioja.

When the food arrived mine consisted of a whole crab and a few leaves. I have always wanted to try fresh crab but am always put off that I’ll make a fool of myself smashing away at the crustacean’s shell. I needn’t have worried the little crab crackers worked a treat at opening up what lies beneath a crabs shell. However why I bothered I don’t know apart from the claws and legs the main body of the crab is quite frankly foul.

Thanks to the very honest waitress who’s comments of “You have to really want to eat the stuff they serve up here” and “All of the crab is edible it’s a case of what you want to eat” as well as “whoever first tried to eat a crab must have been very hungry” were spot on in my opinion.

Jo’s fish stew was in her own words “a few grey old bits o' fish in a bit o' sauce”

The rioja was nice though, but for a bill of over 50 quid I won’t be rushing back.

Bank Holiday Waves

On Friday afternoon I dashed out the office at 3.15pm, ducking under the glass partition where my boss was having a meeting and escaping into the delightful surroundings of East Croydon. I dashed to the station to catch a non-stop train to Brighton.

Arriving home, Jo had bags, surf boards and various other Paraphernalia that we always seem to require on trips away, piled up in the hall. A quick change of clothes the car loaded and we were on the road. Surprisingly for a bank holiday weekend the roads were clear and we arrived at our destination, Woolacombe, North Devon at around 9.30pm.

We checked into the Narracott Hotel a 2 star affair in the centre of town and very close to the beach. We were very hungry and the only place serving food was the 'Rumblin Tum' burger van. One deep fried hot dog later we were heading into The Red Barn for a pint. We supped our Hoegarden's and chatted about the clientele and soon felt sleepy enough to head back to our room. We snuggled up for a good nights rest.

The morning bought sunshine and lovely waves, we headed down to the beach for an early morning run before breakfast which we arrived at looking rather sweaty! We were hoping for a 'help yourself' style breakfast so we could fill up for the day but instead had to make do with fairly meager portions. We lazed about after breakfast before looking around the shops of Woolacombe and having a spot of lunch. After a dip in the paint fumed hotel swimming pool, we headed down for some surf in the afternoon, the waves were coming in fast and it was hard work getting out beyond the breakers. All in all a very satisfying day was rounded up with the 'all inclusive boil in the bag' dinner at the hotel and a bottle of wine in front of the telly. Apparently our room neigbours snored like troopers keeping Jo awake at night but that red wine helped me sleep through the lot.

Next morning, I felt lazy, very lazy I didn't go for a run with Jo and after breakfast suggested we went to Braunton for a shopping trip. Braunton is a lovely town, the largest in England apparently, we pottered round the shops and also looked at properties in Estate Agent windows. Back in Woolacombe we surfed again the waves a little more gentle this time. After dinner we went to the amusement arcade with a bucket full of small change that has accumulated in the bottom of Jo's handbag we had lots of fun and after plying one of those 'grab a soft toy' machines with about a tenner we whooped with delight when we won a cheap Dennis the Menace.

Monday was our last day so after a beach run and a surf at Saunton sands we headed back to Brighton.