Up Early

I was up early. Ellie was dropped off at her usual time, and the clock started ticking towards school time.  It had been wet overnight, and though it was not raining, there were scatterings of clouds that could decide to dump on me.

I dropped Ellie at school and set off for my walk. It was quite cold, and a mist was rising across the fields. All it needed was the howl of a wolf to complete the spooky backdrop.

I followed my usual route, and by the third lap I was feeling quite warm. I headed home to grab some breakfast.

I had a list of domestic chores that I wanted to clear before updating the accounts and then heading out for another walk. This time, I headed towards the village to post a letter and then collect Di's prescriptions from the Chemist.

It was time for lunch when I arrived back home. We then both settled with our Kindles for a quiet hour or two. Diane went to meet Zoe and collect Ellie from football. I returned to the development of the 2026 accounting spreadsheet. I plan to tidy up the account layouts for each month, but I don't want to break anything as I make the changes.

Kim spent the day on the wards at St Richard's today. She was eager to tell Di all about it and phoned for a nice long chat. When that was over, Di called Denise for another nice, long chat.

More books

Zoe had a 9 a.m. start today, so there was no need to get up early. After some rejuvenating coffees, I wandered around to join the girls on their walk to school. It was threatening rain, but the threat didn't materialise until much later in the morning.

After dropping Ellie at the classroom door, I set off for my morning walk. My audiobook was chatting away in my ears, and I was totally engrossed in the story. This was yet another story that takes place in Venice. I have read so many that I feel as if I know the place and could find my way around. The phone rang. It was Zoe. The school had rung and asked if Ellie, in her role as School Councillor, could join a small party to plant daffodils in the nearby park. If so, she would need some boots. So it was that I had to stop off at home to grab Zoe's door key and ferret out Ellie's boots and take them to school.

Finally back home, I grabbed some breakfast. Di had a dental appointment in Chichester and pottered off to the big city. I stayed behind and continued working on my book inventory. It took several more hours, but I think it is now pretty complete. It records over 650 books that I have read over the last couple of decades. The vast bulk of these were in the last 3 or 4 years (139 so far this year). As I went through the list, I had flashbacks for most of the books, but there were a few that rang no bells whatsoever.

Books

 I was up early to greet Ellie. By 6:50, she still hadn't arrived. I checked for messages. Zoe had been given an extra day off, and I didn't need to worry. Oh well, I was up anyway! At the appropriate time, I wandered around the corner to join them for the walk to school. It had been very wet, but the rain had stopped for the school run. We dropped Ellie, and I set off for my traditional walk. I was wearing my full waterproof gear just in case the rain restarted, but I got away with a dry hour.

I have been wondering about the books that I have read. I keep a spreadsheet detailing each book, but this only started in 2022... what about the books that I read before that? You can ask Amazon to send you all of the data it holds on you, so I did this yesterday evening. This morning, the data had been collated and was ready for me to download. Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to easily filter the data to select just books (be they paperback, Kindle, audio, or Kindle Unlimited). This meant that I had all of my Amazon transactions stretching back to 1998 to look through. It took a few hours, but I think I now have a comprehensive list of titles going back over the years. I now must find a way to incorporate these into my existing spreadsheet... and see if I can determine the authors of each book (that data isn't in the data dump).

We had a quiet hour or so in the lounge with our Kindles this afternoon.

Crisp

  It was a crisp and clear day. When I got up, soon after seven, the temperature was a mere 3° C.. I settled down with my coffee and waited for the Di and Ellie to wander down. It was soon after 10:00 that Zoe arrived to collect Ellie. Zoe was feeling a lot better (though still had a headache). Ellie, however, seems to be coming down with a cold. We gave her some Calpol before she left, as she had a friend's birthday party to attend.

I set off for a walk. I thought I had waited sufficient time for my coffee to have percolated through. I was wrong, and had to divert home after my first loop of the estate. Bladder drained, I returned to my walk and managed another couple of loops... finishing my audiobook and starting a new one as I went.

The afternoon started in the Orangery. The sunshine had warmed things up nicely. As soon as the sun dropped below the nearby houses, however, the temperature dropped with it, and we retired to the lounge where it remained pleasantly warm as we cuddled our Kindles.

The infernal "Elf on a Shelf" starts tomorrow, and I notice that he has already made himself comfortable in the family room. The stress of finding new hiding places daily could drive one to drink!

Funny old day

 It has been a funny old day. It was nothing like our normal Saturday. With Ellie staying overnight, there was the normal burst of electronic noise as she wandered down for breakfast. There was no opportunity to hand around, however. Nor was I blessed to join the call with my cousins. We had to get Ellie to LA for her swimming lesson.

We arrived with about 10 minutes to spare, and I settled down in the viewing area while Di went to help Ellie get ready. We watched as she was put through her paces... crawl, backstroke, "mermaid" (like butterfly without the arms) and several water-based exercises where she retrieved items from the bottom. She did really well and, at the end, was given a chitty that entitles her to a certificate and badge. (They had, however, run out of both, so she'll have to wait for next week). When the lesson was over, we let her stay in the pool for another 30-45 minutes before she went to shower, and we all headed home.

The early afternoon was quiet, with Ellie making some Lego items for Christmas. Then there was a flurry of activity as we tried to find tickets for the latest "Wicked" film at the cinema. In the end, we had to use the local Bognor Regis Picturedrome. The original idea had been to take Aryana along, but she was shopping in Portsmouth. In the end, we bought just two tickets, one for Di and one for Ellie. I took them along to the cinema and then returned home for some Kindle time before preparing dinner.

I went along to collect the girls just before seven. Tonight was the big switch-on for Bognor's Christmas lights. Di stopped to take this photo of Ellie at the Christmas Arch by the railway station.

We headed home and the girls had dinner (I had mine earlier). Ellie enjoyed her "Grandpa's Curry" to which I had surreptitiously added some "Bhuna" sauce from my curry.  She loved it. That was a good result.

Though Zoe is a lot better, Ellie decided to stay with us again overnight. 

Unexpected

As much as we enjoy a short break, there is nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed. With Zoe on holiday this week, there was no need to get up early, so I lazed in bed until seven-fifteen. Our side was grey and damp, though there was no rain. At the appointed time, I went around to Zoe's to join the walk to school. 

There was no walk this morning. We had a  busy morning planned. The first item on the agenda was to collect Jasper from the cattery. Mark had clearly looked after him well and he seemed reluctant to get into his carrier for the trip home (Jasper, that is, not Mark). With Jasper back in the bosom of the family, we grabbed the shopping list and raided both Sainsbury's and the petrol station. By the time everything was packed away, it was lunchtime.

We had a quiet hour or two with our Kindles until Di went around to see Zoe, and the pair of them collected Ellie from school.

We settled down for a quiet dinner and evening. The phone rang. It was Ellie. Zoe was being sick, and could Ellie come and stay with us? She is a little paranoid about getting sick at this time of year, and seemed quite upset. I told her to pack her bag for the night and bring her swimming things for the morning, then call when she was ready. Di went to collect her while I started on dinner. Let's just hope Zoe is feeling better in the morning.

Back Home

It was check-out day. I had a lie-in until seven and then leapt into action. The last of my packing was completed, and the first trip to the car saw my case squirrelled away in the boot. Over the next hour, several further trips were completed, and the car was ready for the drive home.

We met up with Jane and Trevor over breakfast and had our usual morning feast, but today we didn't linger. We said our farewells to the staff, collected the last items from our room, and bid adieu to Jane and Trevor. We were on the road by 10:00.

The journey home wasn't too bad. Several sets of roadworks on the A35, an abnormal load, and some farm vehicles tried their best to delay us, but we managed to get home in under three and a half hours. (Obviously slower than Sunday's trip, but that was to be expected mid-week.) 

Once the car was unloaded and our cases unpacked, we sat down for a quiet hour before heading to school. Ellie has been doing a theatre after-school club on Thursdays, and today was an opportunity to go and see their rehearsal. They sang a song from a musical about being revolting kids. It was very good, and they put their collective heart and soul into the performance. When it was over, we walked back with Ellie and Zoe to their house so that we could examine the decorations they have put up. For once, they recognised the value of the "less is more" way of decorating. It looks very nice and doesn't overwhelm you as you enter.

Back home, we managed a bit of Kindle time before dinner. The washing machine, meanwhile, was working overtime on the laundry we brought back from our break. I suspect it will churn away throughout the evening.

Staying Close

 

We had another wonderful sunrise. A sight like this makes the heart soar and provides an uplifting start to the day's adventures.

After meeting up for breakfast and lingering over the toast, we headed down into town. Di had an item that she wished to exchange in one of the shops she raided on Monday. We then weaved our way up towards the top of town. There were more cards needed from the card shop, and we needed to drop in to The Art Den to settle up for the print we have ordered, but won't be available in time for us to take it home. The Art Den wasn't open, so we looked in some other shops and eventually bumped into Jane and Trevor. We grabbed a coffee in "Becketts" and then went back to The Art Den. It was open. We went in for a nice chat and to settle up. As we headed back towards the Esplanade, we stopped off in the toy shop to see if there was anything that would be suitable for Ellie.

Leaving the shops, we walked along the Esplanade and around the Millennium Walkway before walking up the slope to the Connaught Gardens. By now, the sky had clouded over and it was feeling decidedly cool and damp. The weather app warned of rain. 

We had a standby plan to visit Bicton Gardens after the shopping trip, but the weather suggested that would be a sub-optimal trip!

We returned to the hotel and spent a quiet afternoon in our room with our Kindles and a pile of magazines.

Once we had dressed for dinner, I started to pack, ready for our return home tomorrow. I managed the first load of ancillary bags down to the car. The rest can wait for tomorrow.

We met up with Jane and Trevor in the bar before going into dinner. Di's selection tonight was one of their huge prawn cocktails, followed by soya-glazed salmon. I started with spiced monkfish, followed by the soya-glazed salmon. It was another wonderful meal. We retired to the bar for post-dinner tea and coffees before heading up to bed soon after 22:00... but not before we had been to reception and booked our rooms for this time next year. (This was our ninth stay at the Victoria, so we had to get the tenth booked!)

Topsham

I was up early enough to see the stunning sunrise. The clouds from yesterday had melted away, and the few left provided some interesting punctuation near the horizon. It promised to be a lovely day.

We met up for breakfast, as usual, and, as usual, we lingered until we were almost the last guests in the restaurant. Our plan for the day was to visit Topsham and have a wander around. We hadn't been there before but had seen comments that it was worth a visit.

I set the SatNav, and we headed across country. Thirty minutes or so later, we were crawling through the streets looking for somewhere suitable to park. Topsham didn't disappoint, but I would expect that it could be a nightmare in high summer. 

Topsham is a small, historic town, sitting on the east side of the River Exe estuary, just south of Exeter. It’s known for its maritime past, unique architecture, independent shops, and beautiful riverside setting.  It's a former port town with strong Dutch influences, narrow streets, and a mix of elegant Georgian, Edwardian, and quirky riverside properties. It was once the main port for Exeter, and was especially important for shipbuilding and trade from medieval times through the 18th century.

We walked south through the quaint streets towards the Quay, where we were afforded an excellent view across the River Exe, looking down towards Exmouth and Starcross.

We carried on down The Strand and onto the Goat Walk, which is a riverside promenade and one of the town’s iconic walkways, which offered lovely views across the estuary. We sat down in the sun and soaked up the views (and the rays).

Stirring ourselves into action, we retraced our steps towards the Quay, where we settled down in The Lighter for a coffee before making our way back towards the car. 

Diane was keen to buy a particular cheese, so we stopped in a cheese shop. Despite its huge array of cheeses, the target brand was not available. We decided to stop at Dart's Farm and try there on the way back to the hotel. Again, despite a huge array of cheese, this brand was not available. The lady behind the cheese counter, however, looked it up and directed us to their competitor, who did stock it. Our next stop was Greendale Garden Centre. We found the right cheese. Diane was happy!

Back at the hotel, we went our own ways for the afternoon. Di and I went down to the lounge and had Kindle time over pots of tea and a scone. It was very peaceful, and I managed to finish another book.

The sky was still cloudless, and the view across the town was inviting. We resisted our urge to walk into town, and returned to our room to get ready for dinner.

The intrepid foursome met up in the bar, as usual, and then went through to the restaurant. Di's choice of main course was Traditional Fish and Chips, while I selected Pork Tenderloin on Pulled Pork. I even indulged in some ice cream to finish.

It had been an excellent day.

Around and about

There had been a lot of rain overnight, but while it was still overcast, it had dried up by the time we rose from bed. We rarely sleep well on our first night away, probably because we eat later, and, of course, there is a new bed to which we must become accustomed. It was no surprise, therefore, that I was up and about at 6:30.

We met up for breakfast at 9:00 and lingered over the tea, the toast, and breakfast itself. We then headed down into town where Jane and Trevor split off for their shopping and Di and I got on with ours. Though they are not meant to be open on Mondays, we saw that The Art Den was occupied. We took the opportunity to pop in. It turns out that our frame may arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, in which case we could take the picture home with us. I left my phone number so that they can call to let us know. We also lingered in a card shop (Cards@83) which had a fairly eclectic selection of cards for all occasions. We left clutching a pile of cards. Our next stop was Gliddons, the cook shop. They sell all sorts of cooking utensils and paraphernalia and is a “must-visit" shop for every trip to Sidmouth. My objective for this trip was to get some new sieves. Finally, we raided Fields, the department store.

We made our way back to the hotel where we grabbed a drink in the lounge before our next adventure. Diane and Jane headed back into town for an afternoon shopping. Trevor and I put on our walking boots, and headed out for a walk. We headed west from the hotel, passing the Connaught Gardens and continuing up Peak Hill.

Though it wasn't far, horizontally, it was a challenging climb. As we walked, we had to stop a couple of times to catch our breath, but we could always use the view as an excuse. Looking east, of course, revealed Sidmouth nestling in the valley.

Looking west, we could see the cliffs below us and across Ladram Bay. The views were wonderful, and when we reached the top (184 metres), we took a couple of minutes to rest before turning back.

There was a light shower as we walked back down the hill. It wasn't enough to warrant a diversion for shelter, or even to don a hat.

We walked through the Connaught Gardens, along the Millennium Walkway, and then continued along the Esplanade, all the way to the red cliffs at the eastern limit of town.

As we walked, the light showers and afternoon sun put on a display. The rainbow was really quite vivid.

Eventually, we turned back to the hotel and settled in the lounge with a beer while we discussed the migration of data and photos from Trevor's old phone to a new device.

The girls eventually joined us for a pot of tea before we returned to our rooms to get ready for dinner. Last night's choice for both of us was the Braised Feather Blade of Beef, which was sensational.

After dinner, we sat and chatted in the lounge for a while, before headed back to our rooms. It had been another lovely day

Home away from Home

My body clock did the job of an alarm clock this morning, and I was up at 6:30. I had some last-minute packing and gathering of cables and chargers to complete. We were aiming to get on the road at about 9:00, but managed to beat that by 5 or 10 minutes. The weather looked a bit naff, and though it was raining, it wasn't torrential. 

The roads were pretty clear as we headed across country, passing Portsmouth, Southampton, Ringwood, Bournemouth, and Sanford Bottom (which was the halfway mark). We stopped at the Botany Bay Inne at Winterbourne Zelston, after about 90 minutes. We had a coffee, Di had a slice of cake, and we both checked the plumbing facilities. After about 30 minutes, we got back on the road. We passed Dorchester, Bridport, Lyme Regis, and then dropped down to Colyford and across through Sidford to Sidmouth. It had been a fabulous run through (2 hours 50 minutes), and Ray (the Concierge) allocated us a VIP parking spot right by the main entrance.

Because we were early, our room wasn't ready (though we hadn't expected it to be), so we settled in the bar for a drink while we waited for Jane and Trevor. Unfortunately, they had been delayed by a serious road crash near Honiton and had to find an alternate route. They weren't badly delayed and arrived just as our sandwiches were delivered.

Ray came to tell me that our room was ready, asked for the car keys, and unloaded the car for us. He took our luggage to our room. When we had finished our lunch, we unpacked and then, meeting up in reception, we headed out for a walk along the Esplanade. Despite this photo, it was very busy with people enjoying the late afternoon sun.

We carried on to the eastern end of the Esplanade to take our mandatory photo of the red cliffs. I noticed the void forming near the base, and suspect this will be the site of the next cliff fall during the winter.

Turning about, we headed back into the town and wandered up past the shops. Sidmouth has its Christmas lights on display, but it was still a bit too light to get the best view. We may wander back down one evening to have a look.

As we strolled up towards the museum, there was a short, sharp shower, but it was over and done with in a few minutes.

We headed back to the hotel for a quiet hour or so before meeting for drinks and then dinner. The hotel is dressed in its Christmas finery. They have done a splendid job this year. Even the main entrance is looking Christmassy.

This is the tree on the main staircase. It positively glows, and the whole place is so festive. There are trees and decorations everywhere you go in the public areas.

Dinner was the usual feast. We all started with a salmon and prawn dish, followed by a sorbet palate cleanser. TheDi and Jane chose a roast chicken dish, while Trevor and I both opted for calves’ liver and bacon.

We lingered over the meal until we were almost the last people in the restaurant, and then went to the lounge for a coffee.

We retired to bed at about 22:00 - it had been a lovely first day back in our home away from home.

Lamb's Tales from Pagham

 There was no need for an early start. Indeed, it was gone seven before I launched myself into the day and made the first coffee and tea of the morning. It was a lot milder today, but very wet.

I had my usual call with the cousins. This meant we had the usual banter, a collective attempt to date an old family photo, a discussion of Chris's latest Naval Reunion tour (which seems to involve a stay with each of his UK-based siblings, and the consumption of vast quantities of alcohol at the reunion itself.

With the call out of the way, our next task was to gather all of Jasper's holiday gear and then see if we could find him. He had found a new hiding place, deep within my wardrobe. We retrieved him and dropped him into his carrier, then set off to install him in his cat spa for the next few days. Because of Jasper's medication regimen, the handover took longer than usual, but it's always nice to chat with Mark.

Back home, I started to gather my clothes ready for packing. Di, meanwhile, was getting ready for our lunch. We collected Zoe on the way and drove across to Pagham, where we had a table booked at "The Lamb". Di had eaten there a couple of weeks ago and commented on how good it was. Today, we thought we'd give it another try, meeting up with Kim and Jon when we arrived. We were shown to a nice, bright table in a bay window and handed an extensive menu. This was supplemented by a "specials" board.

This place really was a great "find". The food was beautifully cooked and the portions were generous (without being huge). Di chose the rabbit and bacon pie, with mashed potato and a thick gravy. I chose pork belly with seasonal vegetables and roast potatoes. We chose well.

It was nice to be out with the family and just sit and chat (as the rain thrashed down outside). We were there for a couple of hours before saying our goodbyes and heading home.

Once home, and a cup of tea made, we got stuck into our packing, ready for a quick start in the morning.

Celebration Day

  We had an early start this morning. It seemed appropriate to make the most of this auspicious celebration day. Today marks the anniversary of the introduction of Diane to the world. As such, it is a day to be honoured and treated with reverence. Ellie burst through the door (reverently) at her usual time and, with a little prompt from Grandpa, went upstairs to snuggle down with Nana and wish her a happy birthday. When Di and Ellie had come downstairs, Di settled down to open her cards.

It was another very cold morning, so Diane was left at home when I took Ellie to school. The children had a dress-down day today, in exchange for some foodstuffs for Christmas hampers. I left Ellie as she wandered into class and set off for my usual walk. It was another crisp, bright, sunny morning, and it was an absolute pleasure to be out and about.

Back home, after breakfast, I spent the morning with some admin. I finished loading Di's ISA, and I spent some time working on the accounting spreadsheet for next year. Di, meanwhile, spent the morning writing an email to Mrs Tiggywinkle.

It may be Di's birthday, but we hadn't got anything planned for today. We are meeting up with the girls tomorrow, however. After lunch, we had some quiet time. I sat with my Kindle while Di answered some queries from Becky, relating to sewing. At the appropriate time, I collected Ellie from school and within a few minutes of getting back, Zoe turned up to claim her.

Kim dropped by to give Di her birthday present and card. It was nice that she wasn't in a rush, and she stayed and chatted with us for well over an hour. It was nice to see that she's looking fairly fit at present. She left just before I served dinner (she had been invited to join us, but she declined the offer).

More Stuff

  After the early morning start to greet Ellie's arrival, the day settled into a fairly typical format. Coffee was drunk, news articles were read, and social media was consumed. It was 0 °C outside, so I told Di to stay put when it was time for the walk to school. Ellie was chatty as we walked to class, and I left her at the door as the teacher opened up. I then headed out on my morning walk. The sun was bright, and the morning delightfully crisp. The sun was so low in the sky that some sections of the route were completely obliterated by the bright sunshine blasting straight into my eyes (despite the sunglasses).

Back home, an hour later, I sat down for breakfast, and then we prepared for our weekly raid on Sainsbury's. We didn't have a lot to get this week, so we weren't out for too long. Once home, I unpacked the shopping while Di drove to the vets for Jasper's meds. When we had settled down, I completed the usual post-shop admin and then transferred a chunk of Di's savings into her ISA. I'll transfer some more tomorrow, so that she has her full allowance protected before the forthcoming budget.

The afternoon saw us cuddling our Kindles in the lounge until it was time to collect Ellie. 

That was about it for today... just stuff!

Blizzard

We had a quiet start as Zoe wasn't due at the store until 09:00. It had been cold overnight, and there was a bitter chill in the wind. I wandered around to join Zoe and Ellie on the walk to school and then set off on my usual walk. It was so cold that my AirPods wouldn't stay in my ears until they warmed up a bit. I followed my usual route and arrived home just as Di was going off to Pilates.

There was plenty of admin to catch up with after breakfast and then some domestic chores to clear before Di arrived back. It was while I was doing the admin that I noticed that we were in the middle of a blizzard.

It snowed incessantly for about 10 minutes. You can see from the photo that it was almost a white-out. I thought it would never end, and started to take inventory of the canned goods we have in the cupboards, and what we have in the freezer. I listened for the snow ploughs so that I could offer the drivers a hot drink, but for some reason they never got as far as our road. I also worried that Di was in Angmering and would have to find her way home through the drifts, but somehow, she managed.

After lunch, with Di home safely, and bright sunshine beating down, we managed to get an hour or so with our Kindles. Di then had to collect Ellie from football practice (Ellie wanted Nana to collect her). I stayed put until Zoe came around and then we went back to the school for "Parents' Evening" and an opportunity to hear from Ellie's class teacher about her progress. We were delighted with the feedback, and we are very pleased with her progress, effort, and behaviour.

Cousins

We were up early for Ellie. She, however, was barely conscious when she arrived and went straight upstairs to snuggle into bed with Nana, and that's where she stayed, even when Nana came down. I had to go and wake her at 7:30 so she could have breakfast and get ready for school. It was a bitterly cold morning and we had experienced the first frost of the season overnight. I told Di to stay at home and I took Ellie to school.

There was no walk this morning. We had a day out planned. Cousin Ellen, from Canada, was over in the UK having spoken at a conference over the weekend. She was heading back to Canada tonight, but we had arranged to meet up with her for lunch. Jane and Trevor had organised everything, and would collect her from the railway station. We would meet up with her at Hare Hatch (between Maidenhead and Reading).

It was a long drive, even though it doesn't really seem that far away. The worst part of the drive was the last section from Bracknell onwards. We seemed to weave through the countryside, going through places and villages I had never heard of, before finally pulling into the car park at "The Horse and Groom". We hadn't been there for too long before Jane, Trevor, and Ellen arrived, and we settled down at a table for a long chat over a leisurely lunch. 

We obviously worked our way through the family news from all sides. We heard about Paul's new house near Montreal, and the plan for its use as a hub for family gatherings (and potentially a bolt hole in case the US becomes untenable). We also heard about the conference Ellen had been attending, and Ellen asked if Di might be willing to be interviewed at a future conference. 

We had a lovely meal but it was all over too soon. Trevor had to get Ellen to the airport for her return flight. We asked Google for a route home and it kindly suggested a much better route than the morning's wanderings. It was a fairly clear drive until we approached Chichester and the last 5 miles took about 30 minutes. Oh Joy!