Alarmed

 I had forgotten that Ellie was being dropped off early this morning. I hadn't set an alarm... it was ~Ellie trying to open the front door just after 6:30 that woke me and had me flashing around like a headless chicken. We had a cuddle (to settle me down, more than her), and then she went up to see Nana. As she wasn't going to school, we could dispense with the usual rituals and just get ready when we felt like it.

At 10:00, I took Ellie to Bognor Regis and we had a couple of hours of fun ahead. We did start, however, with a walk to the station to get a ticket for Diane's trip to London next Thursday (she's meeting Jane and Trevor to go and see Tina Turner, The Musical). From there, we headed down to the beach and the small playground. She made her way straight to the zip line and then the swings. We listened out for her classmates, but had to conclude they were at the far eastern end of the beach near the Lobster Pot, as we couldn't hear certain noisy friends.

We left the playground and walked along to the pier, and strolled out over the sea. The tide was out, and the waves were almost non-existent. The water was crystal clear (and quite inviting). We chatted as we wandered about and had great fun.

Leaving the pier, we crossed the road and went to the crazy golf. We paid our green fees, accepted our clubs, and chose the coloured balls. Ellie kept score on the scorecard. I started with a hole-in-one, followed by a couple of twos. That was when she started to click.

By the end of the 18 holes, she wiped the floor with me and got her name on the "Best Score of the Day" board.  We also got featured in a photo on Facebook from the Crazy Golf. 

We left the golf and headed along to Sweet Flamingo, the ice cream parlour at Place St Maur. Ellie selected a waffle cone with bubble gum ice cream and marshmallows. The ice cream was so big that she couldn't finish it.

We wandered back through the shopping arcade to the high street, where she raided Claire's Accessories and then New Look. She was delighted with her purchases and ready to head back to see Nana. We walked back to the car and whizzed home.

After some lunch, Nana took Ellie up for a shower and hair wash, ready for the weekend, and when they came back down, they baked a cake which came out of the oven just as Pete arrived to collect Ellie for the weekend.