Brighton Rocks

Today has been a beautiful summer's day and I feel sun-kissed, salty-skinned and utterly carefree! I woke up this morning feeling a little blue, so Nathan immediately packed me into the car and asked where we were heading. We called Meriel and she was up for an adventure, so we decided to go to Brighton for the day. And what a glorious day...

We kicked things off on the North Lanes, with veggie breakfasts in a cafe called Breakfast At Tiffany's. Great food, but the waitress, a surly Pole, did her best to leave an unpleasant taste in our mouths!

I particularly wanted to visit Brighton, because I'd bought my favourite tie on a trip to the city earlier in the year, and wanted to see if the shop sold the same thing in different colours. It did, so I proudly walked away with a bag filled with a variety of ties in an assortment of colours. I also bought myself a fern green bowler hat, which felt like a fairly decadent purchase, but I'd always wanted one and it was cheap!

We went to the beach and stood on a concrete platform which jutted out into the sea. We posed for photographs as the waves threw bucket loads of foam all over our backs. Meriel swam - and weed - in the  sea, which we found very amusing. In fact, she was the perfect companion for the entire day; a brilliant blend of wittiness and spontaneity.

We went to the pier and ate deformed doughnuts, one of which was plucked from my hand by an outrageous seagull! One moment, I was bringing it up to my mouth, the next, I was aware of a fluttering sound above my head and the doughnut was sailing into the sky attached to the beak of a very naughty bird!

We went on the waltzers and were disappointed not to have a greasy, burly traveller in 80s denim, standing behind us, spinning the cars extra fast to induce a fit of vomiting. Meriel said that the ride was making her feel rather strange in the vagazzel department, which made us laugh for hours. It has to rank with her all time best quote, which was uttered in Cambridge in the summer of 1996; "I'm so happy, I'm jealous of myself!"

We drove to Lewes through country lanes lined with green tunnels of trees. The sun was shining through the branches and shafts of brilliant light were cascading in all directions. It resembled the sort of laser display you might see at the O2.

We called in on Rupert and Uncle Bill, who is due to give birth tomorrow. She is enormous, but carrying all her extra weight in the bump itself, which is the healthiest looking pregnant belly I've ever seen!

She made us scones, which we had with blackberry jam and lashings of cream, whilst looking at photos from the days when we all looked like children. I've known Hils and Mez for almost 20 years; a fact which I find almost bewildering. I almost can't remember not knowing them!

350 years ago, Pepys went to visit Lady Sandwich, and found her in mourning for her brother, who had died that day of the "spotted fever," which could have been anything from measles to typhus, I guess. It was a day of death. Elizabeth was also at a funeral and arrived home later in the day with a remembrance ring, which was the custom back then.  I guess no one was far from death in the 17th century - and the plague still hadn't happened!