A week in Sussex; 20-24 April 2026

We've just spent the inside of the week staying with my 98-year-old mother, as my sister is in South Africa for a month, and looks to be having a wonderful time!  They have been on safari with friends - the son of an ex-boyfriend of my mother, and his wife - and will soon move on to Cape Town and stay with some cousins before flying home on the 6th.  We are all slightly envious!

Anyway, we had a lovely time in a very different way!  The woods are at their most glorious at this time of year, and as for the birdsong.... okay, it's mostly the usual suspects (robins, blackbirds, wrens, etc), but they are very loud and very cheerful.  It might be all about sex and turf wars, but it's still lovely.

(There was not enough room on the screen to show all the birds I heard in one photo!)

On Monday we arrived mid-morning, and the Swan Whisperer took the motorhome down to a place in Goring that does motorhome repairs, as previously arranged - it needed a couple of minor things seen to (it had had its service and MOT the previous week, in Goring).  On the way home, he discovered that there was an art exhibition in Highdown Gardens, so in the afternoon we took my mother there, and enjoyed both the exhibition and a short walk round the accessible part of the gardens.

On Tuesday, Mum's carer said they were going kite-surfing that afternoon, and told us where, so after a visit to Tesco's  we drove down to look at the sea, but there the kite-surfers weren't!  Carer said next morning that the wind was too far offshore to be safe - they had thought it would be more to the east than it actually was.  But, apart from the wind, it was simply lovely!

On Wednesday the Swan Whisperer went on one of his very long walks, down to Goring Station, then train to Ford, walked up the Arun past Arundel, and then along the South Downs Way.   I took myself on a very much shorter, but equally enjoyable, walk in the woods, loving the spring flowers and birds (see above for the list I heard). 

Then in the afternoon we took the car south of the road, around the land there, and up to a viewpoint that I don't think I'd been to since my father died!  

On Thursday, the motorhome was ready so in the morning the SW went down to get it, and in the afternoon we drove round Clapham Woods again, up to the Oaks' Bottom (where my parents' ashes will probably eventually be scattered), although I didn't take any photos as we were in the car, and I didn't want to showcase how grubby the car windows are!  

On Friday we had to return to London in the afternoon, so the morning was spent doing the laundry and similarly necessary chores - packing everything (we had left various bits down there as we have been up and down since Easter).  It was the only day that there was a minor hiccup, as the carer who had been coming all week had had a night shift, and her replacement - who is, I gather, the other one's daughter-in-law - thought she was to come at 08:30, but she should have been there at 08:00 or just before.  This would not have mattered, but the hairdresser was due to come then - and did!  Fortunately Mum had realised what was happening, or not happening, and had got herself up, but it was a tad fraught.... Anyway, I got her breakfast ready and served it to her while she was under the dryer!

As it was our last day we went down to the village café, "The Junction" for lunch; the SW and I walking and Mum racing ahead on her scooter!  And very good it was, too.  We left about 16:30, but didn't get home until gone 19:00 as the traffic was horrible once we got to Mitcham!  My niece and nephew are staying with Mum over the weekend, and I have no idea what time they would have got there from Town, either!

A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing week!

Guildhall Art Gallery, 9 April 2026

 The Boys have been spending most of the Easter holidays with their other grandparents, but they are back in Town now, and came to visit us today.  We took them to lunch at Fish, Wings and Tings in Brixton; they have since pointed out that I had the fish, the Swan Whisperer had the wings, and they had the tings (to wit, chicken curry and curry mutton).  The Boy and I drank sorrel; the other two played it safe with diet Coke and Brixton beer!

After lunch, the Swan Whisperer, Boy Two and I - the Boy had to leave us to go and hit the books, as his GCSEs are imminent - went up to the Guildhall Art Gallery for the prime purpose of visiting the Heritage Gallery's exhibition on Epping Forest.  I had booked us tickets, but the receptionist said that was all she needed to know - she didn't need to actually see the tickets!  They were free, anyway, and granted access to the whole art gallery.

The exhibition was, as the receptionist warned us, very small, but nevertheless interesting.  It included a really old map of the City of London, and a Victorian map of Epping Forest together with some rather difficult to read info about how the City saved the Forest for London, and prevented it being "developed".  And some public notices about not littering and so on.  

We then visited the Roman Amphitheatre which was next door to that gallery - this was discovered when they were excavating the foundations for the building.  Very interestingly done - more photos on Facebook.

  We also looked at some of the pictures in the gallery - a very eclectic mix, although mostly about London.  One we loved showed the swearing-in of a Mayor, but none of the other aldermen present were listening, but were chatting among themselves!  

After that, we went to look at the church of St Lawrence Jewry, which was just across the courtyard.  This is a very old church, but the present building is Wren, although substantially rebuilt in the 1950s as it had been damaged in the War.  It was rather lovely, and I took a lot of photos, the best of which will be on Facebook.  

Then I had to go, as I had a much-needed hair appointment.  I left Boy Two and the SW to their own devices, and headed down the Tube at Moorgate.  But there were some lovely buildings from every era!  I do enjoy exploring the City.

Along the river, 6 April 2026

 A fine Easter Monday, for once, so we decided to walk along the river.  We've been along the South Bank umpteen times before, but we had never walked westwards - and there are some new bits to explore, thanks to the Thames Tideway Tunnel, which has created several new areas of reclaimed land along the Thames where they had works.  

We started by walking into Brixton, where we caught a no 2 bus to Vauxhall, and then a short walk brought us to the first of these, which is is Effra Quay, where the River Effra used to flow into the Thames but now flows directly into the Tunnel.  

It  has superb views over London to the east:

and definitely surreal ideas about seating areas:

Yes, those are what they look like!

I think these pipes are ventilators, but I could be wrong:

We moved on a bit, stopping to admire this very splendid lion on the edge of the quay proper (not, I think, yet in use)

past the Spies'R'Us building (otherwise known as MI6 HQ), to the Isle of Effra, which we thought was less exciting.  But they are building a garden below it (not accessible to the public), and there was an access hatch to the Effra itself!

Then we moved on towards Battersea Power Station, via the posh new developments:

Past lots of river transport

Including sailing dinghies

and barges, moored up.

Above is a good view of the former Power Station (known in certain circles as the Time Police HQ!)

This, below, was the second new bit of reclaimed land, known as the Heathwall Pumping Station, which we thought was a bit underwhelming.  There are plenty of other quays and islands, but on the other side of the river from where we were.

I don't know what the "Tideway Village" was, but there were a few privately-owned barges moored up in it.

and then, where we think was once where the coal barges came to service the power station, there was this rather splendid statue:

with these barges down below, between us and the horse

After which, the photogenic part of our walk came to an end, as we could go no further along the Thames.  So we cut down to the main road, and walked to the start of the P5 route, which took us home again!

Afternoon Tea at the Museum, 26 March 2026

 For some years now, it has been the delightful custom of my sister and/or my mother to give Robert and me a voucher for afternoon tea somewhere.  This year, at our request, it was at the Science Museum.

We booked our tea for 15:00, and were told we needed to be at the museum by 14:30, but we wanted a bit of a look round while we were at it, so we left home about 13:15 (as I need to eat regularly, I had had a small lunch at about noon; the Swan Whisperer, who had been out all morning, didn't bother), going on the Tube from Brixton, and changing at Victoria.  We walked through the tunnel at South Kensington, to save faffing about with crossing the road, and were quite surprised how long it was!  The other museums were nearer....

Anyway, we got there at last and got into the museum very easily.  It is so different from what it was in my childhood, although the horrible mine is still there at the entrance!  It's even changed since we took the Boy there when he was a toddler!  We pottered round "The Making of Modern Life", and had planned to visit the Space exhibition, but this was rendered hideous by school groups racing up and down and screaming.  There is much to be said for the old-fashioned "crocodiles"!  So we decided to go up to the first floor - the café where the tea was is on the 2nd - as somehow one hardly ever goes above the ground floor.  In my childhood, there was a large children's area in the basement, which was our go-to on wet days when we stayed with my grandmother, who lived nearby.  That's long since gone, of course.  Anyway, we looked round the Wellcome exhibition, and then went upstairs.  I left the Swan Whisperer looking round the mathematical exhibition, which meant less than nothing to me, and spent a very happy 20 minutes wandering round the Clock Museum, which was totally new to me. 

The SW had to pay a quick visit to the Difference Engine, of course.  And then it was time for tea.

The service was good and attentive, and the meal was delicious.  But I'm only giving it four stars, as they had no lemon to put in my tea.  I don't bother with it at home, but on a special occasion - and they ought to have had it.  What they did provide, though, was a doggy-bag, as I couldn't eat all my share, so I've bought it home and will enjoy some of it later.  I watched the end of the men's free on my phone while we were waiting to be served!  

We decided to go home on the bus, which was a bit of a mistake as it was very slow, due to road works, but we got there in the end.  And home in time for most of the pairs free!

Early Spring Holiday, 14 March 2026

 Brixton, London

This was dawn, as seen through the window of the motor home!  I woke early, and it was a lovely morning - actually, a lovely day - although very cold.  The Swan Whisperer went to buy croissants and a tarte aux poires for lunch (much nicer than last week's!), and we had a fairly early breakfast before getting everything packed up - or as much as is feasible, of course.  Our crossing was booked for 11:50. but we were ready, and headed over to the Eurotunnel just before 10, and were delighted to be booked on the 10:20 crossing!  This meant that we arrived at No 6 just before noon, rather than the 13:30 we were scheduled to.  I was pleased, as I was aware that an early breakfast and late lunch would indubitably give me a hypo; as it was, I ate my croissant on the crossing, as intended, and survived pretty much intact until lunch.  I hadn't thought I'd really have time to cook, so lunch was kidneys in madeira sauce (an old friend) with wholegrain rice from a sachet and frozen peas.  Followed by the tarte aux poires mentioned above.

The Swan Whisperer finished transferring stuff from the WoMo to the car, and then went for a walk in the woods to enjoy the spring flowers.  The bluebells aren't yet out, he tells me, or only one or two very early ones.  We set off for home at about 4:00, and, apart from stopping for petrol, made good time.  To discover, of course, that we have left our coffee grinder and one of his earbuds in the WoMo, where they will have to stay until Easter, when we are next going down.  So when the SW nipped out to Lidl to get milk and bananas,  he also bought some ground coffee to keep us going.

I am annoyed as I bought a new tablet from Amazon to replace mine, which I thought had died.  It arrived, so I switched on my current one to try to do a factory reset before recycling it, only to find it was behaving perfectly!  I suppose I'd better return the new one, but feel I don't trust mine just now.... Sigh!

So that's it for now until May, when we go to Oberstdorf; if diesel is still as horrendously expensive as it is now, we may have to make it a two-centre holiday, rather than a touring-and-one-centre one.  I hope there will be some outings between now and then, though.

And here are some of the amaryllises I bought my mother for her birthday.  To cut a long story short, I thought I'd ben scammed, and bought her something else, but then these arrived and have actually grown!

Early Spring Holiday, 13 March 2026

Blériot-Plage, Pas-de-Calais

Wouldn't you have thought my tablet could have waited until tomorrow before deciding to die on me? It will no longer find any WiFi, and although I suspect I can do my non-WiFi puzzles, I do hope most of them are saved in the Cloud, so I don't lose too much. I know the NYT puzzles are, and I can do them on my phone until I get another tablet, but not all of them. Well, we shall see. 

Anyway, the weather was atrocious again this morning, and the drive from Riqueval pretty nerve-wracking! We stopped at a Carrefour outside Cambrai for me to do a Last Shop in France, and then at the Auchan near Dunkerque, where we had lunch and I did another Last Shop as I'd forgotten to buy Easter chocolate (so much nicer here).

Then we drove to the aire in Blériot-Plage and had a cup of tea, at least, I had a cup of tea and the Swan Whisperer went for a run, and had a cup of tea and a shower when he got back. I spent the afternoon finishing the sleeve of the sweater I'm knitting, and attaching it to the main body. I haven't taken any photos today, so here is one from yesterday's walk. 

Early Spring Holiday; 12 March 2026

Bellicourt, Aisne

The rain departed during the night, and the sky cleared, with the inevitable result that the temperature dropped like a stone, and in our bedroom this morning my clock said it was only 8.5° C!  However, the heating soon came on and it was reasonable - not warm, but reasonable - by the time I went to have my shower.

We decided against retracing our steps  into Troyes - we have been there before and will doubtless go again.  So we headed straight on towards Saint-Quentin, stopping for me to shop and then again for lunch.  Alas, by the time we got there, there was No Room in the Inn as the aire was full.  So we decided to come here to the Riqueval canal tunnel, where we have been a couple of times before.  There are services, but according to the nice man in the tourist office nearby, they are a new installation and don't work, so he came out to see exactly how they didn't work, so he could report it!  He also let the Swan Whisperer have some water from the tap, so we should be all right for showers in the morning.  

After a cup of tea, we went out for a walk from the tunnel mouth down to the bridge over the canal and back.  What was rather fun was that there was a barge just coming under the bridge

so we were sort-of racing it all the way back - it was travelling at about the same speed I'm comfortable with, so I pushed myself slightly.  But it moored up before reaching the tunnel, and we thought it might not go through this evening.  And on that side of the canal you have to go down to water level and up again, rather than staying on the level of the bridge as you do on the far side, which was a very long pull up.  I got there in the end, but was utterly feeble and kept having to stop to catch my breath.  Poor Swan Whisperer was very patient with me, but I'm sure he'd rather have gone on by himself rather than trailing along at my speed.  He was most polite, but....

Anyway, we are approaching the end of the holiday - Calais tomorrow, and a Last Shop in France, and then home on Saturday.