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!