Coast and country

A bit of a lull in proceedings blogwise, due to life and its ability to get in the way of blogging. How dare it! After  more than two years in Hastings, I finally found the perfect Flat White last week in a small cafe in St Leonards. I wonder if the fact that the barista is a Kiwi made a difference.

We are well into Autumn now, dark mornings and evenings drawing in and the clocks haven't even changed yet. It's a gorgeous time of year, and last night we lit the fire for the first time since the Spring, which we all loved. I walked into the Old Town to meet a friend at the cinema in the week, but as I was early, I strolled along the beach to take a few shots of the fishing boats. With the blue sky and a chill in the air, it was a near perfect day.

In other news, Flo lots her second tooth last week. It fell out at school, but she managed to keep it safe all day so the tooth fairy could reward her. The tooth fairy has been rather tardy of late, and keeps falling asleep instead of leaving money under Flo's pillow.

An amazing full moon over hastings last week. It is quite a spectacle watching this huge orb appear to rise up out of the rooftops on the opposite hill, and has me totally captivated every time.

Rob went off on a boys' weekend away on Friday. Due to the complications of his visa application, that mean if he leaves the country he can't get back in, Giles and the other boys, kindly decided to make it a local affair this year. Last year, they all headed off to Budapest, where Rob, accidentally on purpose methinks, missed the plane and stayed an extra night. This time, Giles rented a gorgeous farmhouse in Crowborough, less than an hour from us, and conveniently about half way to my Dad's house, so after dropping him there on Friday evening, the girls and I carried on to Barming for the weekend.
The weather started out  a bit grim on Saturday, but we decided to head to Dover for a walk along the cliffs. Dad dropped us and Alexandra at Samphire Hoe, a country park at the base of the cliffs, created from the earth extracted in the creation of the Channel Tunnel. The plan was to do a circular walk around the park and then head to a clifftop cafe for a drink. The park itself proved to be very small, so Alexandra and I decided we would walk the whole way to the clifftop cafe, Alexandra certain it was 'just around that headland'. It was a super walk along a shingle beach, with the great white cliffs soaring above us, and huge boulders of chalk creating a vivid moon-like landscape. We walked and walked, but could not see the clifftop cafe above us. We asked a couple of people we spotted coming the other way, who assured us it was 'just a bit further'. Still we walked, then Alexandra slipped and fell in the slimy chalky clay, then Flo fell and cut her knees and shins. Then the sun came out and it started to get rather hot and tiring. We were wearing wellies and thick jackets and though everyone had been great up to this point, Flo's knees were hurting, Alexandra's ankle was killing her and we were still seemed to be nowhere near this allusive cafe. To complicate matters, we were unable to contact Dad to let him know we had changed our plans and were not coming back to meet him at the car. The car park where he was sitting, happily reading his paper, was in a mobile phone blackspot so despite several attempts to call him, we couldn't get through. We then found ourselves in a blackspot under the cliffs, but eventually I managed to call the kiosk in the car park and get the bloke to bang on Dad's window and tell him to meet us at the cafe. It was nearly 3 hours before we were eventually reunited at the cafe, after fighting our way up a steep hill through brambles, stinging nettles and lots of mud. Once there I let the girls order whatever they wanted for their patience and hard work - hot chocolate, ice cream and doorstep tuna sandwiches. The view from the top was stunning - we could see all the way to France - and it allowed us to look down and see that we had walked about 2 miles more than we needed to.

On Sunday, the valley below Dad's house was filled with mist, the sun came out and the day was spectacular. The girls and I did one of our favourite walks, down the track through the field behind the house, a look around the churchyard looking for new graves, plus looking for the names of old friends, then we always walk down the lane to the river for a game of Pooh sticks.

Walk over, we drove back to Crowborough to pick up Rob. Some of the boys were still there, so I got to have a quick catch up and a hug with Jim, MJ, Giles, Mike and Tim. They had evidentally had a great time judging from the empty wine and beer bottles, had eaten well and made use of the heated pool at 1am.

We arrived home to discover a massive leak under the floorboards in our boot room. As I type, I am waiting for a plumber to arrive with his wrench and his bank account details. I can hear the water gushing out, can see the floorboards are wet, but have no idea where the water is coming from and where it is going...

The big smoke

I was in London again this week, to interview master chocolate maker, Paul.a.Young, the 'a' there presumably so we don't confuse him with the Paul Young who laid his hat all over the place in the 1980s hit parades. It's an enjoyable train ride through some lovely countryside and then along the backs of homes in London's suburbs, which I love perving at. I stopped at the Australian Embassy on the way to my meeting to renew mine and Flo's passports, a super efiicient, easy peasy process. I had a nostalgic walk through Covent Garden's back streets on my way to my meeting in Soho, particularly around Seven Dials where I started my career in journalism, as Editorial Assistant on Essentials magazine, at the time the second highest selling monthly magazine in the country. My first office on Earlham Street is now this luxury shopping mall. 
The Coach and Horses pub on the corner became our second office, until we moved up to Long Acre, where the Kembles Head pub (now a smart restaurant) was the nightly stopping off point for everyone at GE Publishing, until the entire staff was barred after the antics that took place at my leaving party. But that's another story.
Onwards then to Wardour Street, to the chocolate shop, where I was to meet Paul and watch him make me a bespoke chocolate. I had the chance to peruse the astonishing collection of hand made chocolates, before I was told the meeting had been cancelled and could I come again next week. Sure thing - it's only a 4 hours round trip from Hastings. I wasn't really that bothered. I got to eat lots of chocolates before leaving, had our passports all sorted and I get to go again next week. 

On the way back to Charing Cross, I stopped in at the National Portrait Gallery to see an exhibition of images of the Queen. I love this image, made up of hundreds of small images of Diana, Princess of Wales.

I spent as much time as I could with Janice this week, in the run up to the removal van arriving on Thursday. I helped Janice pack and clean the house, and she and Mathilda spent their last night in Hastings with us on Thursday. There were tears at our farewell on Friday afternoon, but we have already planned a weekend visit to them at their new home in Crystal Palace next month.

I took my mind off  Janice's departure on Friday night, meeting 3 friends from school at the Stables Theatre to see a play in which our friend Lisa played two parts. Lisa is lovely, but not someone who strikes you as particularly funny, but she was hilarious in both her comic roles on stage. We all loved seeing her in what was otherwise a very intense and sombre play about a couple's problems adopting a baby from a junkie birth mother.

 On Saturday we were without Scarlett for the day and she headed off with a school friend and her family to a theme park nearby. I hung out with Flo until it was time for her to go to a friend's birthday party, and then the evening was all about X Factor. Awful but unmissable. Yesterday the weather changed for the worse, wild weather warnings punctuated the news bulletins, and we battoned down the hatches. I spent the day in my PJS and we devoted the whole afternoon/evening playing Monopoly with the girls, which we all loved. Rob is a ruthless property tycoon who cannot be trusted.

Back to normal

I was in London on Monday for some work I'm doing for a magazine. I had to interview someone in Vauxhall and got to the interview by walking along the river from Waterloo. It was a lovely day and took me along the river path opposite the Houses of Parliament, passing Lambeth Palace. Job done, I walked over Westminster bridge and up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square to soak up some of the atmosphere of the parade of Olympic and Paralympic athletes. I was too early to see the parade but managed to see some of the action on a big screen in Trafalgar Square before being squashed and squeezed as I fought the crush to Charing Cross station. 

Here is a lovely shot of the girls with our neighbours Mathilda on her 11 birthday - September 11. Yes, Mathilda was born on September 11 2001. I can't imagine what a frightening day that must have been to become a parent. Mathilda is moving to London on Friday with her parents, our lovely friends Janice and Roger. We are thrilled they are making a move they have wanted for years, but will miss them as they have become our closest friends in Hastings.

Yesterday Florence lost her first tooth. She was absolutely thrilled and wasted no time popping the tooth in the pocket of her tooth fairy pillow hoping for a coin to appear overnight.

It was gorgeous weather so we walked into town for the annual Seafood and Wine Festival, held on the beach. It's our favourite event of the year in Hastings, with 50 odd stalls selling seafood, wine, cider, cheese, fresh bread and more. I stuffed my face with smoked mackerel and organic chilli sauce on sun-dried tomato bread. We also tried a mackerel wrap, fried octopus and fish gougons, washed down with local cider and beer. We met up with a couple of families from school, as well as Maria and Lol, and spent the afternoon on the beach in the sun.

In the evening we went into Janice and Roger's for pizza and wine while talking all the way through Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor. Very funny. However, let's just say that as a result of a thoroughly enjoyable day and evening, the tooth fairy may have fallen asleep and forgotten her responsibilities on the coin delivery front. Flo woke and was very cross to find no money left for her tooth.  Some slight of hand, soon fixed that and a coin miraculously appeared, moments after me helping Flo search for it.
As I type (it's 12.16pm on Sunday), Rob and the girls are in bed playing Top Trumps, I am still in my PJS and we are contemplating a second day at the Seafood and Wine Festival, with a different group of friends.

Late Summer

Scarlett and Florence went back to school on Wednesday after 6 lovely weeks off. They are now in years 1 and 4. The weather has been so warm this week, they went back in their summer dresses and we spent two evenings after school at the beach. On Friday we drove to Barming for the weekend with Dad and Alexandra. As always, it's like a weekend at a 5 star hotel with fabulous food and drink on tap. We spent Saturday morning at the market and brilliant Sydney-style deli at nearby Faversham, before retreating to the back garden for that always unforgettable view, a couple of G&Ts  and a paddling pool, before driving through the countryside to The Black Horse for dinner.

Today, we started late after a lie in and spent the entire day soaking up the rays in the garden. Breakfast, lunch, G&Ts. You get the picture. The drive away from my Dad's house is my least favourite journey.

The end of Summer

Another really great weekend camping at our new secret dingly dell campsite. This time we managed two nights as the weather was gorgeous. Lucy, our 4 girls and I arrived on Friday lunchtime and spent an hour setting up camp on pitches 5,6 and 7, allowing us to commandeer the whole southern end of the campsite including a generous firepit. Instead of our big family tent, I took our two, 2-man tents which worked out really well and they were very snug and comfortable. We then strolled through the apple orchard, along the train track and beside a peaceful slow-moving river to Bodiam to the pub for a pint or two of cider while the girls did gymnastics on the huge lawn. Later we were joined by Rob and Aid and Lucy and Aid's mate Dave, with his daughters Grace and Eloise. From that point on we hardly saw the girls, with the older ones organising games and adventures around the woods and fields. It all went off beautifully, there were no arguments or accidents or disagreements of any sort. I did dinner and breakfast the first night and morning, before a pub lunch and some fishing off the bank. Lucy took care of dinner on Saturday night and this morning's epic fry up. We sat around the campfire for hours telling stories and laughing, a lot, stopping only to tell the girls to 'Take your sticks out of the fire!!!" It was a brilliant mix of people and we are already planning a return trip in October if the weather holds. The girls go back to school this week, which astonishes me as it really has gone so fast. We have had a huge amount of fun and packed plenty of stuff in. Scarlett and Florence are very excited about heading into Years 1 and 4 and are both becoming so grown up, beautiful and fun.

Majorca 2012

We arrived home at 5am on Sunday morning (don't ask) from another brilliant and beautiful week in Majorca. Once again we rented the holiday house of old friends David and Sarah, which is incredibly quiet and private, tucked away in a small hamlet of holiday homes. The nearest beach is a 15 min drive, the nearest town, Pollenca, 10 mins.  We arrived very late on Friday night and checked into a very hot hotel in Palma. As we couldn't get into the house until Saturday afternoon, we spent the day at the restaurant a walk away that has a massive pool and great food. It was perfect and after lunch we filled the boot with groceries and headed to the house. With the temperature climbing, we dumped the case at the door and went straight into the pool. We spent our time, reading by the pool, visiting the local market, watching Spanish dancers at a village festival, strolling the streets of Pollenca late at night as musicians performed and swimming in the three bays of nearby Cala San Vincente.

On day 3, Rick arrived from Suffolk for two nights, which was brilliant. Rob did his back in and had to visist the local, excellent hospital and a small ginger kitten arrived late one night and decided we were its new family. On our last day, with a night flight 12 hours away, we drove down the spine of mountains in the west of the island, ending up at sunset on the main beach in Palma, watching Spanish families picnicking, playing and swimming as the water turned gold. It was magical.

Week 3 School hols

Week 3 began with Rob finally submitting his visa forms to the proper authorities so that he can continue to live in the UK for another year. This involved us driving to Tunbridge Wells for a nice man to check he had filled in everything correctly and to see that I was a real person and not an import from Minsk. I resisted speaking in a Russian accent and he said all Rob's paperwork looked fine and that he saw no problems with his visa being extended. Only one problem, Rob can't leave the country until the application has finished being processed, which could take 6 months. At this point Rob had to mention the little matter of our family holiday to Majorca just 10 days away. The splendid man waved his magic wand and said he would keep Rob's papers on file until the day after we return. Hooray. On Tuesday the girls and I set off to a nearby campsite that had only opened that week, to meet our friend Lucy and her children Scarlett and Darcie. It was perfection. 10 pitches in a small wooded dingly dell, with a gorgeous litle shower and loo block complete with stainless steel fittings and proper soap. For wet weather there was a huge open-sided barn with brick fireplace, and the wood was surrounded by stunning East Sussex countryside - oast houses, rolling fields etc. We had a great bbq and campfire in the evening before a fantastic night's sleep in spite of some light rain. A highlight for me was my new set of solar-powered fairy lights that lit the trees while we slept. Who knew a natural power source could bring so much joy?

 By the time we got the fire going again for breakfast, the rain was falling in buckets, but we were not to be deterred and ate loads of pancakes, hot fresh coffee and marshmallows.

 The next day was glorious and having repitched the tent in the play room to dry it out, Scarlett, Flo and I drove to Kent for lunch with Dad and Alexandra. We are always horrible spoilt there which I love. Alexandra had set up the paddling pool for the girls, alongwith two sun loungers, complete with cushions, towels and ice creams on tap. It was with great reluctance that we drove home late in the afternoon.

 Friday, we caught the train to Eastbourne for the airshow- Airbourne (geddit?). On the way we bumped in Usain Bolt, browsing the Arndale Centre for running socks.

Saturday was equally hot and sunny and after repacking all the camping gear, we were off again, this time to Suffolk to camp in Justin's beloved Easter Wood. Lol and Ethan joined us later and Justin's sister Caroline, husband Robin and daughter Megan came at dusk for a bbq. My pop-up gazebo was christened and the fairy lights did their duty once more. Rob was delighted with his prison-esque onesy, perfect for keeping the cold and horseflies away.