Excursion

Today we disappeared down to Brighton. It was originally supposed to be for the day, but ended up being for the afternoon. This time of year and when you are not about to invest large amounts of wedge in entertainment, an afternoon to see the sea and potter is about right.

Having walked down the street from the station, ellefurtle and I walked along the prom a whiles before going down on to the scree slope that passes for a beach along much of the south coast. Walking on loose pebbles is frankly knackering so we amused ourselves like five year olds and sat down preparatory to hurling stones at other stones. This entertained us for much longer than should really be admitted by two adults. We wandered over to the pier (the one still standing) and took a stroll around the comatose amusement area - it's a bit early in the year for much to be happening, but as at least one kiosk was open, we obtained four sticks of Brighton Rock: the real stuff with Brighton written through it, before wandering into The Lanes in search of a pub lunch, which we finally had at a splendid little hostelry called "The Cricketers".

One fish and chips, one chicken goujons and cheesy chips, plus two pints of San Miguel later, we were ready to explore The Lanes, which are a little bit like a gestalt version of Covent Garden as imagined by the Islington Set and placed in an English provincial town. They are also built on a Moebius Strip, so that you can pass the same place several times despite not obviously turning back on yourself. We discovered this by walking in what appeared to be a direction away from The Cricketers and past The Brighton Armory - a militaria antique shop. That was nice, but we somehow ended up back at our starting point and went past both places twice without obviously turning around. Luckily, by keeping the sea off to our left, we were able to break this loop by walking through what, if the amount of jewelry shops is any evidence, is actually downtown Antwerp (or Antwerpen or Anvers depending upon your linguistic preferences).

Truly I am a Prince of Amber.

Finally we made it back to the station by way of Model Zone where I purchased a Corgi 1960s comics version Batmobile, thus:

for the princely sum of £6.99 in their sale.

Back to London Bridge by 17.00 and back home by just after 18.00. A bit of a lie down to recharge the batteries and now off to find some further sustenance and maybe an episode of the X-Files.

I love lazy holidays.

Excursion

Today we disappeared down to Brighton. It was originally supposed to be for the day, but ended up being for the afternoon. This time of year and when you are not about to invest large amounts of wedge in entertainment, an afternoon to see the sea and potter is about right.

Having walked down the street from the station, ellefurtle and I walked along the prom a whiles before going down on to the scree slope that passes for a beach along much of the south coast. Walking on loose pebbles is frankly knackering so we amused ourselves like five year olds and sat down preparatory to hurling stones at other stones. This entertained us for much longer than should really be admitted by two adults. We wandered over to the pier (the one still standing) and took a stroll around the comatose amusement area - it's a bit early in the year for much to be happening, but as at least one kiosk was open, we obtained four sticks of Brighton Rock: the real stuff with Brighton written through it, before wandering into The Lanes in search of a pub lunch, which we finally had at a splendid little hostelry called "The Cricketers".

One fish and chips, one chicken goujons and cheesy chips, plus two pints of San Miguel later, we were ready to explore The Lanes, which are a little bit like a gestalt version of Covent Garden as imagined by the Islington Set and placed in an English provincial town. They are also built on a Moebius Strip, so that you can pass the same place several times despite not obviously turning back on yourself. We discovered this by walking in what appeared to be a direction away from The Cricketers and past The Brighton Armory - a militaria antique shop. That was nice, but we somehow ended up back at our starting point and went past both places twice without obviously turning around. Luckily, by keeping the sea off to our left, we were able to break this loop by walking through what, if the amount of jewelry shops is any evidence, is actually downtown Antwerp (or Antwerpen or Anvers depending upon your linguistic preferences).

Truly I am a Prince of Amber.

Finally we made it back to the station by way of Model Zone where I purchased a Corgi 1960s comics version Batmobile, thus:

for the princely sum of £6.99 in their sale.

Back to London Bridge by 17.00 and back home by just after 18.00. A bit of a lie down to recharge the batteries and now off to find some further sustenance and maybe an episode of the X-Files.

I love lazy holidays.

Arthur C Clarke

The BBC reports that Arthur C Clarke has died at home in Sri Lanka, aged 90.

His obituary is here.

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name.


16 December 1917 - 19 March 2008

Arthur C Clarke

The BBC reports that Arthur C Clarke has died at home in Sri Lanka, aged 90.

His obituary is here.

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name.


16 December 1917 - 19 March 2008