And so to Brighton
I think the reason I gave up writing a diary as a teenager was the fact that at the end of some days there just didn't seem to be anything worth writing about. It wasn't that the day hadn't been full of things. It was just that none of them seemed special enough to put to paper.
That's what this week has seemed a little bit like. The main thing about the past week is that Rich and I spent most of it apart! I'm glad to see that after what will be 15 years together this Christmas, we still don't like that. Admittedly I'm sure there's a moment of joy fame when he realises I'm not going to be at home that night and he can have an earplug free night and sprawl across the bed. Similarly for me, I can read on into the small hours not worrying that my bedside light might be disturbing him. In the morning however, waking to an empty bed is never a joy for either of us and so after 3 nights apart last week we were very keen to see each other again on Friday. Not only that, but Friday night brought the start of “Strictly Come Dancing 2011" a perfect excuse for pizza, sofa, and cosy night in.
Except of course the weather this last weekend has given us all anything but a cosy night in. It was so hot on Saturday that we decided the only thing that we could do was go down to Brighton for lunch. That is we…………. and about 280,000 other people from somewhere in London! Every train was absolutely packed. When we did get onto one, I spent the journey sitting cross-legged on the floor while Rich lent against the back of the seat. Mercifully it's a short hop to Brighton from South London and 40 min later we were filing out of the station into The Lanes for some breakfast and shopping.
It's all the small individual independent shops that make Brighton such a joy to wander round. You never know what you're going to find around the next corner. A whole shop dedicated to chilies, and chilli oils etc. Comic shops, poster shops, tacky souvenir shops, everything you could possibly want and the perfect place for browsing. The fantastic weather of nearly 30°C gave us the chance to sit outside a cafe and have breakfast and then to have our customary walk along Brighton Pier. Our own particular favourite is the now nearly antique Dolphin Derby. The cuddly toy collection in our spare bedroom contains several small stuffed fish and mammals that started life as prizes at Brighton Dolphin Derby. Richard once won the star prize which was a purple and white shark (quickly nicknamed Barry] who stood on his tail was almost as tall as us and which we had to bring back from Brighton on the train accompanied by my mother!No huge sharks this time, but in only the 2nd race I hit pay dirt. A small blue cuddly whale was ours.
The whole weekend seemed a little bit like an illicit treat. The very fact that we shouldn't be having this sort of weather at this time of year gave the day out the feeling of something we had stolen, a misdemeanour of an excursion that was all the more joyous for its unexpected and unseasonal occurrence.
I suppose the weather will tip into Autumn and very quickly now. I have a suspicion it will begin all over Europe next week, when following a conference on directing in Alicante, we are staying there for a further 4 days. As long as it provides for days of chill out time, and 4 days sleeping in the same bed, we'll love it.
…………and that is my blog for this week. Except I'm not allowed to finish without pointing you in the direction of the website for our play “green forms" which we are staging at the Tabard Theatre in Chiswick in January in aid of Maggie's cancer caring Centres. Booking is now open and you can click on the link below to book a ticket. All tickets are £15 although you can buy them at a higher price making an even greater donation to Maggie's, as thanks to the generosity of our bankers, every penny from ticket sales will go towards the charity.
Go on then. Give us a click
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