annanotbob2's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visitors Today was the best day I've had for ages - just enjoyable from the time I met J and her sister, over from the US on a family visit, taking a day out to spend with me. I was worried, but as soon as I saw their smiling faces walking down the station platform I could see it would be fine. We've been spending an hour a week on zoom for about three years, sharing our lives, our vulnerabilities, our passions in the writing group - we know each other, of course we do. We went to the beach, by the lifeguards, where the sun was warm, the breeze was gentle and the sea was both flat and amazingly clear. I didn't know if J would get in, despite her request that we swim, but she did, we went in together, straight in, laughing and shrieking as it's still cold, at least until you've been in a moment or two. We sat around on the beach for ages, chatting then went off for an Indian lunch, back to the place I'd been to with Grandson the other week, which is pretty cool. It has a massive pink papier mache cow outside, is beautifully decorated, has outside tables in the shade and serves interesting street food, which they both loved. Then a mooch round the city, by the Royal Pavilion to sit in the grass drinking tea while I tried to remember the history of the building - I know it was something to do with the Prince Regent and one of the King George's but I can't hold that kind of info in my head and gave a pretty poor account. But it was all good - the Pavilion is an amazing building - like the Taj Mahal, scooped up and dropped in a Sussex city - and speaks for itself. Bit more mooching then a drive along the coast to a tea garden owned by the mother of one of my fave yoga teachers, to sit among glorious planting - June is really peak time for classic English country gardens and J is keen - surrounded by wonderful scents from roses, honeysuckle and cistus, having a proper cream tea. They were pleased to hear there's no agreement on how to pronounce scone, nor on which goes first, cream or jam. Apparently it's the same in the US with PB and jam. I dropped them back at the station via the steepest hill in town and the narrowest streets, and home I came, to flake out. It was hotter than hot all day and we managed to walk nearly four miles somehow. But fucking great - such nice, interesting, funny woman. What a treat. And tomorrow I will be 69. Lordy lordy. 11:47 p.m. - 15.06.23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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