Blogs from Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Well, I hope it is the last train I took on this journey. Currently I am in hotel at the airport and I just got email that my flight is canceled tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers for me that I get a later flight. The rail strike is tomorrow so I cannot leave. I came to the hotel early and dropped my luggage off, then took the train to Brighten for the afternoon. I used to live there starting with a fellowship at the university of Sussex, and then later in following years. It was nice to go back and find my way around with ease. Not much has changed. I strolled down from the train station and then along the high street. I had to walk through some of the Lanes. They did seem to ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » East Sussex » Brighton August 14th 2019Published: August 14th 2019 And... summer 2019 adventures begin! Had a lovely (but too short) visit with Emily after I arrived on Tuesday evening. She had been working a trade show in Chichester so stopped off in Gatwick for dinner with me on her way home. I'll see her again in Prague next week! Then today I had ... read more

Ohhhhhhh what a wonderful day (singing along I am)..... Adventures in Brighton town..... Uncle Alan dropped Mel and I at St Peters Church on the green where we had arranged to pop in and say hi to the guys there (nope never met them before either of us) what a great place, they do so much in the community, have a great worship band and all sorts to help for single mums, the homeless, young children and adults. Amazing community spirit. Check them out www.stpetersbrighton.org We then got a little lost finding our way through the lanes, looking for https://www.choccywoccydoodah.com no fear I'm not relapsing on sugar! Was more the sights as Mel hasnt seen it before... Oh my gosh how sweet smelling it was, so sickly and crazy! Melanie couldn't get over all the jewelry ... read more

Saturday and Sunday were all about family. Staying with Harriet and Dom and their 2 little ones Emily and Ben, on Saturday we had a blessed morning in our PJs and were treated to the best bacon sandwiches ever made for brekkie. We spent the first part of the afternoon exploring the gorgeous gardens of Arundel Castle, where the annual tulip festival had just begun. Stunning. We continued the Mealing family tradition, and had a photo on the lawns in front of the Castle, where my dad was snapped having a family picnic with his mum, dad, brother and sister in 1949. My sister and brother in law recreated the photo when they visited with Harriet and Dom in 2010, then my brother and sister in law did the same a few years later. So generations ... read more

Following another tasty personally cooked breakfast and we bid a sad farewell to the Northbrook Arms and the intrepid travellers hit the road – with all gears working and aimed the tiller towards Brighton. For a change Betty (satnav) took us the fastest most sensible way. We did not see any coastal scenery but it was a relaxing drive on major roads all the way. A warning to travellers using Betty or her relatives in the UK. Our Betty is a Garmin and in general we were very happy with her, but her zeal in trying to find the “fastest” route often had unintended consequences. Many of what we would term ‘minor’ roads in the UK are signposted at 60mph but in reality, are single lane very narrow roads; some no better than tracks with a ... read more