Thursday, April 21, 2016

Exploring Eastbourne Etc.



The day after we arrived in England Lorna and Sue picked us up and we began our our tour.  Unfortunately I was fighting a cold so I had very little energy but I LOVED observing the incredibly lovely scenery through the big windows.
I so rarely get to be the one who is chauffeured about so I just sat back and basked in the glory of it all.
We made our way through Eastbourne and towards the Downs where Sue and Patrice got out and hiked for a bit while Lorna and I visited in the car.


We continued on passing green fields dotted with sheep and little lambs, and found ourselves in a very famous old town named Alfristan where we got out and found a spot to have some lunch.


We managed to hit some sort of holiday (St. George's Day?) so there were banners and balloons and other events to celebrate the occasion.

This "holiday theme" turned out to be rather an unfortunate repeating occurrence throughout our entire journey but we were in England and nothing was going to stop us from seeing the sights!  


As you can see there were British flags conveniently hanging in obvious places reminding us where we were.  There was also a large colourful bouncy castle in front of a lovely ancient church which sort of messed with the "ambience" so to speak, so I left that picture out.
There were plenty of other lovely places that were unaffected by the festivities.



Unfortunately I left my huge glasses on for the picture making me look not only paralyzed, but also blind. 
My two guides were standing guard and telling me what I was missing.


After hobbling and bobbling over the cobblestones and delighting in the lovely little homes lining the streets we found ourselves on the back patio of a local cafe where we enjoyed soup and scones and tea. 
So perfectly British!


The sunshine felt marvellous.


I appear to be expounding on some important matter in the picture below but I included it just to show the sweet setting for our tea. 


And there was Lorna's lovely family and Brian the dog to visit with in the evening.
Such a delight to get to experience Lorna's life up close and personal after so very many years.  Sad that I had to miss the birth and early years of her three amazing children, but it's fun to get to know them now. Who can comprehend the passage of time and the ins and outs of our passage through time?  I'm just grateful that now was the time for us to reconnect and that God made the way.


Catching up with Sue after some 18 or 20 years was a total gift as well.


How apt that my tea was in a mug with the British flag adorning it.




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