Saturday, October 24, 2009
Dull Saturday and a trip to Broadstairs.
There is little to say about today.
I feel tired and queasy.
That might be because I had a disturbed night - didn't sleep much and then got up with Roger and Sue and had a cup of tea at 5 o'clock.
The rain was setting in, so we went back to bed.
I may also be suffering some side effects from the anti depressant I have been offered to try and counteract seasonal depression. I began on Wednesday and so far have not noticed problems, but I was warned that there could be some for a while.
The rain has now stopped and the skies are blue with white fluffy clouds scudding by in the breeze.
Tomorrow promises to be a good day and we will enjoy a day out with some car boot sales.
And now, back to Broadstairs.
Broadstairs is a pretty little seaside town built on the hill overlooking Viking Bay.
Charles Dickens was a very regular visitor and with the coming of the railways, visitor numbers increased.
We didn't explore the town itself.
The main street was being dug up and all traffic diverted.
There is a jetty to one side of the bay with a fish and chip cafe at the end - more of that in a moment.
There is a jetty to one side of the bay with a fish and chip cafe at the end - more of that in a moment.
The sandy beach is wide, flat and safe and in the summer attracts holiday makers.
The ship on the horizon was probably heading for Dover.
No, that's not fish and chips exactly.
Though we did have some chips too.
I do think that holidays are a good opportunity for new experiences.
Many people feel that a trip to the seaside is not complete without some shell fish. Bill and I had never tried them - except mussels, which we had last year on the Isle of Wight.
The seafood platter to serve 2 was £6.50 and I thought was a golden opportunity to venture into a new culinary experience.
Our main comment was that it was all too vinegary.
I liked the cockles, mussels and prawns which were not prepared in vinegar and had a delicate sweetness to them.
But the vinegar of the whelks and rollmop herrings seeped into everything.
And whelks? You can keep them! They were chewy and leathery.
The seagulls liked them and didn't seem to mind the vinegar. Pigeons declined them.
We did climb up to the higher part of the town above the bay.
We did climb up to the higher part of the town above the bay.
The facades of the houses were adorned with elegant balconies and windows.
Much was made of the Charles Dickens connection.
There is a museum within one of these buildings.
And this is Bleak House. It was not called that when Dickens lived there - it was Fort House.
But later somebody assumed that this was the Bleak House of the book.
Now I must confess that despite Bleak House being one of the set books for my A Level English course, I have never read it from cover to cover.
Aged 16 /17 I though it incredibly boring and my mind was turned from Dickens for life - well, probably. I have no real urges to pick up a Dickens novel, even now.
And yes - I did fail A level English!
I have not read Barnaby Rudge either
Bill and I are always seeing the same photographs in our minds and rush to get the prime position to capture an image within our cameras.
As we licked our ice creams, whilst sitting on a bench overlooking the bay, we saw the chimneys.
Just for once I feel sure that I captured the stronger image - though I won't tell you which is which.
Next time we can be found in Sandwich.
