Saturday, February 20, 2010
Sun, sea, bargain hunting and the opera.
One very tired little girl took herself off to bed quite early this evening.
She has shown few signs of struggling through the day, but she has coughed and croaked a good deal. Cough medicine has been bought.
We got up early - still dark, and dressed up warmly for the cold. It was 3 degrees below zero when we left home to go to Ford.Soon the big orange sun was peeping over the South Downs and the world looked wonderful.
I bought well at Ford - at least I was the one who spent most money. Ashley didn't find very much for himself. Ekatarina bought a cuddly tiger from a charity stall - raising money to protect tigers.Um......Ashley bought himself a teddy bear from this stall!
The sun was shining brightly and we all began to feel quite warm. There was no chilly wind today.
We drove round to the sea front at Littlehampton and walked along the beach - the tide was still quite a way out.
We had breakfast at The Balaton - it feels like home.
You have to walk through the kitchen and out onto their balcony and down to their garden before going back in to use the loo.
Very homely.
On the way back to the car there was a little time for playing.
Waiting for Ecky.
She has shown few signs of struggling through the day, but she has coughed and croaked a good deal. Cough medicine has been bought.
We got up early - still dark, and dressed up warmly for the cold. It was 3 degrees below zero when we left home to go to Ford.Soon the big orange sun was peeping over the South Downs and the world looked wonderful.
I bought well at Ford - at least I was the one who spent most money. Ashley didn't find very much for himself. Ekatarina bought a cuddly tiger from a charity stall - raising money to protect tigers.Um......Ashley bought himself a teddy bear from this stall!
The sun was shining brightly and we all began to feel quite warm. There was no chilly wind today.
We drove round to the sea front at Littlehampton and walked along the beach - the tide was still quite a way out.
We had breakfast at The Balaton - it feels like home.
You have to walk through the kitchen and out onto their balcony and down to their garden before going back in to use the loo.
Very homely.
On the way back to the car there was a little time for playing.
Waiting for Ecky.
We were home in time for a cup of tea and then to be ready to go The Hawth Theatre.
We took our seats and sat expectantly for the performance.
We had already had a look at the story of The Pirates of Penzance so that names and plot line would be familiar to Ecky - indeed to us all.
Interesting that the plot hinges on the fact that our hero was born on 29th February and he had been apprenticed to the band of pirates until his 21st birthday.
My mother, Ecky's great grandmother, was a 29th February baby.
The orchestra began with the overture, the curtain went up to reveal the band of pirates, dancing and cavorting - lots of colour and music.
They left the stage and the girls came on - pretty and in floaty dresses.
They danced and sang - Ekatarina loved them.
And so the story unfurled with many a familiar song linking the action. Until it reached the climax when it was revealed that the pirates had all been born noblemen and had ended up in piracy by mistake. Therefore they could all marry the girls!
Afterwards, as we talked, Ekatarina revealed that she was very impressed with the hero - a tall, handsome man with a fine tenor voice.
It was a very good afternoon.
I hope Ecky will feel OK tomorrow. I always seem to preach the virtues of a good night's sleep - so maybe she will feel ready for action in the morning.
If not, the number of us going to Dorking and Horley for boot sales will be less than planned.
We are all tired and a bit run down.
Ekatarina needs to be strong enough to cope with the journey home, including crossing London on the tube, on Monday.
