Saturday, May 15, 2010
Visit to Rustington.
We can now say that Rustington has not captured our hearts.
We visited this "village" after our hunting at Ford and breakfast in Littlehampton.
We have the usual mixed collection of items found at Ford - I seem to have concentrated most on the kitchen this week, with enamel ware and 1940s and 1950s little cookery books and little magazines called "Housewife".
Littlehampton was lovely. The sun was shining and our hearts were once again stirred. The tide was getting high and the water was rushing and billowing upstream passed The Balaton.
We got our favourite table once again.
We both seemed to spend time chatting in the kitchen, though!
Mr Balaton (no - we don't know their names) is a Chelsea supporter and was clearly relishing the prospect of the cup final.
I didn't watch the match, but the score tells me that he would not have been disappointed.
But our mission for the day was to see what Rustington has to offer.
It was once a tiny village - just 342 inhabitants in 1852.
Now there are about 14,000.
Most of the development has come since the 1930s and I found it hard to tell which thatched cottages in the conservation area dated from the 1800s and which were very much more recent.
Much of this small town, which residents insist is a village, is 1960s development of retirement flats and bungalows.
But this postcard from about the 1930s shows that is was a very rural place. It is positioned alongside the sea and attracted holiday makers before the war and into the 1950s.
Some of the church dates from the 12th century, but as is common everywhere, there was much renovation in Victorian times.
See what I mean.... surely this is a 20th century "cottage".
This cottage is about 250 years old and now houses the museum.
The thatched houses were decorated with thatched birds - decoys to warn off real birds.
We visited this "village" after our hunting at Ford and breakfast in Littlehampton.
We have the usual mixed collection of items found at Ford - I seem to have concentrated most on the kitchen this week, with enamel ware and 1940s and 1950s little cookery books and little magazines called "Housewife".
Littlehampton was lovely. The sun was shining and our hearts were once again stirred. The tide was getting high and the water was rushing and billowing upstream passed The Balaton.
We got our favourite table once again.
We both seemed to spend time chatting in the kitchen, though!
Mr Balaton (no - we don't know their names) is a Chelsea supporter and was clearly relishing the prospect of the cup final.
I didn't watch the match, but the score tells me that he would not have been disappointed.
But our mission for the day was to see what Rustington has to offer.
It was once a tiny village - just 342 inhabitants in 1852.
Now there are about 14,000.
Most of the development has come since the 1930s and I found it hard to tell which thatched cottages in the conservation area dated from the 1800s and which were very much more recent.
Much of this small town, which residents insist is a village, is 1960s development of retirement flats and bungalows.
But this postcard from about the 1930s shows that is was a very rural place. It is positioned alongside the sea and attracted holiday makers before the war and into the 1950s.
The weather vane reflects the sea.
Some of the church dates from the 12th century, but as is common everywhere, there was much renovation in Victorian times.
See what I mean.... surely this is a 20th century "cottage".
This cottage is about 250 years old and now houses the museum.
The people at the museum were friendly.
It was beautifully laid out - but there was not a great deal to see.
The thatched houses were decorated with thatched birds - decoys to warn off real birds.
The pigeons seem to be able to ignore them!
There are lots of shops - many of the ones found in any small town.
There are lots of shops - many of the ones found in any small town.
There seemed to be none with much character and charm.
I bought a couple of blouses for £1 each in the Rotary Club charity shop.
And we did buy meals for Monday - mostly ready meals on a Monday after a long day in the shop. These were from one of my favourite food shops - Cook. Fantastic quality - and yes, quite high prices.
We got home at about half past two.
I made a start on washing and writing up my purchases - but haven't finished. I have all the books left to do.
We normally find that after our meal at The Balaton we need little else.
This evening we dined on boiled eggs and sour dough bread from the bakery stall at Ford.
Labels: Sussex
