Sunday, July 28, 2013
Sunday - windmills, railways and life.
Busy day that turned out well.
But maybe we made some poor choices early on.
No, let's not go to the Pease Pottage boot sale - big, but boring often.
Let's go to Brighton.
The weather forecast was reasonable and I had dressed accordingly - shorts and no socks.
I soon began to feel chilly at Carden boot sale. Was the sea mist about to swirl in?
It is quite a small sale and attracts what I would call "normal" people. In my world "normal" is the opposite of "dealers"
We bought some clothes; in fact I felt desperate for clothes - something to cover my legs, please!
I found a pair of Marks and Spencers trousers, size 18 - they should have been a bit too big. But I couldn't do them up - for the rest of the morning I was wearing trousers not fully zipped up and not buttoned.
So, second wrong choice.
Next came the third. We were off to the boot sale at Brighton Racecourse. It's on EVERY Sunday......except this one!
The race course was very crowded and was the start and finish of a charity walk.
Bother, bother.
So, off we went to The Marina in Brighton. There is a car boot sale on the top of the multi storey car park every Sunday......lots of dealers there.
Probably all the bargains I might have wanted were long gone. We bought almost nothing.
Next came a good choice - breakfast together in Wetherspoons.
The sun was shining and we sat enjoying the view from our table.
We met one of our oldest friends in there, too.
I took a couple of pictures at the table.
I think that must be the best picture ever of our Clare.
The joy and relaxation of all the changes is apparent.
The joy of painted nails!
As we enjoyed our breakfast we pondered on what to do next - not straight home.
And things picked up! No more errors.
I thought it would be good to stop at the Jack and Jill windmills and enjoy a bit of a walk.
Joy of joys - it was one of the days that windmill Jill was open and working. I have never been there on one of the open days.
Grinding and sifting the wheat and the flour.
The mill wheel is turning.
We bought cake from their little refreshment room. Good choice.
Home made cake for 50p.........so we bought 2 bits each!
Then we drove half a mile down the hill to look at a railway line.
Of course the tunnel is more interesting than the line itself.
Somebody lives in the house over the entrance. Trains, on the London to Brighton line, pass under very frequently.
Then we stopped on the way home at The Victory, pub by the village green at Staplefield.
A half pint in the sunshine with cricket on the green - very good.
This afternoon I watched athletics from the Olympic Stadium.
Today it was the turn of the disabled athletes, watched by a full stadium.
I really wished I was there - having been there for the Paralympics last year.
Those athletes mean a lot to me.
I took a few more pictures - our Clare decided to model, for my benefit, an item of clothing bought yesterday.
Purple tights!
She seemed quite keen that I should capture the image.
Just a sentence of explanation. Our daughter has not always been Clare - indeed has not always been thought of as a daughter at all.
There has been a life time, so far, of torment and depression.
This year the truth has been accepted and the process of making things right has begun. It will take time and be challenging sometimes.
First the exposure was not right and I have fiddled to allow the tights to appear purple.
Secondly, Clare is not wearing skirts out in public yet - well, it has been known.
And despite the more solemn wistful expression, Clare is happy and a joy to be with.......just as she often was in the old life.
I will get the pictures of the last couple of days posted at some point.
I shall be in the shop tomorrow and busy for days after that. Sometime!
Finally - a quick message to a couple fo people who have left comments on Grandma P's Ramblings saying how much they enjoy keeping up with the rambles. Thank you for your kind words. One of you wrote a good while ago. I didn't mean to ignore you.
But maybe we made some poor choices early on.
No, let's not go to the Pease Pottage boot sale - big, but boring often.
Let's go to Brighton.
The weather forecast was reasonable and I had dressed accordingly - shorts and no socks.
I soon began to feel chilly at Carden boot sale. Was the sea mist about to swirl in?
It is quite a small sale and attracts what I would call "normal" people. In my world "normal" is the opposite of "dealers"
We bought some clothes; in fact I felt desperate for clothes - something to cover my legs, please!
I found a pair of Marks and Spencers trousers, size 18 - they should have been a bit too big. But I couldn't do them up - for the rest of the morning I was wearing trousers not fully zipped up and not buttoned.
So, second wrong choice.
Next came the third. We were off to the boot sale at Brighton Racecourse. It's on EVERY Sunday......except this one!
The race course was very crowded and was the start and finish of a charity walk.
Bother, bother.
So, off we went to The Marina in Brighton. There is a car boot sale on the top of the multi storey car park every Sunday......lots of dealers there.
Probably all the bargains I might have wanted were long gone. We bought almost nothing.
Next came a good choice - breakfast together in Wetherspoons.
The sun was shining and we sat enjoying the view from our table.
We met one of our oldest friends in there, too.
I took a couple of pictures at the table.
I think that must be the best picture ever of our Clare.
The joy and relaxation of all the changes is apparent.
The joy of painted nails!
As we enjoyed our breakfast we pondered on what to do next - not straight home.
And things picked up! No more errors.
I thought it would be good to stop at the Jack and Jill windmills and enjoy a bit of a walk.
Joy of joys - it was one of the days that windmill Jill was open and working. I have never been there on one of the open days.
Grinding and sifting the wheat and the flour.
The mill wheel is turning.
We bought cake from their little refreshment room. Good choice.
Home made cake for 50p.........so we bought 2 bits each!
Then we drove half a mile down the hill to look at a railway line.
Of course the tunnel is more interesting than the line itself.
Somebody lives in the house over the entrance. Trains, on the London to Brighton line, pass under very frequently.
Then we stopped on the way home at The Victory, pub by the village green at Staplefield.
A half pint in the sunshine with cricket on the green - very good.
This afternoon I watched athletics from the Olympic Stadium.
Today it was the turn of the disabled athletes, watched by a full stadium.
I really wished I was there - having been there for the Paralympics last year.
Those athletes mean a lot to me.
I took a few more pictures - our Clare decided to model, for my benefit, an item of clothing bought yesterday.
Purple tights!
She seemed quite keen that I should capture the image.
Just a sentence of explanation. Our daughter has not always been Clare - indeed has not always been thought of as a daughter at all.
There has been a life time, so far, of torment and depression.
This year the truth has been accepted and the process of making things right has begun. It will take time and be challenging sometimes.
First the exposure was not right and I have fiddled to allow the tights to appear purple.
Secondly, Clare is not wearing skirts out in public yet - well, it has been known.
And despite the more solemn wistful expression, Clare is happy and a joy to be with.......just as she often was in the old life.
I will get the pictures of the last couple of days posted at some point.
I shall be in the shop tomorrow and busy for days after that. Sometime!
Finally - a quick message to a couple fo people who have left comments on Grandma P's Ramblings saying how much they enjoy keeping up with the rambles. Thank you for your kind words. One of you wrote a good while ago. I didn't mean to ignore you.
