Wednesday 28th December

Unfortunately the University Challenge was not the one that I've been following but the teams were made up of the past graduates of the universities.  Still good though and I managed to get a couple that the teams didn't....maybe not so dumb as I thought.  The finale of last night was the George Michael's concert from the old Opera House in Paris...such a talented individual....such a loss....

Pretty sleepless night last night.  At two this morning I was reading, playing games and waiting for the sand man to arrive which he did eventually.  Eight when my eyes opened this morning, bath and down for breakfast....I was out to lunch in Burgess Hill.  The restaurant wasn't booked but there were lots of tables apparently so we should have no bother getting seated.  We went down Ditchling Beacon on the way over and I'm amazed how many cyclists there are attempting the climb and it's not for the faint hearted.  It's a funny old road, they have climbs and flat bits so that the coach and horses could rest at any point on the journey....unfortunately there is so much traffic on the road that there is no way that you could rest....the stop off is at the top on the car park.  Through Ditchling village into Burgess Hill which is a pretty run and a stop at the cash point to reimburse the coffers and then down to Angela's and she was still getting ready.  My host was staying with her husband...this was definitely a girls only luncheon so it was pile into her car and over to the Oaks golf club and despite the frost on the ground, the car park was heaving.

It's a beautiful restaurant with log fire, oak beams and minstrel's gallery and a fantastic menu.  I did confuse the lady behind the bar..I asked for orange juice and water which is my staple in BG but they didn't have still water in bottles nor orange juice so it was half a glass of tap water and topped up with orange from a container.  It made it easier the second time...I just asked for one of those orange thingies that the lady over there had before...simple.  Angela settled for fizzy water.....she was driving.  Two home made beef burgers with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in with chippies, pots of mayo and ketchup followed by lemon torte with cherries/blackcurrants and ice-cream.  Everything was well prepared and tasty and the waitresses were very pretty student types with humour thrown in.  Well worth tipping at the end of the meal.

Coffee back at the den and home for about six coming back over the Beacon and stopping to take photos of the strange cloud formation over the sea.  No supper for me...I'm stuffed to the gills but I've just opened a box of After Eight....rude not to since they are a Christmas present.  They might find their way downstairs to share...I'll see what's left when I've updated the blog.  So nothing picked out for this evening so far.....I'm getting a bit bored by this guy called Gordon Buchanan who's doing the stuff that should be left to David Attenborough.  That's the trouble with BBC...you get overkill, saturation and then turned off by it.  So clutching my chocolates I'm about to head to the warmth of the lounge....the heating hasn't come on upstairs yet and not much seems to be permeating through the ceiling and up through the floor.  It's going to be another cold one tonight...it was three degrees on the way down and dipping quickly.  LN...I'm down to the fire...LN

Thursday 29th December

What a silly night.  I went to sleep eventually but was wide awake at four and reading until five thirty and then back off until seven.  I felt OK though and only had about an hour on the sofa this afternoon.

Marmite on toast for breakfast and phoned my old friend Mikey B to arrange a get-together.  He's staying in the area and it's been six years since I've seen him and his family.  We arranged ten fifteen but as I set off I received a text to say that the sat nav advised that they wouldn't be with me until ten thirty so I had a leisurely walk across the Downs to the meeting point and talked to one or two dog walkers along the way.  One friendly little terrier was trying hard to get his dirty paws on my new jeans so I had to make it plain that I really don't like dogs that much.  The owner was profusely apologetic...advising me that the dog loves everyone and thinks that everyone should love him.  Now it's not the dog I object to....it's the fact that he wanted to jump up.  So I carried on down...I took a photo of a helicopter that was like an insect over the sea so that one isn't getting published...you'd have trouble spotting it.

So there they were on the car park.  It was hugs all round and I pointed out to his five year old that she was the size of a bean when I was first introduced to her and in her mummy's tummy.  That was the year that they came out to stay and the reason that I had stairs built.  I'd been using a ladder until then.  We headed for the Undercliff and walked for about half an hour catching up with the past.  As he says...he reads my blog every night so feels that he knows everything that's going on in BG and it's become routine for him.  Seven years of following the ramblings of a senile old woman....We worked for the same company and now have both moved on to pastures new.  We stopped when the little one got tired, turned round and stopped off for coffee on the Undercliff.  Katie's job was to count the stones on the beach which kept her busy for a while but unfortunately she stuffed her pockets full she had to be reasoned with and was told that she could only take two of her favourites home with her.  I salvaged one and intend to put it in my pot in BG.  If they ever come out again it will be waiting for her.  Off they went after more hugs, I phone my host and we headed into Lidl to get in a few provisions and I found my favourite chocolate and peanut sweets for less than I pay for them in BG.  Four packets purchased and I'm saving one for the journey back...the rest will probably go....very tasty.

My new camera has arrived so look forward to better shots without the faint splodge in the middle of the sky when I had the old one at full zoom.  It's on charge at the moment so I've not had the opportunity to play with it but tomorrow I shall be out and about.  The game was halted...
ham in french stick for lunch, two mince pies and a full tummy required rest and as I said I was out for about an hour catching up on my lack of night time sleep. Nothing required for supper tonight.....tomorrow I'm going to be concentrating on getting another couple of batteries and a charger for the new phone so that they arrive before I go back and starting to get things into a box for going back.  Only one week to go.....LN...I'm on countdown....LN

Friday 30th December

Lovely night's sleep...seven thirty start this morning and no to-ing and fro-ing all night.  There was a bird in the garden that was singing its little heart out...or big heart out by the volume of its call....and listening to the calls on the RSPB website I identified it as a song thrush.  One to listen out for in the morning.

My son phoned this morning and said that he would be down around one thirty this afternoon so I decided to go through all the things that had been his in his day to see what he wanted and what I could shift on to the 'charity shop' pile.  His wife had an appointment at the hospital so wouldn't be coming down with him and the children so my waiting time was spent on sorting and sifting.  I had a pair of snow boots that had been my grandson's and decided to take them for the grandchildren for next door and spent forty minutes out in the cold on their drive.  I just caught them as they were coming back from shopping...they were worried about frozen food defrosting...I was more worried about freezing my socks off.  The earth was draped in freezing fog so I mentioned to my son to take it steady.  

They arrived at two and I think hunger was at the forefront of his and the children's brains so we set off for the village and managed to park by the Plough that is situated in the centre of the village near the pond.  We arrived about two fifteen, managed to find a table for five and the children and myself had scampi, one thumping great burger for my son with all the trimmings including blue cheese and a pie of sorts for my host.  We almost had world war three declared over a shared sticky toffee pudding and custard with the children...sibling rivalry over scraping the chocolate sauce off the plate and a line was drawn in the chocolate sauce with the proviso that if spoons went over the line, that spoon would be confiscated and the de-spooned would be deemed to take no further part in the demolishment of the said pudding.  It stopped the fun and games and it became a fairly well contained fight to the death.  Coffees arrived along with the bill and the children were itching to get down to the sea but with rain starting to fall, the sea mist rolling in and the temperature dropping, we were back in the car to go through the loot to see what was being taken.

Two large chunks of stone from Wells on Sea were put to one side along with and original ET that had been put in a plastic jar by my son years ago reminding me of a laboratory sample.  The children were fascinated by it....and it went home with them.  My son's baby money box was taken, two inserts from an old commode that I'd acquired and used as flower pots went, several books and some old cars that belonged to my ex husband.  So tomorrow I'm sorting out the stuff for the charity shop and throwing out old cars that no longer function....nice way to spend New Year's Eve.  Off they went at four thirty....the fog was really coming in and I was pleased they were on their way...they had to travel back to London.  A lovely day since I don't see my grandchildren very often living such a long way away...they really need to come out to BG....I think they would be surprised at the nature where I live.

So just caught the Roald Dahl's Esio Trot with Judy Dench on the TV.  What a beautiful story and really light and well played.  One to recommend and then I realised that not only had I forgotten about my blog but I had no photos to publish either....big sorry.  One more day of this year left....so I better make the most of tomorrow.  More sorting and sifting.  LN...the charity shop is calling...LN

Saturday 31st December

The sleep of the just again last night and a seven thirty start yet again....my body clock has cut in when I'm on my last week.  I went down and had crumpets for breakfast and then at eleven was informed that my kippers were almost ready.  Meanwhile back in the bat cave I'd carried on sorting and had been into corners that hadn't been investigated for a while.  I tried on clothes that I'd had in my thirties and I could still get in to them and some of them never went out of fashion.  I've got shoes that I'll never manage to walk in and a pair of leather boots that need a little love and attention from a cobbler but considering I bought them in Rhodes back in 1987 I don't think they've done too bad at all.  Everything thing I want to take back is sitting in my bedroom and the box from the loft will come down tomorrow afternoon and let the packing commence.  I was trying to weigh up whether it would be cheaper to take it as hold luggage but then I have to buy the bag since there are about four sitting in BG and it has to be carried where the courier would deliver it to my door.  A much better proposition.

So the kippers were eaten and I've been tasting them all day.  I did have a brief respite from sorting out the 'stuff' and watched Darcy Bussell's programme on the beeb about Margot Fonteyn....a very interesting character that didn't get a real deal out of life. Supper's being cooked and the last day of the year is not going to be any different that the rest of my time here.  No partying tonight...I might even go to bed before Big Ben announces it to the rest of the world....I'll see how I feel.  It does seem less important than it used to.

I suppose I should summarise 2016.  On the whole it's been a good year, I've done a whole year without alcohol and for me...that's some going.  I never said that I wanted to give it up completely and haven't...it's the smell of it that turns me off at the moment.  I've also lost a stone in weight and feel in better shape than I've felt for years and really very energised so my regime for the New Year is going to be pretty much the same as this year and fingers crossed that my health remains as good as it is now...mustn't grumble so to speak.

Can I just wish you all a Happy New Year....health, wealth and the ability to cope with all that life throws at you and fingers crossed that it's good.  I read that if you think you deserve anything enough then you get it so I've done the lottery today and I really think I deserve it....I'll let you know tomorrow....   LN...Forward into 2017....LN

And a Very Happy New Year to you as well