EASTBOURNE – 14th, 15th and 16th August
After a nice hot shower and a change of clothing, we were ready to receive visitors for afternoon tea. It was lovely to see Sally, Tony, Daniel and Bobby and find out what they had been up to on their camping break in the Eastbourne area. The weather had been very changeable and they had certainly had a mixed bag of sunshine, showers and strong winds, but when you are camping you have to accept what you are given and make the best of it (a bit like sailing really). After a pleasant couple of hours and a supper of sausages, eggs, new potatoes and beans, Sally, Tony and Daniel returned to their campsite to give us (plus Bobby) a chance to settle down for an early night. This we did and it was just as well we did, as just before 04:00 the first of the fishing boats locked-out for its day out on the water. This was soon followed by a procession of others, meaning that there was no chance of a return to sleep for the light sleepers (Carole included). Chris was only slightly disturbed and Bobby not at all, which was surprising as at the campsite she had not been sleeping well at all.
After our first cuppa and biscuits, we headed over for showers, which we all enjoyed (Bobby especially). After breakfast, Carole washed up and tidied away and made the beds, while Chris and Bobby washed the salt off the boat. Chris then researched buses to Bexhill, where we were heading to meet up with the others for the day. We walked to a bus stop a few roads away, where we believed our No. 99 bus would pass, but after 30 minutes’ wait, another bus arrived and we were told by the trainee on-board that we had to pick it up on the main road by the ASDA store. He very kindly allowed us to hop on for free to get us closer and then gave us directions from there. (Great customer service!) We found the bus stop easily and the changing sign told us that our bus was due in 12 minutes, but it did not arrive for another 20 minutes and when we finally boarded the bus it was now gone midday. We met up with the others (including an old friend, Philip, who we had met in France camping with his family nearly 25 years ago) and after a short stroll, we headed into a rather nice Wetherspoons pub/restaurant for lunch. We all enjoyed a well cooked, hot meal served all together by a polite and happy team.
The weather was breezy and a bit cooler, so we contented ourselves with a visit to Bexhill Museum which was manned by a team of retired volunteers who were happy to chat about many of the Museum’s proud possessions. Soon it was time to return to Eastbourne and with the wind getting up and the skies threatening rain, we were lucky to be offered a lift back in Philip’s car. We accepted gratefully, with Daniel joining us for the night, and arrived back at the marina dry. We settled down to play cards for a couple of hours (Trumps and Rummy) before having a light snack for supper. Daniel then went over to have a shower, which he was very enthusiastic about on his return. We then all settled down in our bunks for the night with our books and electronic devices before lights out in hope of a better night’s sleep for Carole.
Carole hoped that the fishing boats would not go out on the days of the Eastbourne Air Show, but they did and her sleep was again disturbed. Never mind, Chris and Daniel slept through without problem and we were still in our dressing gowns when Sally, Tony and Bobby arrived just before 09:00. After breakfast, showers and a quick tidy round, we were all ready to walk into Eastbourne to catch the first day of the Air Show. It wasn’t looking good though, as the skies were grey and the clouds were low. We stopped for refreshments halfway in and Chris and Tony bought huge Eccles cakes to go with their drinks. Chris shared a little of his with Carole, but Tony didn’t quite manage to eat all of his as it was so big! We continued on, popping on our waterproof jackets to keep the drizzle from getting us too wet. We stopped off at the Seafood shop, where they sell everything they catch plus a bit more. Chris selected two brown crabs for supper for us all later and Sally and Tony bought a selection of other seafood to accompany the sandwiches already made.
Once in Eastbourne we heard the voice over the tannoy announcing that the Air Show would not be starting today before 16:00 because of the weather. We carried on walking along looking at the various stalls and exhibits of which there were plenty. Daniel and Bobby took a turn on one of the trampoline games which involves you jumping over a revolving air filled post (like on one of the TV programmes). The chap operating the game was very impressed with both Daniel and Bobby and after Bobby was worn out and sat at the side, he turned the speed up to maximum to see what Daniel was made of. He was not disappointed – Daniel was excellent! After this, Chris and Carole left the others to continue exploring to return to collect the crabs for supper. We then waited for a bus and when this didn’t arrive, phoned for a cab to take us back to the ASDA for a few bits of shopping. We made it back to the boat before the rain and between us, dressed two crabs and popped them in the fridge. We then relaxed for a bit to await the others for supper. When they finally returned, wet but happy, everyone enjoyed Eastbourne’s finest dressed crabs with lots of salad and bread and butter. After washing up and tidying away, Sally, Tony, Daniel and Bobby kissed us goodbye to return to their campsite so that we could get ourselves organised for our trip in the morning to Ramsgate. We were optimistic with the weather, but would check again first thing in the morning before leaving. It wasn’t going to be an early departure which was good, but nonetheless we made sure we were abed by 23:00.