Sightseeing

Today's excursion: Brighton Library! We took the boys up for story-time and admired the Jubilee Library, which is all glassy and modern. That said, I prefer the weathered old architecture of the Hove library (photos to come), which is more in keeping with the sort of weathered old atmosphere I like in my libraries.

Oh, and we strolled around the Brighton Pavillion and shopped at Marks&Spencer. But the library was the best bit.

Sunny Shoreham

Another beautiful day, and we had a day out to nearby Shoreham. We played on the beach and walked past some interesting house-boats (which are stuck in the mud so no longer sail), and played at a playground and went to a bookshop.

I have been rereading my posts and I have to ask: is this the most boring blog you have ever read? I think it is the most boring I have ever read OR written. I'd like to blame it on the sleep deprivation, but I fear it is actually just me.

Never mind, we're off to Bath this weekend, and I'm driving. If that's not a blog-post waiting to happen, I don't know what is!

Bright in Brighton

Well, the weather is utterly gorgeous here. We have been wandering across the road to the beach and sitting (on stones, but still) watching brave kayakers out on the sea.

Last night we actually got the first sleep-through-the-night from nephew A since I arrived. While it is, of course, flattering to be so thrilling that he doesn't want to miss a minute of me through sleeping, I'd settle for being less fascinating and more rested! But we hope we've turned that corner.

My cousin and his wife came down to visit from London over the weekend. It was lovely to see them and hear all about what they've been up to since I last saw them (nearly 6 years ago). Horse-riding, new cars, new bands, live grenades, getting married - the fun never stops!

Off to visit Hove library this afternoon. At least access to a library card has halted my assaults on the local bookshops. My suitcase may be manageable on the way home after all...

Wherever you go, there you are

Off to visit the doctor today with sick nephew. My sister took nephew A in while I wandered around a nearby park with nephew D (so that we didn't go in with one malady and come out with three more, as is often the case in doctors' surgeries).

Then we went off to distribute the recycling in lots of different bins. S and A were gleefully flinging bottles and cans into the correct bins while I was standing out of range with baby D. Looking up, I glimpsed a seagull, and wished I'd brought my cam--

The seagull surprised me with an unexpected present from above. Yes, seagull poo, like a localised shower of rain, fell over me and the buggy.

I'm pretty sure that wasn't on my list of Must Do experiences in the UK!

Brighton day two

A lovely sunny day in Brighton today! Sadly, my 3-year-old nephew has been unwell and vomiting (I'm sure it's just a coincidence and has nothing to do with me), so we will be having a couple of quiet days until he's feeling better.

I'm hoping that we might get to visit another castle next week - yes, i like castles! They are picturesque. And the weekend following that, we are likely to do our Big Trip up to Corsham to see S's inlaws. This is near Bath, where we hope to visit. And I will be driving. Watch out, UK motorists! I'm only shakily familiar with your weird left-turns-first rules, and my navigator has never driven before.....

Brighton

K and R escorted me and my heavy suitcase to Victoria. "Goodbye, and thank you for having me," I said. They looked horrified. "No, no, we'll take you to the platform", they said. So they took me to the platform. And they walked me onto the train. And R calculated which carriage I should sit in so that at the other end I didn't have to carry the suitcase the length of the platform (R had carried it through all the London bits). Then they chose a nice seat for me, settled me into it, patted me on the head, and waved goodbye. They didn't quite pin a note on me saying Please Look After This Bear, but I feel it was definitely implied.

I was met at the station by my sister S and baby D. He looked very sweet in a preposterous hat like an Enid Blyton toadstool. We staggered home with the suitcase, which I dislike more every time I have to lift it!

The next day was the last day of my brother-in-law C's parental leave, so we went to Lewes (pronounced Lewis, not Loos) to see a castle. It was very picturesque and we have lots of photos. After the castle, we made our assault on the bookshops of Lewes, which was great. I was getting quite worried about my return weight limit (my SUITCASE's weight limit, thank you very much), but then relaxed when I remembered that my parents are coming over in June. and I'm sure they'd be happy to carry back a carton of books each...

I gather people are having trouble posting comments on this blog - sorry about that. Consider it my preferred method of communication, ie one way!

London

Aeroplanes. They get you there quickly and make you wish you'd stayed home. But I have survived it and here I am. Staying with my sister K in London. K's husband R runs a tight ship. The flat is incredibly tidy. One gets the feeling that if one dropped a chocolate wrapper, R would leap across the room and catch it before it hit the ground!

We have had nice weather and a good couple of days. The bookshops of Charing Cross Road trembled before me! We went to the V&A - the Art! The culture! The bookshop which I stumbled across within the first five minutes and had a lovely time browsing in!

But there's more to London than bookshops (really?). We have also been on a Thames clipper, to see the musical Wicked, and eaten lots of Ben&Jerry's icecream.

Tomorrow it's off to Hove, to meet my new nephew.....

Preparation

Here I am, trembling on the brink of an Exciting Trip. Venice on the Orient Express, I hear you cry? Cruising in the Greek Islands, perchance? Better, my friends. I am going to Brighton (UK) to be my sister's au pair and dogsbody. Yes, nephew A has been joined by nephew D, and I am abandoning my own children for the dubious pleasures of looking after someone else's.

Perks include a soujourn in London at either end of the trip with my sister K and her husband, my first chance in 15 years to enjoy the divine icecreams of Mssrs Ben and Jerry (when will they come to NZ, when, when?), and tickets to a new Harry Potter exhibition (http://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/en/). Also, fingers crossed for a side-trip to Corsham and Bath!

Anti-perks include the travel (me being the sort of person who is motion sick in cars, planes, buses, trains, boats and fast-moving escalators), leaving behind the family (worry number one: they will fall apart without me to organise them; worry number two: they will overthrow my regime and institute their own into which I will be forced to integrate when I return), and the fact that I will be sharing a room with nephew A. I have not yet managed to get a straight answer out of my sister about what time he wakes up in the mornings....

My suitcase is packed. Well, mostly packed, owing to the fact that I packed it three weeks ago and have had to keep unzipping it and ferreting round for things I still needed. Hope I remembered to repack them all! I am taking one camera, one ipod (thanks Dad! Also thanks to Pat who gave me some music for it) and headphones, and about sixteen different cables/chargers.

I have returned all my library books. There really is no further preparation I can make. Except to start this blog, at the pressing insistence of my colleagues, and hope I can work out how to upload photos so you have something beautiful to gaze at while reading my - and I can say this now light-heartedly, knowing that by this time on Friday I will be deep in Aeroplane Hell - tedious accounts of the Joys of Travelling.

Comments welcome, though I will not be reading them until next week when I arrive in Brighton and settle in to my new job. I'm pretty sure my contract allows me free internet access while I'm babysitting....