I am on holiday, Day 5

It rained most of the day yesterday, but there was joy in our hearts, for we were with good friends in Hastings and there were Tunnock's Wafers and cups of tea to be drunk.  We had fish 'n' chips for breakfast; we waited until 11.50am and then scurried down the hill pretending to be North American and on our way to "brunch", which was a poor excuse for chips before midday.

Here, therefore, is breakfast.  Visitors to England: please do not do things like have fish and chips in pubs  or on cross-Channel ferries and think that they are the Real Deal. If you are going to do it (and contrary to popular belief we do not have fish and chips every day, stuffing them into our gaping maws straight from 1923 copies of The Times of London whilst wearing bowler hats and riding on Routemaster buses), find a British person you trust and who wears good-quality shoes and ask them for a recommendation.  The seaside is often a good place, and remember: this is not France; you will not be getting long thin chips.  Come to think of it, you are not in North America either, so a "chip" is a fry and a "crisp" is a chip.  Excellent.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around in the rain looking at things. Here are some of the things we looked at. Clearly the Tub Man was by FAR my favourite:

I think this suit is made of winkle shells painted silver. They are real. The model is clearly not real which is a relief, as if he were alive he would be trying to stab you in the eye with a winkle pin.

The evening passed in a Thai restaurant in a bookshop, and the night on an extremely comfortable sofa.  The French-Canadian veterinary research histopathologist to whom I am married are still married, but sometimes the nights are long and restless and I must sleep alone watching Gossip Girl and Four Weddings on my computer.  (The cat was in the restaurant.)

Today I must go up the A21 to Sevenoaks and thence to Gatwick, where we will board a Royal Air Maroc flight to Marrakech.  Judging by their reputation, we are unlikely to get there until next Tuesday, so think of us around 1pm and bark "Godspeed" at the sky.

Pip Pip!

NWM