Smuggler's Night

I left Lorraine's at 8am and had a good journey home, with a slight detour to the shopping outlet Bicester Village, to do a little bit of Christmas shopping.  I arrived at 9.30am and the car parks were already full even though it only opens at 9am, and there were people queuing out of the doors of some of the shops!  Luckily I knew where I wanted to go, to so I was in and out and was back on the road by 10.30am, home and unpacked by the time Alan messaged me to say that he'd landed.

He was home for about 4ish, had a bite to eat and we had a drink in the Palace before heading to Rottingdean for Smuggler's Night.  It's a tradition held on the first Saturday in December which I've blipped each year since we moved here.  Here are the previous blips last year, 2014  and 2013.

We met up with Lisa-Jane, Elif and Seyran at Elif's shop, had a warming drink of spiced apple with rum from the pub, and nibbles at Elif's.  Then my friend Anne came to join us as her boyfriend was a drummer in the parade.  It really is an amazing atmosphere watching the pirates and smugglers with their burning torches and then everyone heads down to the beach for the fireworks.  Fortunately the weather was perfect and the display was fantastic.

Once it had finished we walked home as Alan was tired after a 12 hour flight, and of course has the jet lag to deal with now.

I hope you're all having a good weekend, and now I'm home I'll catch up with your journals.