DIDN'T WE HAVE A LOVELY DAY.....

…..the day we went to Sidmouth!  When we went out this morning it was quite grey, but as we got nearer to Sidmouth, the sun came out, just in time for us to go and have a coffee and sit outside to drink it.

I got chatting to a man in the queue, like you I do and when he asked where we came from and I told him Swindon, like most people, he said that he knew the Magic Roundabout and the Designer Village and enjoyed coming to shop there.  I guess it doesn’t hold the same sort of appeal when you live there and can go shopping at any time.

Mr. HCB went for a wander along the seafront while I went for some retail therapy, but despite trying on many tops and jeans, I still didn’t buy anything.  However, I did manage to take several photographs as we wandered back to the car - and ice creams seemed to be the order of the day.  Mr. HCB said that he had watched this morning as a large gull took an ice cream cornet from the hands of a little boy - the trouble is that so many people feed the gulls so instead of looking for their own food, they see anything in the hands of tourists as “easy pickings”. 

We knew that the mother of Mr. HCB’s breakfast buddy, Keith, lived in Sidmouth, so rang her just after we had had lunch, and then went round to see her for a  very pleasant hour.  We did know her, as she has been to visit Keith and come to church on many occasions, so it was good to see her again.  She, like Mr. HCB, is an avid jigsaw puzzler, so has lent a couple of them to him and he has promised to sort some out for her the next time she visits.

We have been relaxing in the garden and watching the antics of the gulls around - one has just flashed past with a crow in its beak - that’ll teach Mr. Crow not to snaffle Mr. Gull’s eggs from the nest.

A very relaxing day - and probably more of the same tomorrow - it’s good to spend time together without Mr. HCB dashing out into the garden or greenhouse - hope his plants are doing well!

One of our favourite songs when we went to the seaside when our boys were younger is this one:

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside,
Oh I do like to be beside the sea,
Oh I do love to stroll along the prom, prom, prom,
Where the brass band plays,
Tiddley-om-pom-pom…………..

Enjoy listening to it here and you might even feel like singing along!

P.S.  Thank you for all your kind comments, stars and hearts for the little chaffinch yesterday - sorry about lack of comments - well, we are on holiday and incidentally, both feeling much better.  M xx