we are family

It's kind of magical travelling overnight, going to sleep in one place and waking up in another. I was quite glad to leave Lockerbie behind - it was cold, pouring with rain, and young drunken men were fighting in the street. In the beginning there were a few of them, friendly-drunk, waiting for the bus, offering me a cigarette. But as the pubs closed and more of them took shelter from the rain, their proximity became more threatening, they began squaring up, pushing one another, others trying to keep them apart. I didn't feel personally unsafe but was wondering what what I would do if it got serious - phone the police, I guess..when my coach arrived and we left them grappling in the middle of the road.

I managed to sleep most of the way to London, arriving in the dark and finding that there were no trains from Victoria. I took a tube, a train, another train, and arrived in Uckfield in beautiful bright sunshine having read quite a bit of my book. Mum and dad were out - I guessed at church - so I left my bag at their house and walked to the church, slipping in at the back and surprising them :-)

We had a family lunch out with Sarah and my sister's family. Towards the end, we saw a procession coming along the High Street - all the local Bonfire Societies dressed u, with bands and banners. I thought it would make a great blip so I ran out and followed them up the street but my photos weren't up to much (see extra).You can read about Bonfire Societies here

This afternoon it is raining heavily and we are having great fun playing a card game called "English Flowers" which sounds very genteel but never is. You can see that sarah and my Mum are up to no good...