Oi!

We got up early today for another early morning run despite my brother being somewhat reluctant but it felt good to be out in the cool and crisp fresh air.
As it was looking to be a lovely early Spring day we thought we should  make the effort and head out on another micro trip and settled on Rye in East Sussex as our destination.
We normally stop off at Tenterden on the way for coffee but this time we decided to 'plough' on to Rye itself along the winding and twisty, and it must be said very potholed in places, country roads. 
On arrival we parked the car and decided we would get a coffee before we strolled around the town itself. We spotted one just a few steps from the car park called the Ground Up Coffee Shop. It's not in a particularly prepossessing site right next to a busy roundabout and is tiny, being no bigger than our lounge at home, but it's lovely and bright inside and we received a really warm welcome from the owner and were served with two fantastic cappuccino's - the best we've had in ages. What a great start to our visit.
It was then time to head up the steep hill into the town itself for an amble around its historic and cobbled streets, some window shopping, the chance to catch a blip image or two and of course, more pressingly, find somewhere for lunch! :-)
My first extra was taken on the High Street across the road from the window displays of the wonderfully eclectic homeware shop Lola & SiDney and the adjoining sweet shop with the fabulously punning moniker of Rye Candy just as the lady with the long coat and green hat and her canine companion sauntered past. 
By this time our stomachs really were beginning to grumble so we made our way to the Standard Inn for lunch. Instead of a main course we settled on two rather adventurous (for us anyway!) sounding starters - a baked pot of devilled crab on sourdough toast and lamb scrumpets (like a cube shaped croquette) with pink pickled onions and salsa verde - and more prosaically a bowl of fries. Absolutely delicious! A pint may just have passed our lips too.
It was then back out into the still lovely, and increasingly warm, Spring air
for another relaxed dawdle through the streets we hadn't already been down which is where I captured my main shot of this fantastically gesticulating sculpture which felt like it might crash through the shop window at any point exclaiming "Oi!" at the top of its voice!
It's was sculpted by an artist called Jim Sparrow. He has been a sculptor working in the film industry for 24 years, creating creatures, monsters and prosthetics for films ( though surprisingly not Pirates of the Caribbean taking into account his name being almost identical to the main protagonist) including The Hobbit, the most recent Star Wars movies and Game of Thrones.
After years in the industry he and his wife decided to move out of London to live in Rye which is when he opened his shop, Orca. He wanted a project that was closer to home and wanted to sell his own sculptures and do private commissions. The shop is called Orca because he's a huge Jaws fan and Orca is the name of Captain Quint's boat. He also though it was apt as Rye is by the sea.
We still had time for a quick visit to Rye Art Gallery before we headed home again and to stop off in Tenderden for some evening essentials - well wine and cheesecake. 
As Wallace & Gromit would say a grand day out!