Thrills and Spills

We have been living in Eastbourne for just over two and a half weeks and we are beginning to get to know the town. I was delighted to find a pine shop reminiscent of the one at home in North Wales. It has all sorts of goodies tucked away in the shop’s vast interior. I have no doubt that I will be a regular visitor if my bank account can stand it! Eastbourne is certainly the place to be if one enjoys a bit of retail therapy.

Our road is just off the promenade between the pier and Wish Tower. John-Paul, our Down’s Syndrome son, and I have a daily walk along the prom. John-Paul is not keen on exercise, to say the least, unless it is the exercise his fingers get when using his Play Station controller! However, he does enjoy throwing stones into the briny, so he can usually be persuaded to venture outside into the bracing sea air. A few days ago he was enjoying this pursuit when he got a little too close to the sea and could not outrun a mini tsunami, which wet the bottom half of his anatomy. On our next sortie to the beach I was very careful to keep him at a safe distance from the sea. I am a collector of interesting looking stones and pebbles; I spotted one on the shoreline and went to retrieve it, but unfortunately I somehow managed to trip and fall into the water, and was deluged by a wave. My darling son was beside himself with laughter as he walked his dripping mother home. I felt such an idiot as people were staring at me. There appear to be quite a number of eccentric characters in Eastbourne; my family reckon that I will feel very much at home among their ranks!