Catch up ! January to March 2025

Oh no! I just realised how long it’s been since I posted. Rather than recall everything that happened in the second half of last year, lovely as it all was (trip to Hereford/Shropshire, autumn in the garden, Winchelsea cellar tour, Christmas concerts etc) I thought I would skip forward to this year and some of things that have happened so far.

January

Bright, cold January days are perfect for walks. The beach maintenance work at eastbourne was full-on this winter, moving the shingle as part of a long-term flood protection project which you can read about here – it’s fascinating.

One sunny Saturday we set off to walk from Newhaven to Peacehaven along the cliff path. We started with breakfast at the excellent little Sardinian cafe Isola Buona tucked away on the Bridge Industrial Estate in Newhaven. Excellent coffee (according to Nick!) and yummy food.

Isola Buona, Newhaven

The cliff path took us past the National Coastwatch Lookout Tower on Castle Hill. A sign said ‘come on it and have a look at what we do’, so we did! The views are amazing, and through a huge telescope I could see the shipping lane out in the channel. Then the walk itself was lovely, if a bit muddy in places – I wish I’d had a walking pole! I did fall over at one point but no after-effects thankfully except for mud on my jeans.

February

In February and March we run our choral workshops in Lewes at St Michael’s Church. One of the important parts of the day’s organisation is providing refreshments!

And as far as Bobby is concerned, Crufts is a definite must-watch on TV…

March

Spring is on its way, thank goodness…

This month Nick and I took part in the Gentle Author’s Tour of Spitalfields in London. It was wonderful – recommended if you are interested in social history and London’s history generally.

Then, big excitement – we changed our car – from the deisel Citroen we’ve had for nine years, to a one-year-old Nissan Qashqai Hybrid. Here’s our old car (thank you, you were great!)

I’ve already handwashed the new car twice, which is a lovely bonding experience!

More excitement: a trip to London to the National Poetry Competition awards night, won by my fellow Pindrop Press poet Fiona Larkin – amazing news!

We are Friends of the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester and it’s always a pleasure to visit.  This time I met up with friend Sam who I worked with over twenty years ago, to see the Dora Carrington exhibition which I really enjoyed, and this extraordinary installation by Rana Begum in the old house part of the gallery:

Toward the end of March we took a walk along the coast East of Eastbourne, which we’ve not explored before. So from the car park at Sovereign Harbour we walked around the inner harbour and through the houses to the beach, and followed it along to Pevensey.

Another beautiful, bright day, finishing with fish and chips at a pub on the beach – perfect!