So if you dislike the railways so much why do you use them rather than the car I hear you ask? Anyone who has ever driven from Norfolk to Eastbourne will probably know the answer to that one. It involves the M11 and M25 and I find the journey very stressful and it seems to take forever. But back to the crazy weather.
On two consecutive days we were able to go for a walk along the sea front with bright blue skies on one side and storm clouds on the other. Today I publish some of the photos of Eastbourne. I know quite a few of you like to see pictures which I hope demonstrate a little of what I'm talking about. I do try to get a mix of general panoramic and photos from a slightly different angle or of more unusual subjects.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the photos were taken over quite a lengthy period. But no. They were taken over a couple of days when contrasting conditions were all mixed together as I've already mentioned.
There are so many areas of interest in Eastbourne. Some of the architecture is very interesting and I could spend days photographing the place.
I did pose the question: If given the choice would you prefer a day where the sun was out in the morning but then the rain swept in during the afternoon or a day where it rained in the morning and then the sun came out in the afternoon?
General opinion seemed to be for the former. Start the day bright, go out for a healthy walk and then shut yourself indoors when the rain comes. My only problem with that is you know the rain is coming but not exactly when and you can be caught out and have to continually keep an eye on the clouds. The other way round and you know you have a clear run at things once the rain moves over.
But on this occasion we had another lengthy walk in the morning and it was warm enough to have coffee sitting on the side of the beach. It's a stoney beach which isn't great in my book, although I can't say sitting on the sand is my thing either.
The rain moved in as expected but by that time we were indoors.
We finished off our four day visit and then it was back on the trains. Somehow the return journey always goes more smoothly than the outward and the changes of trains are more spread out giving us time to make the transfers.
The hour journey from Eastbourne to Gatwick was comfortable with plenty of room. The trains for the following two legs were much busier and the one from Cambridge to Wymondham was pretty full. I managed to do my Tarzan bit by lifting the cases above my head onto the overhead racks, just hoping they would say there as there was no room at the inn (sorry meant in the luggage racks- I somehow slipped back into Christmas mode there)
Couldn't help thinking about how different baby Lyla will look the next time we see her. She was very content, only crying when she needed feeding or a nappy changing. I couldn't help but wonder how she will look in a year's time. Will she have blond or dark hair, will she be crawling or walking, will she be talking? All will be revealed as they say.