The Windmill by the Sea

Lockdown Day 28

We went out early this morning for our walk as we decided to walk down to the sea front and go along the undercliff walk, for a change.  The first part of the walk was lovely with not many people around, but on the undercliff walk there were lots of cyclists and joggers and by the time we got to Rottingdean we felt uncomfortable as people were just getting far too close to us.  So we walked up into Rottingdean and came home along the cliff tops which was quieter, and we've decided that the only way we'll walk by the beach now is if it's very early in the morning.

I always love this view of Rottingdean windmill sitting on the hill above the village, looking out towards the sea which is to the left of me from where I took this shot.   We walked back to Saltdean and dropped down in front of White Cliffs Cafe where Julieanne the owner was sat out on her terrace, so we stopped for a distanced chat.  She said that they've been using the lockdown as time to do maintenance to the cafe, which is a great opportunity for them to get things done, but obviously she hopes this situation doesn't go on for too long. It was nice to see her and she'd put a bucket of sticks of rock wrapped in celephane out for the children to take and also jars of chefs home made chutneys.  All were free and she'd put signs saying that everything had been anti-bac sprayed, so we took a jar of cranberry and redcurrent chutney.

As we walked back up the hill, we passed the local retirement home and a carer came out of their entrance just as we were passing, she walked right in front of us and walked so close to us that we both gestured to her to give us space.  She looked up from her phone and said 'I'm not walking on the grass!' so  I shouted at her about the 2 metre distance.  What's worrying is the fact that she's obviously caring for the elderly, who are the most vulnerable and if she has that attitude, she's putting them and others at risk.  So when I got home I telephoned the home to make a complaint, unfortunately the office wasn't manned with it being Sunday but I've left a message on their answerphone.

The final leg of our walk was past the house with the bear from yesterday's blip, and today he was dressed as a jogger doing the Brighton Marathon - I wonder what he'll be tomorrow? 

The rest of the day Alan has worked on Bertie Bus, and I've just chilled out in the Palace, it's been a lovely day but with a strong north east wind it was too windy to sit in the garden, although I did have half an hour in the hot tub, but it's nice and sheltered where it's positioned now.  I spoke to mum on the phone and once Alan had finished what he was doing we FaceTimed his mum and I think she enjoyed seeing us, so we should do that more than just call her. If you’re interested I’ve put a couple of photos of Alan’s conversion in my extras.

We've also booked a cottage in Norfolk for a few days in July when we should have been going to France.  I know we don't know what the situation will be by then, but we have the option to cancel up to 24th June, so at least it's something to look forward to if the lockdown has ended by then, and if not, then nothing's lost.

They say things come in threes, a couple of weeks ago while cooking the Sunday roast our oven broke, tonight my electric steamer broke, what next? Luckily we’ve been able to order a new one on Amazon and will be delivered on Thursday.

The number of deaths seem to have dropped slightly, with only 596 recorded today.  That still a lot of people, but it's considerably less than a few days ago, so lets hope the curve is flattening.  Rachel told me that her friend who's the funeral director is struggling to get coffins now, and the local ice rink is almost full!  She works in Liverpool which is particularly badly hit and there's a theory that on 11th March when the government didn't feel it was necessary to go into lockdown, they allowed a football match to go ahead between Liverpool and Athletico Madrid.  At this point there were only 6 cases of Covid in Liverpool, yet 3,000 Madrid fans came to Liverpool for the game.  Total madness!


Stay Safe x