From the sublime to the ridiculous

The day started well enough, improved, then went rapidly down hill and perked up a tiny bit at the end.

I was in bed by 9.45pm last night and slept really well. I had an early shower and packed, while C was out in deepest Kent ‘taking her 8 o’clock’, then went back to bed to listen to the Sunday service and chill.

I was up by 9.30am and C got back for a quick 20 minute turnaround before her next service, this time only as an observer in Ramsgate. I headed into Whitstable, which was just waking up. I had a leisurely breakfast with the paper and bought some gorgeous baby clothes for the new bub due this month and some local cheeses.

Then I went to Margate, where the beach was being used for the ‘Margate International Motocross’ no less, which seemed to consist of boys zooming scrambling and quads bikes crazily and noisily round some churned up sand, to the accompaniment of a very loud tannoy.

I parked up and went straight to the Turner Contemporary gallery for a look at the ‘English Magic’ exhibition and the Turner watercolours of Venice. My blip is of a powerful image by British modern artist Jeremy Deller. There was also a great image by Deller of William Morris throwing Abramovich’s yacht into the sea at Venice. Well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

http://www.turnercontemporary.org/

C turned up at 1.15pm and we had lunch in the café with a great view over Margate harbour in the driving rain. Most atmospheric and finally feeling autumnal.

My day took a turn for the worse on my way home from Margate. About 5 minutes out of town I got the familiar nagging, stabbing abdominal pains just below the sternum, which herald certain vomiting. I only just stopped the car in time (on a major dual carriageway I may add) and was sick out of the door and then into the oncoming traffic as I made my way to the verge and then over and over again (apologies if you were on the road at the time!) Luckily I still had the presence of mind to turn away from the wind not into it or I’d have been a total mess!!!! It was quite simply revolting, projectile vomiting. Yuk.

I then just stood in the cold and wet willing myself to feel better. At one point a man stopped behind me and asked the way to Dover which was hugely surreal as he’d had to pull over on a busy dual carriageway with no hard shoulder in order to ask me that. Weird.

Then, just as I was starting to feel better and thinking about moving on a bit, I saw C on the other carriageway waving concernedly at me. She’d obviously whizzed by me, realised it was me and turned round at the roundabout and made her way back to me. She asked what was wrong with the car. I had to explain! Poor girl. I nearly went back to hers but decided to limp on to a proper parking area and to have a snooze while the pain passed, which it duly did, as per usual. What a palaver. (Sorry if all that is a little tmi!)

Well, thankfully, the drive back was uneventful, though I did stop for another short snooze. When I got home, L greeted me with the news that he’d decided to redecorate my house for me (it’s on my long To Do list that might have got organised in a few years' time), and he’d already made a start on the ceilings, which was a wonderful end to a very surreal day all told.

I’m having an early night and hoping tomorrow is less eventful….