26 August – Our day of rest

If we have time during the week, we want to take the train to London and do a tour so this morning we make a quick trip up to East Grinstead (nearest place to catch the train) to find the train station and check out the schedules. For my day of relaxation, we had planned to visit the 1000-year-old Norman castle in nearby Lewes. Our friendly hotel proprietor Claudio suggests a trip to the seaside town of Eastbourne, the sunniest place in Great Britain, might be better suited for my day to take it easy. Off to Eastbourne we go. It’s only 30 miles south of Forest Row, piece of cake. We breeze through a series of roundabouts. Johanne calls out the exit by number (e.g. 1, 2 or 3) and I look out for the one I’m supposed to take. Everything is fine until, at one roundabout, she calls out 2, and I exit at 1. “Why did you do that?” she asks. “I did say 2.” Must have been a mental lapse. A few miles later, I turn around at the next roundabout and head back. Finally, we arrive in Eastbourne, a beautiful city by the sea somewhat reminiscent of Brighton. The view of the beach is spectacular. In the distance I can see Hastings, where the Norman conquest of England began. After walking along the boardwalk for a bit, we decide to have a bite to eat before we explore any further. We stop at a nice place off the boardwalk called The Pavillon. They’re offering Sunday Carvery (buffet) but instead we have a light lunch (Welsh Rarebit for me and Goat Cheese tartlet for Johanne).
After lunch, we continue our casual stroll along the seafront enjoying the sea air and the sun.

On the way back to the car, we stop at The Redoubt, a large military fortress and museum on the boardwalk that in the early 1800’s was part of a system of costal forts built to defend England against invasion by France during Napoleon’s reign.

Mock-up of the Redoubt Fortress and Military Museum

Johanne wanders out to the courtyard for some air and starts chatting with one of the workers, a member of the British Army Hussars. By chance, she finds out that Canadian troops took over the fort during WWII before they embarked on the Dieppe raid. She asks if he knows what division was here and he says, “No. But if you find any information about them, could you let us know?” Very interesting. On our day off Johanne manages to discover a military fort with a connection to Canadian soldiers. Is this all an amazing coincidence or something Johanne cooked up with Claudio for my day of relaxation?

A few hours later, we decide it’s time to go. On the drive back, we count 22 roundabouts. That’s a total of 44. This was supposed to be a relaxing drive! Back at the Chequers, over a beer, Claudio asks how my day of rest went. “Well, we left at 10:30 am and it’s now 5:30 pm – I think I’m just beginning to relax.” I don’t share with him my conspiracy theory.

Tomorrow we go to Chelwood Gate to meet for the first time, my 4th cousin, Robin Wood. He found us because of our visit last year. Looking forward to seeing him and any other relatives.

1 Comment

  1. Jacques Circé says:

    Hi Johanne Mike
    I enjoy reading your daily report.
    Driving on the left side of the road is not my cup of tea.
    See you soon

    Jacques

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