Let me tell you about my perfect time today. Working six days in a row got to me just a little bit and I was shattered last night, long before I got to bed. Naturally I slept in, a little.
I wanted to get out of London for the day, so I couldn’t sleep until, say, noon. Not that I would’ve done that anyway, but not even 10 was an option.
Never mind, I must’ve slept enough, because I felt energetic the entire day.
My very exciting breakfast consisted of a cup of tea and porridge. And no, I’ve not turned into a Pom just yet. But that is quite a British breakfast to have, if you forgo disgusting sausages and beans in tomato sauce. Yikes. I’ll have my porridge, with lots of cinnamon. Thank you very much.
Looking at a map of South England I couldn’t quite decide where I wanted to go. I had considered Southend, but wasn’t sure. Then I looked at Whitstable, but again couldn’t commit. Maidstone was another one, but all of a sudden I decided on Brighton, where I hadn’t been yet either.
I also discovered that I might use Gatwick more from now on, because it is surprisingly easy for me to get to.
Anyway, I checked the time table for the train to Brighton, found a suitable departure time and got ready for the day. And what a glorious sunny day it turned out to be. We’ve not had many of those yet and certainly need many more.
The train ride to Brighton was very straightforward and faster than I thought. I read.
Brighton is pretty cool. The ocean side on a day like today is stunning. The air was crisp, there was a cool breeze coming from the ocean, but not a cloud in the sky. My shoulders are now not so white as they were this morning.
The Brighton Pier is aimed at families, but worth a visit nonetheless. The Royal Pavilion is stunningly unexpected. The architecture is so un-British that one is quite uncertain how it got there to begin with. The architectural style is apparently called Indo-Saracenic, which is certainly what it looks like to the untrained eye.
Worth a visit, no doubt.
The Brighton Dome is right beside it, the landscaped gardens quite beautifully kept. A veritable oasis if ever I saw one.
From there I stumbled into The Lanes. A very quirky network of very narrow lanes along which one finds a multitude of little shops, antiques, artisan stores, tiny local businesses. Very easy to get lost in there for a while and you might as well.
I wandered around for a while and eventually it was time to take the train back to London.
Back in Balham I didn’t quite feel like going home just yet. It was only 5pm, so I went to my local Cafe Nero and indulged in this chocolate coconut frappe drink with whipped cream on top. To die for.
I had to finish my current book, Children of Men.
Let me tell you that it is very different to the movie, very different. I actually prefer the movie, which is something I rarely say. I liked the book, but something was missing, which is odd considering how much descriptive detail can be found in it.
It was a good read, though.
Also, I did not know that PD James is a woman. I suppose that’s why she’s using initials. And I’ve never read one of her books before. I’m not sure I will read another one either. I liked the idea of Children of men, but not her style.
Anyhow, I only had two pages to finish it and because I hadn’t seen the new Star Trek movie yet, but had been dying to see it, I checked show times in my local theatre.
Almost everywhere you can only watch the 3D version and I am not a fan of that. My local theatre only has one show a day for the 2D version so I had myself almost resigned to go for 3D.
But, lo and behold, the next screening of the 2D version was at 6pm.
I couldn’t believe it, so I finished my drink, packed up my stuff and jumped on the bus to get to the cinema.
It was worth the wait.
I’m glad I missed out on it last weekend (when they only had matinee shows). Because it rounded today off perfectly.
The movie was pure awesomeness and didn’t lose out to the first part at all. It continued the re-boot rather nicely and with a homage to the Wrath of Khan to boot.
Loved it.
After a very long week with a lot of work, I deserved to have a great day. Finishing it off writing. Tomorrow will be quiet. My room needs tidying, shirts need to be ironed, laundry needs to be done, errands need to be run. The usual run of the mill stuff one does on the weekends, because one doesn’t get around to it during the week. It’s a bank holiday tomorrow, so I do get to do all this.
But days like today don’t come around often and need to be made an effort for.
If you want to go out and do something, escape the daily trot just for a few hours, I suggest you go and do precisely that. It’s up to us to create those opportunities to have a perfect day.
I don’t live to work and if I wouldn’t give myself the opportunity to get out every now and then, I would pack my bags tomorrow and go on a much longer trip.
I had a perfect day, because I made it so.
As usual I was also lucky, but that only added to the perfection.
2clouds 