Bexhill beach - not quite the same as where I live in Corsica...
The De La Warr Pavillion on the sea front
I wanted to catch up with Kerry as we don’t see each other as often as I’d like. We weren’t sure what we wanted to do because the weather had been so iffy, which is a shame as there are so many beautiful places in Susesx, so we decided to rendez-vous at her place for 9:30 and decide from there. Alfriston is a gorgeous little village nearby which is the English village of my imagination (or whichever Agatha Christie novel I happen to be reading that week!).
Being slightly obsessed by food, neither Kerry or I could help ourselves visiting the village stores which were amazing – really quaint with nice smiley ladies serving behind the counter where there were old fashioned jars of sweets and scales. There was a Delicatessen at the back and we found lots of delicious sounding local specialities such as pickles and chutneys. I could have spent a fortune if I’d thought I could have got it back to Corsica unscathed by the EasyJet baggage handlers.
We wandered round the miniature art gallery and were tempted by a few oils depicting the local scenery such as the Sussex downs and stunning cliffs, before heading past the other intriguing shops such as the Bat’s Wing Apothocary (herbal medicine), the Steamer Trading Co. where we agreed we’d like to have the money to completely refurbish out houses with oyster knife kits to the Tye.
The Tye is basically the village green and even during the week there were pensioners sitting on the grass in their fold up deckchairs waiting for a cricket match that I suspected might be a long time coming! We wandered round the graveyard and looked at some of the headstones dating back hundreds of years, including one that looked like it was made of wood in the style of an anchor.
We were keen to be nosy and visit the church but sounds from inside made us weary that there may be a function going on, but I’m far to French these days to be put off by social niceties. All that noise turned out to be two old biddies inside running the ‘shop’ so having got past her nervousness, Kerry then got brave and started directing the photography session of the beautiful stained glass windows!
Just next to the church is the Clergy House, a pretty 14th-century Wealden 'hall house' was the first building to be acquired by the National Trust in 1896 for £10! The thatched, timber-framed house is surrounded by a delightful, tranquil cottage garden featuring a magnificent Judas tree, and views over the river Cuckmere.
Once again I was thwarted on the photography stakes as it was forbidden inside the house, but I managed to sneak in a few shots of the ground floor rooms. The medieval hall has a traditional chalk and sour milk floor with explanations of the processes. It was strange as some areas had a green mould which apparently is caused by the sunlight. It was also damp to the touch and very soft so could easily be damaged by high heels – luckily I had my comfy shoes on.
It was soon time for lunch and a quick magical mystery tour through the leafy lane brought us into the garden of The George Inn. This is another stunning timber building adorned with flowers and a mouth-watering menu – yum! It was a bit overcast so we decided to sit inside. The bar is the oldest part of the Inn, has an impressive inglenook fireplace with a huge copper hood, oak floors and Sussex hop bines decorating the walls. The foundations date back to 1250, and there are is network of smuggler’s tunnels leading from its cellars – eek!
The food was delicious. I’d had trouble deciding what to have as it all sounded just so tempting, but in the end we both went for the Salmon and prawn salad with a bowl of chips between us to naughty it up a bit. It was huge! I must admit I was surprised at how nicely it was presented; little towers of prawns wrapped in smoked salmon sitting on a bed of mixed salad with peppers, cucumber, celery and tomatos. After a quick swap of my tomatoes for Kerry’s peppers, we tucked in.
After lunch we checked out a few more of the shops such as ‘Not Just Chocolate’ (won’t bother then!) and a weeny gift shop tucked away amongst the white timber framed houses where we smelt all the candles and bought some cast iron insects – a bit bizarre perhaps, but we liked them. It was lucky we were so stuffed from lunch because otherwise the homemade cakes in the old fashioned tea rooms would have been too much to resist!
All too soon it was time to pick the kids up from school and on the way home we were reminded how kids minds work when Sam told us his polo shirt was called that because it is white and the same colour as ‘polo’ bears! Bless him.
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