Tuesday June 22nd. Today my first thought was for my brother, who was told on his birthday 4 years ago that he had only a few months to live. Ravaged with cancer he died four weeks later - leaving his young wife 5 months pregnant, He didn't live a good life...but he died a noble death and strangely - though we weren't close when he was alive - that still touches me and I cried this morning. He would have been 63 years old.
We headed off to Brighton today. I spent the years between 4 and 6 living there, part of that at a very strict convent boarding school while my parents were on tour. The drive was sensational....through Surrey and Sussex.
There's a stunning county town called Farnham taht takes your breath away - and the village of Petworth is sooooo pretty. Drool factor 10! But it was the little town of Arundel that won me. It's full of medieval buildings and a sensational castle on the river. WE had an egg mayonnaise sandwich and scones with cream at a teahouse which has been operating in some form since the 16th century. Just bliss.
This was another 3 degree day.....my Mum's nickname was Arundel because - at age 2 - she went with her parents to South Africa on the liner The Arundel Castle. I have learned to live without my immediate family - all gone now - but here, in this country of my birth, there are constant reminders and memories come flooding back.
I couldn't find the convent in Hove - long gone now - but I did remember the beatings with coat hangings if the taps weren't polished brightly enough, and the curry comb that tore at my hairt....to this day I can't bear anyone else touching my hair. And I remmbered the school uniform....cherrey red dress with white polka dots and piping....the straw hat with the cherry hatband and a navy blazer. Was I really that small? I have never remembered our address in Brighton until we drove past it...Lansdowne terrace....and there was the row of Georgian houses with parquet floors and bay windows.... I could almost see my Dad, so young, so devilishly handsome. He must have only been about 27.
Brighton is just amazing. It has a wonderfully chic and cosmopolitan atmosphere coupled with grand hotels and elegant houses - small wonder that people pay through the nose to live here. Th gardens around the royal pavilion were full of sunbathers....office and shop workers on their lunch breaks. It's 27c - wonderfully warm and the sun has a real bite. I'm actually getting a tan...in England!
The Royal Pavilion is a folly - and one that almost sent the country broke. It's quite bizarre with it's middle eastern Arabian feel.....both ugly and fascinating at the same time.
I took a photo of the front of the Theatre Royal where my mum and Dad played many times - but I didn't feel any sense of belonging there. It was just interesting - but not home.
Scampi and salmon for dinner tonight....and more white wine. If I stay away long enough I might get to like Chardonnay!!
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