Shamanic drumming and going home....!

This morning, we're checking out of the hotel.  It was a big noisy here last night but we did get a good nights sleep...... so we got ourselves packed up

....left the keys at reception and then headed off for breakfast.

We decided to stop here, over the road from the hotel!

We got a double-bagged cup of tea, so good and strong!!

Then we ordered Eggs Benedict (poached eggs with bacon on toast), we were given Eggs Florentine (poached eggs, spinach and mushrooms on toast) and then when we paid, they charged us for a chicken omelette which was cheaper than both eggs benedict and florentine.

We paid and left quickly.  It was a good breakfast though!!!

We walked up to the underground and saw the WW2 memorial at the end of the park.

And then headed off for today's adventure!

It was only a few stops to here!!

And then a walk up the hill!

And we arrived here!  That's a lovely magnolia tree there.

We're doing shamanic drumming today.

We celebrated Ostara today which is to do with planting seeds for the future. and we all got a little crystal ball!  I'll show you ours later!

After the drumming we sold a watercolour painting to one of the ladies that was there!!  And then we headed back to the station.  Those are pretty flowers too.

We've had a brilliant weekend!!

And now we're heading back to the mainline train station!

We had to change here....

And then it was two stops to Victoria station!

We made it in plenty of time for the 4pm train AND managed to pop into the Lush shop first!!

Our train was delayed by 15 minutes, but that was it.

Luckily we got a window seat going home too!

That's the National Audit Office.

And we're going over the Thames here, believe it or not!!!

You can just see the Battersea Power Station chimneys in the distance!!

It's a little hazy this evening, but it's a pretty sky.

And loads more countryside too!

Wow

Isn't that pretty?!

We went past some little streams....

And a pond.

And crossed over Shoreham Harbour

And got off at Hove Station because we can walk home from here!!

And we stopped at another Magnolia tree!

Well, it's bush sized at the moment....!

Andrea got a bubble bar at Lush, and jumped straight into the bath and used a bit of it!!

That's the crystal ball we got!!  We think it's Rose Quartz.....

We had a great weekend!!!  Was rather manic busy yesterday but we're glad we came up!!

We had an adventure!!!

Today Andrea said we were having an Unexpected Adventure!!!

I haven't have one of those for MONTHS!!

Wonder where we're going though - don't usually come this way.....

We got on a number 5A bus and Andrea remembered to wear her mask.

And we got off here.  We've got to walk to where that Bloo Bus is going.

That's a Co-op supermarket over the road.  Andrea says it used to be a pub - her and her Mum used to have drinkies in there after spending time at a place called Allotment.

What's Allotment?

We're going down here now - got to go through those gates.

And then down this way.....

And over that bramble bush is Allotment that Andrea's parents have.  Well, they've had it for about 25 years now, and paid the rent on it for this year but because of lockdown haven't been able to get up to grow stuff.  So because Andrea's got the week off, we got the keys so we can come and check it over.

Except I've never been here before because Andrea's too busy working or too knackered at weekends!

That's the Allotment!

It's a big field...... they used to grow tons of stuff here!

It's very overgrown now though - but we found pretty purple flowers!

And more pretty purple flowers!

And some heather!  Andrea says that's the first thing she planted when we got the Allotment all those years ago!

That looks like an old sunflower....

And an overgrown artichoke?

Up the other end of Allotment were some rosebushes - Andrea says those were the second things she planted!  And this one has buds on it just about to come out!

Some rose hips on the other bushes!

Oh, there's a frog pond there!!

That's Andrea's Mum's Little Shed.  It took us a while to figure out which keys worked the lock but we worked it out in the end!  There's lots of spiders in there though. 

Big ones.

Size of dinner plates.

That's the wheelbarrow.  We rescued that from the overgrown brambles when we first got Allotment 25 years ago!!

That's the Big Shed that we got to replace the falling down pile of wood shed that was originally here 25 years ago.  There's lots of rat poo in there.  Bit whiffy.

Didn't stay in there long.

And that's the pear tree - with flowers on top!

We chose Allotment because of this pear tree. 

It's all old and gnarly just like a Van Gogh painting!!

This is a bayleaf bush tree next to the Big Shed!

And there's a Holly Bush next to the pear tree!

The one on the right is the Magnolia tree.  That was the third thing Andrea planted 25 years ago.  She's not sure she's seen it flower though......

That little tree in the middle there ...... we did a bit of pruning on that because the branches on it were getting mixed up with the magnolia tree branches.

This is a rosemary bush tree (next to Basil by the Big Shed).  We pruned this a bit as well!

We did quite a bit of pruning.  Cut back some brambles too.

It's been fun coming here - hard work though!

This is a Bramley Apple tree.  Andrea had to look for apples to take home to Mum but there weren't any.

Somebody else might've pinched them though....!

Gosh, there's a lot of work to do here.... Andrea's mum & dad don't think they'll have the energy to start all over again, when Covid's gone.  It's a big Allotment with a ton of weeding to do.

But it's been fun to look around the place and tidy up a few bits....

We cut some of the roses to take home but left this one.....

And then locked up the sheds, got our stuff and said hello and goodbye to Stanley the burner.

Goodbye Allotment.  It was fun to meet you just the once to see what Allotment is!

I hope the Magnolia tree is happy there, even if we didn't see it flower.

Bye

And then it was back the way we came, through the gates....

And back to the main road to get the bus home.

Here we go.....

And we got off here and then a short walk home!

And put the flowers in water straight away - well, we washed paws first, of course!