June 19-August 5
Hello everyone!
My last post shared the first ten weeks or so back in the
UK. I was teaching during most of this time, waking up before 6am on weekdays
and often spending much of my day in front of a screen. Our school year
finished on June 19th which means one thing – summer holiday!
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| Summer is this way! |
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| On a ramble under the Ouse Valley viaduct |
Not that I’d be going anywhere far. Seems silly to be back
in the UK for me and my family’s mental benefit only for yours truly to then
start gallivanting around and potentially bringing a virus into my mum and
dad’s house. Even with restrictions beginning to ease, there was no
justification for me to go far. Even after doing a Covid swab test…
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| What a way to wake yourself up on a Monday morning... |
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Uncomfortable but not as bad as I made it out to be.
Tested negative, in case you were wondering. |
I didn’t actually have much planned for this summer. My idea
was to stay in Malawi and do the Porter’s Run, a 23km race up and down Malawi’s
biggest mountain, and perhaps go to South Africa for a couple of weeks. Nothing
booked though for a change, which worked out well. So really I haven’t been too
disappointed to be spending my summer in Sussex.
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| The horses seem sad that I'm in Sussex, but I'm fine with it |
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| I commonly run past this lovely little church in Streat |
The thought of sitting around doing nothing for days and
weeks on end terrifies me, though. I need to keep busy. There was the
organising and decluttering of the garage, front room and shed…
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| Before... |
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| ...and after. |
…precariously picking
apples from the tree in our garden and giving the hedges a trim…
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| Look at that complete lack of PPE |
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| The Sussex Chainsaw (Hedge) Massacre. |
…giving my face a much-needed trim…
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| 10 weeks of beard... |
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| ...gone down the drain. Well, it clogged the drain for a bit. |
…getting my head a much-needed trim from my sister when she
came to visit…
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| It seems my sister enjoyed this moment of power... |
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She did well. With the hair. She can't really
do anything about the face, sorry. |
…and doing the usuals of long-distance running to make space
for lots of excellent home cooking.
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Running on the South Downs Way.
Not all of it, it's over 100 miles long! |
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| A surprisingly amazing veggie cobbler - my best cooking of the summer |
There was quite a bit of time in front of a computer. I used
this time to scan family photos. All hard copy photos since 1984. Thousands. There are some gems in there…
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| You don't want to imagine the whole pile |
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| If I need a career change, I could always become a model |
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My 5th birthday party in the early 1990s -
wearing clothes that belong in the 1970s... |
But most of these were within the confines of the house.
Being restricted to the house would have driven us insane. Each week we decided
to travel to a relatively close place of interest. Though they have lived here
for almost six years, my parents haven’t explored much of Sussex – this was our
chance to explore! And travel!
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| Hay bale near Streat |
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| A swan in the ground of Hever Castle |
First up was a nearby spot on the South Downs called Devil’s
Dyke. The only devilish bit about it is walking around it when the mercury is
pushing up towards 30°C at 10am.
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| It is a 100 metre deep valley. We went down and up, via a forest. |
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There are many beautiful flowers on the South
Downs, which Devil's Dyke is a part of |
Well, there’s also the bit where we may have gotten slightly
lost and scaled a gate covered with barbed wire in order to continue…
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| I was impressed my parents followed my illegal trespassing manoeuvre |
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We bought these ice-creams from a van. I was worried as we didn't have
any cash but they took contactless. Have I been in Malawi and
away from modern tech for too long?? |
We live quite close to the sea so went south the following week
to Seaford Head to see the Seven Sisters. Less a collection of blood-related
women, more a set of stunning chalk cliffs. Bit windy on the coast as you can
see…
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| The series of peaks are between Seaford and Eastbourne |
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| Bit breezy by the sea! |
Next was a bit of history: Hever Castle. This was our first
trip to an ‘enclosed’ National Trust site and offered an interesting insight
into how these places would cope with Covid. It was the first time we ventured beyond the Sussex border, driving into Kent. The castle itself is actually
quite small. You can go in but numbers are extremely limited. It was
essentially one-in-one-out, and we would have queued for well over an hour. The
socially distanced queue for a coffee was much quicker. Quite a few kids were
there (clearly not in Reception, Year 1 or Year 6 – I think…) and were
struggling to stay socially distanced from swans which wanted their picnic lunches.
I found it hilarious.
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| Built in the 13th century, a long time before Covid! |
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The castle is famous for being the place
where Anne Boleyn lived in her youth |
The highest point in the county (well, East Sussex) is nearby: Ditchling Beacon.
I walked here in May from the house but running to and from it would be too far
for my little legs to pump. One morning my parents dropped me off in the nearby
town of Lewes (I say nearby, it’s about 10km away) and I ran up to the beacon.
I read my footpath map slightly wrong. Easily corrected…by running over a horse
racing track. Quite steep in places, but a lovely run to the top.
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| Don't be fooled - this was uphill. For a while... |
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| Over time, dew ponds have emerged on the hills near the top |
Our most recent trip was to a viaduct which dates from the
very early Victorian era. Turns out I’ve unwittingly been on this viaduct –
trains to London pass over it.
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| The viaduct is 29 metres high |
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| Ignore me, look at the cool pattern made by the supports! |
Our furthest trip, the only time we’ve really been out of
county, was to see my brother’s family. They live in London so we met halfway
at Box Hill in Surrey. This wasn’t one of the hotter, sunnier days – probably a
good thing as it was busy enough anyway.
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The roads up to Box Hill are popular with cyclists.
Walking was fine for us. |
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| Hopping across the water. Good thing no one slipped, it was quite cold! |
I feel like I’ve explored more of Sussex than I ever did of
Cardiff and its surrounds when growing up. My parents are in a lovely spot and
have plenty of places to visit nearby. Certainly enough to satisfy the ‘travel’
bug for a summer. And as my work permit still hasn’t come through yet (over
eight months after signing a contract extension), I’ll still have the chance to
explore more of Sussex when I'm not trying to teach 10-year-olds over the internet!
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| Almost as importantly, the pub is open again! |
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| Not the plan, but a lovely summer |
Love you all,
Matt
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