Search This Blog

Saturday 28 December 2013

On the train to the seaside

We decided to go out for a couple of hours today whilst the sky was blue and the sun was out.  It was flipping cold so don't be deceived by those warming rays of sun and it's much colder when your walking along a seafront!  We got the District Line Train from where we live to Upminster Train Station and we caught the c2c fast train to Southend Central.  We had the whole carriage to ourselves for two of the 7 stops
 and as you can see, quiet.  I do like the colour of the decor and if I could add a few crocheted blankets and cushions, it would look fabulous. If anyone is wondering about the cost of a train ticket...it was £18 for the two of us.

We walked through the town to our favourite cafe and had a big breakfast and right opposite is a  wool shop. I love the window display's in there and I wish I had taken a photo of it.  There were knitted and crocheted ponchos and some big cable knit throws...lovely.

We then walked down the hill to the seafront and here is a photo. Right opposite the sea is a busy road and there are a lot of 'arcade' shops.  I always go to the 'tuppeny roll' machine where you put in 2p's that fall onto a drawer that moves forward and then pushes another drawer for the 2p's to fall off and into your winning shelf. I know it sounds mindless but it brings back memories for me.   As a child this road seemed so long and at the very end is 'The Kurzal'.  Well it use to be an undercover arcade precinct kind of building but now it's still called 'The Kurzal' but is a flipping bowling alley with a tesco underneath.

To the right of the picture there really isn 't much too see other than the beach. Years ago there use to be little huts that sold candy floss, buckets and spades, kiss me quick hats etc but now there is just a doughnut shop that wants 80p for a hot doughnut..no way!!  When we came out of the arcade after spending just £2 of our well earned money we walked over the road to say hello to the sea.  Here's a view looking down to the left of us  

and it is so quiet.  It is packed at the height of summer and it is so noisy and that is why I am not a lover of the seaside.  I had a caravan years ago in Dovercourt and it was away from all that noise of arcades, music and loud groups of kids.  I won't ever forget those times......with my boys and enjoying the peace and quiet.

To the right of where we were standing you can see a small pier that you can get a speed boat ride but obviously not out of season.  Beyond that pier is the start of Southend Pier but you have seen photo's of that and the train on it.


We walked back after that and went to have a look around the shopping centre but not for long, it was absolutely packed.  Time to head back on the c2c to home.

I have got more photo's to show you of my christmas goodies and my latest projects but will save that for another day...hope you liked the photo's.  Here is my final one of Tipsy keeping warm on top of the radiator.


Wednesday 25 December 2013

Christmas Day Goodies

I am one excited and spoiled woman that now believes there is never going to be enough time in the day to do all the crocheting I want to do now.  A flowery throw has been started already today plus, I have Arucania Yarn for a knitted shawl and some Louise Harding yarn with beads to make another shawl with a pretty pink flower.

Plus I can't believe I get to knit these shawls with these Knit Pro Karbonz Interchangeables...it's just put a choking feeling in my throat and a rush of blood around my heart that proves to me I am loved.

I have spent the day with Frank who is the best that has ever happened to me, my youngest son who actually did all the washing up after dinner and with my in-law's who ate every piece of food on the plate and made good conversation. It felt so relaxing and such fun to be around these important people in my life.

It's such a shame for the day to almost end but am grateful that I get to rest and enjoy my memories of today and christmas's gone past.

I hope you all have had a good christmas and eaten plenty and I will be back possibly tomorrow, with an update .xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Gas update

The gas man arrived this morning and spent a good two hours sorting out the problem.  We treated him with a bottle of Red Wine and he went on his merry way.  I on the other hand have had indigestion all day because of the worry so was glad to get home this afternoon and to pop the turkey in the oven.

The house is as clean as it will ever be and am now going to relax, hopefully, and wait for my son to come home to spend christmas day together.

My walk to work was eventful as usual and brings a smile to me every time I walk into the park.  I was greeted with around 100 geese wanting feeding and a small loaf of bread doesn't last long.  I worked it out they cost me £30 a month to feed them but it's all worth it when I see 'crooked billet'.  Here is a photo of a few of them this morning....
 This picture took 6 minutes to download....argh!! drives me mad.  

It's been rather mild here too, the wind hasn't caused any damage in the area where I live or even my park which got hit quite bad last time.  The only wind damage was 8 fence panels in the car park at work which was surprising. Apparently, we are due some more high winds again on Friday (flipping typical when I have to go back to work).

Finally, I want to end today with a very Happy Christmas to all that read's my blog and hope you get the gifts, food and love you want.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

   


Monday 23 December 2013

The winds are back

and so far the transport services are not too bad.  I would'nt like to live in Cornwall right now because it must be horrendous but here in London, it's raining, windy and a bit nippy but trains and buses are running ok..(so far)

However, I got home from work tonight and on opening the front door there was a strong smell of gas. So opened windows and doors and rang the National Grid.  They came after an hour and turns out I have a small gas leak.  At 8pm I had to ring the council and they said they would be here in the morning....yeah ok!!

So at the moment I have no heating or hot water and seeing as its Christmas Eve tomorrow, if they don't turn up I am totally sodded up for cooking the meat tomorrow afternoon after work which could then mean toast and jam for christmas dinner or a boring microwave dinner for the inlaw's. .  Oh well, hopefully if I think positive it might be ok.

On the craft front I finished my felted bag
and Tipsy seems to approve of it.  I just know that as soon as I lay it down on the chair, she will be laying on it which will drive me mad cause as much as I love her, I can't stand cat hair over my projects.   She is an old girl Tipsy, aged 14 maybe even 15 and since Peanut died, she has put some weight on and become rather vocal.  God help us if we forget she is out in the garden, she won't stop moaning for ages until she makes you feel so guilty!   

Here is a picture of my first block design. So I obviously called it Block 1.  It's all acrylic and it's totally random.  It gives me an option to practice using several colours but it definetely gets the thinking juices flowing and its not as easy as you think.  Designing is hard, because you have to practice, definetely rip back and then when you are happy you have to write it all down.  I wanted to design some fairly large blocks and yes it is curling up but that's intentional.  I did stitch a few garter rows at first but didn't like it 'framing' the block so I intend to carry on till I am happy with the length and then I will probably crochet an edge. (see I told you the design thoughts just start popping into the head)

Oh well, it's getting late now and after all the excitement of the evening, am ready for bed.  It's going to be a bit chilly up in the bedroom but I have a cute cuddly dog to cuddle up to and a loving partner who will keep me warm!  

I can't believe it's CHRISTMAS EVE tomorrow......

Saturday 21 December 2013

Crooked Billet

 I can't believe people still visit my blog even though I haven't been on here for almost a month.  I haven't exactly been doing much other than work and a little rest.  I finished my christmas knitting and have started designing a few 'blocks' and it's not as easy as you think.

Anyway, I can't remember if I posted a photo on here of my favourite tame 'goose' that I feed at the park every day.  I have called him 'crooked billet' for obvious reasons and he just appears out of nowhere by my feet.  Anyway, here he is and am sorry if I already did this.. 

Friday 29 November 2013

Yarnfair stripes 'lilly's scarf'

Materials: Yarnfair Stripes x 2 balls 4mm crochet hook

Make a chain of 235 stitches.

Row 1. In second chain from hook, do half double crochet in each and every stitch (233 stitches)

  (a half double crochet is ' yarn over hook, hook into stitch, yarn over hook, pull through and you should have 3 stitches on the crochet hook, yarn over hook and pull through all three stitches)

Row 2. Chain 2 (counts as first half double crochet), then do a half double crochet in next stitch. Chain 1, miss one stitch, then do a half double crochet in the next two stitches and repeat this all the way along ending with two half double crochets.

Row 3. Chain 2, and do 233 half double crochet's all the way along.

Row 4. Repeat Row 2.

Continue like this until the scarf is wide enough to your requirements

 (Will try and put a photo on here of the completed scarf very soon). Don't forget, your welcome to use this pattern but please acknowledge it as my design and no one else's. Thanks


I also wanted to add a link for this scarf.  I have permission from Lucy at Attic24 to link you to her blogpost for the 'weeny ball's for the ends of the scarf.  I will add an update post of the completed scarf tomorrow.
Thanks Lucy!!




http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/2013/09/funky-lamp-yarnbomb-ta-dah.html

Sunday 24 November 2013

Photo's of Hurricane

I finally worked out how to get my photos on here from my phone....so flipping stupid. I just unplug my charger and use the cable from that to poke into my phone and laptop! Here are some photo's of the damage at the park I walk through every day... There were other trees down but I think the above pictures are enough to see. We went for a walk after the storm had passed in the afternoon and the sun was starting to come down and the birds were starving...as you can see by the next photo.... Update of my knitting etc...I have made a lot and here is a few... The first one is my own Downton Hat for winter, I wear it all the time at the moment. I made two of those hats and designed a scarf to go with one as a christmas gift. The other photo of the two black hats are a christmas present too. I also made this from a pattern but the yarn is very splitty, I still have two balls left so have got a 'bolero' kind of cardi in mind for it. My blanket collection this year so far...well ones that I haven't given away.. plus here is my stash so far too.. I have got loads more to show but am off to do a little baking, thanks for your patience.

Tuesday 5 November 2013

The Hurricane on the 28th October...no trains

I have avoided posting recently because am having problems with my card reader in transferring photos. I mainly use my mobile phone for photo additions but the card reader won't work or the computer is not working properly. I have come to a decision, am going to take the card reader to work and see if it works on my computer there and if it don't, problem solved and I need a new reader. So, unfortunately, no photos at the moment. I have got some lovely ones too especially of Egyptian Geese that I have fed on the way to work whilst walking through my local park. I also have some photo's of my local train station and also some projects that I have completed or working on now. Frank took me to London Oxford Street on the 28th Oct to have a look around and my word, it was quiet. Why you may ask, well we had weather warnings of a hurricane reaching 80 miles an hour and thank god I had already booked the day off for annual leave. The weather office kept everyone informed of when the hurricane will hit and it was almost to the time they said. 5am on the 28th October. It blew up, ripped down my neighbours fence, Frank even saw a few birds trying to fly and they kept getting knocked in the gusts but thankfully not hurt. The funny thing was, a wooden chair in my back garden moved about a foot and the old roasting tray that we keep outside for putting in small pots of cuttings didn't move an inch. Doesn't make sense does it! The travel updates were good too and most trains were not running and would resume around 10am which guess what, that's when the hurricane would have left us. It did and we decided to go make our journey to Oxford Street around 10:30am, and the train at my local station was packed and it got worse as we headed in towards London. I live near the start of the district line and we had to get to Mile End and then got the Central Line to Oxford Circus. The trains were packed but there was loads of extra trains put on so we just let one go by and waited two minutes for the next one. We spent around 4 hours walking around London and got a few christmas presents then got home around 3pm. We then decided after having dinner to take the dog for a walk over the park to see if there was any damage and it's sad to say, there was. A couple of tree's pulled up, or big huge branches snapped off like twigs. One whole tree was totally killed and I have photos of the damage so will put them on here when I can. Thankfully, the birds seemed unscathed but they did follow us with the bread along the footpath so they must have been hungry and glad of some food. I went back to work Tuesday and I thought maybe the council had started clearing up the park but they hadn't. Frank works for a council maintenance team for parks etc and he said they would make tree's safe in parks and then go and do priorities first on estate blocks and roads. Shame to say, the tree's are still there broken and I hope they come and do them soon. I have started my jogging again, very carefully and trying to aggravate my 'plantar fascitis'. I tend to do only a couple of miles every other day in the evenings and enjoy it. I am so glad the the heat and humidity has gone now and the cooler weather has arrived. It makes you want to cook stews and casseroles and eat naughty puddings too (hence the jogging). It's dark here around 5pm now and we will be getting the back garden ready for wintrer soon. Oh well, am going to do some knitting on a final christmas present and then am going to have a rest from it and get the crochet out..keep an eye out for the photo updates which I will try and do this weekend.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Photos at last

Downton Scarf....
My blanket stash that I have made this year so far (ones that I haven't given away) including a lap quilt that I made a few years ago for my boys and I sewed the two together to get a big quilt. There is also a photo of my expensive stash that Frank bought me at Liberty's of London. The photo of Tammie is showing her jealous look because Tipsy got in between Frank and I and she didn't like it.

Trying again

I have been trying for almost a week to put some photo's on here and what I normally do is switch my mobile phone off, take out the card and put it into a 'stick'. However, the laptop doesn't seem to acknowledge it and I end up getting frustrated and annoyed so I give up. I did however, manage to get some photo's onto the desktop (don't know why) so I will try and post a couple of pictures. Firstly, I finished the Downton Hat, I actually finished two. Out of 3 dark grey balls and 3 light grey balls I ended up doing two hats and a scarf. NOPE ARGH I TRIED TO PUT THE PHOTO'S ON HERE BUT IT JUST WONT DO IT!!!!!!! I am so sorry but I have little patience for these things! So you will just have to put up with my words instead. I also started another Christmas project which is called 'Reader Wrap'. I got some lovely chunky yarn and on the pockets I am going to stitch 'i'm busy'. I also completed a pair of children's fingerless gloves which was done very quickly. I started buying presents too...I got a bargain! A certain expensive aftershave with £16 off the price. I have been reading a little. I just finished Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macombre and I am hoping to start another book of hers. I usually go to bed around 9pm because there's nothing on the tv most evenings so try to read for about half an hour. Other than work and moaning about how hot or cold it has been, there's not been much going on. I still walk through the park every morning with a loaf of bread for the birds. I have some lovely photo's of them, crows, ducks, geese and they are use to me now that they get up really close on my side of the fence. I haven't done much baking lately and my jogging has been on the back burner for about 3 months. I really miss it and I have noticed with my tiredness that I should get back to it but am apprehensive because of my 'planter fascitis'. It hurts now and then but I just don't want to aggrevate it. Oh well, going to go and have a Sunday afternoon nap and a knit...have a good week.

Sunday 29 September 2013

Downton & Buns

I have been baking a little and knitting a lot. Here goes.....first the home made iced buns.
I have been watching 'The Great British Bake Off' and they had a challenge of making Paul Hollywood's Iced Buns. Mine came out rather nice and we have eaten two each with a cuppa. You can get the receipe if you go onto www.bbc.co.uk/food and type in 'iced buns'. They took an hour to 'prove' then you had to cut them into the shape you want and then let them prove again (total of 1 hour 40 minutes) and then they take ten minutes to bake. At least I know how to make them! The next project I am doing is as per the title, 'Downton'. It's a lovely winter hat for me! It is almost done, only taken two evenings so far and am using Sublime Merino DK and is so soft. Here is a picture of progress so far..
I am not one for wearing hats, I look odd in them but as soon as I saw this pattern on ravelry, I thought it would suit me. We will see! I have been watching a new podcast called 'knittingden' and am enjoying that, I have also started jogging again, it's been around 10 weeks since I jogged because of my foot and so I took it easy today and did 2.5 miles. It was so nice, there was not a soul around and the sun was rising. The past week has been ok. Just work, feeding the birds every morning on the way to work and chatting to them (no, am not mad). The ducks, geese, coots, moorhens all wait for me and the crows are so use to me now that I am surrounded by them as I walk through the park. All you can hear at times are their wings flapping behind me...scary! I had my youngest son round for chinese takeaway on Friday and it was good to see him again. We went into the kitchen to clear up and there was a beautiful red sky and so I had to take a photo of it...
Oh well, got no plans for next week other than going to do jogging again Tuesday and Thursday. I have got to find something else to knit that I can take to work so I might use up some sock yarn and make a pair of fingerless gloves. At least if I dont wear them, they can be a christmas present for someone....have a good week and will try and write again next weekend. Take care everyone!

Sunday 15 September 2013

Addict-a-knit

Addicted is an under statement. I have finished 'Squared Out' and did it in just under two weeks. Considering it was a knitting project and not a crochet project that is pretty good!
I ended up doing a border with the same colours and it worked out to 30 inches square. It's roughly a lap blanket for a pram, cot or even when your sitting indoors and your refusing to put the central heating on. Talking about the weather, us British moan about it all the time and this brit is going to have a moan. We have had the season of summer go overnight literally! I can't believe how wet, cold and windy it has got. (That was for about two days) and then it went back up to 80's for two days and now we have had rain, fog, mist, heavy winds and barely going above 60 degrees. It has been cold today and I put on layers of clothes because I absolutely refuse to put the central heating on in September. I try to wait till at least the begining of October.
Talking about October, Tammie will be 10 years old on the 13th October and this photo is showing that she looks fed up! I was sitting on the sofa knitting away at my new project and I realised I had dropped a stitch. I unravelled it to the point of where I dropped the stitch, and Tammie decided to lay next to me and rest her head on the ball of wool. I could not make her move and I got Frank to take a photo of her. She looks so fed up but I had a feeling she wasn't feeling too good. Anyway, my sons came over and I ended up walking her a little and came back to do dinner. Then about an hour ago she was laying next to me on the sofa and she had a little fit, the first one in about 8 weeks. It was only a mild one but it was still a little upsetting. It only lasted about a minute and then she was back to her normal self. Here is a photo of my cat, Tipsy just so she don't feel left out. She looks like she has been told off but I promise you, she hasnt.
Other than a normal week at work and counting down the days till the weekend, there's not been much going on. We went to Southend on Sea yesterday for a while but it was pretty wet and miserable. We went to our favourite cafe for breakfast and had a look around the shops for a while then got the train back. I left Frank at Romford and I went to see my friend at the local hospital. I ended up being there for over two hours and met Frank back at home. So, haven't done much really accept have a little lay in so I will leave you with a photo of my next project I am doing.....have a good week everyone.

Saturday 7 September 2013

All squared up

This is the update, it's no longer called Autumn on the way, I used some pink yarn and can't seem to substantiate where pink would come into the equasion of autumn. I am only making 9 squares and am then going to put a log cabin border around it using the colours already in the squares. I have had a pretty crap week, spent most of it worrying and feeling low but today (Saturday) is the first day that I feel a better so we went shopping to Asda's early and was back by 11am. We had a cuppa and then I started my housework and unfortunately, I got that 'bleach' feeling and filled up a washing up bowl with a little bleach and warm water and got on my hands and knees, cleaned the skirting boards, living room door and laminate floor. I then beat the crap out of the rug and put it back on the floor. I then hoovered through up the stairs, wiped down woodwork and picture frames then I saw some unsightly cobwebs lurking so a good tip is to rinse out a clean mop and get all the water out of it and use that to gently wipe down cobwebs from the corners of the ceiling and coving. Next I tackled the bathroom and decided after resting at the top of the stairs to stop before I knacker myself. Plus I want to do the two bedrooms tomorrow so it was time to put all the cleaning stuff away, have another cuppa and update my blog whilst listening to the radio on the tv. My next task for the day is to do some more of the square blanket, watch my favourite podcasts and then around 5pm, cook a fresh veg pizza that has been bought at Asda. Frank is off out to the library shortly while the sun has come out and then this evening will be a quite one as usual. So have a good evening everyone and I might update tomorrow again, we will see.

Friday 30 August 2013

Autumn On Its Way

Yep, it's still lovely and warm but there is a chill of a night and as we are all aware, its getting darker in the mornings and evenings. I haven't been out jogging for 6 weeks and it's driving me mad. Everytime I go out and see someone jogging I say 'that should be me' but I can't. I know that if I did, it would put me back again and I would be in pain. My foot has not swelled up as much but it still hurts when I get up in the mornings and after sitting down for a period of time. Doctor said I have 'plantar fascitis' and should avoid exercise like jogging but exercise like walking and stretching. So its a contradictory to me but heyho, they know best. I have been off work for a week for annual leave and not really done much but it has been a good rest. I have been dealing with some stressful times the past few weeks which has not been easy but as a parent, you just have to cope. I did intend to do a lot of cleaning and catching up with the decorating but alas, I failed miserably. All we did was paint the wood cladding in the hall, stairs and landing. It looks lovely and fresh painted white but I wanted to do so much more, never mind! Anyway, I have been busy crocheting and knitting and my latest project is this
I have called it Autumn on its way but may change the name as it progresses. I have been enjoying the garden too and F has been pottering around taking cuttings which always excites me. I hope we get some multiples for the spring next year. I will start my christmas knitting soon, cant believe how quick the year is going. That's all folks, hope to have more for you next time.

Sunday 18 August 2013

Target 60 completed

All done! Watched Countryfile and Antiques Roadshow and just got on with it. Measures 6 feet 3 inches by 4 feet 1 inch. Will post the edging pattern very soon.

A bit dopey

The title of this post says it all. Stress and worries have made me quiet, miserable and to say the least down in the dumps. I have spent a lot of my spare time pottering around the house and making sure that it's 'tidyish' and most evenings I have been working on my Target 60 blanket. I completed all the blocks a couple of days ago and crocheted them together and joining as you go with my own design hoping that when I get to crocheting all around the edge, it will give me a base to start the edging. Well, so far it's doing ok and am pleased with the outcome. My mind kept wandering off to my next blanket I want to do, whether its going to be knitted or crocheted and it's not easy you know. I love my crocheting, it's so quick to make a blanket but inside my head I keep seeing visions of a knitted squares blanket with loads of colour. The only thing that puts me off with that is, sewing the squares together! Anyway, my aim is to keep making blankets, as many as I can in order to recoup the money back and to put out there into the big wide world, my heirlooms. The blanket's I have made with copyright are going to be gifts to those near and dear to me and hopefully, will be looked after. I was looking at a colour wheel on my mobile the other day as I rode home on the bus and I kept looking at what matches with the colour orange but it's a difficult colour to match up. I think a blue would go nice with it but I dont want the orange to be bright and bold so am leaning towards a rusty orange...who knows! Then I got the idea of doing a blanket that is a stitch sampler but using the silvery grey I am using for my Target 60, black and cream and maybe even a beige. Not sure with that yet, just my mind trying to keep occupied.
I haven't been able to go jogging for over a month because after wearing a cheap flat pair of shoes, I ended up damaging my muscle under my foot and was diagnosed with 'plantar fascitis' and it flipping hurts in the mornings and after I get up from sitting down. I have been strapping it up, rolling my foot on a bottle of ice and it does help but it's not enough for me to feel comfortable to go jogging again at the moment. I don't want to make it worse and end up not jogging ever again. I am still walking my 4 miles a day and trying to eat normal but it's not easy at the moment. I have put on 4 kilo's which has got me down a bit but am trying to stay positive and hopefully, will lose it again soon. Oh well, am off to do one of the worst jobs around the house, IRONING! Have a good week and I will post my edge pattern from the Target 60 blanket in the week. Thanks for reading.

Sunday 4 August 2013

Target 60

I have been crocheting squares from Jan Eaton's book called "200 crochet blocks" and I have done around 26 of the designs. I have also done a few of my own and got to 52 so far. I am really enjoying it and decided to soak them in Comfort Softener in a bowl for 10 minutes and then spin them on a short spin in the washing machine. It's been lovely and warm today with a light breeze so I decided to put them outside on the table to dry off and they did within 10 minutes.
I ended up spending a couple of hours sorting out some of them, some ended up too big and I had to take away a row from a few of the squares. They are all now waiting to have the ends cut off and then I can do the join as you go method of crochet. I want to find a nice silvery grey to do the border and edges so am not rushing. I also decided to use the little leftover bits to make a start with doing a single crochet blanket. It's going quite well, will show a picture soon. Sorry this is a short one, not done much other than work and housework. Tammie is doing ok and Typsy is fine too, not liked the humidity much and be quite glad when it all gets back to normal.

Saturday 13 July 2013

Southend Rock and more

We decided to pop out today to the seaside again. There isn't much choice when you don't have a car so we paid the £9.80 each for return tickets to Southend Central and we got there around 10am. We treated ourselves to a Greg's pasty and cuppa and sat outside to eat them with the company of a few character like pigeons. One we called hop a long because he had a dodgy foot and the others were just greedy sods! We strolled around to find a bank atm machine and Frank noticed a sign for a train station called Southend Victoria. We walked down an alley between shops and there it was, an old station that links you to London and we found that it goes to Romford too (handy to know this). We went back to the high street and carried on walking down towards the slope where the beach is and popped in a few shops. There was a crowd forming outside Marks & Spencers and we noticed a statue in gold. Well, he was flipping brilliant. Frightened the crap out of me, it was a HE. He was shaking peoples hands, giving them a sweet and generally being quite entertaining. Wish I had taken a photo of him now! We got to the slope that takes you down towards the coast and there was the usual screaming coming from Adventure Island. We watched some of the roller coaster's going by, well I should say down, straight down and felt a twinge of sickness cause you would never get me on them. We carried on walking along the parade and bought an ice cream and some sweet treats to bring home. I remembered in the week at work a colleague came into work with a lovely dress on and I said she looks like a stick of rock and I saw the exact same colours of a Southend Stick of Rock so I bought it for her and will let her enjoy it.
We then stood and watched the water jets squirt high up and kids running through it screaming and then enjoyed an ice cream whilst walking along. It is rather noisy there which is fine, there's nothing wrong with hearing kids enjoying themselves. We carried on walking and it was around mid day and I said lets get the train up the pier and walk back. It is not cheap, it cost £3.50 each for a ride and walk fare and it does go towards the upkeep of the pier. The train was brilliant, I thought it was still the old red train that you could not stand up in with old wooden seats and chipped paintwork. Nope, it is still a small train but it's got a reasonable height to it with uncomfortable seats and electric sliding doors. The train is a diesel and I took some photos of it for you here and the funny thing is, when we walked back there was grid lock. Frank said that the rail line had to be changed for one another to pass so we were standing there waiting for it to be done from the signal box at the begining of the pier and alas, no. The poor driver had to get out with his 'bar' and manually change the track line.
I remember the end of the pier as having small huts with bucket and spade shops and a the best fish and chip shop going but nope, that as all burnt down years ago due to vandalism. They have done the best they can and it has been modernised. At the very end is this monstrosity,
It houses a small pricey cafe that has some dodgy steps. I know my eyesight is deteriorating lately what with working on computer all day but some of the steps going down from the seating area is dodgy, you can't see where they begin and where they end. I just kept thinking 'some pensioner or child is going to fall down these'. To the other side of the big building is the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) which patrols the area. Then down the side of it is where you will find some fishermen and a few hard uncomfortable seats to take in the view. It is much quieter at the end of the pier and I do prefer that because when you live in a town of traffic, sirens and commuting, it's just awesome to take in the sounds of the sea and the gulls.
The third photo is a view from the end looking down the pier towards the coastline. It was quite a pleasant time and took about 15 minutes to walk back. We ended up going into a posh restaurant for fish and chips and then walked up some steep stairs to get back to the high street. We popped into Clark's Shoes and Frank bought me a lovely pair of black wide fit shoes and I treated myself to a pair of cream shoes. We then got the train back to Dagenham and by then, it was 4pm. We were knackered, gone brown with the sun and ready for a nap. That nap ended up being 2 hours and I woke up feeling a little worse for wear. A cuppa soon put that right and now it's almost 9pm and it's getting dark and a bit cooler. We are suppose to have a thunder storm and I hope we do, I love storms to clear the air. Hope you liked our day out and am now going to enjoy some more crochet. Have got our eye tests tomorrow morning so a bit of jogging first thing and then a relaxing day. Take care..