I went back upstairs to the room.
Ma was sat on the bed with her nose in a Mag, but I could tell from her cheeks that she was grinning.
I told her that she was a very naughty old girl and that she should expect to be punished.......and the punishment I had in mind was to load her into the chair and then
push her down the steps of the hotel.
She laughed and said she was going to report me to the 'cruelty' man.

I looked out our window to see clouds...black ones at that, blowing in from the sea......and the wind was starting to blow the curtains about a bit.......a little while later there were great drops of rain plopping onto the window and it had become noticeably cooler in a very short space of time....

Margaret Pilkington

Another lovely sunny day dawned......we both slept well, but woke early.
Ma looked lovely in her cheap night wear.
Our day was to be full on......I would certainly need my 'full english' to sustain me through the day.

Once breakfast was over we got onto the coach for a full day out.
We were going to visit Rye, Tenterden and Battle.
The coach trip took us through some beautiful countryside.......oast houses, lush green fields bordered with hawthorn bushes that were heavy with blosson. There were baby lambs abd rabbits scampering in the fields and the sky was that lovely 'hot' blue.
We could not have picked a better day.

It didn't take us very long to get to Rye a lovely old fashioned...

Margaret Pilkington

Ma and I got washed and changed into our finery(well, it was finery to us).......and went down to dinner.
I got myself a glass of lager at the bar......I had had a glass last night and it went down like new milk......mind you i had a real thirst on me then......Ma said she would have a shandy. It was lemonade really with just a whisper of beer thrown in for colour....it looked like 'maidens water'....she said it was 'just right'.

We had ordered our main course and starter......I chose orange juice and a chef's salad....the options were Roast Lamb, or Sole bonne femme......can't eat either of those......and the chefs Special that night was a chicken korma....so i wasn't really left with much option.
The food came and...

Margaret Pilkington

It took just over half an hour to get back to the hotel.
I installed Ma in the room...she was going to take her pills and then relax....she said that the sea air had made her tired......Me, well I thought the chips might have had a part to play, but being the sole of discretion I said nowt.

I planned to go round the shops and find Ma some night attire....something that would cover her eighty year old flesh with a little decorum. I couldn't stand another night of seeing this wobbly white flesh with surgical scars that made it look like a badly drawn ordnance survey map....complete with railway embankments.(And I'm not being unkind to Ma when I say this....she herself would tell you the same. she says that these days she...

Margaret Pilkington

Monday night was roasting in the room. I checked to make sure the heating was turned off...it was.....I opened both of the big windows and pinned back the net curtains......and both Ma and me slept on top of the beds. I didn't care if the folk in the hotel opposite got an eyeful of my rump.
We were both done in from the long journey and being up early....but once it started to get light the seagulls were screeching, the bin wagons made one hell of a noise and in the end I had to get up and close the windows. It didn't matter we didn't get back to sleep....and we had hours to wait for brekkie.
It was another beautiful day, the sun was cracking the flags.
We were off on a mystery tour for the morning.
Mick, our driver...

Margaret Pilkington