This time last week, I was in the process of trying to decide what to pack for a five day break with Ma.
If you remember, a few weeks ago I told you all that we were booked on another Robinsons Mystery tour.......and then a couple of weeks later i told you that the mystery was a mystery no more......we were off to The Imperial Hotel at Eastbourne.
On our trips to the Isle of Wight we have met many people who had sung the praises of this particular hotel......though, to be honest we didn't think that you could beat the Ocean View.
I looked at the internet forecast, and then phoned Ma to tell her that her long johns could be 'mothballed' for this trip....she was not going to need the red flannel coms.....the forecast was for warm sunny weather......according to the internet.
Me....being the old cynic that I am still packed a cardigan and some long sleeved tops...just in case.
I do like going away, but do so hate the packing....but it had to be done.
I always tell myself that I will pack less stuff as I come back every single time with stuff unworn.....so how did I do this time?
I'm sure you can guess......too much stuff again.
Monday morning saw me up at 5.30......making triple decker cheese and bacon sandwiches....two slices of white bread with a middle slice of wholemeal....Ma doesn't care much for healthy food, so I reckoned that if I hid the wholemeal slice in the middle she would not notice it....and the wholemeal slice would be beneficial to keeping her blood sugar a bit more stable.
I packed some cherry plum tomatoes and some grapes too.......a couple of bottles of Mango drink and a large bottle of water which i had had in the freezer all night to act as a cooler in my cooler bag.
I had already had a shower.....but my hair was stuck up like sore fingers.....I wet it again and dried it over the brush and it still didn't look right.
Eventually I was ready...bags packed....phone and charger.....grub for the journey......everything was loaded into the car.
We had to be down on Peel street for 7.45......I got down there for half past seven.
The coach was already there......and Ma was on it.
The driver loaded my luggage aboard and that was it, we were off....early.
Now on these coach tours you usually spend all morning trundling round the north west.....snarled up in the rush hour traffic, picking up at all the towns. Not on this one we didn't.
We only had one pick up at Wigan, then it was off down to Lymm to catch up with the feeder coaches.
We didn't have to change coaches so Ma stayed aboard and read the morning paper.
It was a beautiful sunny morning and I was looking forward to the journey down south.
I know that a lot of folk do not like coach tours because of the time spent travelling.....but I really don't mind.
I sit there relaxed and enjoying the ride, taking in the scenery....what you can see from the busy motorway.
I have to say that in the main, I have met some very pleasant people on these trips.....but on this tour there were some real old miseries......they complained that the coach was too warm, so the driver put the air conditioning on...blow me(no pun intended there) the next news was they were complaining that it was now too cold!
We made very good time down to Hilton Park, where we picked up more travellers.....and then we sped off to our destination.
We arrived in Eatbourne at 4.30....Ma always waits until last to get off the coach. She is not so nimble and needs to take her time getting off.....so by the time we were off the coach everyone had got their room keys and were off to their rooms.
We were on the second floor and had a lovely room over reception.....huge windows and a sea view.
We liked our room.
I opened the windows as it was very warm.....there was only a very slight breeze....not enough to cool us very much.
Ma started to unpack her things....she had forgotten to pack her baby wipes(disaster)....and also her nightie......she couldn't find her comb either.....but I had a spare.
I put my toiletries in the bathroom, thinking that I would freshen up before dinner with a nice refreshing shower.
Yes, well it was a good plan...except there wasn't a shower...only a bath.
There was one of those cheap rubber shower hoses that you can attach to the bath taps...except it didn't fit the bath taps.
It did fit the taps on the washbasin, but when you turned the water on it went all up the splashback......with nothing much coming out of the actual shower head.....so the refreshing shower turned into a refreshing bath instead.
Once we had unpacked and freshened up it was time to go down to dinner.
We were put onto a table with two couples.
We introduced ourselves and we hit it off straight away. It was like we had known these people forever....we chatted and joked over dinner and were last to leave the dining room. I'm sure the dining room staff hated us for this, which became a habit.
I don't think anyone stayed down for the evening entertainment. I went back to the room with Ma...got her settled watching TV and then went for a walk along the front.
It was still pretty warm.
I found a convenience store that was open so Ibought Ma some baby wipes and also bought some soft drinks to keep up in the room.
When I arrived back at the hotel Ma was lying on the bed in her Bra and knickers......i have to tell you it wasn't a pretty sight......but as she had not packed a nightie it was better than seeing her in the 'nip' I suppose.
Ma was grateful for the baby wipes( which she has to use on her tender little places....since she had radiotherapy her skin gets very sore) and she was also glad of the cold drinks.
It had been a very long day for us, so we soon settled down to go to sleep, but as always, we got giddy and giggly like twelve year olds in a school dorm.
I can't even remember what it was that we laughed about now.....!
to be continued.
If you remember, a few weeks ago I told you all that we were booked on another Robinsons Mystery tour.......and then a couple of weeks later i told you that the mystery was a mystery no more......we were off to The Imperial Hotel at Eastbourne.
On our trips to the Isle of Wight we have met many people who had sung the praises of this particular hotel......though, to be honest we didn't think that you could beat the Ocean View.
I looked at the internet forecast, and then phoned Ma to tell her that her long johns could be 'mothballed' for this trip....she was not going to need the red flannel coms.....the forecast was for warm sunny weather......according to the internet.
Me....being the old cynic that I am still packed a cardigan and some long sleeved tops...just in case.
I do like going away, but do so hate the packing....but it had to be done.
I always tell myself that I will pack less stuff as I come back every single time with stuff unworn.....so how did I do this time?
I'm sure you can guess......too much stuff again.
Monday morning saw me up at 5.30......making triple decker cheese and bacon sandwiches....two slices of white bread with a middle slice of wholemeal....Ma doesn't care much for healthy food, so I reckoned that if I hid the wholemeal slice in the middle she would not notice it....and the wholemeal slice would be beneficial to keeping her blood sugar a bit more stable.
I packed some cherry plum tomatoes and some grapes too.......a couple of bottles of Mango drink and a large bottle of water which i had had in the freezer all night to act as a cooler in my cooler bag.
I had already had a shower.....but my hair was stuck up like sore fingers.....I wet it again and dried it over the brush and it still didn't look right.
Eventually I was ready...bags packed....phone and charger.....grub for the journey......everything was loaded into the car.
We had to be down on Peel street for 7.45......I got down there for half past seven.
The coach was already there......and Ma was on it.
The driver loaded my luggage aboard and that was it, we were off....early.
Now on these coach tours you usually spend all morning trundling round the north west.....snarled up in the rush hour traffic, picking up at all the towns. Not on this one we didn't.
We only had one pick up at Wigan, then it was off down to Lymm to catch up with the feeder coaches.
We didn't have to change coaches so Ma stayed aboard and read the morning paper.
It was a beautiful sunny morning and I was looking forward to the journey down south.
I know that a lot of folk do not like coach tours because of the time spent travelling.....but I really don't mind.
I sit there relaxed and enjoying the ride, taking in the scenery....what you can see from the busy motorway.
I have to say that in the main, I have met some very pleasant people on these trips.....but on this tour there were some real old miseries......they complained that the coach was too warm, so the driver put the air conditioning on...blow me(no pun intended there) the next news was they were complaining that it was now too cold!
We made very good time down to Hilton Park, where we picked up more travellers.....and then we sped off to our destination.
We arrived in Eatbourne at 4.30....Ma always waits until last to get off the coach. She is not so nimble and needs to take her time getting off.....so by the time we were off the coach everyone had got their room keys and were off to their rooms.
We were on the second floor and had a lovely room over reception.....huge windows and a sea view.
We liked our room.
I opened the windows as it was very warm.....there was only a very slight breeze....not enough to cool us very much.
Ma started to unpack her things....she had forgotten to pack her baby wipes(disaster)....and also her nightie......she couldn't find her comb either.....but I had a spare.
I put my toiletries in the bathroom, thinking that I would freshen up before dinner with a nice refreshing shower.
Yes, well it was a good plan...except there wasn't a shower...only a bath.
There was one of those cheap rubber shower hoses that you can attach to the bath taps...except it didn't fit the bath taps.
It did fit the taps on the washbasin, but when you turned the water on it went all up the splashback......with nothing much coming out of the actual shower head.....so the refreshing shower turned into a refreshing bath instead.
Once we had unpacked and freshened up it was time to go down to dinner.
We were put onto a table with two couples.
We introduced ourselves and we hit it off straight away. It was like we had known these people forever....we chatted and joked over dinner and were last to leave the dining room. I'm sure the dining room staff hated us for this, which became a habit.
I don't think anyone stayed down for the evening entertainment. I went back to the room with Ma...got her settled watching TV and then went for a walk along the front.
It was still pretty warm.
I found a convenience store that was open so Ibought Ma some baby wipes and also bought some soft drinks to keep up in the room.
When I arrived back at the hotel Ma was lying on the bed in her Bra and knickers......i have to tell you it wasn't a pretty sight......but as she had not packed a nightie it was better than seeing her in the 'nip' I suppose.
Ma was grateful for the baby wipes( which she has to use on her tender little places....since she had radiotherapy her skin gets very sore) and she was also glad of the cold drinks.
It had been a very long day for us, so we soon settled down to go to sleep, but as always, we got giddy and giggly like twelve year olds in a school dorm.
I can't even remember what it was that we laughed about now.....!
to be continued.
