Another soggy morning although it was only a misty rain as Kallie and I set out to jog over the Downs. She seemed less energetic. Probably due to this being her second 6km+ outing in twelve hours! We made it back only a little damp as the rain was still just a mist.
I showered and had breakfast before driving into town via Kingston Garden Centre where I purchased a happy birthday plant for my mummy. Eleanor suggested an artificial plant since the back of their flat is not very light and there is limited window space for plants. At least this plant should still be going strong on her one-hundredth birthday!
My other missions included picking up an Amazon order from the post office, the purchase of a birthday card and another gift. I achieved all of these errands then went to find something to eat before our trip to Ashburnham Place. I decided to try a small café which sells food and drink to eat-in or take away. They were probably very pleased when I opted for take-away as the place was heaving and more customers arrived as I waited for my order to be prepared, I left bearing a paper carrier containing two recycled cardboard containers with the special of the day, a vegan Thai Green curry. Back at GFC, I ate my curry and then we set off for Ashburnham Place.
It was raining as we headed down the A27 towards Polegate. The satnav took us down a narrow road and tried to get us to enter Ashburnham via a service road. This lead to a little diversion through the village. We finally arrived, this time through the main entrance and found the car park which is next to the church. We parked up and started our visit to the parish church – Ashburnham St Peter. It’s a sizeable parish church in the Gothic style which stands close to the site of the main house which was demolished in 1960. There are family tombs near to the altar and the seating in arranged in oak stalls with doors. The church is ‘heated’ by a number of radiators as well as large-bore pipes which appear to serve only the stalls closest to the altar. The penalty for arriving late is to sit in the cold!
We completed our visit and admired the lake and the trees as we drove through the grounds. The main building is a bit of a letdown compared to the original. We made our way back to Lewes avoiding the service exit and the narrow road. It was still raining and the weather was pretty miserable as we drove westwards along the A27. I dropped at GFC, picked up a couple of items and then returned to 5GC for something to eat. Eleanor and Kallie were still out and Terry and Chris wouldn’t be coming as Chris is poorly.
The forecast for tomorrow and the next few days is a saga of wetness. At least Crete should still be warm and dry on Wednesday.
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