Brighton

It's Sunday evening here and we've been in Brighton for the last few days.

After we left Lincoln, we went to nearby Market Rasen Racecourse and rejoined the Caravan Club.  We had a feeling we were near the airbase where Judy's father, Ken Roberts, had been stationed (he piloted Lancasters during WWII).  Judy's sister Marion knew that he'd flown from Ludford Magna and when we googled it we found that we were less than 10 miles away.  We visited, of course, and found that the site of the airbase is now a huge paddock of rape/canola.  There were traces of old wartime concrete roads, but the runway blocks have been moved away and now form part of the fill for the Humber Bridge earthworks; so whenever you cross that bridge, you're driving over the old Ludford Magna runway!

From there to Brighton would have been a breeze except for the traffic jams where we crossed the Thames.  But we made it and have been enjoying seaside Brighton in sunny weather ever since.  In fact we've extended our stay to four nights and plan to cross back to France later during the week.

The old Lonely Planet in the van says of Brighton that it is "a fascinating mix of seediness and sophistication", which sounds about right.  Although it couldn't be more different, I think it's a bit like Surfers Paradise too.  But for all that we're loving it.  The Royal Pavilion defies belief and the pier, on a sunny weekend day at the end of the school holidays, is tightly packed with people of all ages spending money and having a great time.  You certainly don't get the feel that the UK is in recession.

Today we encountered hundreds and hundreds of Mini Minors that had participated in the London to Brighton Mini Rally.  [Shades of Genevieve the movie]  We're astounded that so many minis are still operational worldwide, but so many here is staggering!  A lot have been restored, many are in original trim and some have been tricked up in various ways.  So, can you imagine a very long stretch limo based on a mini?  Sounds incredible, but it was only one of the weird and wonderful variations we saw today.

We're at a Caravan Club site, two miles from the centre of all the action, so it was an easy walk in yesterday and today we got the bikes working and rode.  It is even more manicured and orderly than most Caravan Club sites and is complete with the usual warning signs.  In case you can't read this one it says "Caution: Steep bank".  [Is it just us, or is this really hilarious?]

So, best wishes to all at home.  Hope you getting just the rain you need.

Regards from Judy and Rob