FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

1. Monday was the last day of my holidays in Eastbourne.



My friends took me on a tour through the South Downs a stunning landscape !



We went up to Beachy Head were the ground suddenly ends and if you don't pay attention you could just walk over the cliff and fall down. My friends didn't want to go near there, but I wanted and although I get already dizzy on a balcony of a second floor, here I felt nothing. But I was careful, I laid on the grass and bent my head down to see these beautiful white cliffs and took these pictures. Unfortunately this is also a very well known place for people who don't want to live anymore and just jump down the cliffs.



A range of cliffs is called the "Seven Sisters" where a restaurant is standing.



We ended our tour in a little village nearby Eastbourne and had tea and cake. Then it was time to pack my suitcase.

2. The next day I took the train to London



I wanted to visit the Mews and see the Royal coaches, but there were so many people lined up that I gave up and had lunch in this Pub near Buckingham Palace. When I took the picture I thought how time has changed, years ago I used to sit in Pubs and draw people, now I take pictures !



After I ride on the top of my bus, I stopped in Carnaby street for a coffee, before I went to the station, pick up my luggage which I had left there and took my train home. Mr. G. waited for me at the station and when I arrived home my cats didn't even greet me, apparently I hadn't been missed.

3. As usual after holidays there are quite some work to do, I unpacked my suitcase and pottered around.

4. Normal life started again with some shopping, it rained and I returned quickly home, there was a lot to do to sort out all the photos I had taken.

5. During school holidays we have no painting class. But as we are very eager students, some of us meet each week for painting. The truth is we don't paint very much we mostly chat more around a coffee ! So I went there and updated myself of the last happenings. The rest of the day I spent blogging in our garden.

LONDON VICTIM OF A MOLE

Letter L

Coming back from my holidays, I stopped for the day in London. Since the beginning of this year I had been 4 times in London and each time I discover more changes in the city. For the moment you see cranes and holes everywhere in the city. The mole which carves its way under the city is the Crossrail, London’s newest railway line, it will connect Maidenhead and Heathrow to the west of the capital to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east via a 118 km (112 miles)  route. 200 million people are expected to use the line every year. The new route passes through some 37 stations of the London network At its deepest point the new line will reach depths of around 40m (3.2 ft).



I was happy to read that the boring machines (TBM) aren't fast: Each TBM will cover around 100 m (328 ft) a week. That's approximately 0.0059524 km/h -- only 0.001km/h faster than my garden snails which eat up my plants each year !

The first time London seemed to be a huge construction site was in 2012 for the Olympic games and now again. 



Everywhere I looked from the top of my bus I saw these cranes and holes.



Diversions caused traffic jams



It seemed to me that half of the world's population was on Oxford street



and each time around the St. Pancras station where I take my train to Brussels, there are new buildings, restaurants and cafés which grow like mushrooms ! In 2007 when St. Pancras became the station for the Eurostar which connects the UK to the continent through a tunnel under the sea, there was nothing around the station, not even a Mc Donald. Today you have the choice from Pubs to Sushis !

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

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Want a tatoo ? (seen on Lammas festival in Eastbourne)

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OUR WORLD - RUDYARD KIPLINGS HOME

I had the opportunity to visit Rudyard Kipling's house Bateman's in Burwash, Sussex. He moved into the house in 1902, and lived there for over thirty years, until his death in 1936, rejoicing in its seclusion under the Sussex downs, and in the evidence all around of thousands of years of English history. Read more here ...

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MY WEEKEND OF AUGUST 2

I had bought a weekly travel card for the bus and as I was a little lazy for walking around I thought I could do some sightseeing just sitting on the top of the bus. And that's what I did. The bus took me all around Eastbourne through the old city up through little villages and it lasted more then an hour. It was a wonderful sightseeing tour !



Then I sat at the seafront, read my book and watched people going by. There were workers on the burnt casino on the pier, it will be repaired for next year's season.



We went to Hastings for a walk and didn't know that a carnival procession just took place



Lots of floats were passing by





We saw some fancy costumes



This one rather bloody



and lots of marching bands. It was very nice, although rather cold because of a strong wind. At least it didn't rain !

For the last time I took my bus to Eastbourne and arrived in time to listen to an Elvis concert !



The Elvis "copy" wasn't the youngest one neither the girls, but he did an excellent performance and had just the same voice. It was so fun to watch the now old Teenagers dancing in the street, and even those sitting in a wheelchair were swinging ! There also was a market on the street but I didn't see anything interesting. Then I had a little lunch and went to the seafront were I enjoyed the sunshine.



This little card arrived on Saturday from Hilary with whom I met on Wednesday. She saw cats and thought of me. I was really touched.