Illustration, The Universe and Everything

Good grief. The sun is shining here and has been for two days now!  It's almost like - dare I say it - spring. I'm sure, however, that I am getting ahead of myself. It usually snows around this way in February, and we haven't yet had any really good, frosty, but sunny, weather. (Unless you count five days at the beginning of November where your fingers might have fallen off if you ventured out without gloves.)

Taking advantage of the good weather, Lovely Jon and I got out of the house after a disgustingly long lie-in. As the washing machine has been returned from whence in came in preparation for moving out, we trundled up the hill to Seven Dials and Upper Hamilton Street to use the launderette and, obviously needing some way in which to pass the time, went to The Chimney House for lunch. You know you've slept too late when you're eating your Sunday roast for breakfast.

The CH is a lovely, smoke-free, dog-friendly "gastropub" - to use that annoying term - but that also means it's a kid-friendly pub too. Not that that is such a bad thing, but Brighton Mummies have a habit of thinking they're the most important people in the world, so therefore they can go/do/say whatever they like without feeling they need to ever disipline their child/children. Humph.

We also went there for Sunday lunch two weeks ago on New Year's Eve when it was much quieter. We ended up staying for nearly three hours eating and playing chess! I'm a beginner at chess really, but Lovely Jon was, like, Junior Chess Champion of The World 1989-1993 or something, so he's teaching me. I surprised both him and myself by not being as crap as either of us thought I was going to be in a game that lasted well over an hour. The deal is that he is going to teach me to play a good game of chess, and I'm going to teach him to knit, which should defintely come in handy come Christmas when I'm up to my eyeballs in Crimbo pressie knitting!

After lunch and after collecting out toasty-warm laundry, we walked over to Lewes Road and to Shabitat. We found a lovely big table and four amazing chunky chairs for the new gaff which we are picking up on Friday when we have the van. A bargain at 60 quid for the lot.

I love walking out in the cold air. I haven't been walking an awful lot lately, but that will all change Come The Move. Everything seems to be Come The Move. I just want to get there and get on with my new life and all the projects I have planned! Grrr. Frustration.

Sunday's weather might've been glorious, but Saturday's certainly wasn't. Now we have a car for the first time in two years, Lovely Jon and I have started Saturday Explorations where we basically jump in the car and just drive anywhere, and this week we ended up in Arundel. I've been to the castle there as a teenager, and the WWT centre as a child, but never to the town itself. 

We found a lovely, lovely second hand bookshop where I picked up this box:





With this book inside:







The bookshop owner told me it was published through a private press in America in the 1950s/60s. She bought it from a man called Alan Wyngate - whose name is on a bookplate inside the front cover - who was given it as a child. It is taken from Lewis Carroll's original manuscript for Alice, and, to top it all, with his own illustrations. I love it. Apologies for the slightly rubbishy photos, though.

We also came across a traditional sweet shop where I got this "Retro Bag" and 100g of Strawberry BonBons for £1.99. A bargain weekend all round!