Weekend in Lindfield, Haywards Heath

Friday 2 December 2014

Evening prior to going to Haywards Heath was exciting... each Christmas, for the past eight years or more in Mum & Dad's village,  Stan Robinson's American Kenworth truck drives through the village tooting its very loud horn... while this is happening each house turns on their outdoor Christmas lights.  All the villagers then gather by the village hall with the local Vicar, whom prays and says thanks to all and then turns on the main village Christmas tree lights.  We all then gather inside for a mulled wine and a Christmas mince pie.  Its a great way to get everyone together in the village and it was also a great chance for me to catch up with a few of them that I hadn't seen for years!!

Saturday 3 December 2014

The morning started with a heavy frost! Minus two degrees....brrrr!!!  Dad had to de-ice the car before he could take me to the railway station!  However it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day which was nice.

I was venturing down to London to visit our friends, Tim, Ian and Emma whom live in Lindfield, Haywards Heath.  Haven't seen them for two years!!

I travelled on the train from Stafford to London Euston at 9.56am on a London Midland service, arriving into London at 11.50am.  I managed to get a window seat with a table which was great.  The train had several stops to London... Rugely Trent Vale, Litchfield Trent Vale, Tamworth, Atherstone, Nuneaton, Rugby, Milton Keynes Central and London Euston.

I could have taken a virgin train service, which had no stops and only took 1hr 20 minutes, but that was thirty pounds dearer!!  I didn't mind the extra 30 minute or more travelling time.

The following are countryside views from the train on the way...

canal... narrow boats

Allotments!

Once at Euston, I then had to find the Underground, along with a few hundred, then some passengers!!!! I queued for over 30 minutes to top up my Oyster card, which Dave and I got two years ago when we were last in London.  It was utter chaos!!! Once I managed this I then tubed it to Victoria Station.

I was starting to get quite annoyed and concerned too, as my mobile phone, for some unknown reason wouldn't let me make any calls or send any texts!!! Not a good position to be in when your travelling on your own and need to let friends know where you are and when they need to meet you!!!! Very frustrating.  I checked the limit on the phone and said it had run out, it shouldn't have done as I had only topped it up two days prior with unlimited texts and calls etc. in the Vodafone shop.

Once at Victoria Station I had to find out where to buy my next train ticket to Haywards Heath.  Again I had to queue for about 20 odd minutes!  Once that was sorted I then went straight to the Vodafone shop to sort out my phone.  A very helpful assistant sorted it out, well so I thought!!  She said a text would come through in 5 minutes to advise that my phone had been activated.   I took this as fixed... I was so wrong!

I then had to dash across the concourse to platform 16 to catch the Haywards Heath train, but once there the train was delayed due to track issues!! So needn't have rushed!!!

Fifteen minutes later, still no text to confirm phone was working either from Vodafone.  Still couldn't text or phone out, so still not able to let my friends know I was on my way and for them to leave home to meet me at their station!! Starting to feel a bit anxious by now!!!  I was thinking about asking someone if I could borrow their phone!!! I was receiving texts from my friend Ian, but I just couldn't reply.... so so frustrating!

Twenty minutes later the train was able to leave, I boarded and was on my way.  Still not being able to use my phone.... then suddenly my friend Ian phoned me, and I was so so relieved!!!

Tim and Ian were waiting for me at the station which was lovely, we then drove off to select their Christmas tree at a Goddenwick local farm.  Unfortunately we didn't get to see the reindeer's.

Oink Oink

Pigmy Goats

We then popped in to the local pub The Witch for a drink, as picking a Christmas tree is thirsty work!!  Just so happened to come across one of my favourite dogs, West Highland White... so cute!

Once home Tim and I unwrapped the tree, we let it stand overnight, for the branches to drop before we decorated it.

Sunday morning Tim and I decorated the tree.

We then went for a mooch through Lindfield and popped into the Red Lion for a drink before dinner.

Thatched cottage, believed to have been King Henry VII’s Hunting Lodge (1390)

village pond

 This is Old Place, built in 1590 and rescued from use as a poor house by the Victorian stained-glass artist Charles Eames Kempe. 

The parish Church, All Saints, stands at the top of the High Street and its history goes back to 1098.

fancy chimney

Ian, Tim, Suzie (me!)

when in the London region, one drinks Pimm's!

Table all set for dinner.  Ian cooked us roast beef and pork, very delicious with all the trimmings, accompanied with an amazing bottle of red, which Dave and I bought Tim & Ian two years ago from Hedonism Wine shop in Mayfair, London.  A wine shop to visit if your ever in the area!  Its amazing.

 relaxing after a big feed with Tim, Emma and Ian x

Thanks for an awesome weekend.  Until the next catch up... hopefully in a few weeks time when Dave arrives.  If not I wonder how many years it will be next time!!!

Hopefully see you in NZ or OZ :-)) x

Collegiate Church of Saint Mary.... Christmas Tree Festival

Each year the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary holds a Christmas Tree Festival.... this year there were 71 Christmas Trees decorated from local businesses, retailers, voluntary groups and local council's.  This is a sample of them.

this one is from my Mum's club : The Holmcroft Phoenix

First couple of days...

Since arriving home I have been really struggling with jet lag!!! Been crashing early between 6 and 7pm each night and waking around 2am, then 4am.... Really annoying!!!

I've been into town with Dad running errands. I even got him into the shops!!! A first for Dad!  I had to sort out my mobile phone with Vodafone, who surprisingly were extremely helpful.  Dad also showed me where he plays bowls in the summer.  The greens are closed now for winter.  He plays indoor bowls at another venue, along with dominos, and snooker.  More active than I am!!!

Mum and I walked over Coton Clanford lanes yesterday for an hour, it was a really lovely day weather wise, cool but crisp.  We came across these Water Buffalo down the road... the local farmer has a hundred plus of them!!  I think they had just been milked or about to be milked.  They use the milk for Mozzarella cheese.  Inquisitive animals.

This is a beautiful three-storey, half-timbered Tudor mansion called Clanford Hall, belongs to one of our local farmers.  The building, dated 1684, is listed Grade II* and is a good example of 17th century vernacular architecture of the area.  It is timber framed with a tiled roof and brick stacks, with two storeys and an attic, and four-storeyed on the East. It is restored in brick and colour-washed, with wood finials to gables and ornamental timbering at front and restored timbering at rear. There are casements and wood mullioned windows with modern leaded lights. The house has exposed ceiling beams. 

Later in the day I went and played badminton with Mum at her local club.  It was a great hour, lots of fun, great doubles games and lots and lots of laughs!!!  Mum even beat me twice!! That same evening I joined the badminton crowd for their Christmas get-together at the local Chinese restaurant, The Golden Orient. One of the ladies were celebrating a birthday too, hence the balloons on our table.  It was really enjoyable meeting and getting to know my Mum's friends.  So now when I next speak to Mum and she talks about everyone I will know exactly who she is talking about!  Hope to play badminton again with them all next week too.

Nice to be home

I left Wellington, for the UK, on 1 December 2014, at 4.20pm.... My hubby and I went to the airport together, which was really nice, except Dave unfortunately wasn't travelling with me this time, as he couldn't get the extra time off work, though he is joining me in two weeks time!  Dave had to fly to Auckland for work and I flew to Sydney!  I must admit it was really hard saying goodbye!  Though it will be really exciting meeting him off his flight in two weeks time in Manchester.  It will be like the movie... "Love Actually"... !!!  They do say absence makes the heart grow fonder!

My flight out of Wellington was delayed approximately twenty minutes, not exactly sure why, we weren't advised!!  Once in the air I started to relax a little.  The three hour, forty minute flight to Sydney went relatively quickly.  I arrived in Sydney with time to mooch around the duty free, but didn't buy anything as I was advised its best to buy it in Bangkok on the way through!

I boarded the flight in Sydney on time.  We were heading down the runway, all was going well, until we were then advised we had to return to the terminal!!! Apparently there was a drunk passenger on board that was causing issues, and due to safety of others they had to return and offload him!!! The crew had to find his luggage and then re-check everyone else's luggage on board!!! How they even let him board if he was really drunk is beyond me!!!

The flight to Bangkok was nine hours, ten minutes, I was in an aisle seat in the middle four seats, quite a good position as only one person next to me had to pass me.  My neighbour was a young female university student, learning physiotherapy from Cronulla, great chick.  She was visiting her brother in Rome who is a professional football player.  Even though we were late leaving Sydney, the pilot made up time and got us to Bangkok on time.  I was expecting to have an hour between our connection to Dubai but we only had approximately thirty minutes.  We were allowed to get off the plane but I decided not to get off in the end, as I couldn't be bothered taking my bags with me, but wished I had in the end, as all the cleaners came on board and cleaned up the empty seats, it was a bit chaotic!!  Would have been nice to have a walk and stretch my legs and possibly buy duty free.  My neighbour chose to get off in the end, but on her return she said there wasn't anything open to buy duty free, so I didn't feel too bad in the end in not getting off.

The flight to Dubai was a further six hours forty minutes.  The arrival in to Dubai was on time, but the turnaround for the next connection was extremely tight, I thought we had over an hour and half, but in fact it was only twenty minutes!!! Thankfully when we disembarked the flight their were ground staff waiting for us to escort us to our next connection to Manchester!!

The Dubai to Manchester flight was another eight hours.  By this time I was feeling quite tired, but started to feel really excited as I was getting closer to being home and knew that Mum and Dad were waiting for me at Manchester airport.  On this flight I had a window seat, a spare seat next to me, then my neighbour.  This time it was a young guy who had just finished working in Dubai as a deep sea diver on the oil rigs, he was on his way home to Inverness in Scotland.

Movies watched throughout my flights... 

"The Hundred-Foot Journey" (2014) with Helen Mirren.... The Kadam family leaves India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory's Michelin-starred eatery.  A lighthearted, enchanting movie, a must to watch.

"The November Man" (2014) with Pierce Brosnan... An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.  Spy thriller, entertaining.

"Grand Piano" (2013) with Elija Wood .... Moments before his comeback performance, a concert pianist who suffers from stage fright discovers a note written on his music sheet.  Not that brilliant!

"The Other Women" (2014) with Cameron Diaz... After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been betraying. And when yet another love affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot revenge on the three-timing S.O.B.  Hugely entertaining!

"One Chance"... The true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night who became a phenomenon after being chosen for -- and ultimately winning -- Britain's Got Talent (2007).  A great storyline.

Overall travelling time 27 hours... a bloody long way in one go!!! I did manage to get about seven hours sleep on and off!

Here's Mum & I very excited to see each other, Dad's taking the pic!! 

From Manchester to home is a further one hour drive or just under.  I must say it was nice getting home.  Mum and I went for a brisk walk around the back lane before it got dark so I could get some fresh air and stretch my legs out after sitting and travelling from one side of the world to the other!!!

The Ford with the sun setting

real holly!!

A glimpse of Seighford Hall through the branches

I hit the sack at 6.30pm that night as I was totally shattered!!!