Summer Snottyness

 It buggered our plans a bit.  After we went to Hastings on Tuesday, the plan for Wednesday was to ready ourselves to travel to Bristol on Thursday.

But snot got in the way.  Wednesday morning the Boy declared himself to be unwell.  True enough there was a lot of coughing and sneezing. There was only drinking of tea, juice and water all day (even I abstained - mostly because it's more companionable, and an easy way to do a no alcohol day)

Thursday morning arrived and, although brighter, he was still coughing so we decided a raincheck on travel would be wise.  Fridge beer in the warmth of the garden was a good consolation.

Friday I awoke with sore throat and a dull headache (truth be told, it was a couple of days old but definitely more prominent on Friday).  "Shall we delay another day?", I seriously considered it but reasoned that I wouldn't be spluttering over anyone and if we didn't over-exert I'd probably find the journey relatively painless - and then things could take their course.

So we packed light (and lunch) and jumped on a bus to take us to the station.  The Eastbourne - Victoria leg was very quiet as far as Gatwick and when we got to each tube station there was a train to be leapt upon.  This meant that, having left 12.00 we were, amazingly, able to dash for the 14.00 train to Bristol.  

Unfortunately, being the last on the train, and one running on in short format (only 5 coaches) - it was standing room only.  The 45mins to Didcot felt like a LONG time and I feared for the sanity of my knees. We'd noticed a bloke had, annoyingly, sat resolutely in the aisle seat when the chap next to him vacated.  On a crowded train this really is antisocial because most people won't ask to sit in the seat.  I'm not most people, however.

The boy carried on down the carriage and found a seat further down.  

Weirdly, as soon as we were sitting, and even though we weren't sitting together, the 45minute stand melted away. The train stayed resolutely crowded all the rest of the way - and was a about 10 minutes late in.

At Bristol we reunited, went through our arrival routine (get milk out of the freezer, open windows, flush loos, turn on the water, etc) and within 30 mins we were heading out to get a beer (and escape the heat of the flat).  Being Friday, we'd normally go up to Moor but we decided to take a look at Marthas on the way.  Quite a few people sitting outside, but almost no one inside.  

Settling in, it was quiet and cosy - and not unlike putting on a comfy hoody on the first chilly morning in September. We both relaxed.  I became very glad we'd made journey and not put it off.

Their beer is great, the staff are fun and although we only appear periodically, they'll pick up a conversation like we popped in yesterday.  These are folk who know how to do this.  It felt very similar in vibe to the Courtyard.

Since then my cold has got worse, his has got better and although we managed a quick visit to Moor yesterday, I wasn't really up for much.  The decision to travel Friday was definitely a good one - I wouldn't have been up for travelling either yesterday or today.

Today, we'll likely be dodging the rain and staying local, I think  Hopefully with a slightly longer excursion in a few days.