Out of Practice

 We're very much creatures of habit.

We're lucky enough that having been able to effectively retire but still be useful we tend to still have "work days" of fixing computers, fundraising and helping kids and adults learn useful and fun digital skills.  But we generally get to decide most of the what, when and how of that and still, at the end of the working day, feel like we've earned our pint (well, quite often, two-thirds).

Weekends, then tend to be spend in and around home doing chores, or following home-based project and maybe watching sport.

This Sunday, however, we threw all of that into the air.  We decided to go and watch the Beachy Head Penny Farthing Hill Climb - where 40 Penny Farthing riders start on the seafront and pedal furiously up around 160m of climb on a zigzag road in a time trial (this means cycling on your own against the clock).

There are buses on a Sunday which drop passengers at Beachy Head so, rather than slog up 2 miles of hill ourselves, we thought we'd use that.  Sadly, we were informed as we got on the bus that the buses were detouring because of the race.  Instead, we had to walk a couple of miles from the inland stop to get to the most interesting part of the race:  the top of the main incline.  We feared we'd miss all the riders but we arrived with about a dozen or so to come. 

It was a blast! It was a shame after the fun of the race not to have a bit more of a wander around the downland and we were treated to kestrels, swallows, butterflies and crickets.  Sadly the single pub of the area is rubbish for beer (it was too early, anyhow) so we jumped on another bus down to the seafront and had a little stroll, grabbed some lunch and then, around 2pm decided that The Victoria Hotel might make a good place to get some relief from the sun and to recover a little.

Since we used to drink here regularly, the management has changed. It's still a Harveys tied house, though.  So I had a pint of best and himself said he'd try the "Light".  I got the better of the deal - my Best was in perfect condition and reminded me of why it's such a revered pint.  His "light" was a little tired and lacked a spark.

We relaxed in the pub in the same seats as the first time the BBB took me there around 15 years ago:  other than the landlord, nothing has changed.  The BBB has been drinking here for nearly 50 years - most of the interior has remained static, he confirmed.

We shared a pint of Tom Paine which was excellent and then strolled back to the pier to get our bus home.

Next morning it turns out that, walking a lot of miles,  neither of us slept particularly well - it seems that the break in routine may have been to blame. I'm not sure if this means we should break old habits less, or more, to be honest.  Still, it was nice to have a good excuse to go to the Vic again.

Since then we've been to The Crown  and had Three Legs Mosaic and Kent Citra and we've popped into Beerarama for Steady Rolling Man, some Azvex strong stuff and a beer from a Swiss brewer who's beers are hard to come by (I forget the brewery name).

Today, the weather promises to be hideously hot again and we haven't had any rain for a couple of months (this is not tolerable for a girl from the West Country) so we've restocked the fridge beer, we'll cower in the house for worst of the heat and then we'll sit in the back garden later with Pollys and Arbor cans, maybe treat the tomatoes to a couple of cans of water, and see if "hedgehog-cam" picked up any more footage last night after we replenished supplies.   

Small things...