Away From "Home"

Arundel Castle, Arundel, West Sussex, England

Well here I am in a dull, windy, bleak & rainy UK.

I haven't set foot in England for two & a half years. It's funny how even though everything in Bulgaria is so different, & coming back here is stepping forward into the 2st century, even though its a different world, one I have rejected, it's the roots of who I am.

I am that little "cockney" girl who hates cities & tall buildings, hates the rush & ignorance of London life, even though I was born & bred to it. Hates the money, money , money attitude you need to live a good life here & the struggle people have even though they work, work, work. 

But I love the coast! I am very fortunate that both the areas I have family in are coastal, bonus lol. 

I raised my children in Bognor Regis, a sleepy seaside country town on the West Sussex coast, dahn sahf. I thank God we (Myself & my Ex) moved there as one of my daughters & my son are bringing up my granddaughters there, & for a child it's an idyllic life. I am surprised how much I miss Bognor still.
It has been 12 years since I lived here & I had a wonderful life in some ways & a nightmare in others (adult stuff) but always loved the place. Its perfect for me as it is not built up or towney, has the seaside, a bit of shopping, countryside & lots of history. Bognor Regis is also near a lot of getaway places that people pay to go on holiday to & Chichester is just up the road for good shopping, if you don't mind putting up with the snobbery for a day! 
I have only spent two days here but already it feels like home! 


It's wonderful to be in a normal house, with no dust, flat walls, a proper kitchen with proper good quality items, flat floors & cleanness lol I miss those things & I know I do I just didn't realise how much. 
Don't get me wrong I love my life in Bulgaria, what my home will one day be but getting there is proving to be a mission. Good job I am not a snob & I am willing to put up with stuff cause after over 3 years it does get a bit gutty! 
My daughter & partner live in a gorgeous house in one of the 5 villages, that are part of Bognor, Set in the country with the sandy beach a spit away across the road. 

We have been out to Arundel castle on a wild & windy damp day but it was great, after all we are British & just get on with it "stiff upper lip" & all that. 

Family

After all if we didn't then living in England you would get to do nothing hahaha. 

My first cream tea!

We had a cream tea which was on my list of to do's (scratch that one off) & then we went out to a country pub for a good old surf & turf (steak & prawns) second on my list of to do's, so I am a happy bunny.  I miss the old English pub eateries, good ones not the Beefeater-ies but old taverns that have the original feel about them. 
They would go so well in Bulgaria (well with not so much English-ness about them) with their old beams wood floors & could just imagine Rasputin-ian running through with his sword raised hahaha. There is a pub in Veliko Turnovo that is similar with walls full of old "stuff" dressers with an eclectic mix of old tea pots violins cups & "stuff" everywhere, uneven floors old wooden tables & chairs miss matched, yep it feels great & is completely Bulgarian, it fits right!
You can probably tell I love history & everything historic. Living in places that have this about their character fits right with me & my soul searches them out, like to like.  Hence living in the Veliko Turnovo region & deep in the countryside of Bulgaria, its real & true.


I have for the first time met my granddaughter Chloe & what a little gem she is, a darling always laughing & running around very busy ;-) I am honoured as she is very fussy with people & doesn't take easily to them, she has a tendancy to cry at them & be very suspicious, so you can imagine I was all prepared for this & thinking I hope to get a kiss before I go back to Bulgaria!
Well Chloe was not a bit scared of me, which was a great start & after a while she sat between me & my daughter Claire stroking my arm surreptitiously while I wasn't looking, & let me stroke her back, surreptitiously off course  ;-) By the time she had to go home I had a big kisses, a cuddle & bye byes, she even said Nanoo. Very happy Nanna. I think it helps that she is in love with her Aunty Claire & we sound the same & look similar. Chloe has the Reedman features so she has the same look as her Dad, her Aunty, her cousins & her Nanna. Chloe also has the look of her mum so its very strange but she can look completely different at times, she has her mums family eyes & shape mouth. How lovely is that to take after both parents so much!
I have had a lovely time with Hope, my eldest granddaughter (I have 3 granddaughters) & hope to see Molly very soon but as she lives in Bristol this has to be organised & I guess I will only get to see her for a couple of days :-((( Can't wait!!!


Yesterday saw the first family sunday roast around the dinning table for years, some faces were missing, some  faces were  new, but family all the same, lovely & yes I did the cooking in a real kitchen with a REAL cooker oh I was loving it!!!!!
My son gave me his old phone which is 9 years younger than the one I have now! I don't know how to use it & my sim doesn't work in it but I am well happy, I just have to get a new sim for me to use when I am here & I will be well away ;-))))) Yeay 21st century here I come, well for a bit


Off to Hastings today to look after my mum. Mum has just had a knee replacement & at almost 88 this is no mean feat! I will be with mum for a couple of weeks till my brother comes across from Australia for 17 days then I will come back to Bognor for two weeks to spend more family time (won't be so hectic) & catch up with a couple of really good friends, can't wait!!!!! I think me & Claire are also going up Lahndan tahn to Harrods for afternoon tea, ooh lala, well I am a Londoner so what do you expect????? a kebab on the corner, oooooh nooooo that my dears is not me at all ;-) yucky greasy food, well I could maybe have a shish before I go back "home"