Day One. And with much excitement we decided to whip down the A13 and have a day in Southend. The weather was OK. It didn't seem that far. We imagined a day of buckets, spades, fish and chips. Like you'd get in Morecambe or Margate. Unfotunately Southend is more of a dump than you'd suspect. No sand. Just pebbles or mud. Lousy cafes and a pointlessly long pier.
We played a bit of adventure golf on a course which was rather splendid. But Arthur's still a bit too young to enjoy it. Especially as he didn't want the balls to go in the holes, since they were 'too muddy'.
It's suprisingly easy to take bleak photos of Southend. But despite appearances, and the prevailing conditions, we had a really nice day. Hung out. Made pebbly sand castles. Watched the kite-surfers in the distance. Overall, a good start. And a couple of nice comments reminded me how lucky I am to be doing this. And how good my employers are to be letting me.
