Friday 22nd July - First Day of Summer Holidays

I did my last bit of teaching on Thursday evening, so my holiday unofficially began on the Friday.

Friday was quite a packed day - routine bits and pieces first thing, take my father to the station, and then,  

why not?

why not indeed?

So we went to Brighton. Lunch in Waterstones cafe - very acceptable tuna melt panini - I'll have that again -  and then to the serious work of shopping. I did have a very specific shopping list of things that I can't buy on-line - things I wanted to see and touch.

Ackermann's music first (BB went for a stroll around the block to see what was going on nearby - and then another stroll - he knows I can spend HOURS in a music shop) and seventy pounds later I had chosen a couple of kilo's weight of music books for next term's teaching. I mention the weight - it was about ten books, but it's the weight that matters when you are walking round and about.

We called in at Adaptatrap where I encountered a Kora

(The kora is a 21-string lute-bridge-harp used extensively in West Africa - wikipedia)

the owner of the shop  was tuning one for a customer - what a lovely, radiant  sound. I've got this playing on youtube as I finish this post.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnTDuahaXwg

I managed not to buy one, not to even touch, as I knew that I would just get out my barclaycard and buy one, and we were already carrying too much stuff. I don't even know the price. Let's just walk away....

Then to the Best Shop of all -



where we both spent a good time browsing, circling round and round the displays until we made our final selections.

After that we were pretty much done with shopping, and made our way down to the sea front, and then back to the car, and home.

I wasn't finished with Friday yet though - I went to a staff "do" at a nearby pub noted for pizza and skittles. Oh yay! Skittles is Good Game.

The clock was just about striking midnight as I arrived home... what a way to start the holidays.