Hengistbury Haunt

We took Matt and Ben up to Hengistbury Head for a walk up the cliff side and round the banks. They managed to squeeze one more dip in the sea before their train was due to take them home. The house is noticeably quieter now with just me and Rebecca pottering about. 

A newer tradition in Bournemouth is the annual 'visit the Korean supermarket and make a dinner using mostly their stuff'. We had some chicken left over from yesterday so a makeshift ramen/broth bowl was in order, plus a soft boiled egg and some kimchi from the literal 1.2kg tub we got in the shop. It turned out hilariously well.

It's a little weird to consider today is the last day of the Summer. The never ending heat waves, droughts and scattered jobs. With it effectively comes the end of my Funemployment. I have a few days left now but the long holiday is all but over. Time to buck up my attitude, tuck in my shirt and put in my biggest smile. Showtime soon.

Swimming in Gravy

We went into this Sunday with two objectives:

Go in the sea.

Have a roast dinner. 

I'm delighted to say that we smashed our goals. The weather was looking a tad dicey, but we timed it well and arrived at the beach in a perfect window of opportunity. The weather meant the water was a bit more 'fun' than usual too so the four of us had a good lark as waves knocked us over. 

Back at the ranch Matt and Ben took over the kitchen and whipped up a roast chicken and a apple & blackberry crumble pudding. I haven't had one of those since the heatwaves started, the first of many I'm sure, but I doubt any will top what we had for dinner tonight.

Sideways Rain Seaside

The sound of the rain roaring through the drainpipes was loud enough to wake me up this morning. The forecast was already bleak but seeing it with my own eyes was something else entirely. There was sideways rain for all of breakfast, we waited for a break in it before heading out into Bournemouth town centre for a jaunt. Each time I go there I'm always taken back by how ramshackle it all is (in fairness, the weather didn't help the situation) but it was just so unappealing. We got the measure of it all quickly and headed to the beach, the sea was fierce on account of the wind, but that didn't deter Ben from going in for a dip. We all watched in awe as he ran straight into the water as we tugged our raincoats closer to our chins.

We barely dried off at home before heading out again to a few pubs in town followed by a fish and chip dinner. Ben's mantra is that fish and chips should always overwhelm you when it's all on your plate and I have to say I think I agree with that. I don't think I'll need to eat again til after the Bank Holiday is done. 

Sand Like A Thousand Razors

Bournemouth rituals continue to go unshirked over here. Every year I try to go into the sea at least once, and looking at the weather this week it made sense for us to go today while the sun was still out. Well, it wasn't raining, but the wind was too strong to even lay a beach towel down in so our dreams of reading on the shore were dashed, but we still got to bob around in the water. 

At least one portion of KFC must be consumed too - an annual treat to the high street for the tasty chicken was locked in for tonight, the house only just reset to it's non-greasy aroma just in time for our visitors Matt and Ben to arrive. Matt was brimming with nostalgia too for the area, having studied here with us all those moons ago. Hopefully the rest of their stay will be a pleasant trip down memory lane. 

Wasgij High Street

Went to Lidl not once, not twice, but three times today to collect all of our individual meals. Hey, we're on our holidays and it's nice not to have to make plans for everything and live a little hand to mouth. Rebecca was technically still working today so I busied myself with games and aforementioned walks to supermarkets. We did a very quick walk up the high street, mostly to see what's changed and what stuck around. Mum has a penchant for those Wasgij puzzles and I mostly like the 'Destiny' ones where you get to peek into the past and the future of a classic English setting. Winton High street will forever feel like those jigsaws to me, living in a simultaneous start of then and now in my mind.

Back in the old House

Did the slow packing thing where I knew I had all day to get ready so I spread it over the course of the morning and afternoon. Rebecca are back in Bournemouth for our annual visit. The house still looks and smells the same. In recent years I get a miniature out of body experience whenever I walk through the front door. It's lived a lot of lives since I've known it, from my childhood, Uni, COVID and now - each life smashes together all at once like the floodgates of nostalgia opening up. Time to make new memories.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Felt quite emotionally heightened and subsequently, drained after today - entirely thanks to the games and movies I ended up spending time with. I finished my Donald Duck and anime kids game which ended with a lot of big imagery about doors being closed and friends left behind (all thematically ham-fisted by the writing, but somewhere deep inside it rung true). In the evening we met up with some film friends to check out the new meta horror film Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma which operated on about three levels higher than something like Scream. Self-Referential, genre savvy and morbidly entertaining, it's a film that actually quite exhausting because of how it thinks and presents itself. My head feels full after having watched it, especially because it gets mighty interpretive by the end but it was a great way to end a Tuesday night.