8 June 2003 21:52 [link]
sarfend
Went to Southend-on-Sea today, with my sister and her bloke. All rather unexpected, but then good trips often are. Southend seems like a nice place gone wrong, somehow. The shopping centre we found was a concrete hell-hole. The Sainsbury's we found was a pit. As we drove towards the seafront, the architecture got nicer and you could start to see the appeal of the place, until you actually reach the front and you find miles of amusement arcades and shops selling tat. It's the British Seaside Experience, I suppose. It's just not my sort of thing. We sat and ate lunch on a seat overlooking the sea a little way out of town. It was blowing a gale, but it was a warm gale and so was quite pleasant.
We then went driving to see what else was around. This was always going to be entertaining since Cathryn was navigating. Cathryn is blessed with the ability to read maps well, but cursed with an inability to communicate directions. So there were things like:
- OK, turn right
- But Chelmsford is signposted left.
[Cathryn looks at her hands]
- Oh, turn left.
I shouldn't make fun of her, since I have the same left/right problem. There was also:
- So we just follow the signs to Chelmsford?
- No!
- But you just said we should!
- Oh! Sorry, I thought you said "Chichester".
Tom is learning to translate Cathryn's commands now, although he still has much to learn. We got home safely, all the same.
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