Alberto's Hutte

31st January 2017 (Tuesday) .... 09.00     Mmmmmm .... we have dour looking weather this morning..... overcast, with fog, and it looks like it will rain soon;   Uckfield Street sign not a bonnie start to the day.    My immediate ‘plan’ is to walk over to “Grants Hill”, but I’m thinkin’ the weather, the weather forecast for later in the day isn’t promising, might put an end to that mission.    I’m thinkin’ that a cuppa would be a good idea. 22.30     The desire to see the “Grants Hill House” site was stronger than the instinct to stay dry so I did in fact go  out in the morning..... and found where Grants Hill House once stood.    The building that is there now is a typical, boring, once functional no doubt, Care Home .... now boarded up and due to be demolished;   and not even forty years old.    “Grants Hill House” was an impressive building standing about 200 metres from Uckfield Parish Church;   there  is one copyrighted photo of the house, (which I can’t use), but I Board

30th January 2017 (Monday) .... 09.30    The rain we had overnight has gone, leaving us with a broken grey sky;  it looks like we might get a few sunny spells Church pathway in the afternoon.    At some point today, I’m going to give my legs a bit of exercise ... regrettably I will be confined to the Uckfield pavements after last night’s rain.   Trees may be lacking on Uckfield High Street, but there are plenty ‘coffee stops’. 22.30    Exercise today consisted of searching for the “Grants Hill House” site in Uckfield.   The  original “Grants Hill” was demolished in the 1980’s to make way for the present building, an ‘old folks’ Care Home.    I did find ‘sheltered type’ housing, but this turned out to be the wrong site.     I now know “iggzactly” where the site is and will go there tomorrow morning, having, unknowingly, been within 200 metres of it today.     By the time I found all this out light rain was falling, bringing an end to further exploration today.    I went to the C

29th January 2017 (Sunday) ..... 10.00     Hmmmmm ....it’s overcast with spits and spots o’ rain now and again... not “Sunny Sussex” like at all;    that said, it Taken from the Boss's seat one year ago. isn’t cold, in fact there’s a “Spring is around the corner” feel to the air.    If it wisnae for the greyness, and the spits and spots o’ rain it would be a bonnie morning!   I’m i/c downstairs this morning .... even “Bonnie” is having a lie in!   I’ve washed all the glasses etc, had breakfast, and I’m now waiting on the kettle boiling.    Enjoy your Sunday. 23.30     The ‘Troops’, including Bonnie the dawg, emerged at 10.00... they deserved their ‘lie in’ having been ‘up’ until 03.30.    Leeann arrived with “Darcie” for a short visit... and a cuppa. With the weather deteriorating, by mid afternoon we had heavy rain, I abandoned all idea of going for a walk, and caught up with some e-mails etc.    Marcia sent a photo of ‘my’ beach, taken this morning.... ‘bright and sunny

28th January 2017 (Saturday) .... 08.45    My word .... it is warmer this morning, but overcast;   however the weather forecast for ‘today’ is ‘nae bad’..... the Chat time. sun should break up the clouds later in the morning, which would be very welcome as I have a washing going through as I type!   Sadly   there isn’t much in the way of a ‘drying wind’;    what wind there is, is from the SSW, hence the rise in temperature, .... I guess the washing will only partially ‘dry’, but at least it will get a touch of fresh Sussex air. I’m feeling tired this morning.... but I’m the only one that’s ‘moving about;   even Bonnie hasn’t surfaced to look for her grub yet.     I’ve had my breakfast.... I think a cuppa would be a good ‘plan’. 18.00     Ref the washing mentioned above;   a  ‘drying wind got up, and the washing was three quarters dry by the time showers began to cross over us, at which point the washing was ‘rescued’ and is now drying off on my bathroom radiator. Michae

27th January 2017 (Friday) ..... 09.00     Although cold and mostly overcast,  it is a brighter morning with breaks in the clouds.... in fact the sun could Janice's flowers make a break through later.    The weather forecast isnae that ‘bright’ .... spells of light rain are supposed to drift over from the East later in the afternoon.... this rain could fall as snow along the East coast.     It’s a ‘wrap up’ morning if you’re going down to a beach.... it’s a ‘wrap up’ morning if you’re going ‘downtown’. 23.30     Funnily enough by midday, when I walked along to “The Ringles” , it was not cold.... and I was ‘wrapped up’.    At “The Ringles”  I had a bowl of soup and a pint of Harvey’s Best Ale.     I ‘Googed’ the word “Ringle” and discovered that it is from the old English name ‘Hringwulf’;   and that a ‘ringler’ (German) was someone who made rings from horn etc.    It would appear that someone with the surname ‘Ringle’ lived up at ‘Ringles Cross’ at some time;   whether he/s

26th January 2016 (Thursday) .... 09.30     Our weather is hard to understand ..... at least the affect it has on the human brain is hard to understand;   maybe I should change that to ... “the affect it has on my brain is hard for me to Late afternoon  understand!”     Yesterday we had really thick fog all the daylight hours, visibility being only200 most of the time, sometimes even less:   today we have a ‘gloomy’ day but the visibility is nigh on two miles..... yet yesterday was  less ‘gloomy’ to my mind.     Today is a good example of a SAD day!     Yesterday I was the centre of a 400 metre wide circle, beyond which the sun might have been shining:   today I can see that the sun isn’t ‘shining’ anywhere from the centre of a 4,000 metre wide circle..... which is why today is ‘gloomier’ looking.    That’s my theory anyway. I have nae ‘plans’ for today.    Mandy has dropped in the cheer up Janice so I am upstairs in my bedroom updating ‘th Hutte’ etc.    I will go out for a sh

25th January 2017 (Wednesday) ..... 09.30    On this date 258 years ago, Scotland’s famous ‘son’,  Robert Burns, was born, so we will start today’s Hutte with two lines from his  poem “Tam o’ Shanter” ...... “Pleasures are like poppies spread – you seize the flow’r, it’s bloom is shed; Or like the snowflake in the river - a moment white, then gone forever”! .... enjoy your “Burns Day” wherever you are. Yesterday we had a gorgeous Spring like day;   today we have not!     Today we have Haggis neeps n' tautties thick, wet, fog .... not a day for going onto a Nature Reserve.     I will go ‘downtown’ later.... by then the sun might have broken through, though the chance of that happening doesn’t look promising just now.    A cuppa is required methinks! 22.30     Jings ....this has been a miserable day as far as the weather went;   the fog never lifted until sunset time.... in fact at times through the day it was the thickest fog I have ever seen from my bedroom wind

24th January 2017 (Tuesday) .... 09.30      Oh my word ..... we have a gorgeous, “bright and sunny” morning  though there is fog in the valleys, and it is Hempstead reserve Uckfield cool;  but it is a really nice day for going out, which I will do later.    First I need another cuppa to get me into action.    There is not much in the way of wind so the air quality will still be ‘poor’.     However wind is forecast for later in the week.... along with the chance of rain,....  the combination of which will clear the air. 23.30     “No 1” has been going ‘like a mill’ today with visitors appearing at regular intervals  for about 10.30 onward;   that’s when ‘Debra’ arrived.    Debra left about 12.30 and an hour later Pauline, who works with Janice, popped in.    Oak tree I made a cuppa, blethered with the girls for a while, then went upstairs to have ‘50’:   when I came down Pauline had been replaced by Angie.    I’m finding it hard to keep up with all my ‘new’ girlfriends.    

23rd January 2017 (Monday) ....09.30      Oh dear ..... there’s a blanket of thick fog over Uckfield, and the Southeast of England,.... the fog, combined with Fog on the road to Brighton frost is making driving condition hazardous.    I’m hoping that it will start to clear when the sun gets going. fired up..... “JB” and I are going down to Brighton  today! 22.30     On the way to Brighton, ‘John Boy’, alias “JB” and I drove over a ‘down’, at the top of which we were above the fog, and for a few minutes we were under a ‘bloo’ sky and in bright sunshine:   that was the only sunshine we enjoyed all day.    Everywhere else we were enveloped in the heavy fog.... especially on the coast at Brighton!      That said we enjoyed the day out, but, with it being cold as well as foggy, we didn’t walk around much.... apart a daunder out to see the sea wall at Brighton Marina.     The sea wall The only sunshine we experienced today. was a “darker shade of fog”, and very hard to actually

22nd January 2017 (Sunday) ..... 09.00      Jings, I must have been tired last night, I seemed to sleep forever!    Anyway I eventually wakened up to a frosty, Flower arrangement with fog in the valleys etc, bonnie, if cold, morning .... which should turn into a nice day.     Going by the lack of activity, and sound, everyone is having a ‘lie in’ this morning .... even the ‘dawg’.       I’ve been looking at the “Fife Weather” webcams and it looks grey and overcast in Fife .... which would make for interesting photos from the beach. .... but not quite as cold as it is here in “Sunny Sussex”.     I don’t know what ‘the plan’ is for today, though the ‘Troops’ will be have to go back home at some point..... hopefully the fog, which doesn’t appear to be too bad, will have cleared away by then. 22.30     The ‘Troops’ left just before lunch, Emily and John back to Somerset, and ”JB” to Pevensey..... after what was a really  nice ‘family’ gathering.     “JB” is Colourful flower 

21st January 2017 (Saturday) ... 09.30     After an early morning frost we have another lovely day ... ‘wall to wall’ blue sky, but there’s a real ‘nip’ in the air;   The Susses Hutte it’s a grand morning for a walk.    I’ve ‘pilled, fed and watered’ Bonnie;   the next move will be to make a cuppa.      Michael  has turned up with a ‘Hoover’;  I shall beat  a hasty retreat down to ‘The Sussex Hutte’;   it has TV, and heating .... though the heating is only needed to bring the temperature up first thing.     Like ‘the Hutte’ at home it’s a restful place, especially when the ‘mutt’ is outside looking in! 23.30     The ‘Sussex Hutte’ is a restful place.... it has TV, a heater, and;  I can connect to the internet in it, something that I can’t do at home.   I spent a good hour in there.    The heater cuts out once it reaches the set temperature so isn’t prohibitive to run.     In fact most of the time you wouldn’t even need it at all. Emily, John and “JB” arrived as planned, and,

20th January 2017 (Friday) .... 08.00    Well... it has to be said..... “Sunny Sussex” is living up to its name just now;   we have another ‘wall to wall’ blue Sunrise time. (ish) sky this morning, .... the ‘ish’ means there’s a touch of pollution diluting the pure blue sky;  which is understandable when you consider the number of cars etc on the roads, and planes in the sky down here.     That said it’s a bonnie morning .... but the sky just  isn’t as pristine blue as the sky over New Zealand is!     We have our own Northern Hemisphere Blue! My immediate ‘plan’ is to bake scones after breakfast;    then I’ll take a ‘turn roond the block’.    22.30     This has been one beautiful ‘Spring like’ day, though it was cold in the shade.... and when exposed to the brisk Northerly wind.     I baked the scones as per ‘plan’, then instead of going ‘roond the block’ I went downtown to get some bits and pieces for Janice;   so I have done the Uckfield hill to days in succession.    That

19th January 2017 (Thursday) ... 10.30     Yessss ....we have “Sunny Sussex” again this morning.... and it isn’t as cold as it was yesterday;  I’d say that I feel Spring in the air.    Having said that we did have some red in the sunrise, which is Sussex sky at sunrise. by, all accounts, is not a good omen;   but right now let’s ‘enjoy’ today! I have been up to the ‘local’ shop for a paper etc,... and I plan to go down town later.    The ‘bug’ I have is beginning to ‘break up’, .and I’m beginning to feel as if I might be on the mend.   It’s a strange  ‘bug’;   one day I feel ‘good’ .... next day I’m back to feeling grotty.... however, ‘today’ I’m feeling more  positive than I have done for a couple of weeks. 22.30      This has been one momentous day;   and I’m not referring to the weather.... which has been ‘momentous’ in its way, being a perfect ‘Spring’ day.... no, what has made if a momentous and perfect day for us is .... Janice is home!     I’d been bumbling along as

18th January 2017 (Wednesday) .... 09.00      we have a lovely ‘crisp, and sunny’ start to the day ..... more or less ‘wall to wall’ sunny Sussex in fact.    The temperature is above freezing, but it is not going to become warm.... 3c being the Swan track through the frozen River Cuckmere in Sussex. forecast ‘high’.    Nonetheless my washing is on the line, though there is ‘nae wind’.    I’ll let the sun get up a bit then go for a turn ‘round the block’ to see how my legs cope;  this is one horrid ‘bug’, and is going to take a while to shake orf I’m thinking.      22.30     Jenny and “JB” picked me up after lunch and we went over the ‘Up and Over’ to the Cuckmere Inn for a light lunch and a walk onto the ‘Seven Sisters National Park’.     It was a beautiful day but it was cold and the Cuckmere River was frozen.....we didn’t linger too long, and went back to the  warm, and cosy in the car. Our next stop was at Beachy Head to get a photo of the lighthouse;   the photo that “JB