Just to make sure we weren't missing out on anything, we decided to follow the droves of Londoners that head to Brighton for the weekend for a bit of sunshine. The alterior motive was that one of Aaron's friends from school in Thailand, Helen, is living down there and they figured it would be a good time to catch up. Brighton is about one and half hours and £10 by train from our place, so we had no excuses.

From the memories of Brighton at home I was thinking of a lovely sandy beach, but this one is very stony and not quite as inviting. However, it had a kinda similar atmosphere where everyone seemed very laid back and outside a cafe enjoying their lentil burgers and organic smoothies.

We headed along the beach to Hove (a town that Brighton is basically joined to) in search of Helen's place, and from there we headed out to have lunch then to pound the streets and soak up the atmosphere. The afternoon involved a bit of walking, a bit of chilling out on the grass listening to a band, then back to the beach (where by this time the wind had come up and we just about got blown away.)

Aaron and Helen spent the afternoon talking about people I didn't know, but it filled in some background on people I am to meet in the next few months (so you guys we are coming to visit - be warned...)

We've just got back now, and Aaron is in the process of packing for a week away in Leeds for work (staying in the Hilton, no less) where he'll be running an assessment centre to decide whether all the people that have been fired by his work are to be re-hired or not.

An extra note - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!
It's my mum's (Karelan) birthday tomorrow (well today in NZ time), so I just wanted to say 'Happy Birthday' and I hope you have a wonderful day! I'll leave the embarrassment there, and not mention how old she is. BTW, mum you're pressie is on the way, I'm just not sure how long it will take to get there.