Friday afternoon AC forwarded me an invitation from one of his office mates who had a birthday recently: It said something like this: Birthday BBQ at the beach! 6:30 at the burned out pier. 7:00 we’ll grill burgers and sausages. Bring fancy foods and beverages. I IM’ed AC and asked, “What are fancy foods?” I was …

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I made one of AC’s colleagues laugh today when I said that I wasn’t sure that we’d come back to the same city. Brighton at the end of 2008 was chilly, rainy, windy, and dark, dark, dark. This week in April Brighton is positively blooming. Sunny, mild, breezy at times, festive, flowery. In fact it’s rather like typical …

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It was neither the best of times nor the worst of times. Overall I’d say it was simply the longest of times. We walked out of our house in El Cerrito on Saturday at 8:30AM. Two trains and two planes later we arrived in Brighton on Sunday about half past noon. We rolled our suitcases down Queens Road and toward the sea …

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After about a 4 month hiatus I am back to blogging and back in Brighton! Yes, we 3 arrived in the U.K. just this morning. Here’s the quick update before I go collapse into bed: AC has another work assignment here–this time for 4 weeks. We’re staying in the same building as before, but in a different flat. This time we …

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“We’re travelers,” said Sam to her grandparents just the other day. This morning, the last day of 2008, she announced that one of her plush kitty cats was traveling to California. She packed up a suitcase full of toys, then wheeled it bumpity thump down the stairs to the living room where she parked it in the doorway. …

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is also our last night in Brighton. As the Northern hemisphere turns back towards the sun, we head west towards home. It’s a bittersweet leaving. We’re clear that we wouldn’t want to live here permanently, but we do hope to return again someday, preferably during the warmer months. Though the locals have cheerfully …

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Doctor: Do you like to watch the telly? Sam: (hiding her face because she really didn’t want to come back to the doctor’s surgery) Doctor: Is there a program you like on the telly? Me: Sam, what do we watch on CBeebies on the computer? Sam: (whispering) Charlie and Lola Doctor: Oh I LOVE Charlie and Lola. They’re my …

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Debit card fraud (I know that can happen anywhere, but still) The plumbing The traffic lights for pedestrians. It takes AGES for the light to turn green and in the meantime everyone has jaywalked already. The cigarette smoke. Not allowed in pubs and public buildings, so everyone smokes outside, while they’re …

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in no particular order… Crumpets Sticky Toffee Pudding Sunday Roast at the Regency Pokeno Pie Shop (savoury pie plus mash & peas for £5.75! I always give my peas to Sam) Not having a car and being able to walk everywhere The daily bird ballet over the west pier at dusk Charlie and Lola on CBeebies

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This morning when I checked my email, I learned from Grand-mère that someone had captured her debit card and pin number while she was the UK, and that person or persons had made three withdrawals from her bank account. Her bank had caught the irregular activity and she was in the midst of filling out paperwork to …

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