Wet Wednesday

Wet Wednesday

Hi there,

Thanks for popping in. Wet n dreary this afternoon in Kent. But hey! If you don’t like the English weather, just wait a minute! Two weeks from now we will all have had enough of the heat wave which is imminent, and be praying for rain!

It’s a funny old life, innit. Years ago, and for many years, we lived in a really old farm (built 1412) in the middle – and I mean the MIDDLE – of nowhere, with no neighbours to speak of, and no proper road. We loved it. The kids loved it and hated it at the same time. They loved the fields and the brooks and the hours of building bridges and damms and climbing trees. Then at the same time they hated the time it took to get anywhere and hated the isolation and the lack of contact with other humans. We loved that isolation, that removal from mainstream life.

Then we moved to Crowborough in East Sussex, to another newer farm (built 1650). Not in the middle of nowhere, but close to a main road, with a bus stop right outside the front door. Yep. If I want to go to Brighton, I stand on our side of the road; if I want to go to Tunbridge Wells, I stand on the other side of the road. It’s very noisy, with all the cars piling past, and there’s nothing more offputting than the peeps on the upper deck of the bus all staring directly into your bedroom. I have moaned about it since the day we arrived. The kids love that the bus stops right outside our front door!

Well, at Easter we visited our good friends Mike and Shona Bossom in Wales for a few days, remember? Now, where they live, mae hynny’n dawel (Means THAT’S QUIET in Welsh). So when we got home, our road noise seemed even louder, and there were even more people on the top deck, staring at me!

But. It’s all relative.

Last weekend we were in New York. Noisy doesn’t cut it. It was bedlam compared to London, let alone Crowborough!!! What a racket!!! Sirens, bibbing, people shouting, motorbikes roaring – 24 hours a day. If you sat in a restaurant, you couldn’t hold a decent conversation because the noise levels of people just talking were so high, and just got higher as the evening and the vino progressed. We ended up shouting at each other too! Even a little afternoon nap was a farce, because the entire New York Hells Angel Chapter was clearly holed up next door, and evidently decided to ride out just as we closed our eyes! And by the sounds of it, every one of them was kitted out with Screaming Eagles pipes! Mental.

Times Square, early morning.

Then there was the heat on Sunday. HOT?? Heissenscheissen HOT!!! Oh boy. Way too hot to be outside; it was as if the pavements were heated. So you went inside (with all the other overheated people) to where the AC was ice cold. Am I getting too old for this lark?

So this morning, we woke up early, to the sound of blackbirds singing in the garden. Dave opened the window – and it was beautifully tranquil, sunny and but fresh, wonderfully quiet. Admittedly, it was 6am, but nonetheless, silent. Which just goes to prove, that it really IS all relative. Spend a week in Wales, and our home is too loud. Spend a week in New York, and our home is an oasis of calm. I will never again complain about the bus or the traffic outside our house.

Loved being with Grace and her Mark, love New York in small doses – don’t think I could live there though. Not in the middle of that lot. Maybe that’s why Grace lives there now, and why Mark lives in San Francisco (another busy bustling city). Perhaps they need to make up for the isolation years of their youth!

Time to go find Dave.

Love & Hugs,

Grateful of East Sussex. aka Barb xxx

13 thoughts on “Wet Wednesday

  1. Hope you have ordered a heat wave for open day week as we are on holiday down there for open day on Friday see you and all the clarity team

  2. As you say, it is all relative. We have a busy dual carriageway behind the house with traffic lights right opposite and, at times, you cannot hold a conversation in the back garden. We are also subjected to seriously pollution all night. I love my B&B near Leyburn, so quiet at night and no street lights, so many stars to see. That has its problems too though. I scared myself witless last year walking from the car round to the front door in the dark. I could hear a noise that sounded like someone creeping up on me. It stopped when I stopped and started again when I started to move. It took a moment of total panic to realise that the noise was my keys rubbing against my bag. We are humans, so programmed never to be totally satisfied. However, I could not live in a city. That level of noise and light would be just too much. I am really looking forward to the Open Days, but I just have this feeling that two days is not going to be enough this year to see everything I want or to get together with everyone I want to see. xxx Maggie (Silvercrafter)

  3. Very quiet where we live, lots of houses but no noise. Very quiet neighbours. If we want hustle and bustle we are not far from Norwich and only a short drive from most of the main coastal towns and the broads. At my advanced age (ha ha ) I can no longer stand continual noise, prefer the sound of birds and the rustle of trees.
    It has been not too hot, a bit of drizzle, and very humid today.
    Re-watched Maria on the birthday ODS this afternoon, she did a great job.
    Have a good evening. Hugs 🍒🍒🍒

  4. Ha ha, totally get the bus… we’re right on the bus route too and people on the upper deck can see right in. Wanted to put a ‘Merry Christmas to all our viewers’ sign in the window first year we were here, but OH wouldn’t let me lol! That said our back garden is pretty peaceful as there’s only fields where the horses roam freely behind it so apart from the odd whinny from them there’s not much other noise, unless one of the beautiful and huge Red Kites decides to have a rest in our big Sycamore tree and calls for his/her mate. Miserable here today too, as for the expected heatwave… we live in hope (so long as it’s not too hot) xx

  5. I was in NYC a couple of years ago. We were 14 floors above Times Square and I needed the earplugs they thoughtfully provided in each room in order to sleep. Fabulous place. So much to see and do.

  6. We used to live in the south east, quite near to Croydon, so busy and even busier now when we do return for a visit, and then of course there is the M25, no more need be said, which is why we moved to the south west. The locals think it is busy but in comparison it is an oasis of calm. I could not at first believe how quiet it is here at night and how full of stars the sky is, but over the last few years the local area has become busier but you can easily get away up in to the hills for peace and quiet. x

  7. It’s funny there is always somewhere always seems nicer than we live then you go somewhere else and you come home and love we’re you live we are a blessed with what we have no we’re quiet like home hope jet lag isn’t to much . Loved Sams video looking forward to more from Sam. night night sleep well xxx

  8. Hello Barb, I love coming home, it is not as posh as some peoples homes, but it is ours, and it is filled with love. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights. Take care all. Bx

  9. I know what you mean about the noise in New York and, as much as I found it exciting, a week was enough! Growing up I lived on one of the main roads going into Blackpool, which during the summer and the Illuminations was very busy. However, when it rained (often!), I could stand in the doorway until I saw the bus coming and then make a run for it. It saved many a carefully constructed ‘beehive’, so did have it’s advantages. Hugs Annette X

  10. Hi Barbara
    It’s lovely to come home isn’t it, makes you appreciate what you’ve worked hard for. It’s been lovely following you, Dave, Grace and Mark around New York, exciting times ahead.
    Love Diane xxx

  11. It’s always fun and interesting to visit the big cities but I always look forward to getting home, don’t mind the hum of general traffic passing by, love sitting in the garden with my dogs and watching the birds that visit the bird feeder, simple things x

  12. I have to say I get the best of both worlds where I live. It’s a small road with no passing traffic, and yet only 5 mins walk to the city centre and M&S! We can see stars at night (and northern lights if you’re lucky), hear birdsong all day, and sometimes get visiting wild rabbits. We don’t often get a heatwave though, so I suppose that’s the compromise, but I can cope with that. x

  13. Made me smile as we have just walked our daughter’s dog. We live only a few hundred yards from a busy main road but our close is so quiet. Anyway that road was on our route tonight and Fred commented how busy it was yet we never notice the traffic noise. Strange, maybe we have just blocked it out. xx

Leave a Reply to Cherry T Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *