Candy floss and fish 'n' chips

Oh I do like to be beside the sea side, oh I do like to be beside the sea, tra la la la!

Derek and Julie took me to Southend this evening or Sarfend as it's affectionately known and it was lovely. The last time we went there was a couple of summers ago where Julie and I sat on the beach (I use the term beach loosely) watching the oil tankers glistening on the estuary waters as they sailed from Canvay Island, with us eating chippys from under a pink parasol that I had brought from a Chinese shop in the high street. To say we got a few glances was an under statement!
I don't want to be snobbish, but Sarfend is good old English tat at it's very best. Lots of slot machines, bright flashing lights, rides that g-force your face and helps you to part company with your dinner. Fish 'n' chip restaurants like the one we ate in, where the waitresses still wear the Lyons tea rooms outfits and serve huge portions of yummy fish suppers.
It's like United Nations there with scenes straight from the film 'Bhaji on the Beach', lots of Russians also where the men are built like huge brickhouse and all look like bouncers and the women are very slight build in tight trousers and tops. Then there's the Brits... baseball capped men with staffordshire dogs outside pubs 'Oo Ooying' hen parties in black t-shirts with Barbie pink accessories that go staggering by and it's all fab!

Drive further down the road and you enter another part of Southend, where the houses are huge seafront type with balconies to sit on while eating one's breakfast and reading the 'Times', where we can only dream of owning one of them. Where there are pretty beach huts, well tended lawns and flower beds in front of the car parks and not a slot machine in sight and yes that's fab too.

We had a great time, eating candy floss, 99's and fish 'n' chips with wallys. We won a cute 'I love you ' teddy bear each and came home with full bellies and huge smiles.
And I do believe I will sleep well tonight and not have to bother with any of the doctor's happy pills to make me sleep. I've only had one so far and yes I did sleep, but I had great trouble unattaching my head from my pillow to go to work. My head felt like a lead balloon! So tonight I shall cuddle up to my new friends the bears and dream of eating dinki doughnuts while wearing my kiss me quick hat, from the balcony of my seafront millionaire's pad in the posh part of town, because that's the kind of classy bird I am!

Lots of love Debbie x