White Rose to Red Rose (wet ones)

The White Rose of Yorkshire

 This was the furthest North Greyrocks had ventured, so there was an expectation that as we came South again the weather would improve. How wrong we were! First we stayed three nights in Forest Hill with old Labour Party friends, and on the Thursday we based ourselves for the day in Balham so that we could visit our tenants in the evening, but first we went to Croydon and struck the "Height Restriction" problem over parking. By the time we had found somewhere accessible with Yvette and bikes it was pouring with rain, so Bob did the minimum and we returned to Balham. We took three machines-worth of washing to the laundrette.  As the time passed the rain worsened and became hail with thunder and lightning. Passers-by were cluttering up the place to shelter! When the parking time expired it was so uninviting that we delayed returning to the car and later - on exit -  got a flashed warning of a possible 60 pound fine! We were not feeling too pleased to be in jolly England!
It did get better! All was well at the let Balham house, we did the first of several Wetherspoons cheap dinner deals, had a dry and successfully parked shopping session in Croydon next day, and went to Paul and Cheryl's for diner a six and a great Socialist chin-wag! On Saturday decamped to the new Travelodge in Penge (known as Crystal Palace for marketing purposes).
On Sunday it didn't rain, and we we had an easy drive to Hampshire and back for lunch with Ruth's Mum and Dad, but on Monday it started again! We had arranged to visit the Morden flat with our master-handyman Pete, and then to take him for a drink, meeting his former colleague Barry at the Duke in Balham. Great gossip and banter - but disgusting weather!
It was no better in Brighton where we spent three nights!

Eggs Benedict!

Good old English fayre!

On arrival (and in the rain) we had an (ongoing) altercation with the parking system outside the hotel. The Travelodge receptionist was very helpful, but powerless to deal with their new contractors. We fumed, then paid up more cash to get the deal we wanted, and took the bus down into the city to meet Chloe after work and go for dinner. Next day it was pouring with rain again and we had to get Yvette out to Portslade for her MOT. Bob nobly went alone, took the bikes off at the garage and waited an age for a bus back in cold and rain. We met up and had a day of dodging rain again. Deja-vu! Pier a no-go area so fish and chips lunch at Harry Ramsden's again! (This time, though, we got the pensioners' special!) We have never seen the sea here so rough! We went back to get the car, and had to load the bikes back up in the pouring rain. After due consideration we decided it was too wet to venture out again, and got cold food from the Co-op! Thursday looked a bit better, and we had to move the car so went down to the Marina, had a Wetherspoons breakfast and mooched round the shops. Poor old Chloe was so shattered in the evening after some ghastly long shift that we simply went round to her flat and ordered an Indian take-away. She fell asleep before we left!

Friday and Saturday nights were with newly-weds Alastair and Josiane in Rotherfield. We stopped for fuel and breakfast at Tescos in Lewes (never seen so many Guardian crosswords!), and were then taken out for lunch in a pub with a roaring fire. Just the job! By Saturday the rain was doing its worst and our time in Tunbridge Wells was very soggy! The sun came out and the rain stopped on Sunday as we drove past Ashford. With a navigational error, truncated stop for a last real ale and a tedious wait for a 90-minute delayed ferry (weather of course!) we waved goodbye to Blighty!

22 days - 17 wet - all of them cold! Surely Northern France would be better! Watch this space!