Holiday mood, exercise and art

Sunset over Brighton from the Marina

A mini break

Last week for a few days I was at the seaside with a friend of mine (minus the husbands!). We stayed at Brighton Marina, a place I always find relaxing, though the adolescent seagulls were certainly out to try their hardest to ruin things. At night the gulls would gather on the roof of one the apartment blocks and squabble. On the last night they chose a different block from ours for a change!

On the first day I arranged to meet another friend for lunch in Hove and that was lovely. Later I went with friend I was holidaying with on a walk along the seafront towards Rottingdean, though we didn't quite get that far. After an ice cream we heaved ourselves up the steps and walked back along the cliffs in the wind. Great for blowing away the cobwebs. That evening we headed off to the cinema to see Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. What these films lack in plot they make up for in music........being an Abba fan.

The following day we took off into the countryside and explored Ditchling village and I found my idea place - a barn conversation at £1.7m. Well, a girl can dream! We drove up to Ditchling Beacon and walked part of the Southdowns Way through fields of sheep. Later we went out to eat, as it was our last day. I thought the Strawberry Eton Mess would defeat me yet somehow I found room!

Ditchling

The narrow house!

The Jack & Jill Windmills (not sure which this is),

Ditchling Beacon

Can I? Of course I can

Stretching the muscles

Before I went away I decided to get back into yoga. I haven't done it for about 30 years and I soon realised my body wasn't as bendy or obliging. Still, determined to continue I did my yoga every morning before breakfast while I was away and am still going. I've stretched muscles I didn't know I had and yesterday felt rather drained as I'd been walking and standing a lot as well. I was going to go easy this morning but I ended up doing most of the postures. My aim is to strengthen and tone my body before I drift into being an OAP. While I still play sport, walk a lot and can run for buses I'm aware I'm not as fit as I was. I can do yoga at home. I've even dug out my old New Age cassettes to play while I exercise. I was pleased to see I could still get into the Lotus position but some just defeat me right now, like the Camel (did I even do that? I can't remember). I found it's the moves where you need back strength that let me down, while my legs are easier to position. The book is split into six sections and I'm at stage three. I might linger there for a while until my body catches up!

Art

Yesterday I headed up to Tate Modern. I was out before the skateboarders at the Southbank. Only a lone BMK-er was there. I'd gone to see the Picasso exhibition and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoyed this. I've never been able to make up my mind about this artist but now I love his work. I love the bold colours and the outlines (I have a thing about solid lines). I also enjoy the simplicity of his lines, the curves and hints of the body. I noticed that like a lot of other artists he had obsessions - the same pose, the same chair, a fascination for drowning and rescue and a series of naked women and a flute player. All this I really found intriguing and delightful.

While at Tate Modern I went to have a look at a free exhibition entitled Magic Realism, a collection of paintings from Weimer in Germany between the wars. There were some disturbing pictures here borne out of artists' experiences in World War I, as well a colourful representations of scenes. Here was a mixture of different experiences, thought provoking and lasting.