Celia Hart's blog about what's going on in and around her studio.
Art, printmaking, inspirations, gardening, vegetables, hens, landscapes, wild flowers, East Anglia, adventure, travel.

Friday 17 January 2014

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men ...



Today I'd arranged to collect unsold pictures from a garden centre cafe in Essex; they'd been on the walls for almost a year . . . a nice idea to get customers who may not go into galleries but not one that worked.

Never mind, you can't win them all. So I thought collecting them on a day Cliff wasn't working and combining with a day out at the seaside would mix a chore with fun. We decided to go to Southend-on-sea, I feel embarrassed to admit that I've never been there! We did some research to find a nice place to have lunch, I packed the binoculars so I could stand on the end of the pier and look at things way out to sea, we might even go into an arcade or have a ice-cream.

BUT . . . it didn't work out as we'd planned . . .

It started well, we were happily driving south through Essex, I decided that the satnav's route along the motorway was a bit long and boring so adjusted for a more scenic one - it took us along a road I'd been to while doing some family history research so I showed Cliff the house and fields I'd told him about last year. 

Then we rounded a bend and there was big jolt and a loud bang! Cliff stopped the car and I jumped out to check the car . . . the rear tyre was flat . . . AND . . . the front tyre was flat . . . Aaaaagh!

To cut a long story short - after a long wait, a ride in a truck, lunch in a Harvester opposite the "tyre place" and a detour to get to the garden centre avoiding floods - we had only an hour or so of daylight left in the day.

So we went to Burnham-on-Crouch and had tea and cake . . . and saw the sun set over the estuary.



Apparently we were the third car this morning to hit that pothole and puncture tyres.

I still haven't been to Southend-on-sea.

Hope your weekends are incident free.

Celia
xx

19 comments:

  1. Well you captured a great photo and you still have Southend to look forward to another time.

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  2. What a flipping nuisance, and probably an expensive one too. Glad you were able to show Cliff the house and gardens though. I went to Southend as a teenager and haven't been back!

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  3. wow! lucky pothole that engineered this view. southend can wait.

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  4. What a nightmare, I do hope it's all fixed now. Maybe the local authority could pay for the new tyres? A beautiful photo.

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  5. oh no........... but that is one gorgeous sunset x



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  6. Having had offspring live there and now move out of there, it is not a place I would hurry back to! (Although the long pier train is worth the ride ...if not on a foggy day as the day we went!)

    So sorry to hear about the punctures - guessing there will be no help from the authorities when it comes to the cost of the new tyres?!

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  7. Had you made it to southend I would have waved to you as I can just see it from my side of the estuary in Kent. Potholes are a real problem with all this rain the roads are just washing away.

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  8. Nooo! An expensive day out but at least you managed tea and cakes and a beautiful sunset.

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  9. But you saw the sunset at Burnham. It is years since I have been to Burnham. There was a small compensation!

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  10. That is annoying that you picked up a flat tyre from a pothole - and that it ruined your plans for the day. But tea and cakes by the river sound lovely and the sunset photo is beautiful.

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  11. Best laid schemes, indeed. Hoping that the satnav didn't sound smug on the route home...or maybe you just cut it off!

    Still, you and Cliff did have an adventurous day, together, and you all were able to see a rather fantastic sunset. From some of the earlier comments, it might be true that the pothole "spared" you a disappointing Southend visit.

    I don't think I have ever had lunch in a Harvester!

    Best wishes. xo

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  12. oh good grief. well, it could have been worse (my husbands favorite words) it sounds like you made the best of things all the way around and that is a gorgeous sunset you saw!

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  13. Oh dear! It is a long time since I was there and it may have changed but I'd say you're not missing much by not having arrived at Southend. Not the prettiest of beaches!

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  14. After all this bad weather I have read that potholes are a real problem and that there's not enough funds left to fix them! What a real hassle Celia, but, as ever, you seem to have looked for the best from the whole experience. Great photo and at least you got your prints back.

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  15. Oh dear! both tires is adding insult to injury (you'll notice I spelled my tires the north american way - seeing the Brit spelling looks so weird to me now lol!) Thank goodness for cell phones (which I presume you used to call the tow truck!) not too many years ago you'd have had a long trudge to the nearest call box to add to your woes.
    At least the day did have a happy ending, and that sunset was gorgeous!

    Carole

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  16. What a nuisance! I think Burnham looks nice though!

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  17. It never rains but Oh,it pours! Your sunset makes me think of Turner.

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  18. Burnham on Crouch is prettier than Southend! Pursue Essex County Council - they will pay for your tyres.

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  19. Pothole absolutely suck. Good luck pursuing the council too - I've contacted my council more than once about pothole damage to my car and still no response...

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