Hamsters and hampers

I've braved the rain today to meet friends in Temptation, the lovely cafe in Gardner Street, Brighton, that hosts our Wednesday knitting group. The festive hamsters hanging in the window (beautifully knitted by the cafe's owner, Peter) are advertising Temptation's Sussex Christmas Hampers.

Almost the full set

So far today, we've had blue skies, sunshine, high winds, torrential rain, driving hailstones; only need snow to make up the full set...

...and another...

A splash of colour to brighten up the greyness

Grey

Salty

One disadvantage of living close to the sea is the amount of salt that gets deposited on my windows when it rains - it's raining a lot at the moment...

Leaves fluttering in the wind

I want blue not grey

Enjoying the sunshine

No, there's no sunshine today! The weather in the UK is so absolutely appalling, especially up in Cumbria, that I wanted to post a photo to remind me that it will, at some point, stop raining.

Bare branches

Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima), Medina Terrace.

Storm debris 3

Storm debris 2

Storm debris 1

Yesterday's sky

Early afternoon, taken from the Kingsway end of Medina Terrace. BTW, it is true that the British are totally weather-obsessed...

Scattered shingle

We've had high winds and stormy seas all along the south coast over the weekend. This is the view along Hove seafront this morning; lots of shingle, seaweed and other debris scattered by the waves.

Off-season

Grey

Seafront textures

Buried steps

Next door

Brighton Pavilion, next door to the museum and now with a shiny new website.

Looking back

I've been to Brighton Museum today, meeting a friend for lunch. It's grey, damp and dark here so I thought I'd show you how the building looks on a brighter day.

On strike

Brighton & Hove bin men are on strike and rubbish is starting to pile up outside communal bins in the streets. I hate to see rubbish accumulating - it reminds me of London during the Winter of Discontent over thirty years ago; the smell of rubbish dumped in some of London's finest squares was unbelievable, not to mention the number of rats. Times may change, but some things seem to stay the same.

The Quiver

What a strange house name....

Towards the sea

Looking down Hove Street from The Connaught towards the sea.

Sky and sea

Afternoon clouds

I've been enjoying watching the changeable skies this week. From bright blue to black-as-your-hat through every shade of grey and beige you could imagine, plus the bonus of some rather spectacular cloud formations.

Pink fuchsia and orange berries

Morning clouds

Unexpected sunshine

Isn't it always the way? I mention how horrible the weather is one day, then the next day turns out to be bright and sunny.....

Wet, wet, wet

The warmer-than-usual weather down here on the coast is ending, according to the forecast. This morning it's very wet and daytime temperatures are set to revert to more usual November levels during the coming week.