Been hanging out in busy Bexhill-on-Sea.  Bit more laid back than some of the neighbouring towns along the Sussex coast, maybe that’s what attracts all the retired people there.  Can’t imagine though how they cope with the seagulls which start screeching at 5:15am.  Yep, early morning in Bexhill is noisy.  Nowhere near as noisy as the seagull dawn chorus in Dundee, but still, it’s a laid back sort of town with laid back gulls, and I just love them gulls!

Nice views along the cliffs to Hastings ~ just look at that sea so calm….

Have to admit to getting a bit churched-out, 3 ancient and famous churches yesterday and now more today ~ this country is choc-a-bloc with ancient churches, and don’t I know it! But this morning was good, and my friends in Bexhill-on-Sea took me to their parish church, St. Peter’s and around the Old Town….

The first reference to Bexhill, or Bexelei as it was originally called, was in a charter granted by King Offa of Mercia in 772AD. It is recorded that King Offa had ‘defeated the men of Hastings’ in 771AD.  At this time, the term Hastings would have referred to this whole area rather than the town itself as we know it today. In the charter, King Offa established a church and religious community in Bexhill.

The church has some ancient wall paintings, ancient stained glass, ancient stones and generally pretty much ancient everything. Plenty for me to say ‘wow’ at, and worth getting the camera out for.  And pretty beautiful too, helped considerably by the flowers from a wedding on Easter Monday….

Oh yes, and a rather interesting headline in the local Bexhill newspaper today….. clearly life in Bexhill is not as calm and laid back as it appears on the surface ~ especially in the world of passion plays…..

So a fun time in Bexhill with my good friends John and Sal, whose lifestyle in Bexhill is not so different from all the years they spent in East Africa ~ hence their garden is full of water butts and drainpipes as they collect and use all the rainwater, and even the bathwater is piped down to water the garden. No wonder the garden is full of tulips and hyacinths and flowers galore.  Amazing house, amazing people!