gifts from the sea

pebbles2, originally uploaded by sheelajoy.

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea'.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Humble apologies for the lack of blogging. I've been both weary and uninspired lately.

Just this weekend, I joined a few lovely friends for a retreat by the sea. We left work early on Friday, piled into a car, and tootled down to Worthing to stay at AWM's B&B/ retreat centre. That first day was a true 'British holiday' experience. It was grey, chilly, blustery and drizzling. We braved the weather for a long walk along the beach until we came across the first chippy for a delicious (not to mention greasy) serving of cod and chips.

On Saturday, the sun graced us with it's glorious presence, and we had a leisurely breakfast on the roof, before venturing out to Littlehampton, Bosham and Bognor. Bosham in particular was a highlight, as it is a picturesque fishing village.

On Sunday, after another leisurely breakfast, we packed up our belongings and headed to pay for our lodgings when we discovered that some mystery person had paid for all of us! What a blessing! : ) We headed to Shoreham-by-sea for an impromptu church service on the beach, followed by a long walk and a picnic. We spent the afternoon exploring the cobbled streets of Lewes, before heading home. Truly, truly lovely.

I'm such an old lady - give me a walk and a teashop and I'm happy!! : )

Hopefully I can eventually upload some of the photos that we took (I foolishly forgot my camera, so we got one of those disposable ones), so you can share in this glorious experience...