First Shrubbery

 The Thames estuary was swathed in dull grey when throwing open the heavy drapes to start the day. Far across the flat waters the occasional cargo ship or ferry slowly ply their way from one side of the frame to the other. Beyond that the horizon is edged with the bumps and lumps and chimneys of a vast industrial zone. When the tide goes out it exposes a mile wide barren plain of aromatic mud flats. Picturesque in a Mordor sort of way.

Breakfast of porridge in the hotel restaurant watching the view slowly gain some colour as the winds from the continent slowly pushed the clouds away was a sign for Non-Blogger to head off to the shops for some sole retail therapy.

Blogger went for an exploratory stroll down to the water front and as the tide was still in and a warm sou-westerly was drifting across the brownish slop it was quite pleasant. Highlight of the tour was finding an officially declared shrubbery. No knights of Ni hiding in the bushes (that could be seen anyway - possibly could be heard though - could've been a Robin - dunno - difficult to tell the difference when you're not a local).
Together again we strolled around the closed cliff lifts (blame Brexit), the closed fair grounds (schools in) the closed train on the pier (could be either). This place would go off in the peak season, with all the entertainment facilities dotted along the shoreline, glittering in colourfull splendor it looks eerily similar to Niagra in the off season. Can imagine how horrendous it would be with the hordes here.

Finally got the 3 pointer out, met Polly and Paul at their place and headed off to the old Shoeburyness gunnery school. We went there to check out the Cafe and were pleasantly surprised in the ambiance of the place. A combination of army memorabilia, plastic flowers , food and coffee all in an historic tin shed with the waitresses wearing camouflaged colored jeans in order to keep the theme aligned.

Going for a pleasant stroll around the edges of newish estate we  were all impressed with the civility of it all. Seemed expensive and proved to be so with research revealing the av cost of the 3 story townhouses being ~$8mil AU. Woo hoo.
Heading back to Liegh-On-Sea the girls were dropped off on the shopping strip and the boys went down to the waters edge to wander aimlessly around to fill in the time. With the tide rapidly receding it was great to see the boats stuck on top of the mud.

Struggling to imagine the situation that created the need for this sign.
Back to the lookout for a bit of R&R eventually the TV was on in order to soak up more of the local culture. We are so far behind on a societal level...and until we have products like caffeine infused shampoo which helps menopause we will never catch up.
The cold change and rain drifted in from the north late afternoon casting a pall over the estuary. Now this is the England weather we've come to expect.

Paul kindly picked us up (again) and we headed back to their place for dinner. This time take away pizza's. Maybe we should be realistic at home when whinging about the prices of food. Here two large cost well over $100 AU. Not complaining, just observing.
Another fabulous evening with enjoyable company and we were even chauffeured home when it got dark (at 10pm). This time it was a quick trip as the traffic was minimal. Tomorrow we hit the road for a short stop as a prelude to the next leg. Which means packing up the inevitable sprawl of stuff strewn around the room over the last 3 days.