We needn’t have gone to Rye and Lamb House in the east, or Plumpton in the north, or for that matter, Chichester and Goodwood in the west. Nor was there probably any need to see the Steine or the Palace Pier, Preston Park or meander through the Lanes. No, because we had everything we required in the Zimmer Zone.

By everything I don’t only mean a supermarket (Waitrose), pubs and cafes (Barney’s, The Atlas, The Mad Hatter, The Montpelier et al) and a turf accountant (William Hill). Alongside our delightful flat on the cusp of Hove we had, in its immediate vicinity, an ambience of bliss that kicked in every morning as soon as we stepped out from our flat and saw the sparkling sea and blue sky.

Perhaps we were so uplifted because here in Scotland the sun is a rationed commodity and the sea is something that takes us an hour to travel to if we fancy a wee paddle. Your sun and the sea was a happy pill whose effect never waned, and as I look out of the window at rain teeming down from grey clouds I understand why.

After that first stepping out of the day we would walk – and re-walk as we were allowed to – the pavements of our locale. Yes we were periodically on the treadmill of part-time jobs, and Suzi more than I, but we felt we were on a year-long holiday, and with every passing day the stresses and strains and worries that we’d carried along with our luggage to Sussex evaporated in this gorgeous part of town.

Way back in 2005 we had to decide, where to move to in Britain? We chose Brighton. In Brighton happenstance brought us to the streets of the Zimmer Zone, along which we’d leisurely stroll. As often as not we’d stop off for a quick one to watch the world go by, or walk to our favourite spot, sit on the grass or on our favourite bench, in idyllic Palmeira Square. Joy was in our hearts. We were life’s fortunates.

Why, then, did we leave? After all, although our tenant in Scotland was moving out we’d have found another one, and while our lease on the Brighton flat was ending, it could have been renewed. Staying on was an option. Then why didn’t we? Why are we not there now? Because we wanted to preserve the magic!

Walk A Pavement Once Again, a memoir of the year Suzi and I spent in Sussex, will end soon. My next post, Departure!, about our last day in Brighton, will appear at the end of the month.

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