A grand day out

Living in Brighton, on the south coast of the UK, our first thought for a day out is more often than not another seaside town. A real favourite is Bexhill, east of Brighton on the way to Hastings.

It's a small town with great charity shops, old fashioned cafés and the splendid modernist De La Warr Pavilion on the seafront.

I found a great vintage shop today, Maud's, at 22 St Leonards Road. I asked if they had a card and they said "we aren't on the phone". No website, Facebook page or Twitter feeds then I'd guess!

A teenage boy asked me, "what country are you from?" when he overheard me saying "your dad's just over the road" in my geordie accent. Ah, so near and yet so far away...

Treacle & Co

My new favourite cafe (and they do seem to be springing up thick and fast despite the recession...) is Treacle & Co on Church Road, Hove, East Sussex.

Its blue and white tiled interior indicates that it was either a fishmonger or a fish and chip shop in the past. It has been wittily furnished with salvaged furniture and all sorts of curios. The highlight for me is the women's toilet: wallpapered with black and white cuttings of animals and one single colour picture of a goldfish (apparently the men's toilet features maps of the world).

Oh yes, and there are big fat cakes if you like that sort of thing, and nice coffee.