Today I spotted this mural on the side of Windmill Drive Post Office. It may have been there for a long time as I am not very observant! The artist's name is on it if you want to know more about him: Luke Brabants. I had a little google and he is very talented. The windmill that the street is named after used to be out on Gunter's Lane, by Hoad's Mill. The hill is still there, with some brickwork from the base of the windmill, and the bakery is now a private house. As a child I used to buy cakes from the bakery, and they delivered bread around the town. The mill pond is still out the back, and you can walk past it on the rough footpath, but it is sadly now covered in green algae and with no visible birds (there used to be ducks and geese.)

The fig tree, surrounded by bluebells, forget-me-nots, dandelions and wild garlic. Charlie loves all the Spring smells! There's so much wild garlic in my garden this year. Last year it was the forget-me-nots that took over! The fig tree produces a huge amount of figs, but they rarely ripen enough to eat them.

The bluebells are out in Highwoods. Its so lovely to see them, and smell them! I love this old tree trunk, too, as it's so sculptural. I went to an English Heritage members event at Battle Abbey this morning, all about the important women connected with the Abbey, not just in 1066! It was my first time visiting there, and now I can thoroughly recommend it. Dogs are welcome too, and there's a lot to keep them busy with plenty of ruins to go in and out of. Then this evening I went to a lovely jazz club in Hastings called Barnaby's Lounge to see the very talented piano player, Neville Dickie, take us through the first fifty years of jazz.

Since the year 2000, Hastings has held a Beatles Day in April. Follow the link to learn about the event, that took place on Sunday 7th April this year. I don't think the Beatles ever came to Hastings, but by all accounts its a great day for any Beatles fans out there. Oddly, Paul McCartney's bass guitar, stolen in London in 1972, was found in an attic in Hastings in February this year... Make of that what you will.

Famous groups/singers who did play Hastings pier in the 1960s and 70s included: The Rolling Stones,
The Kinks, The Who, The Zombies, Jimi Hendrix and Cilla Black. Read this blog from Brighton University to find out more.

The summerhouse is a cosy spot, at the end of the garden, where you can sit and read, or take your laptop and plug in to do some writing. Bring your ethernet cable to connect to the BT internet point (the little white box on the wall, above the table) if you want to use the internet. There are often drinks in the fridge that you can help yourself to. If you enjoying reading there's an eclectic mix of books for you to read. The summerhouse is insulated and gets toasty warm when the sun shines on it, and even in the winter it's a reasonable temperature in there. There are four small fanlight windows which open to let in a breeze if it gets too hot. The decking at the front has railings around it, and a gate, to stop small children from falling off it, but it also means you can shut my dog out if you don't want him joining you in there! There's a croquet set in the summerhouse, a bowling set, and some children's games, and a bonus deckchair that I got as a birthday present. It's lovely, but I'm not sure that it will take my weight!

My approach to health can be summed up as looking after my Mind, Body, and Spirit. Those three things all work together to keep us well. If I feel ill I will check my herbal remedies books, like the one above, and see what they suggest. I have also consulted Medical Herbalists who, as the name suggests, have medical training as well as herbal training. If I have a physical ailment, such as a pain in my neck, I consult Diana Cooper's book, Transform Your Life, to see why I have the pain, and how to fix the issue behind the pain. Doctors have always been the last resort, for me, as I haven't found them to be open-minded about alternative therapies. However, there has been quite a big shift in this area with cancer treatment centres offering reiki, for example, and I hope this continues. I'm currently reading Dr. Gemma Newman's book Get Well Stay Well. She is a GP who cares about each of her patients holistically, and she is plant-based too! This is an excellent book which has been extremely well-researched. You can follow her on instagram: @plantpowerdoctor

The books I've mentioned work for me, but they won't be everyone's cup of tea. I think we can all agree, though, that looking after our health (mental and physical) as much as we can is essential for us to thrive. I love walking my dog but I forget about stretching before/after exercise, and that is so important. I'm not a huge fan of gardening, but I sleep much better after a bit of that kind of physical, outdoor exercise. Meditation helps to quieten my mind and centre me, and I do practice gratitude most days, and try to be kind, and find joy every day. I don't always succeed in all of this!

If your child has a BMX bike then they might enjoy the Bexhill BMX track on Sidley Recreation Ground. It's a 10-15 minute walk, depending on the route you take, to the bottom of Windmill Drive where you can access the park. There's also a path around the perimeter of the track, for walking dogs, and the recreation field where dogs are allowed, plus a little stream if they fancy a paddle or need a drink.

The Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux Castle, is about 20 minutes' drive from Nab Cottage. They run educational workshops for children in two age groups, 6-8 years and 9-11 years.

The Smugglers Adventure in St. Clements Caves in Hastings is a popular attraction, and can be combined with a trip on the funicular railway up to Hastings Castle.

Hastings Museum  and Art Gallery is very  child-friendly, with dressing-up boxes and puzzles to complete, plus challenges for older children.

Bexhill has a public swimming pool at the Ravenside shopping complex, next to Marks and Spencer.  Hastings and Eastbourne have public pools too.

Bedgebury Pinetum has Go Ape, a Gruffalo trail, Bike hire and trails, Bridleways, a variety of playgrounds, and a cafe.  It costs 14.50 per car per day, to park there at peak times, which includes entry to the Pinetum, and you can easily spend the day there, and take your own bike(s.) It's around 40 minutes' drive from Nab Cottage.

See my previous posts on other tourist attractions for more inspiration.

Charlie and I went on an adventure yesterday. I used to take Ruby to Friston Forest from time to time, and I wanted Charlie to experience it. He was so thrilled to be somewhere different! We followed the marked White Horse Trail otherwise I would have got lost as I have very little sense of direction. The first part was very muddy and slippery, as you can see, but the rest of it was fine. The views from the ridge are great, and the woods have a lovely, friendly feel to them. I thought we would meet hordes of people and children (as it was still the Easter holidays) but most of them seemed to be in the Seven Sisters car park, either walking down to the sea or over the Seven Sisters cliffs. It's a very scenic drive from Nab Cottage to Friston Forest, well the bit from Polegate anyway! You go through the village of Wannock, and then through Jevington where there used to be a restaurant called The Hungry Monk. They invented the dessert banoffee pie in the 1970s. You then drive through some wonderful countryside, past another bit of woodland called Butcher's Hole, down to the main road where you turn right and go up and down a bit, before looking down on the wonderful, meandering Cuckmere River with the Seven Sisters car park just past it on the left. You take the road to the right to get to the main Friston Forest car park. There is a toilet there, and a large open area for picnics before or after your forest walk. At a fast pace it only takes about 35 minutes, but its a good walk.

This poster from the Stress Management Society is a good place to start, if you feel stressed. They also have more resources on their website: https://www.stress.org.uk/ As it is also National Pet Month in the UK, read on to see how I have dealt with a stressful situation caused by my dog Charlie's behaviour.

We all get stressed at times. Recently I was getting more and more agitated and annoyed by Charlie's constant desire to play with a dog we walk around with. This dog is lovely and never tells Charlie off so he wasn't getting that the dog didn't want to play with him. I tried a firm 'no' but that didn't work and then it escalated the situation as Charlie got more and more excited by the negative attention he got from everyone. So then I tried distracting him with a ball, sticks, and finally food. They all worked for a few minutes but then he'd go back to annoying the dog. I was very upset by Charlie's annoying behaviour, and frustrated that he just wasn't getting it. He's an intelligent dog so I knew he was trainable, but I had to find the right tool to take him out of his obsessive mindset. Walking round with a group of other dog owners it feels like you have a village helping you raise your dog right, and one of them suggested a water spray bottle. This has worked brilliantly on Charlie over the last few days and, although he'll still try it on a bit, for the most part I only need to show him the bottle and he moves off. Today he found another dog to play with, so he is understanding that I am not trying to stop his fun. I just need him to respect that the dog he was harrassing every day didn't want to play with him. Our walks are much calmer now, and he still gets to swim after a ball at the end, which is one of his favourite activities. Every dog is different and it is such a relief when you find a training technique that works for you!

If you go anti-clockwise from the car park, on the 'all access' gravel path, this is the first of many ponds you will come across in Highwoods. The grand bench is a memorial to a former Warden of the woods, Alan Malpass, so this has become the Malpass pond. Every Spring I am in awe of this Marsh Marigold that sprouts up right next to the pond, in spite of all the dogs scrabbling around, and in, the pond all year round. The photo doesn't do it justice. It's such a bold, vibrant yellow colour, and it gives much hope for the season ahead. There are wood anemones spread throughout the woods, and the bluebells are just starting to show themselves. In a few more weeks there will be battalions of bluebells for everyone to enjoy. The last photo shows Charlie ambitiously attempting to drag a very large branch out of the pond. He enjoys swimming for balls in the larger pond, but has started to lose interest sometimes and then expects me to retrieve them. In the summer when the water level drops I am expecting to see a vast collection of all the balls which sank, either because they were too heavy (and I didn't test them before throwing them!) or because Charlie had chewed them to the point that they were fatally destined to drop down into the murky depths and be absorbed into the claggy clay.