We made an impromptu visit to Southsea on Sunday. It had been too long since we’d gazed upon the ocean.

Highlights included:

• Fish and chips
• Helping a pigeon that was treading water in a boating lake
• Eating small doughnuts
• Dumping many tuppences into coin pusher machines

In the past we’ve tended to be reluctant to do day trips to the coast, as we don’t live particularly close to it. But, realistically, 80 minutes each way is about the same as it takes us to catch the train into the centre of London, which we don’t balk at. So perhaps we should indulge ourselves a little more in the future.