Wednesday: Odd with a capital "O"

What a strange day!

It began strange, though. I awoke at about 4:30. The block was completely silent, with only the muffled roar of the occasional car on the bypass to break it. No noise in the flat itself. No noise (the rattle of pots in the sink, for example) from next door to explain why I had been woken up. It was dark with no dawn approaching, so it wasn't that. Sometimes I have woken shivering, but it wasn't cold enough for that: cool but not cold. I've also awoken cocooned in bedclothes, with a vague fear that I'm suffocating, but the sheets were to one side. All very baffling.

I tried to get back to sleep for about an hour or so and finally admitted defeat, got up and made myself a cup of coffee, by which time dawn had arrived.

Throughout the day, I had a strange feeling that I had forgotten something really important, but couldn't figure out what it was. Because of this, I had a very edgy day.

I thought it best to get out of the flat and away from the Internet and the computer. I took the train down to Southend Central, had a cup of coffee at Cafe Nero, and walked from Southend to Shoeburyness.


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I took a few photos along the way. This is the old Palace Hotel with the new pier lift:

Very space age.

The view along the shore towards Thorpe Bay. This was about an hour into the walk and by then my legs were feeling a bit heavy but not much else.

By the time I got to the seafront at Shoeburyness, I was very fatigued, practically everything from the waist down ached in some way (yes, even those). I sat down for a while on a bench and watched a pair of windsurfers:

Eventually, I got on a train for London and headed back.

I got back to the flat eventually and collapsed on the bed. I didn't feel tired, just exhausted physically, and lay quietly for half-an-hour or so until I could get up without it being a drama.

All in all, a very odd day indeed, without any particular reason why. The reason I've blogged what is otherwise an unremarkable day is to show that it's not all good times at chez Lemon.