Paper bags, painkillers, pyjamas

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As you know, I’ve had a baby. He is snoozing in my left arm as I type this. He makes cute noises, has a button nose and hasn’t grown into his skin, a bit like a puppy. He is so tiny and looks like an elf. When our two-year-old stomped into the ward to meet his new brother, it was like Honey I Blew up the Kid. He looked enormous. A lion’s mane of hair, thick, black eyelashes and he seemed to be wearing Adidas Clown Shoes.

I need to say what an amazing team of doctors and midwives we had at the Conquest. A lot of women I spoke to find having an elective c-section a relaxed, pleasant experience. I struggle to find what is so relaxing about having your tummy sliced open and insides tugged around while you are stone cold sober. In fact, having a C-section is pretty low down on my list of all-time most relaxing experiences. Hot stones massages are relaxing. Drinking champagne, watching the sunset from above the clouds on a flight home from Barcelona was relaxing. Sitting on a slab in an operating theatre, crying, the words “knife to skin” written on a whiteboard in front of me, surrounded by about 10 people while a doctor inserts a needle into my spine, is NOT relaxing.

However, the doctors and midwives there were so switched on, quick and confident, I felt better immediately after Hector was born. They even gave me a drug to clear the lump in my throat. I think. I am so grateful to them, and amazed that care that good is available on the NHS. Everyone in the operating theatre and Frank Shaw Ward at The Conquest were amazing. Oh, and I was complimented on my “lovely colour” by the recovery nurse, after my surgery. I said “I bought it on Saturday.” I knew she meant it in a medical context, so she needed to know the truth. Fake Bake spray tan, Spaghetti Tree, Hastings.

Otherwise, this week, it’s been pyjamas, extreme tiredness, TV, painkillers, reluctantly self injecting with anti-blood clot stuff and avoiding looking at myself in the mirror. I haven’t been out and about for your reading pleasure, all I can report is that my boyfriend has been into newly opened men’s clothing store, Eddie Franks, High Street, Rye, and highly recommends it.

A peek at what my week looked like...
A peek at what my week looked like . . . sort of

To eat
I decided to mark our final night as a family of three by treating the BF and our little boy to a lovely dinner at The George in Rye. I can’t stop thinking about the tempura oysters. So delicious. I’m a sucker for anything Japanese inspired.

Tempura Oysters Wasabi & Pink Ginger £6 The George Grill
Tempura oysters, soy, wasabi, pink ginger, £6, The George Grill

To do
Wealden Times Midwinter Fair, Nov 20-22, 9am -4:30pm at The Walled Garden, Bedgebury Pinetum

OK, middle-class local ladies, don your quirky jewellery, it’s the pre-Christmas, shopping event of the year. As hard as I tried, uneducated and wearing Nikes, I couldn’t resist the high-quality charms of this festive event. Despite the fact that my boyfriend appeared to be the only male there, we had a great time, buying vintage glass Christmas baubles, sipping hot cider and quaffing champagne among the bunting, homemade decor and ladies with perfect blow dries. So much so, we ended up spending over £20 on . . . cobnuts. There are some really great products available. Worth checking out. Especially if you can get someone else to drive you there and back, so you can “get into the festive spirit”. Here are a couple of this year’s (man friendly) products that caught my eye.

Bryt Skincare range for her & him, Board and Bowl serving board, made in East Sussex, Anno Gin, made in Kent all at the Midwinter Fair
Bryt skincare range for her & him; board and bowl serving board, made in East Sussex; Anno gin, made in Kent

Local online: The Future Kept.com
The new online shop of established Interior Design Blog husband and wife team Jeska and Dean Hearne from Hastings.

I’ve been aware of Jeska for a while through social media and her blog – winner of the Amara Interior Design Blog Awards, Best Designed Blog 2014. She has a magical way of curating simple objects that, together, create a shrine on every surface of her home. Often accompanied by a cat. Yet her home never looks messy. I’d pay for that skill any day. Blessed with the unique and artistic style people from Hastings seem to be born with, Jeska and Dean have created an online store of affordable gifts and design pieces of museum-like aesthetic and purpose. Here are my favourite items available.

Curated in Hastings: Uashmama Paper Bag from £13.50 & Amelie Mancini Tea Towels £20.00
Curated in Hastings: Uashmama paper bag, from £13.50, and Amelie Mancini tea towels, £20

To talk about
Send us your photos from the Classic Car Rally! I missed it, for the first time in years. Boohoo. Oh, and what do you all think of the new The Standard??? Let us know!

twitter: @RyeINews

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