Essex was the county I came from and grew up in. I saw the house I lived in as I child and grew up in. I also visited the church my grandparents and my Dad are buried in before mixing those memories and emotions with those of other times by the sea in Southend and the surrounding area.
It is funny how such trips can bring back such strong memories of times gone by. Even passing the entrance to crematorium brought back the memories of my mothers funeral service and all the people that were there and those that supported me through that time and stood at my side. Then there places I went to a teenager that have so many connections with those careless days of my youth and the freedom I found in the countryside around where I lived.
Going to the seaside after that internal emotional roller coaster was the natural thing to do. It was lovely to go old Leigh and see the and listen to the people laughing and joking in the sun and from there to the beaches in Southend and Thrope Bay. It was lovely and warm and people were sailboarding and swimming in the last part of the day and the evening sun. It was nice to sit back enjoy the sun and relax and to cap it all off there was a beautiful sunset over the beach before the long drive home.
It is funny to think I would have not have been able to move to Rutland, a place I have came to adore I first visited here so many years ago, without the events that came flooding back today. It made it possible for me to live in one of the most beautiful parts of England, a move I will never regret. It was so simple at the time and for all the right reasons even if it hasn't been without its problems.
UPDATE 7th August 2014 - Finally as we left Southend we saw the a road traffic accident that had just happened on the other carriageway. It could have been minutes after the accident occurred. Thankfully the motorcyclist who was on the ground is still alive but two people have been arrested in connection with the accident.
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