The miniature golf course
People talk about relaxing over the bank holiday, but we're both poleaxed after this one. On Saturday we'd been invited to a sixtieth birthday party by family connections of mine. It was held in a stunning old barn behind their very beautiful small manor house. Although the dress code was "smart casual" everyone seemed very glammed up. The barn was full of flowers and the beams draped with hops. The 120 or so people present seemed to own most of the land in East Sussex, not to mention some of the neighbouring counties. Much talk of shooting parties and harvests. The immaculately-groomed woman sitting beside me at dinner said "I think people are very judgmental", which I only later understood as "I know you're gay but I don't mind even if others do." The women seemed to specialise in greetings that involved effusions of shrieks. It took a while for the men to loosen up and indulge in some bluff teasing that your average feminist would have probably found offensive - but then your average feminist would probably have to put up with quite a lot in a farming community. A good time was had by all.
The atmosphere in the plush barn could not have been more different from a barbecue we attended on Sunday, given by a couple of ladies in Saint Leonard's, and largely attended by representatives of Saint Leonard's LGBT community - quite a lot of Ls, a certain amount of Gs, one T and some apparent heterosexuals who could have been Bs but you never want to ask. The ladies were heavy drinkers and very self-confident, somewhat eclipsing the men. There was enough muscle power for them to erect a marquee without outside assistance but the sun shone on the festivities and we basked in their spacious garden.
Friends stayed overnight on the Sunday and we engaged in seaside pleasures today: ice-creams at the Italian ice cream parlour, a game of miniature golf and then a burger at the Pelican Diner, before the friends departed and we could regain our sleepy existence. Socialising's fun, but it's nice when it stops!
Antony Mair
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