Feb 14 2009
Pet Cemetaries and Medieval Churches
I set off with the Pibler and his auntie today to explore some of the historical sights in Brighton, including one that I hadn’t seen before, despite moving here 4 1/2 years ago! Sometimes I start to take for granted the rich cultural heritage that is found in Brighton, and forget to keep investigating.
We intended to have a tour of Preston Manor, near Preston Park, but hadn’t realised that it’s open only from April to September! So instead we walked around the St Peter’s Church graveyard, also at Preston Park, and went inside the church itself. St Peter’s Church dates to the 13th Century, although changes were made to the interior during Victorian times, with 13th Century wall paintings and an altar tomb dating from the 16th Century. I was interested to learn that the parish of the church used to extend all the way into what is now Hove, and that Preston was once a village separate from Brighton.
It was a lovely day - blue skies until about 2pm. Everyone got to do a little of what they enjoy: my partner got some much-needed ‘alone time’ at home; the Pibler ran around the children’s playground and did some walking and climbing around the bowling greens; and my sister and I had a proper catch-up and read tombstones in the graveyard while the Pibler had a nap. We also had a look at the Preston Manor Walled Garden, one of my favourite ‘haunts’ when I used to live in Preston, with its own ‘pet cematary’ dating back to the 19th Century. Tomorrow we might go to the Brighton Pavilion Museum and maybe take in a movie.
I’ve temporarily abandoned nightweaning attempts with the Pibler, as I now have a cold and he is clearly struggling with teething, plus coming down with a cold himself. I felt we both needed our rest last night, and nursing to sleep is the most efficient way of achieving that for now. I have been trying the nightweaning for 2 weeks now and seen no improvement in his night wakings, and he has also started to cry more the last few nights, instead of less. With many things in parenting it seems to be one step forward, two steps back, but I’ve become more accepting about this and able to trust that someday, he will sleep better - I just don’t know when that will be! In the meantime, I’m trying to ‘keep it in the day’ and just enjoy my time getting to know my sister again, and watching the Pibler develop his relationship with his auntie.
