Today was the start of Fun-time Tuesdays.

This isn’t yet an officially recognised holiday, but it’s how Fran and I have re-branded our days together for the next few weeks. I’m taking a load of Tuesdays as annual leave and Fran will be supporting me, funded by my personal budget rather than by Access to Work. So instead of filling in funding applications in the office we’ll be out and about having fun.

We kicked off in style with a trip to Brighton. After a mad dash to the station we made it onto our train with only moments to spare. Soon we were heading out of London through the countryside. For Fran this was a familiar journey – she lived in Brighton for several years while she was at University.

When we arrived we headed straight for the seafront. The Promenade was bathed in sunshine and it was lovely just to meander about, chat, and generally take our time. After that we headed to one of Fran’s favourite cafés for lunch where we met our friend Mel who lives nearby. I enjoyed a suitably summery drink of strawberry, apple and mint crushed with ice – an exponentially healthier version of my favourite drink as a kid – Slush Puppie.

We had a brief wander round the Lanes before heading back to catch a train home. It felt great being in a different city and exploring it with Fran. It’s been the warmest day of the year so far and this, along with the relaxing setting, meant we were able to shed both our coats and our concerns.

While we took our first Fun-time Tuesday at an easy pace, getting about was far from leisurely as I’m sure Fran’s muscles will agree tomorrow. Brighton’s steep hills would definitely have been more manageable if I’d either had an electric wheelchair or the arm muscles of an Olympic rower.

For no good reason Fran and I have decided that whatever we do on our Tuesdays off, it has to begin with the letter B. I’ll let you know what we get up to next week. Sadly, we’ve had to rule out going to the Bahamas.