It was the best of Gems, it was the worst of Gems.

There are times when you know it's going to be a good day. You wake up and you just feel good, sometimes for no apparent reason.
And so it was on this occasion. I'm not a morning person, not by any stretch of the imagination - a trait I have inherited from my mother.

Quote by Oscar Wilde

This time, I was happy to get up and cheerfully fix my normal tea and toast (with Marmite, naturally) and sit in the armchair quietly reading. OK, so just because I was happy/fine to be getting up, that didn't mean I was first up. That only happens if I don't bother going to bed in the first place. Julie was sat in her chair, having had her breakfast and gone down the road for a local newspaper.

There must have been something in the air, because Julie was feeling rather chipper herself. We had a pleasant chat and then decided to have a drive over to Bexhill, wander around the charity shops and then stroll along the (rather long) promenade and up the cliffs.
It was a clear, bright day, but the wind was sharp, sharp enough to give us a little sideways grief on the marsh road to Bexhill - and driving along the Western part of the prom. When we got there, I goggled at the amount of cars - I knew it was a Saturday, but it looked like Bexhill was going to be rather busy.

As we strolled towards the town centre, be began chatting and commenting on things. It soon became apparent that the day was going to be a good one for Gems too. Not everything was certifiable gold, but it was on-the-spot entertaining, and we soon had a good banter going between us. In fact, I had trouble trying to jot things down, partly because of the rate the Gems were coming, but also because many of them were too specific to the moment. Take it out of context, and you had nothing but words.

It was only after Julie had hit a particularly fine run of Gems that I felt compelled to comment.

Now that's generous - giving me an option along with the Gem.