The View from the Train

Last night I travelled by train to Eastbourne after work, to have dinner with my family. My sister's baby is due in two weeks and we may not have the chance to socialise again before life changes forever with the arrival of her first offspring, my second niece or nephew. So I was feeling particularly contemplative as I gazed out of the window at the hypnotic scenery outside. That particular journey is comfortingly familiar to me, having done it as a sixth form student to college in Lewes, and later to work at Waterstone's in Brighton, before I moved here. I must have done the same route hundreds of times, yet I never tire of the view. This photo was snapped on my cameraphone somewhere between Lewes and Berwick, where I was suddenly struck by the magical contrast between the luminescent, amorphous clouds and dense verdant grass. After all these years, the Sussex countryside still manages to surprise and inspire me.