1585 London to Brighton and return

While the journey from Croydon to the Sussex coast was filled with memories the decision to travel back in one day when an overnight stop for £9 had been arranged, appeared an error of judgement until now.

The centre of the Sussex coast is Brighton with a road from west and central London which passes through Wallington High Street, to Coulsdon and then joins into the major road from central London the A23, through Waddon passing the former Croydon Airport to Purley and Coulsdon. There is also the third way from the City and East London, through to central Croydon and it is on this road between South Croydon and Coulsdon that the Innkeepers motel is located. The convergence of these three routes has always created a traffic bottle neck since the day when the everyone from London headed for the coast during Summer Sundays, and even more so when the M25 was created and then the M23 to what has become London’s second airport Gatwick with both motorways accessible a couple of miles from Coulsdon via Hooley and where conveniently in recent times there were petrol stations on either side of the road and a few yards further a Little Chef restaurant where after collecting my birth and care mothers from Sunday mass and stopping at their flat for a toilet break we would go for Sunday lunch and then a little motoring during the afternoon before turning home for tea.

The Innkeepers Lodge is situated close to Purley Oaks station midway between South Croydon and Coulsdon and as I drove towards the motorway junctions on my way for Sunday lunch on the South coast I encountered the first surprise. Instead of going through Coulsdon High Street from where the road to Wallington via Smithin Bottom Lane branches off, there is now a bypass which goes under the new railway station bridge and rejoins the road before Hooley. This reduces the extent of the stationery traffic from the motorway to the Hooley Traffic Lights and then to the two sets at Coulsdon. The petrol station on this side the road has been demolished and the Little Chef has become Starbucks. I hate such changes the older I get, but the bypass is brilliant. On my way to the coast I had to remember to take the far right set of lanes as the middle two are for the M25 to the junctions with the M3. M4 and M40 before the M1 and then the A 1M. At the junction between the M25 and the A1M is a large service area with an extended seat area the other side of which are shops, meal outlets, toilets electronic games and slot machines.
Yesterday as I reached the outskirts of Wetherby in Yorkshire I discovered the new Wetherby Service area which has been built on similar lines except that the whole site is several times that of the London end with a vast parking area for Goods vehicles after a large petrol garage and multifunction store, a large area for car parking with a new Days Inn Hotel being built at the far end and the super food and shop outlet to one side, with outdoor seating for the smokers and picnic area.

For the greater part of two decades I would leave the A1M just before Wetherby village and where on the right hand side before doing so there was a pleasant pub restaurant with gardens ideal for a lunch stop. This then closed and remained bordered up be for close on two decades. Wetherby itself is a very attractive prosperous town with several pub restaurants in the town centre which is also a good meal time stop, or alternatively there are also three places on the road from Wetherby into Leeds town centre and then out of Leeds for the start of the M1. The alternative was to continue on the A1 where there was a motorway service area at the junction with the M62 from Hull to Liverpool. Then about a decade ago, perhaps less, an extension was made to the M1 which takes it around Leeds to join A1M. There had been an earlier improvements which first took the AIM onward without the former Wetherby roundabout, and more recently an improvement which meant that one did not have leave the A1M at the service area roundabout to join either the M62 which crossed above so now one has the choice of directly continuing south on filtering in to the M62 East or West.

All this means that one can travel from Scotland and Newcastle to London via the M1 without entering or stopping around Leeds, or via the A1M, or go on to Hull, Manchester or Liverpool again without stopping or needing to confront roundabouts and bottle necks in the Leeds area. There is a good service area and Motel at Scotch Corner some 30 miles North of Leeds, The Wakefield service area motel is some ten miles South of Leeds on the M1 and the Pontefract service area and Motel some ten miles to the south east of Leeds on the A1M. Therefore the new Wetherby service stop ten miles north of Leeds fills a major gap and no doubt the agricultural land owners made a good profit.

There are so many changes coming in the next twenty five to fifty years and beyond that I will not live to see, so developments such thus one, however minor in the great scheme of things is of interest although the prices are such that I shall continue to make do buying beforehand. One interesting find is that yesterday I bought two packs of two salmon fish cakes for £3 usually £3.28 where at Azda a quality pack of two haddock fish cakes costs just under £2


I missed a call on my mobile, and decided to ring back. Usually it is the wrong number but this time it was important, to say that the TV was fixed and would be returned tomorrow between 10 and 1. Some years ago I had a video recorder which went wrong and was taken away and it was after several months and constant telephoning that eventually I was given a replacement as a stand by and then a cheque the cost of the original which could not be repaired. Having heard many stories and knowing that these day the cost of repairing in such that frequently products are written off with a voucher alternative offered I wondered if I would be without my wondrous set over Christmas, Now I have the rest of the day to catch up work, do some shopping and get the room ready. I shall buy the Christmas and New Year Edition of the Radio Times. The Gods of the many faiths of the world are being kind towards me.

On Sunday as I drove in the sun burning fog my mind was full of past experience, conjured by the places played along the route. I have used Gatwick as an airport a few times. To Corfu, to Italy and to Gibraltar and I have stayed overnight in the area at least once, possibly twice. The car parking is usually at some distance with special buses taking to the Airport and there is now a fast service from London Victoria and with connections at East Croydon. After the war the major train route stop on the way to the coast by train was Three Bridges where if memory serves me well there were connections to trains going to other destinations along the South Coast. Hasting which as a family we did not like, St Leonards and Bexhill where we had family holidays. There is also Camber sands at the far end of East Sussex and Pevensey Bay, and then the major resort of Eastbourne before the famous Beachy head where I once listened to a live Dire Straits concert on the radio sitting in the car. Then there is the Newhaven Dieppe ferry port before Peacehaven, Saltdean, Rottingdean and Kemp town before Brighton and Hove. My first experience of the seaside was to Brighton just after the end of World War II when the beach was still covered with fortifications and I went with my birth mother, the only time that she went out with a male friend, in his lorry.

Next to Brighton is Hove and the football team is known as Brighton and Hove Albion and as a young man I went to watch Crystal Palace play Brighton in the decider which settled whether Brighton or Palace would become part of the new 4th division when the two third divisions were amalgamated. I have been to Hove twice to watch Durham play Sussex, during visit stays with my birth and care mother’s at Wallington. This reminded me to check if the Durham 2009 fixtures are as yet announced, they are not but I do want a copy of the special edition of Wisden if they are still available. I will check this out and renew my membership day as well as booking the annual service of the central heating system and the cooker.

Returning to the London to Brighton route my childhood recollection was also of the Vintage car race which is run in November of each year since 1896 which was the date when legislation was passed which enabled motorised vehicles to travel up to 14 miles an hour from the previous 4 and which required a man to walk ahead carrying a red flag, Since 1971 the Queen has entered a Daimler car which is driven by members of the Royal Household. Prince Michael of Kent who is President of the Royal Automobile Club has regularly participated in the race. This year 483 vehicles out of the original entry of 550 managed to get away from Hyde Park and 420 reached their destination. For the past 100 years the Moulin Rouge Paris has had entries and this year a chorus line of Can Can girls from the celebrated night club did a pre London visit in September and formed a guard of honour at the start. The race was the subject of a comedy film called Genevieve. with Kenneth Moore, John Griegson and Kay Kendall.

There is also a famous film called London to Brighton in Four minutes of the railway journey from London to Brighton Station which was shown sometimes on TV as an Interlude. The original 1951 version was six minutes at 500 mph and the later is over 700 mph and then to mark 50 years of the electrification of the line a colour version was produced and than new version was available on the BBC I player but no longer, However several version are still available on You Tube including the original versions.

The present M23 motorway ends at Pease Pottage which as a child caused much merriment (Pease Pudding) and still does although not I presume to local residents along with those at Cuckfield, Hurstpierpoint, Pyecomb and Moulsecombe, Uckfield and Buxted., Now at Patcham there is a dual carriageway which continues on to Lewes and Newhaven to the East or to Shoreham and Worthing. I have stayed at Lewes, a small old town full of antique shops, for short period of three or four days on a visit by the Local Government Association’s Drug Advisory Committee, to facilities in the Brighton and Sussex areas.

Unless you have cause to drive along the coast most people are now aware of the extent of the port at Shoreham by Sea, but Arundel Castle a little way inland from Littlehampton another day trip venue along with Bognor Regis because unlike Brighton with its Pebble Beach there is sand as these two resorts. I believe that as a child we had a holiday at Bognor Regis. It was only in recent times that I visited the great Cathedral at Chichester and I am not sure if I have been to Selsey and the Selsey Bill as the headland is called. Travelling north from Chichester is Midhurst and then just over the border into Surrey there is Haselemere where the youngest of seven sisters in the family of my mother, Ethel, died at the convalescent hospital from tuberculosis run by a Catholic order of nuns and where I made one visit going by bus to Guildford and then by another to the outside the town where the hospital was located on the side of hill and the beds were taken outside into the open air.

Yesterday the journey from Purley Oaks home was of a different order with constant warnings on the M25 that there were long delays between junctions 15 to 18 which covered the stretch passed London’s main airport Heathrow and where planes arrive to land every minutes or so. In fact although we did slow down to 10 MPH I cannot recall an actual stopping and for the most part we went along at a comfortable 30 to 40 MPH. I could not wait to stop for some prepared coffee, which was luke warm, at Toddington, and to buy a pack of rolls to enjoy nearly all the second pack of smoked salmon, except or a few slices used with to two further rolls with sliced olives and anchovy immediately on arrival home around 5pm. It continues to feel strange continuing to South Shields and not going through Sunderland as I had for some thirty years

Having bought a week’s use of Travel Lodge internet, I parked outside the Travel Lodge and was able to connect with my 5 year old Sony V10 but then found I only had a few minutes left with the battery, which was surprise, I then checked that I had two hours with the new free Acer via AOl, but I could not get out of Yahoo and this needs to be sorted for future reference over the next couple of days.

I did stop again at Nottingham, this time for a cup of hot coffee £2.09 and a toilet break and then it was the boring struggle to keep going for the rest of the way, hence stopping to explore the new service area at Wetherby.

Back home I had intentionally left two lights on while away, and by mistake had left a third, I also put the heating system on a timer and the timer heating had worked and was on at arrival. I hate to thin what has been the cost, there was a little post including the replacement debit card which I must find out if the code number still works. It also reminds that on the way I heard a song with the lyrics along the lines of I saw the crescent you saw the moon. I meant to make a note of the title when I stopped but can I remember and can I find it?. The search led to finding the sound track CD of the film called Benjamin Button where the first number is a traditional jazz marching band version of the When the Saints, called, Shall we walk through the streets of our City by Dr Paulin. the second number Ostrich Walk Frank Trumbauer featured Bix Beiderbeck. These are no 30 second snippets but full length versions lasting three to five minutes. Amazing. That’s how Rhythm was born Boswell sisters; Freight Train Blues- Billy and de de Pierce; Basin Street Blues by the Preservation Hall jazz band; If I could be with you tonight- Louis Armstrong and the new Cotton Club orchestra; Chanson sur Stalin; Out of nowhere Sidney Bechet; Dear Old Southland Louis Armstrong; Skokiaan-Perez Prado;. My Prayer The Platters. Bethana a concert waltz. Very enjoyable

I was desperate food and a warm drink on arrival yesterday which became priority over unpacking. Then there were plants to be watered, post to be opened. I wanted to watch part of Wallander that I had dozed through and then end Little Dorrit and listen to the X factor final. There was also the episode of Merlin Later I enjoyed a cuppa soup and four salmon fishcakes bought for £3 at Marks and Spencer’s, the last lemon Turkish delight and a few Whitakers Mint Creams. There was quite a lot of printing, the Blogs both in draft and the published version for myself and several new Friends as the mission to reach the same number as Blogs continues.

It was not a day to be remembered but it meant that I had gained a day. As my days run out I resent time spent in travelling.

1752 For Northumbrian towns on a hot day

And so Thursday July 2nd, Mediterranean Hot reached the North East and enveloped Tyneside for twelve hours of the day. It was the kind of day to inspire into action and not the day to stay inside pretending it was just another day. It was a day which reminded of why I had once wanted to create a new life in a climate where such days are the norm. Unfortunately the weather forecast for us was that heavy rain would following during Friday. I was uncertain how to enjoy this reminder of what might have been

It was not until 11 am that I ventured out deciding to take fitness walk but accepting my age and condition sufficiently to take the car down the hill and parking just before Ocean Road. I went down to the front to look at where the Council is proposing to build a new swimming pool. There was no estimate of when it would be completed but hopefully I will live to see it finished and in a physical condition to use. There will be no excuse then although I assume that during weekdays especially in term time there will be school parties and it will be necessary to get up early or go late afternoon or early evening. I still have to lose another stone before considering such activity.

The new Italian Restaurant appears to have become established as it remains open until late at night. It offers a three course lunch for just under £8 which includes a choice of any Pizza or past on the menu with prices around £7 to £8 which means that one gets a limited choice of special starters. and ice cream or coffee for free. Then there is usually a drink to start with, so call it £10 a person. I wondered how many takers they have. However it compares favourably with the pubs offering two main courses for between £7 and £9, because if you add a starter drink, a food starter and pudding or coffee to finish the final tally will be closer to £10 than the£5 I used to pay when I eat out regularly at midday several times a week between twenty and ten years ago.
I climbed the sand dune behind Dunes, well the link was with Las Vegas, but it is a good dune giving a different perspective on the Bay as from the Hill the view is obscured by the trees in the parks. There was a refreshing strong breeze coming off the sea and one longer for many more such days, although my on going work would be more seriously affected than it has been since taking the decision to make my seventieth a different experience from the sixty nine beforehand, and if possible sufficiently memorable to help me through the ordeals and processes of increasing old age.

As I walked down the other side of the dune I re-jigged what had been in my mind when I set off and walked as far as the Amphitheatre. If the weather held I would attend the first free evening gig of the year having missed all the eight held during June for one reason or another. I walked back though the park commenting to myself that the Council had made a mistake in not recreating a Victorian tea room to replace the popular facility which had existed before, no doubt under pressure from the nearby outlets on the sea front who wanted the custom.

I was home just after midday and checked the score at Durham. As I had anticipated Worcestershire had not collapsed in the same way as Durham and the match was likely to go into its fourth day. I had a lunch of smoked mackerel salad with the rest of the cherries and checked the score at the midday interval 60 for 2 and judged that my assumption of a fourth day was accurate. I would go on an explore into Northumberland in search of Wilkinson stores and black display folders and found the locations of three others at Cramlington, Ashington and Blyth to that at North Tyneside where I knew where it was located from having gone in search of a cup of tea on a previous explore of the town centre.

In forty years I have previously driven through Ashington once. This is a medium size town of under 30000 people situation three miles from the coast and was once the heart of the Northumberland coalfields. It still regards itself as a village with its own dialect which is a variant of Geordie and Mackem

It is also the birthplace of a number of internationally known professional footballers who all played for the Ashington Football Club. The best known are the Charlton Brothers of Bobby and Jackie. Bobby survived the Munich air crash and went on to play for England and become the ambassador of British Football and his beloved Manchester United. Jackie made his name at Leeds had less of an international career as a player but went onto manage both Newcastle and Middlesborough and the Northern Ireland National side. Both players were part of the 1966 successful World Cup squad.

In Ashington’s pedestrian town centre there is a statue of one footballer, Wor Jackie Milburn who scored 238 goals for Newcastle, a club record to this day. Others includes Peter Ramage who also played for Newcastle but has since moved to a London Club in a lower division. The two present day outstanding sportsmen are Cricketers, former World number one fast Bowler Steve Harmison and his brother Ben were also born in the town. The Former owner of Newcastle who built the largest indoor shopping mall at Gateshead, the Metro centre and developed St James Park into the present stadium Sir John Hall was also born in the town. I once took a party of Councillors from Wuppertal to meet Sir John and tour the Metro Centre. He spent an hour explaining the importance of the centre to the North East. I had told him in advance that their Council had voted to prevent a shopping centre in or near their town. I then met his son and son in law for a drink while the visitors went shopping. Among others from the town was the first head of Scotland Yard’s bomb squad, an astrologer, an opera singer and an author and architect.

Ashington survives but it still has the look of a town with a past rather than a future. There are approved plans for an open cast coal field outside the town with will provide 60 jobs where once thousands were employed in the central coalmines and those in neighbouring communities such as Ellington, Linton. Woodhorn and, North Seaton. I found the car park tucked away at one end of the high street behind the now closed and grim looking building which was once converted into a Netto supermarket but had a prior history lost except to the oldies none of whom were about so I could ask. Wilkinson is located at the other end of the High Street in a new building close to the railway station which is now only used for freight trains. It is sad but Ashington is not a place anyone would chose live or even visit. You received an education which hopefully took you away from the pit and to Newcastle, or down south or across the world. It is not surprising that there was also the emphasis on sport. Another outlet used to be painting as a hobby and the work of Ashington Pitmen Painters has become internationally known.

Whereas Ashington is struggling to survive, Blyth about he same distance from Newcastle as South Shields presents a very different face. Yet Like Ashington it was once the centre for coal mining, the transport of coal, ship building larger than on the Tyne or Wear. and fishing and is located on the river Blyth as it reaches the North East Sea. It is medium size town with around 35000 yet as a superior shopping centre to South Shields over twice its size. While there were some shuttered establishments in side streets the feel of the town centre is very different and this is also reflected by the port remaining in use bringing in pulp from Scandinavia for the newspaper industry. The Quay area had been developed with new buildings and sculptures and a wind farm of nine turbines. However a large number of resident now work on North Tyneside and Newcastle to use the tunnel to the South Tyneside and Sunderland. A superficial reaction but I immediately had the sense of a town with a future and an identity fit for the 21st century.

In between these two towns is Cramlington, a new town created around a former village. It is an artificial community bland without character. The town is bigger than either Ashington or Blyth and comprising large wide avenues of new semi detached and detached housing around a functional indoor shopping centre. There are several large industrial zone separate from the housing with an emphasis on pharmaceuticals. It gives the impression of being a model town for the 21st century, souless, colourless, cultureless.

As for the purpose of the visits, Cramlington provide four black display folders and Ashington 3 whereas Blyth had only one green 40 page folder in stock. The reason why none of the stores has ordered more of the 40 page volumes is that no one is buying the 20 page and all the stores have two or three boxes of these and obviously hope once the 40 page editions have sold out people will take the 20 page size.

The treat of the afternoon was to visit Newbiggin by the sea, an attractive town with straddles a large bay Although once a small port for shipping grain and for coal mining reflected in some of the housing away from the high street, the atmosphere is very different from the others town visited. It is in fact a large village with a population of around 7000. I parked at the far end of the main road which ends at two car parks and the church. One belongs to the golf club and the second is public and free and headland to a grass covered headland with a stone monument created for the millennium under which there is a time capsule containing creations by local school children. From here you have a commanding view of the bay and its fine sands. The sand is new as the former beach eroded and £10million of new sand had to be imported with additional works to prevent further erosion. On this warm day the bay was a splendid sight. There is none of the usual seaside attractions here. The Parish church is imposing and originates from the 14 century. There is small heritage centre nearby. John Braine the author of Room and Life at the top wrote his first novel while working here at Newbiggin public library 1954-1956.

Looking at the time I decided I would not attempt to go to North Shields where I knew parking would be a problem and head for the Tyne Tunnel before the rush hour. I was tired on returning home but resisted sleep listening to the Worcester radio commentary on the game at the Riverside. Durham had bowled out Worcestershire for a lower total than anticipated and pressed ahead with scoring runs in their second innings closing the day with 120 odd runs to win and 9 wickets in tact. It was then I remembered that it was Thursday and there was a concert at the amphitheatre and the sun was still shinning.

I made an evening meal of salmon fish fingers and mixed beans in tomato sauce and then took the car to the sea front to find somewhere to park. It was very busy with a constant stream of traffic in both directions along the sea front and similarly pedestrians. mainly young. I found a space on the road itself before realising that the charge was 1 pence a minute or 90 pence until the free time from 8.30. I went on to the public car park at the Sanddancer but it was full so made an exit and came back around the roundabout and on to the parking area on the grass on the other side of the roadway. I parked opposite Minchella’s and the show off motorcyclists and went off to investigate the parking charges at the only ticket machine at the entrance tot he site which extend the length of the fromt from the caravan and camping site to the Gypsy Green stadium. The charge is 70p a hour or £2.30 all day which is very reasonable. There was a stiff cool breeze and although still warm from the evening sunshine I chose to remain in the car with the windows open listening to the music, although shortly after eight I closed the one on my side of the car which gave the best of both worlds, warmth and the music from the passenger side window.

There were about thirty five motorcycles when I arrived and this increased to fifty at one point with constant comings and goings and around 100 calling during my period of stay. It was difficult to work why they went coming and going with some only stay for a short while after finding who was there and exchanging a few words. What was interesting is that no one paid for parking and only some joined the queues for service from the cafe.

There were two bands. The First Eureka machine was formed in 1972 and is Leeds based, playing a traditional form of hard rock. I rate them as OK. I have been unable to find out about Mugshots the second band of the evening. I did prefer their sound better but around 8.30 I grew tired and returned. I was in bed by 10pm and went immediately to sleep.

1746 The Price of Travelling

On Friday 19th June 2009 I woke early after a good sleep, packed up and sorted car after doing some writing and seeing the news. It was after eight when I set off and did not make the mistake of the previous day which thinking I would be able to get back towards the town centre set off on a road which in fact took to Carisbook Castle.

I have visited Castle and country Houses when a member of English heritage but I am not a great enthusiast and was more interested in the place of such establishment in our history than the particular examples of finery, wealth and individual family power, It si interesting how people concentrate of creating things which mean little as death approaches and not on their relationships and what they do and do not when they are alive.

This time I made no such mistake but then could not find the way into the Morrison’s care park because of the one way system and entered a small car park a few metres from the bus station. At Morrison’s I decided upon a small breakfast of a sausage, bacon, egg, tomatoes and friend bread for a couple of English pounds. I had enough coffee beforehand. I then did a some getting some rolls, a croissant for the morrow and two packs grapes and almond twists. It was eight thirty when I set off for the Ferry landing of Fishbourne arriving just before nine and being able to make my way into the vehicular lanes and into a row where there was only a couple of cars ahead of the one I was following. I had close on an hour to wait for my departure. There were surprisingly fewer private car vehicles arriving for the 9.30 departure and the explanation became evidence as a dozen coaches assembled over several lanes. There occupied almost all the lower deck with the exception of eight or so vehicles packed tightly behind them on the open part of the deck. I was one of them.

Understandable most of the seating was occupied within and outside the lounges when I made may way up the various levels to the outside areas, but after witnessing the departure and having a walk about I settle in an inside lounge and enjoyed a copy of the County Press where I discovered the recent availability of a DVD about old Bembridge and the surrounding villages.

The route out of Portsmouth from the ferry landing appeared to me easier and quicker than that taken what seemed such a long time ago but was in fact only four days previously, This time instead of taking the M27 back the way I had come towards the M3 some twenty miles parallel with the coast I time in the opposite direction and took the short journey to the start of the A3. There was a short detour at one point into the adjacent town of Hindhead where I passed the Devil’s Punchbowl Inn, a large several story building which has adopted the name of the area of a natural amphitheatre and beauty spot and which is not to be confused with its more dramatic counterpart in California, a thousand acre park. The Inn is across the way from the beauty spot and is some 900 feet above sea level and where on a clear day it is said one can see as far London.

Of greater interest to me was the turning off towards Haselmere which I have visited at least once to a sanatorium just after World War 2 where the youngest of my mother’s six sisters convalesced with a order of nuns at their sanatorium on the hillside and where beds could be moved into the open air. She could have had an operation for the tuberculosis’s which could have saved her life but a devout Catholic should put her trust in God. Although she was someone with a warm and outgoing personality, a former unqualified teacher in Gibraltar who had contracted the disease while training to be a nurse she was inwardly sad has her fiancée of several years had disappeared during the Spanish Civil War while training to become a doctor at the university of Madrid. May they rest in peace.

The journey continued to go well until I reached the M25 where earlier an accident had occurred ahead and the traffic had accumulated to a situation of slow, stop and slow, Worse was to come when a further accident on the M1 brought traffic to a standstill. On impulse rather than sit it out I decided to take a detour coming off at the first opportunity and made not one but two incorrect decisions, Instead of following the road into Newport Pagnell and then taking a B road to join in I took a minor road under the motor way into Stevenage in order to take the A5 North route but lost all sense of Direction at one point and ended up at the very roundabout above the M1 that I had started and with traffic at a virtual standstill. This time I went into Stevenage and rejoined the M1 which was then free flowing. I was stopping at the Trowell Travel Lodge for the night but had arranged to make a detour stop between 2 and 4. I had also forgotten about the extent of traffic everywhere on Friday afternoons when many set off home from work early or go away for the weekend. It was all frustrating an not enjoyable. However although much later than anticipated, especially given the taking of the earlier Ferry I and an enjoyable break and it was dusk when I set off to find the M1 before the Trowell. I had been this way before, but a year ago when coming into Nottingham fort he cricket and I knew I was heading for the wrong M1 exit which would have taken beyond the service area. I had to do a little doubling back before getting on track. The M1 north and south of Trowell has been undergoing extensive repairs and changes which involve the banks and bridges for over a year now and continues to look as if the work will continue for the rest of this year and beyond.

I was tired when I dragged myself and luggage to the second floor where the room was located and somehow managed to dislodge the spring held clothes rail. The television did not immediate work although I was able to resolve what was a lose aerial connection and it looked for a few minutes as if I was to have problems logging online.

The following morning I set of relaxed but tired and continued not to enjoy the journey home. I stopped at the Wakefield service area for an early picnic lunch and then called in at Tesco for milk and other supplies before reaching home. The rest of the day was taken with unpacking and sorting the post.

1745 Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor and Olivio

I have been to Sandown on the Isle of Wight three times in my life before last week. The first occasion was in the later 1940’s when the family took its first holiday at a caravan on a farm close to Bembridge Village and a walk from the Bembridge Rocky Ledge. We would take a bus to arrive midday for a picnic lunch when the weather was fine. We went again the next year or a year soon after because we had not been able to connect with coach trips available from Sandown or attend one of the evening activities on Saturdays. We had the stayed at the kind of guest house where you are expected to leave after breakfast and not return until the evening in time for the one course option meal. Those were the days.

I managed to visit briefly last year on a day trip from Portsmouth, taking the bus from Ryde and after a brief walk through the town and along the sea front, I walked the pier where I had a half of beer before catching the bus to Shanklin and walking down to the front along to the lift and where I had had to wait for half to three quarters an hour for the bus.

I had planned a longer explore on Thursday of last week, June 18th, 2009, but it was just before midday before I arrived travelled in the car the length of the one way shopping street before turning back along the front and found a car parking space almost at the other end. I had time before the arranged meeting to visit the Tourist office where I bought two books of photos and a map book. I had noted an attractive looking hotel and bar with two veranda levels but decided that the food was expensive and as there was no food being eaten to judge its quality, feared a meal similar to that at the Fishbourne Inn. There was a chips with everything eggs, ham fish restaurant attached to another hotel which was reasonably price but nothing appealed.

Instead, returning to the shopping street there was the good fortune to find a traditional English lunch and tea room where staff were attentive and the owner host supervised an checked that everyone was content. I fancied a chicken pie with mash and vegetables served with gravy in a soup type plate followed by a cup of tea, served with two cup tea pots and a jug of hot water. Three plus cups were available for the price less than is paid for one on the motorways and many other establishments. Unfortunately I did not note the name.

It was then time for a walk for a good walk although I did not pay sufficient attention to appreciate what was being suggested. There are a choice of two walks, along the cliff or along the extended promenade and the lower flat route was selected. What I did not grasp is that this route continues through to Shanklin, a distance of approximately two miles. For the major part of this walk there are just a varying collection of Beach huts below the cliff with some opened to view revealing electricity for a cup and picnic cooking but also a fridge and a freezer in one instance. Those at Shanklin or where there was roadway access at Sandown were larger with some long enough to have two rooms and with rear windows and access which could provide for overnight accommodation. On Sunday I walked the Shields sea front and we have some sixteen two room chalets which are hired out for weekly and short rental to provider a beachside holiday and are very popular even thought their view of the sea is obscured by large sand dunes with the exception of those immediately facing a pathway between the two mounds of sands.

Approaching Shanklin the walk was broken by a sit to watch the activities a large party of students possible sixth form but more likely college, some fifty who were with party organisers and instructors learning to either canoe or board surf. This was evidently an established teaching facility which included wind surfers, not be used at the time.

Shanklin and Ventnor are hilly resorts in which there are steep climbs up from the beach side. There is also some distance to walk from the town centre to the reach which I found last year and then an exceptionally steep roadway down to the beach side. There is then a wide promenade with gardens, putting greens and such like was well as cafes and restaurant as well as car parking. Shanklin with a population of over 8000 is bigger than Sandown with over 5000 and still has a Theatre. As with Sandown there used to be shows on the pier with that at Shanklin attracting international performers such as Paul Robson, Richard Tauber and the English Comedian Arthur Askey.

On my previous visit I enjoyed a cup of tea on the esplanade but on this visit the stop was postponed until Ventnor. I remember there was derelict on the first visits some sixty years before, but there were fireworks on a Saturday evening, but modest compared to the digital run displays of today, Shanklin also has a Chine. Chine is a local word on the Island and is a grove with a waterfall covering an area of three acres and with a quarter of a mile from the Old Village entrance and a drop of 100 feet to the esplanade where there is he second entrance or exit. Between July and September the Chine can be visited at night for floodlighting of which there some two hundred. I believe there was even some lighting and evening visits when I visited over sixty years ago but this may be a false memory. The old village has thatched roofs, gift shops and tea rooms but a better example is Brading.

As on my previous visit the lift was taken with taken to the top of the cliff but this time continued upon the cliff walk rather than go directly to the town centre A bus was the taken to Ventnor from which there are spectacular views back over Shanklin to Sandown bay. I have only been on one visit to Ventnor before and remembered nothing if the experience. Ventnor also has a larger population than Sandown, over 7000 and is famed for the Mediterranean nature of its climate with 30 inches of rain a year. Such was its popularity as a Summer holiday destination that there used to be non stop trains from Ryde to Ventnor. Now the train stops at Shanklin and there is a bus connect service on which I travelled.

Between 2005 and 2008 there was a jazz festival weekend to revive the economic fortunes of the resort but this year it was cancelled within one month which does not surprise as the list of performers were unknown to me and did not appear to fit into a jazz genre. There have been problems with performer being paid and a lack of public interest. A festibal is planned for 2010

Tea was taken on the upper level Winter Garden which is an inn and restaurant full of historical items including the old type of cash register with individual keys. When is the last time you saw one of these in operation use. I enjoyed a cup of tea and a Muffin. A small plats of Bourbon and Custard Cream Biscuits was provided gratis. The bar section was full of locals enjoying a chat along with the alcohol.

The bus was taken to Sandown where unintentionally I took the wrong road to Bembridge. This however proved to be a brilliant mistake. First I discovered the various developments along this coast road towards Ryde which includes the Fort Holiday Park, Dinosaur Island, and the I.O.W Zoo, and the Sandown Bay Holiday Centre. The great discovery was the Bembridge down, a high roadway to a National Trust area viewpoint with spectacular views in all directions. My intention has been to call in at the Bembridge Life Boat shop with a thank you card and a donation for participating in the rescue of my car keys. Unfortunately it was shut but I called to the home of the volunteer where we had a good chat, including about Brighton from which she came and cricket which her husband was an enthusiast.

The food treat of the visit occurred in the evening when I found a super Italian restaurant in the town centre, Olivio. This has only recently opened and beset with problems according to internet comments, mainly because of staffing problems and time it takes for a meal, two to three hours. There were no such problems on my visit when there were plenty of diners. I had an amazing tasty salad which includes olives, a soft feta cheese, smoked salmon and crispy bacon pieces with dough balls accompanied by a rose blush wine and followed by an unusual form of Strudel with a mint ice cream and then coffee. It is pricey with the bill coming to just under £40 for 2 but memorable food and a great way to end the island visit.

1744 The Isle of Wight journey and accommodation

Writing about my trip to the Isle of Wight out of sequence is proving a challenge because there are so many other things I need to do during this early part of new week so I have decided to abandon catch up and go with the flow.

In my childhood my birth mother had arranged two summer holidays of two weeks on the Isle of Wight. The first has been disappointing because of the location, a caravan on a farm between Bembridge Village and the Bembridge Ledge, a ledge of rock with remains of Wartime and none of the what was expected of a seaside resort.. In order to get to the seaside proper it was necessary to walk tot he village centre and then take a bus to Sandown in time for a picnic lunch on the beach, a rest, a bathe and before we knew it was time to get the bus back for the evening meal to be prepared. I believe we did go on an explore to Shanklin and may be Ventnor but not much further and this was the reason why the very next holiday was back to the Island to a guest house in Sandown which enabled us to take one or more trips to other parts of the Island and to attend the Saturday night fireworks which I believe were held at Shanklin. These visits took place at rte end of the 1940’s and perhaps in 1950 or 1951. Some thirty to forty years passed before my next trip, by train and passenger ferry from East Croydon Station but where the afternoon was spent at Ryde having walked the long pier. My only other visit was last year on the free day after the 20 20 cup semi finals and final all finished on the Saturday. I had caught an early train from a station near the Travel lodge outside of Portsmouth close to the A3 and M27 and then a bus across the island to Sandown, and then another bus to Shanklin returning from there in the evening. The weather was good and the day full of nostalgia and I promised myself a longer visit. My priority this year when the £9 Travel Lodge special offers were announced had been visits to cricket and London but realising I had nothing planned for June and checking cricket and other commitment I had fitted in three days combined with my aborted visit to Oxford City and partial visit to the Naval Dockyard exhibitions.

However three days would be insufficient to properly explore the island. There were two factors which also altered the nature of the visit. The going into hospital on he island of the friend of a relative and presence of a second relative on the island during my period there. It has not been my practice to refer to living relatives and personal friends in these writings but it was agreed with them to mention something of circumstances in which my car keys were lost and found and the impact this had on the rest of the visit. To some extent I my ongoing work is being governed by the approach of Sophie Calle in the continually repetition of what has gone before but changed by the different perspective caused by the passing of time, but is time only linear an d not multi dimensional, layered and circular? Just as we are in fact clones of past beings so too is much of our experience although set in different environments?

On Tuesday June 16th I awoke early having been to bed and sleep well before midnight. I knew where I was which is not always the situation when travelling. It was sunny and warm and there was time to relax, had a coffee and did some writing before packing and taking the luggage to the car. I was scheduled on the Wightlink 11.30 ferry, and on reflection I should have been more confident tried for an earlier although I had gone for the 11 and for some reason it was not available.

From the visit to the Gunwharf the previous afternoon i had seen the car ferry birth and therefore knew where it was. However to reach the port the one way system first took towards the entrance of the naval docks and then back across Portsmouth towards Southsea. I arrived just before the ten thirty sailing and thinking I had plenty of time went to look at ticket office reception after being checked close to the entrance gate and sent to join several vehicles in a lane next to some parked goods vehicles. Fortunately on leaving the ticket office I notice that the front vehicles in my lane were being put on board the ferry and I rushed back but only the first three maybe four were let through and I was left behind a couple of other vehicles. When the next sailing arrived and unloaded I believed I would shortly be away. Alas the ferry sailed off without taking any vehicles. Later we were told there had been bunkering problems the previous evening. The 11.30 sailing was also delayed because of the arrival of an aircraft . I have not seen such a vessel pass by before as the one already in harbour is in dry dock only visible at some distance and partly hidden by the scaffolding for the refit.

Being at the front meant we were asked to climb a steep ramp to the first floor of the parking to one side of the ferry and told to remain until the cars at the rear were raised to the level of those at the front and we were locked into position and told to sit put until all the vehicles were loaded and we were then free to move to the lounges and outside decks. I opted for the top deck but retreated to second when the top became full of smokers. When will these people learn what a horrible disease lung cancer is?

It was pleasant crossing and I concluded the price which residents pay and the concession price I was able to pay was, all things considered, reasonable. On the return journey I read an article in the local paper where it looked that the charges would not be referred to the Monopolies/Competition Commission.

A feature of the Island is the attempt to retain its essential charm to attract visitors to sustain the economy without overwhelming residents. This seems a sensible approach together with that of organising special events throughout the year to achieve a balanced economy. If you are with people you know you tend to obtain a different perspective of a place and direct contact with local people can be more limited.

I have already commented that the Fishbourne Inn has a warm atmosphere but the food offered was a great disappointment, given its price. Subsequent meals eaten out were a considerable improvement.

My accommodation for three nights was at the Travel Lodge located close to the Lugely Street Car Park in the County town of Newport. With so many seaside towns, harbours creeks and inlets. chines, rocky promontories, waterways and water spots and viewpoints and human attractions and activities to visit, the County Town of Newport could be overlooked during a short stay. This not such as bad thing because in essence it remains a county town for local residents and is not over run with tourists so that it retains its identity. It has an excellent concentrated shopping centre with a giant of a Marks and Spencer’s and a Morrison’s with separate car parking. Together with the well thought out one way system, which it is worth take time to learn, there is an excellent range of car parks and a sensible pricing system which provides for residents and visitors in and out of season. I shall write and find out if it is possible to purchase car parking permits in advance. There is the full range of stores, shops, banks and other services within a short walking of the central area.

There is also a large car park near the Cineworld multiplex which has a covered Bridge walkway into the main level of the complex. The staff at the Pizza restaurant need a kick up their backsides, or the management needs to get their act together. I was delighted to see so many young people enjoying a night at the cinema midweek, queuing in an orderly fashion and wondered about the atmosphere in the Chicago Rock cafe bar just before closure at 3am on weekends while their two meals for £8 whatever it was should attract families and oldies visiting before 7pm. I was struck that although the island is for those who love the sea and outdoors, there is provision for all levels of cultural interests from the rock and pop festival the previous weekend to jazz and opera and all other forms of music, play and dance.

My double bedroom at the Lodge was on the top floor and had an attic feel because of a slanting roof over the window which did mean one had to take care not to bang a head but overall it was spacious and light although I would have preferred some drawer space but I thought the desk unit was unusual and well designed. I stopped at four Lodges during this trip, Oxford, Portsmouth, Newport and Nottingham Trowell Service area and each room is different, some with shower only some with a bath and shower unit combined. One at Oxford and nowhere to put shaving, teeth, washing and other materials while two had excellent wide and long surfaces around the basin. Television is also a variable with some having flat screen digital TV showing all five Terrestrial stations, channel four films Film Four, Ceebies and 24 hour news as well as the four radio stations including Talk Sport. It is not uncommon to only be able to experience four of the five Terrestrial stations at some lodges on the traditional box sets. Outside of London Lodges showing pay to view films are rare.

The number of wall sockets is also variable as I like three in addition to one for the kettle and one for the TV, I have Lap top, phone and camera charger. One of the reasons I must return soon to the island for a longer stay is that I was unable to take the camera because the charge unit needs to be replaced. All the lodges appear to be Wifi linked and the cost is expensive unless one is away for the week when £20 is reasonable. The advantage of the Innkeepers is that the service is free. I had great difficult using the internet on the Island Lodge which may be an Island problem.

However at £9 or £19 a night I am not one to complain!

1743 Portsmouth,Nelson, HMS Victory and the Mary Rose, not forgetting Emma, Lady Hamilton

On Monday 15th June 2009 it was a glorious hot morning and I changed from the brown trousers and thick brown cardigan type jacket to black trousers, white shirt and the black sleeveless waistcoat type jacket, unzipped, made from in the inner coat of the winter’s coat. Going from the Hard, the bus and railway terminus at Portsmouth Harbour to the entrance ticket office of the Navy centre I realised how hot a day it had become. Last year I had only managed a couple of hours of a visit paying the entrance fee of £15.50 which included the ability to revisit some facilities as well as any of those with a once only entrance requirement. I had developed a painful groin rash and had to return to the car via the short train journey to the town close to where I was staying at the Innkeeper’s Lodge and gone to the nearest Boots for some cream, some sun cream or was it after sun, anyway got both for the price of one in a special offer and a late lunch sandwich deal before making the journey to near Burford where I was staying the night. I had eat the lunch at a bench in the town centre speculating on the lives of those around me and regretting my physical condition. I remembered the violent storm which had greeted my arrival at Burford.

At the ticket desk this year there was a delay as arrangements were made to transfer an elderly visitor from her wheel chair to a better one provided by the centre. She would be able to visit many of the exhibitions and centres but obviously not HMS Warrior and HMS Victory. I was asked to take the new ticket with the old ticket and eager to get underway I did not clarify the position and then made the same mistake as made the previous year. The entrance for HMS Warrior is in the main ticket office. I had been last year and made the same mistake as before thinking that this was the main way out to the rest of the site when in in fact it is only to HMS Warrior. I was confused because my second ticket provided for entry to this attraction again but did not mention the others I had not visited. Although I had my ticket cancelled by the same lady as before, understandably she did not remember me, I turned around as I had no inclination to visit this ship again and headed for the Mary Rose Ship Hall. Last year I visited the Mary Rose museum and shop but this time I wanted to see the special centre where the raised remains of the Hull can be seen undergoing the final stages of the preservation process/

I had viewed the raising of the remains of the Hull on TV and at the museum watch the greater part of the hour long film on the events leading to the raising, and then the effort to stable the wreck and maintain in the found condition. When the remains were raised in 1994 it was treated with a low weight polyethylene glycol, essentially a wax, and then ten years later with a high weight molecular polyethylene glycol which will continue until next year when the wreck will be slowly dried into a permanently preserved condition. The wax is constantly fine sprayed in constant temperature environment and therefore can only be viewed by the public through misted windows. There is an excellent hand held commentary which describes the ship from end to end. While all that remains is a full length slice as that above the seabed was eaten away by ship worm, it is a full length slice and a thick slice at that. Ideally one should move from viewing the hull to the museum where every form of recovered find and recreation is brilliantly presented. In fact it is the intention to bring the two elements together once the drying out is completed and to provide additional education and study facilities for the constant stream of school parties who visit.

The significance of the Mary Rose is that it is the only 16th century warship to have been recovered. In 2008 the appeal to raise the £20 million required to build the permanent museum around the Hull was successful, mainly through the Lottery Heritage fund. Charles, Prince of Wales, was one of the main sponsors of the original project to preserve the Hull and put on display. I understand the present running costs are around £250000 a year and while we do not need Trident carrying submarines we do need this remains of our Heritage. At the reception desk for entry to view the wreck the nature of the ticket was explained and I misunderstood and thought that in addition to going to see the Victory I could also go on the trip around the harbour once more.

Before visiting Nelson’s Flagship I went to the Museum which is dominated by the Victory and Horatio Nelson. In one upper area there is the fore topsail, the largest memorabilia from the battle. It measures 54 feet at the head and 80 feet at the base with a depth of 54 some 3600 square feet and a weight of 370 kilos and would have taken 1200 hours to stitch. It has 90 shot holes plus some removal of squares by souvenir hunters. It has been dry cleaned through the Mary Rose society.

Half of one building has been given over to the Nelson Gallery about his life. The most interesting aspect is his size in that he was short and slim and very good looking so it is not surprising women fell at his feet! It evident that he was something of confident, self opinionated, unconventional leader with over 30 years experience before the Battle of Trafalgar. He was involved in several battles including the most famous Battle of the Nile, was also wounded and decorated Viscount and Baron of the Nile and Thorpe in Norfolk, Baron of the Nile of Hilborough also in Norfolk, Knight of the Order of Bath, Vive Admiral of the White Squadron of the Fleet, Commander and Chief of her Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in the Mediterranean, Duke of Bronte in Sicily, Knight Grand Cross of the Sicilian Order of St Ferdinand and of merit, member of the Ottoman Order of the Crescent, Knight Commander of the Order of St Joachim. He became a Colonel of the Marines and became a Freeman of Bath, Salisbury, Exeter, Plymouth, Monmouth, Sandwich, Oxford, Hereford and Worcester. Oxford University awarded an honorary degree.

In addition to his Naval prominence Nelson is known for his adulterous relationship with Emma, Lady Hamilton, who was also married although because he was away at sea for long periods. He contact with limited. His first wife, Fanny was a young widow. Emma was the daughter of a blacksmith who died when she was two and then raised by her mother with no formal education. She had various jobs including working as a maid to actresses at the Drury Lane Theatre and supplementing her income working as a prostitute.

Emma developed as a model and a dancer and progressed into an up market brothel. She was still only 15 when taken by a Knight of the realm to his country estate where he spent most of his time drinking and hunting with friends leaving Emma to establish a relationship with a Member of Parliament, Charles Grenville, second son of the Earl of Warwick with whom she had a child. He then wanted to make a financially advantage marriage and passed Emma to his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, the British Envoy to Naples. Grenville had wanted her back after his marriage was established but instead she married Hamilton. When Nelson returned to Naples he met Emma who was overwhelmed by his legend fainting in his presence! Believe that and you believe anything. When Nelson fell ill she arranged for Nelson to stay at her home to nurse him with the approval of her husband.

They became loves with Emma bearing his daughter, Horatia who survived and a second daughter who only lived a few weeks. Emma was very popular with the people who followed her and his activities closely, the Celebs of their day. The navy establishment were not amused and sent Nelson to Sea and away from Emma as often as they could. He had left Emma, Merton Place in his Will and their home in what is now Wimbledon and although he left her family estate to his brother, he had indicated that he wanted Emma and his daughter to be looked after. She had only a small pension from her husband which was quickly spent trying to turn their home into a monument to Nelson and she spent nearly a year in a debtors prison before going to France to escape her creditors where she turned to drink and died in poverty from a form of dysentery. The British establishment, as hypocritical as ever, disregarded Nelson wishes, turning him into the hero they wanted.

Before the visit to the Victory, I was familiar with the layout of the vessel as well as the details of the Battle, having acquired in 1970 a copy of David Howarth’s Trafalgar, the Nelson Touch through World Books.

The tour is organised so that one enters on the third gun deck, then visits part of the two upper decks and onto the quarter deck where a plaque marks the spot where Nelson was hit by a single bullet from which he died. From the quarter deck one then descends into the lower decks including a view into the hold and then finishes via a separate exit at the lower gun level. Having explored the Iron ship Warrior previously I was familiar with the layout of the gun decks and that the crews lived in virtual darkness when at sea eating by the guns and with hammocks slung closely together at night. I did not appreciate until visiting the modern navy exhibition that the provision of fixed bunks was only introduced in the later part of the twentieth century. I regard myself to be of average height at 5 feet 10 but had to constantly watch my head given the space between floor and ceiling of the decks, and demonstrating that with better diets and health monitoring the nation has grown taller.

Being a flagship Nelson had his own grand quarters with a table at which could sit all his captains of the fleet of some 23 vessels. The captain of the Victory had his own grand quarters and the officers their own separate dining facilities. The ship was full of school parties and their teachers. The on hand ships staff enjoyed explaining everything to the children. One area of the ship on one of one the decks was off limits because a film crew were making a video.

On arrival at the centre I had a cold drink in the large cafe part of the extraordinary Antiques storehouse. Here there are several thousand square feet of items on display and for sale, not just maritime and military but also collectables of various kinds, including furniture, ceramics and glass ware. I also made a phone call while sitting at a picnic table under a canopy before being surrounded by a school party and made a quick retreat. When visiting the Warrior, the Mary Rose Museum and the main museum the main attractions had been crossed out on the ticket and the reissued additional ticket. My visit around the harbour had not been crossed out so I assumed this had been overlooked and that I could make second trip. However when I visited the Mary Rose Hall, instead of crossing out the name of the attraction, the ticket had been clipped. It was only after the ticket was clipped for the round the Harbour trip that I realised that the original ticket may have been already clipped in this way rather than crossed out. However whether because the individual was kind or because of my age, if this was so, I was not turned away and enjoyed a second trip around the harbour. There were fewer vessels in the docks whereas previously I had attended just after the open day weekend when a number of foreign navies had sent ships. On that first visit there were several decommissioned ships waiting for the navy to sell them or dispose by using for training gun crews and rocket launches.

During a visit to the modern navy exhibition there was references to some 3500 female members of the service today but the available assistant was not able to tell me what percentage this was of the total establishment. Later on the internet I checked and it is 40000 thus making the female composition under 10%.

I decided to get off the boat tour at Gunwharf Quays but was not tempted to take the elevator to the top of the Spinnaker. Some men were absail cleaning or painting the lower level which was awesome. In the area of the Spinnaker there a dozen contemporary restaurants with the main shopping area behind and which includes a cinema complex. I was interested that the Vue was showing live performances of operas and a live showing of Phedre on Thursday, also on the Isle of Wight. Alas when I checked the Newcastle film theatre performance is sold out. However there is showing of La Traviata on Sunday from the Royal Opera House where there are still tickets which I will investigate tomorrow after I have made progress on the growing list of priorities.

The turn ups on one trouser leg had lost their thread and looked bad so I went in search of cotton thread and needles. Thus I came across a sale of shoes and invested in a pair of casual browns and blacks for a modest total of £45. I had thrown out my everyday paid of black laces ups before the trip, such was their condition. I swapped my sandals for the brown casuals and went in further search of the needle and brown thread. I then discovered the quick way from the Hard to the Spinnaker shopping centre and Vice Versa, and back to the city shopping centre. I wished there was time to visit the Old Town now turned into attractive looking Inns and Restaurants, and to Southsea, the City beach much as Seaburn is to Sunderland.

Woolworths the usual standby for needle and thread no longer exists but Debenhams was a good prospect, but alas not. Across from Debenhams was what appeared to be a comparative new shopping precinct and here in a shop selling materials and ribbons I bought a packet of needles and was then directed to the reels of thread. I was able to thread a needle and sew later at the Travel Lodge but I need to do a better job.

I exited from a different entrance and found myself across from a car park and this led to the decision to attempt to find my way to the Travel Lodge on foot. Across from the car park was a Sainsbury supermarket and across from this was the entrance first to some private terrace villas and then to a large estate of Council run flats surrounded by grass verges. I knew I was going in the right direction as I spotted one and then a second bus stop which include the same number of route on which I had travelled into the city. This reminds that on one of the busses I encountered an interest situation.

At a stop a young girl of primary school level got on and skipped towards the first available seat. She shouted uncle and his name, and repeated this, “its uncle so and so and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as he was sitting in front of me on a side view seat. A woman with a smaller child who I assumed was the girl’s mother had paid the fares but then sat at the first seat almost next to the driver on the other side of the aisle. While she looked to where her daughter was sitting she made no recognition to someone who was either her brother or brother in law. Now what do you make of that?

On the long and hot walk later afternoon to the Travel Lodge I found a local pub, a sports bar where I enjoyed an apple and mango J20 and here the bar man confirmed that I was going in the right direction and indeed I was soon passing another local pub night club and the Lodge came into view. I decided to check in first and find my room which was on the third floor and then sort out the luggage to take up, including food for the evening. It was only when I had dome this and switched on the lap top that I discovered that England were playing their vital game against the West Indies within a few minutes. The restaurants and bar attached to the Lodge had no TV so the next action was to go to another mother across the roadway. Yes this was a TV pub but alas it was football showing as England were playing in an under 21 competition. I decided to listen to the cricket on the internet radio ans then found a difficulty but there was a commentary on Talk Sport available on the TV relay. Within a few overs it was evident this was not to be England’s day. I blame Paul Collingwood. They were beaten by the West Indies in a rain affected match where the operation Duckworth Lewis system meant the opposition had only to score 80 in nine overs. I was ready for an early bed after so much walking in the hot sun so after the evening use up and make up meal I was in bed and asleep, looking forward to going over to the island in the morning.

Before then I had moved the car closer to the Lodge entrance once the sun had set. Apart from the cricket I was very satisfied with my day. It was the second part of completing the trip commenced the previous year. I had visited central Oxford and the naval base. I knew that my unfinished business with the Island would continue unfinished because of such a short visit.

It was Monday June 15th, a week ago and I woke early at the Oxford Travel Lodge and was away before eight o’clock, first calling at the reception to report that the hot water tap did not function and I had obtained hot water by taking cupfuls from the bath taps I then got petrol and set off immediately making a route mistake. I had forgotten that I had come off the A34 at the adjacent roundabout and reversed to the next and for some now inexplicable reason set off towards Witney. Nor can I pretend that after forty years I had triggered an automatic homing button which used to take me daily towards Witney and beyond and back, every day for three years in work as a child care officer for Oxfordshire County Council. No, I simply was not on the ball and paid the penalty by having to continue to the Cassington turn off, the village where the Children’s Officer lived until her death. It took sometime for the traffic lights to let me turn and then by the time I had reversed that had changed again and a further wait was necessary. Then there was a hold up because of work on the bridge, the bridge in question carried the A34 from North to South Oxford and then I had a further slow down approaching the roundabout in the early morning rush hour and continuing to reverse the journey just made to take the left turn up the rising slip road onto the A34. There was then further delay approaching the turn off to Oxford and the M40 at Botley Bridge.

It was therefore a relief to have an open road and I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I was approaching the turn off Winchester with the M3 and the M27 ahead. Before then I had a service area stop for coffee and a roll, may be two. I was already thinking that on the return journey I would skip the M27 spur of some twenty miles from the outskirts of Southampton, past the airport and the Rosebowl turnoff before coming to the M275, and instead take the M27 back just a little way in the other direction and join the A3 road to the M25 and M1. On Monday I continued to almost the end of the M275 coming off at the main roundabout just beforehand but missing the second exist turn to the Portsmouth Travel Lodge and had to continue to the next even bigger roundabout and then back but without needing to rejoin the M275 and taking a lower road to the original roundabout and taking the correct exit to where within sight and opposite a large office block there was the Travel Lodge with a large restaurant fronting the road way. I entered the large car park and discovered there was a vacant space one of eight undercover . Understandably the hotel reception is from within the car park from the far end to where I had parked with an entrance into the restaurant adjacent. I thought it wise to check that it was OK to leave to the vehicle until registering later in the day and found there was no problem and the registration number was not required then or later, It was only 10.30 am so I had the rest of the day to explore Portsmouth. First I had some more food and coffee prepared at Oxford and then reorganised the car so that there was little luggage in evidence. I had seen a couple go towards a road which was between the hotel and the overhead roadway and decided to follow the to a bus stop where there appeared to be buses going direct to the city centre and to The Hard which I believed was the bus station adjacent to the port station and to the Gunwharf Quays, the new shopping and restaurant development with the Spinnaker Tower, the second highest building in the UK and which I was to learn and cost twice as much as planned and where the civic party had become stuck in the lift for several hours on the first day. (£35.6 million). It was designed for the Millennium but came in six years late and required public funding, nearly a third by the city council.

I got on the first bus and unsure about its direct got off at the city centre thinking I was closer to the front than I was and then got on another to the bus and train station at the front. This was all to good when it came to return journey that evening and going for the car ferry in the morning. This is because Portsmouth has been organised on an effective one way system but which confuses ones north south east west sense of direction. I hoped I would complete the visit I had commenced a year ago to extraordinary Naval Dockyard attractions, the restored MHS Warrior, the first Iron Warship and the fully restored HMS Victory. The remains of the earliest surviving Warship in the World from the 16th century the Mary Rose, together with the presently separate museum and shop. The Three enormous Museum buildings which includes presentations about Nelson and the modern Navy as well as a topsail from the vessel. Action Stations a large activity centre for young people and there is one the largest collections of antiques of every description for sale or just to look at. The all in one ticket which lasts a year to enable as second visit to see anything left on the first includes a trip around the harbour where one can get of if you wish at the Gunwharf Quays and the Spinnaker Tower.

1742 Somebody Up There Likes Me at Bembridge Isle of Wight

In future, the 17th of June will be known as Someone Up There Likes me, Bembridge on the Isle of Wight Day.

Some sixty years ago, or more, my birth mother, Mabel, booked and paid for a caravan holiday for two weeks at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, for herself, her eldest sister Lena, her younger sister Margaret who was known as Harriet and who was my care mother, and me. I cannot remember if this was the first family holiday. We had been prevented from having holidays at the seaside because of World War Two, we were poor and because she had her sisters had cared for a sister who had become progressively, deaf, dumb, blind and bedridden from school age meningitis.

It was not our first trip away together as during the last year of the war when Croydon, and the surrounding area, became the target for the greatest concentration of rocket bombs dropped in the UK, over 140, and all five of us went to stay for part of the year with a married sister who lived in army officer’s quarters with her baby son at Catterick camp in Yorkshire, then a few houses away from the base and surrounded by corn fields where we would walk in the evenings. I mention this because there were aspects of the Catterick experience, especially the travelling and being in the countryside which I remember as being similar to that at Bembridge.

In the last year of the war with Germany I had travelled with the disabled sister in an ambulance, and my care mother and her elder sister had travelled separately by train, with my birth mother staying behind until the end of the school term and then had travelled on her own to join us. When we returned to Wallington, after the bombing ceased, we had come back by train, my first long train journey experienced. It may even have been my first train journey of any kind My birth mother arranged the trip to the Isle of Wight from a newspaper advertisement without any prior knowledge or information about where we going, except that someone had said to her, or to one of her sisters that the Island was the place to go, perhaps reminding them of the peninsular island of their homeland, Gibraltar which they had been required to leave in 1938 and again in 1939.

The journey there and back would have taken some organising as it would have been necessary to take the Trolley bus, the 645 from a stop in Wallington close to our home and then walk from one part of Croydon to another and then catch the train to Portsmouth and take the passenger ferry from the Harbour to Ryde and then the Island train and then the bus to the village and then walk to the farm where the caravan was located. I can remember that there was a walk with cases from the village to the caravan and from the caravan to the headland of the Bembridge Ledge. No sandy beach and no seaside of a pier, a fish and chip café, ice creams, candy floss and amusement arcades, that we were expecting.

I have no picture in my head of the village as it was then, other than there were a few houses, an Inn but was there a store? I remember the disappointment, especially of my care mother that there was no beach and no seaside when we explored that first evening after a cooked meal. I recollect that there were still traces of the war defences which added concern about the location. Our other task that evening was to gain directions for the nearest Catholic Church and then how to get to the nearest public beach which was by a bus to Sandown. I cannot say for certain but I believe there was only a limited service there and back.

I do have a strong recollection that by the time we got up, had breakfast, made sandwiches for lunch and flasks of drinks and then caught the bus, it was around midday and time for lunch. It was a rule not to bathe for two hours until after a meal so it would mid afternoon before anyone would go into the water. I was afraid of the water so would only splash about. I cannot remember if either my birth mother or elder sister changed in to bathing costumes or went into sea but my care mother did and I having photos of her and friends sun bathing at various haunts in Gibraltar.

I remember that we returned late afternoon when a meal was cooked and we would go for a walk before bed. I remember walking to the harbour which was just an inland waterway. I will leave until the next writing the experience of Sandown, the trips to Shanklin and Ventnor, around the Island to Ventnor and Cowes, and the Shanklin Chine. I can no longer remember what we were able to do on this first trip, or the second when we stayed in a guest house at Sandown. We usually went to a different place each holiday but because of the isolation and inability to stay late and attend a Saturday night firework display held I believe at Shanklin we returned the following year or a year soon after.

We would have appeared an odd family group, three ladies, one in her fifties and two in their early forties, speaking Gibraltarian Spanish, so that no one, including me, could understand what they were saying. I saw them as English and it was only decades later that I comprehended that they were a mixture of Mediterranean Catholic, with mother and grandmother of Spanish, Italian and Gibraltarian mixed ancestry, and a grandfather from three hundred years ancestry from pre Victorian Calne in Wiltshire. Unknown to me, until I was sixty, my background was a mixture of this and four hundred years of Maltese ancestry. I had not been back to Bembridge since that holiday and wondered how much if anything I would recognise. It was something of a pilgrimage, unfortunately combined with visiting a friend relative who was incarcerated in hospital at Newport.

I set off from Newport and almost immediately got lost. The previous day I had been led in convoy from the Fishbourne Inn to the Hospital and then to the Lugely Street Car Park across from the Travel Lodge where I had secured threes nights accommodations for £19 a night and although I had commenced a walkabout, first to find the Tourist office for a tourist parking permit, but it was closed until 9.30 the following morning, I was too tired to explore further.

The following morning I had risen early and made my way to the car park for a ticket valid from 8 to 10 and then set off on an explore, first to a phone box as I needed to confirm continuation of my building and contents insurance after the mix p created the previous week when I had enquired about raising the limit on the contents insurance and something I must still sort out given the replacement value of my work materials, my books and such like. The work itself will have little or not value at present but just printing the photos and available print matter from disks and computer hard drives would involve several thousand pounds. I must work this out sometime to ensure that I am covered.

I then needed some short sleeve shirts and soon found the bus station with Morrison’s in the distance and then at Morrison’s, Marks and Spencer’s where I arrived just after opening at two minutes past nine. I bought three short sleeve shirts in a pack of blue, white and cream for £18 and then checked out the café where two creams teas, mixed sandwiches, scones, cream, jams and tea could be had for under £9 and an assortment of breakfasts and breakfast filled rolls were available. As I had a coffee and an apple turnover for breakfast I resisted the very strong temptation to have something here and then at Morrison’s although I promised myself I would indulge on the morning before taking the ferry to the mainland on Friday.

I then went to the Cineworld to find the film times for Angels and Demons and then went to the Quayside where I sat on a bench and made notes before calculating it was time to go to the tourist office in time for the pass to commence at 10am. As usual I kept finding things I wanted to do such as stay longer and then go on a walkabout both sides of the river, but other priorities prevailed. Bembridge beckoned.

I was immediately impressed by the tourist office where there was time to take in the large array of books, maps, souvenirs and informations. Some was booking a combined ferry and train trip and it took a surprisingly short time. A gentleman arrived with posters for a fete and was disappointed it would be several days before they would be put up at other offices. I did not understand why if this was so he and or someone else could not arrange to take them personally to each office during the day time.

I bought a map book as the one previously purchased on my day’s visit to Sandown and Shanklin the previous year was not comprehensive and obtained the two day permit which is excellent value because it enables movement all over the Island. While it costs more than the Brighton 7 day unlimited use pass for £27,50 at National Car Parks one is restricted to the particular park.

As a consequence of the morning walkabout I had worked out to leave the car park by the other exit and found my way into the what I believe is the High Street and Quay street on to the roundabout. However having spent several minutes studying the map I remain confused as instead of taking the road to Sandown I think I took a road marked Bembridge via Staplers, although at some point I reach a junction which said towards Sandown or Newport where I had come from. It was only the following day that I came back via the magnificent Down’s route.

On reaching the village centre, instead of finding parking and doing a walk about I was determined to find the Bembridge Ledge and drove around a couple of times trying to work out which route to take and ended driving along the harbour road to St Helens. I remember that we did walk here at least one evening commenting that there was nothing there either. I wondered when the houseboats were established. I was able to have a brief look around from the car as traffic was held up while children disgorged from three coaches heading for some watery adventure.

I decided not to continue around to the viewpoints the other side of St Helens and turned around and headed into the headland area and was soon lost in the winding Love Lane, Meadow Drive and Swains Road and eventually finding Swains Lane and Lane End Road and then coming to the car park overlooking the works on the Lifeboat Pier, the Lifeboat shop and the public Toilets, my first objective. There were only a few vehicles with those of the workmen in a compound a little distance away.

On leaving the toilet I noticed that the vehicle in the corner of the car park closest to where there was a row of four or five benches looking out over the Ledge and Pier workings was leaving and moved mine into this space. I would sit on the nearest bench if free after an on foot explore. The first impact had been yep this was where we had come on that first evening but I did not remember the lifeboat pier.


I then commenced an explore on foot going left and found the café at the start of the coastal path. All I wanted was a cup of coffee but I could not resist mentioning that this was my first visit for sixty years and I remembered the Ledge but there had been nothing else here on this part of the headland, but was my memory being true?

It was then time for a walk in the opposite direction and I could not resist exploring the grounds of the Hotel which commands the headland and which prevents the continuation of the coastal path requiring detour through the now residential headland, but then farmed land. Was anyone left who was a child at that time and would remember what the area had been like.

The Bembridge Coast Hotel is a fine hotel with extensive grounds ideal for elders or adults without children and appears self contained with places to lounge in the sunshine, pitch and putt golf green and Archery, Tennis, Croquet, Air Riffle shooting, Boules and a Spanish Garden. Inside there is an international standard four lane bowling green, heated swimming pool and sauna with exercise bikes and there is also a full beauty treatment suite including massage and facials.

The standard deal includes a full English breakfast and a three course evening meal in the Four Tides Restaurant which was beautifully set out in a grand traditional manner and for lunch there is the separate Solent Café which serves everything from fish and chips, baguettes, Panini’s, Baked Potatoes and salads including the Ploughman’s. There is music entertainment in the evenings from Tributes to Queen and the Be gees to Tom Jones and Glen Miller and Joe Loss. The all in price ranges from £214 to over £500 for 3 to seven nights plus range of extras in terms of room quality, views and facilities and services. The hotel is part of the Warner Chain.

Having explored so far I return to the car, and then sat on the first bench studying the map and reading the short notes on the history of the village. I then made a phone call which led to this writing being called Someone Up there likes Me- Bembridge.

It is not my practice to refer to living relatives or friends other than in the most general terms but this is the first and possibly the only instance where I will do so although without specific identification. A friend of a relative lives in Bembridge and for the past month has been incarcerated in the Island Hospital at Newport with major health problems. I had arranged to meet up with the relative after my exploring, and have lunch with another relative also staying at the home of lifelong friend in the Sandown area. However because of a previous commitment the other relative would not be free to late afternoon.
I had sat on the bench closest to my car noticing that there was another man sitting on the bench furthest away. There was a vehicle with a coach type vehicle with young people which had taken benchers in the grassland next to the car park.

I then got into a kafuffle about the phone. I had four pockets in the sleeveless waistcoat type jacket which is idea for travelling and part of a coat where as in fact the phone was a trouser pocket. I also remember having my car keys in my hand and a pocket address book at some point.

Having made the phone call, found about the changed arrangements and that the property was within walking distance via the grounds of the hotel, I elected to leave the car where it was, and walked continuing to listen to directions on my mobile phone.

It was close to 5pm before I was about to get into the vehicle of my relative to be taken back to the car park to collect my other relative in convoy and then visit the friend in hospital. It was at this moment that I attempted to get out the car key in readiness and could not find it. I emptied all pockets onto the passenger car seat and then went to where I had sat talking. I decided again checking everywhere I had been, especially the garden of the property because instinctively I felt I could have left the keys in the car. As we approached my car it was evident I had been right in one respect. Someone had found the keys, as stuck to the driver’s side window was a large notice which included a map. The note included the name of one individual and a mainland telephone number and the telephone and address of the person holding the key, the address provided in case I did not have a phone. I made the phone call and then travelled to the address to collect.

A holiday maker, it is presumed, had found the keys on or near the bench where I had sat and which I must have put down or dropped when I made the phone call and had then set off phone in hand following the directions. The individual had worked out that the keys related to the only other car and waited and waited assuming that I would be returning from a walk. Having reached the point when they had to leave the initiative had been taken to visit the Royal National Lifeboat station and left the keys with a volunteer who had provide notice, the map and the sticky tape. I had been very very, very, very lucky, due to the observation thoughtfulness of the visitor and the RNLB volunteer. I had already experienced the kindness of the Bembridge residents having had a little chat at the Solent view café. On my way through the grounds of the hotel, I had been advised that there was gate behind the Spanish Garden with led into the residential area where my relative was staying. I had seen the gate but hesitated because adjacent to it was a private residence and I had gone back in the grounds toward the main entrance and seeing a member of staff making their way to a car I asked about the gate and the individual accompanied me to where I was able to point to the gate, technically gates, one for vehicles and one for pedestrians, and which was used by hotel staff on occasions.

Some five hours had elapsed since losing the key and it had been handed over and one of several amazing aspects of the day is that the RNLB volunteer not only knew my friend in hospital but lived in the very next road.

It will not surprise that my friend found the tale entertaining or that it was pointed out that none of this would have happened had I taken the car round to the property rather than decided on the walk though the hotel grounds. I have only recently acquired the bright red Suzuki Wagon, as a replacement for one owned for ten years and where my own key had become bent and the dealer taking the vehicle in part exchange had advised that had it ceased to function it would have been expensive to change the car locks. On my way from Newport to Bembridge in the morning I had passed the Suzuki dealership on the Island ( I assume there is not more than one) and the thought had crossed my mind that if anything happened to the vehicle at I knew there was a dealership and where it was. I must stopping having such tempt the fates thoughts.

Meanwhile during the period of discovering the lost key and setting of my other relative had been patiently waiting at the end of her road to be collected.. Again had not last minute changes been necessary and she arrived for lunch we would have set off earlier for the hospital and the key loss could have been discovered several hours earlier.

It could be thought, with justification, that this was enough adventuring for one day for anyone in their sixties and seventies but our trio could not resist going out for a meal and the late evening showing of Angels and Demons at the Cineworld. We managed to find two of the last places in the Quayside area car park with the bridge into the main level of the Cinema and we had then gone down to have a meal in Pizza restaurant attached to the complex. Here we found that between a dozen and fifteen tables were occupied but another dozen were not, There appeared to be only two young members of staff attending to the tables and the two steadfastly ignored the two other parties waiting for tables as well as ourselves. We waited for only five minutes and went instead to the Chicago Rock Café, clearly an establishment designed for young people with a passion for exotic drinks and staying up to 3am at weekends. I enjoyed a BBQ chicken breast with chips and coleslaw while my companions had several pieces of battered fish with chips presented with theatricality and reasonable priced, with even better value had we arrived before 7pm when there was a two for one offer. . The meal obliterated the disaster of that at the Fishbourne Inn the previous day The Inn has a great atmosphere and location. The food was however expensive and appalling. The staff indifferent.

Returning to the cinema where we obtained our tickets beforehand having exchanged vouchers obtained from my credit card firm having put the deposit for the car on the card. We then found over a hundred young people held in a queue. There had been a fire alarm earlier in the evening which had put some programmes back twenty minutes or so as apparently the cinema had been cleared because of the fire alarm. I later learnt from this had happened before, recently. As I had seen Angels and Demons and written at length, I will leave further comment except to say that the hilarity and incredulity about some aspects of the film was shared and with Wimbledon fortnight almost here, I am reminded of the McEnroe call, You cannot be serious? There are still some great shots of Rome and some significant issues about religion and science, the origins of the universe and the nature of faith within the film.

As my companions set off to their respective homes across the Island one joked about my getting lost in the one way system and then not being able to get into the Travel Lodge at that time of night. No problem I said having been in a position to advise not one but two other visitors to the hotel about car parking and the one way system. I had also gone down to the reception about 12.30 to buy a cool drink from the drinks and snacks machine only to find that this was the one travel lodge in the land that did not have one. However still affected by the narrow escape of the car keys and tired I was in no mood to sit and work out my way home and finding that I had missed the turning to get to Lugely street I opted for another town centre park Chapel Street which I mistook for the double park of Drill Street just along from Lugely. I realised that on getting out of the car and I cannot remember how I managed to get myself directly to the Travel lodge as I was in no mood to go walkabout. Then I found that the my key card did not work but had to wait only a couple of minutes before having pressed the external call button I was let in and the card renewed for the remaining period of my stay.

The following morning I had to ask for directions to get to the Chapel Street car park and the first person approached took part of the way before going off in a separate direction. I then decided to buy a thank you card at Smiths, seen earlier on a previous orientation walk, and also draw out some cash from a bank machine in order to make a cash donation to the Lifeboat fund. I then could not immediately work out in which direction I should go and then a lady came out of her house so I asked her and she accompanied me to Smiths before going on, and I discovered that there are a number of tiny alleys and shortcuts familiar to the locals. We had a good chat along the way. By this time I was feeling good and that Someone Up There Like me. And then I placed my card in the cash machine, entered my code and the machine went off line taking my card with it. I had to wait for fifteen minutes while the machine was opened from the back and the card removed because until this happened it was important to keep watch in case it came back online and ejected the card. I found my way back to the car taking the same short cuts and in the car I was able to toot the individual as she returned to her home.

Yesterday I bought a copy of the County Press Island newspaper onboard the Wightlink ferry and came across their advertisement for the DVD with film and photos of Bembridge and the area from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Wow I cannot wait to get home and place an order, Somebody Up There Does Like me and Bembridge, Isle of Wight.