Bills Posts

I was laughing to myself as I walked past these three. They were totally engrossed in their phones, completely ignoring each other. I had the impression that they could be texting each each other, rather than talking.

I was just going to walk past, but then I thought no, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. So, I turned around and asked if I could take their picture. I explained why I wanted to. They were laughing. What I should have done was get them to go back in to the focussed on the phone view that I originally saw. I took the picture of them as they were laughing.

They explained that they had been on a boating trip and were just exchanging pictures. I had just caught them at that moment.

I was out on a walk, just having a look around after nearly a week away. To be honest, not a lot had changed. There was a couple walking around the Cockle Ponds, we had a chat about the Jelly Fish.

I saw one of the rough sleepers, lets call him JH. I hadn’t seen him for several weeks. We had a chat. He told me that he had been having problems and showed me his legs. They were quite ulcerated but not actively bleeding, He said that he would like some help with dressings, so I sent a message to street scene. I don’t know if they will do anything, but I don’t know what more I could do.

Why is it that as soon as the weather gets nice, men (and it is usually men) get the urge to chuck chunks of meat on an open fire and try to cook it without burning? Is it because it tastes nice? Or because it can be fun? Actually, both of those apply.

So we had a BBQ today. And it was nice. I had to go to the shop to get some things for the BBQ and I was talking to the lady behind the till. She asked me if I did the meal, and I explained that there was two parts to a BBQ, the cooking of the meat and the preparation of the salad and other food, and that both are equally important.

As for the meal, it was very nice, both parts.

This is a new building going up near the centre of Gosport. A week ago, there was nothing above the fence line. After a few days away, it is always interesting to take a walk around to see what changes have occurred even in the few days that we have been away.

I’m looking forward to having a walk around to see what has been going on.

Back towards the beginning of the year, I ordered a book from Amazon, the order was based on a recommendation in B&W Photography. When I placed the order, the website said that the book was due for publication in early March. That was OK. Except that as the March date approached, notification of publication delays started coming in. Then May arrived.

I got the notification that the book would arrive on Sunday. I saw the fingers of the courier as he pushed the envelope through the letter box. I must admit, as I picked the envelope up it felt a bit light – could it be something else? I opened the envelope. Yes, it was empty!

It didn’t take long for me to notify Amazon, who immediately arranged for another delivery. The book was waiting for me. I am looking forward to getting engaged with the 52 B&W projects that the book is about.

Today we visited the Roman Villa at Bignor. Unusually, as you are walking around the exhibition, they let you walk on the actual mosaic that was part of the villa. To think that you are actually walking on the same floor as Romans stepped in AD350 is just a bit strange. The villla is interesting. It is nowhere near as grand the Roman Villa at Fishbourne, I think it is a little bit more intimate.

It took us about an hour to go around the site, and so we were left with the decision of where to go next. We had a bit of a debate as to whether to visit the Amberley Museum, where I am quite keen to go again after our last visit before the lockdowns or the alternate a return to Arundel.

We decided that I would visit Amberley by train the next time Elayne had a day out, in the meantime we would pay a return visit to Arundel.

The reference to Antiques in the title is on respect of one of the shops has a section related to old camera equipment. In 1977 or 79 I bought a Canon AE-1. I sold it after not too long. Apparently, they are heavily sought after now. I find it mildly distressing to find that something I once owned from brand new is considered antique.

On a final note for today, Kim’s Bookshop in Arundel is a delight to behold. Three floors absolutely crammed with 2nd hand books. Well worth a visit.

I know I wrote about Waterstones on Saturday, but I am going to write about bookshops again. Today we were in Bognor Regis. When I visit this town, I like if I have a chance to pay a visit to Heygates Bookshop, which is located in the railway station.

Visits to 2nd hand bookshops differ from the chain retail shops. You never know what you are going to find, and that is very much part of the fun of it.

The book keeper has a pretty good Science Fiction section, so I had a good browse of that and picked up books by Larry Niven and Gordon R. Dickson, two authors that I always enjoy reading. I even got the owner involved in the search for the lost book. I have written about the lost book in the past, perhaps I should do a post with that title. You never know, someone might pick it up and know it.

The non-fiction section is very well organised, with a good selection across a wide range of topics, although the philosophy section could do with boosting. I picked up a copy of Von Danikens Chariots of the Gods. I haven’t read that since the 70’s. I also picked up a book which is about Train spotters, well really a biography of a train spotter. Sometimes you pick up a book not expecting much, but I’d only read a few paragraphs when it became clear that I liked the authors’ style so It has become another book that I have already started – including the art book that I bought at Petworth yesterday.

I spent a very pleasant 40 or so minutes there and spent £14 on books. Given that I am also reading the diary of a bookseller (which is surprisingly a very entertaining read), I am very glad that I have contributed to his wellbeing. Who would know that the life of a 2nd hand bookshop owner is so varied and complex.

The header picture, as is often the case, has absolutely no connection to the topic of the day.

We visited Petworth House today. It’s a National Trust supported location. Now, I could very easily wax lyrical about the gardens which are another Capability Brown Extravaganza and they are really lovely, but what I want to write about is the inside of stately homes.

A couple of years ago, we went on an organised trip to Goodwood House. This was the first time anybody had really talked about the art in the house. These weren’t just random pictures, of which there were quite a few, there were pictures of and about the family and having someone tell us about it, really brought the these people from the 1500-1700’s alive.

Back to Petworth; This is their photo album. Really though, to compare Turners and Van Dykes (there could also have been Constables, but apparently he didn’t get on with Van Dyke). The pictures tell a story of turbulent times, a young girl married & widowed at thirteen, and again at fourteen, people imprisoned in the Tower of London, found guilty by association with Guy Fawkes and other events.

It’s a lovely building, although I don’t think I could ever live there, an interesting piece of our history. I’m glad we went.

Sadly, I don’t have a picture of Highclere Castle – you never know, perhaps I will – one day, so you’ll have to put up with Pagham Lagoon.

During the lockdowns, we binge viewed quite a few box sets. The 370+ episodes of Grey’s Anatomy absolutely gripped us. Inspector Lynsey and Frost both entertained us. But then there was Downton Abbey (DA).

I had never watched DA when it was first broadcast on the TV. I had always dismissed it as one of those programmes about “the old times” that I couldn’t possibly be interested in. But we were given the box set so we thought why not? So we did.

With great scepticism I sat down to the first episode, and thought, we might as well watched the second. By the end of the third episode of series 1, I was completely, utterly totally hooked. I felt that the characters were so utterly realistic. OK, OK, timelines are compressed highs and lows are massively exaggerated so plots can appear ludicrous although with a potential basis in reality.

Add in that the with it’s first airing, viewers were getting one episode a week against out two or three, and on a couple of occasions five or six episodes, timelines become ridiculously compressed.

I loved the series. I mean seriously – so seriously, that the only other TV series I have for comparison is Star Trek. I was, as you can imagine devastated when the series came to an end.

I loved the first film, because It was just a massively long episode, it h sad excellent plot lines and a good story (feel free to disagree with me, but you’ll have a hard time convincing me). It tied up some loose ends, but created others.

Tonight, we went to see the second DA film. I feel slightly embarrassed at the level of (literally) euphoria I felt as the film opened and old friends returned. Engineered storylines, ridiculous scenarios – I absolutely loved it. It is an excellent film. I will doubtless watch it again.

I think it is to the constant perplexity of my wife that I find it very difficult to become in anyway enthusiastic about gardening.

Whilst I can’t be bothered to get excited about the prospect of plunging my hands in to a bag of compost and transferring it to a pot for something which either looks really nice or will make a lovely addition to a dinner. In fact, I have to admit, pretty much find anything to do with dirt disgusting. Slugs and snails are disgusting. Worms are pretty disgusting, but I entirely recognise their value to the garden. Slow worms however, are OK. No problem handling them.

I do not however have any problem cutting grass. We just spent about four hours clearing the soil of the front drive, no problem with that. As long as I can avoid direct contact with the things that cause me problems then I’m pretty much doing whatever.

In fact, I derive a fair bit of satisfaction from doing the jobs that I am able to do. I also love a well kept garden, but if it has a wild part and we can feed the birds then I am well happy.

This morning, I took the ferry across to Portsmouth. As I was walking off the quayside I was delighted to see half a dozen or more artists working on their pictures. Like the person in the header picture, not all were focussing on the obvious subject HMS Warrior. I commented to one of the artists that it was delightful to see them.

The main purpose of my going over to the other side was to pay a visit to the main bookshop in the city, Waterstones. Normally I know these visits turn in to an immense frustration, that’s because I think I am looking for something, but I don’t know what.

For some reason, today’s visit was different. I spent quite a bit longer looking at a larger range of books than I would normally have done. I think in the past, I have left the store not having found what I was looking for, not knowing what that it was that I was looking for.

This time, I left without frustration. Apart from having had a look at a wider range of books in a bit more depth than I previously did. This time I left Waterstones knowing there was nothing there that I wanted to buy. That was quite comforting. Isn’t strange how an attitude can change like that?

The walk, the ferry ride, the artists, the visit to the bookshop, all of it made for a lovely morning. I got home, sat on thee bed to give the cat a stroke, and promptly fell asleep for about half an hour, the result I think of being quite late to bed, and then having difficulty getting to sleep.

People – they are the problem. But first though, the rest of the walk; I heard that the Viking Star was coming in to the harbour as I was walking down Clarence Road. At that point the ship was at 3-Bar. On the approach to portsmouth there are a set of four buoys, labelled respectively 4-Bar, 3, 2 and 1-Bar. With the ship being at 3-Bar, I knew I was unlikely to get to the waterfront in time to see it come in through the harbour entrance. And indeed, as I was walking dow the high street the cruise ship was passing the head of the high street. I have been wanting to get a picture like this for quite a while.

When I got to the end of the Haslar Marina Pier Wall (HMPW) , I looked to the north, and I could see that Portchester was obscured by a mist, at the time though I wasn’t sure if it was heading away from or towards me. As it happens, it was the latter. I lingered on the HMPW, I saw the mist absorb first the Prince of Wales and then the Spinnaker. Interesting.

Now, back to the real subject of todays post. The problem being people. It is difficult to tell you just how much I enjoy talking to people. It’s mostly about what I am doing and why, and occasionally other conversations. This morning was I think the first negative encounter. I was walking along the high street for the second time when I was approached by a man on a bike. He started talking to me, and it was clear that he was very, very drunk. There was just something about him that made me nervous, almost a threat of violence. He didn’t, and I did everything I could to get away from him as quickly as possible without antagonising him. Luckily I was able to do so. But it was unnerving.

It won’t stop me.