Bills Posts

This was the Gosport Ferry Ramp at about 0615. I quite often arrive here at about this time. The ferries keep to a good schedule, I usually see the same people heading toward or coming off. This is still a fair distance from the halfway point of my walk, from here I head along to the Haslar Marina Pier wall. Quite often, one of the Brittany ferries will come in to the harbour at this point, as said the Mon St Michel this morning;

From The Haslar Marina Pier Wall, I head over to the cockle ponds. I can’t see anything in the ponds at that time of the morning, but it won’t be too long before the bottom of the pond becomes visible. I’m hoping that the Jelly Fish will reappear. I’ve seen them over a couple of years, but don’t know if they come every year and I’m fairly sure that everybody views them as a nuisance, but I think they are fascinating and I am very keen for their return.

From The Cockle Ponds I head up South Street to the old telephone exchange where I double back on myself almost walking along Stokes Road. It amounts to about 3 miles. It’s usually a good start to the day – unless it’s raining of course. It then depends on how heavily it is raining, if it is just a gentle drizzle then I may just put my proper raincoat on and go anyway. To be honest, if it is raining heavily, I’m happy to go back to bed – or usually, if I can hear the rain, just not get up.

Looking through a fenced over gate into Fort Brockhurst. I went in to the fort during a Heritage Day a few years ago. The thing that really surprised me was how big the fort is inside the walls.

I’ve just done a quick look back and before last Friday, it had been nearly 200 days since I last wrote a post specifically about Vlogging. It really hasn’t gone away, and I really do want to do it.

There’s no doubt that I have the equipment to produce a fairly high quality video. But really, that is only a small portion of Vlog production. It’s all very well having the kit, you need the location and the topic.

On YouTube, I’ve just subscribed to David Knowles’ channel, he was Jack Hargreaves’ cameraman. I had been wondering whether Jack’s shed really was a shed or was it a TV set. Like a lot of things they make it look so real, but Mr. Knowles has just said that it was a TV set. As you find with things like this, I was a little disappointed, but I recognise the reality of the situation.

I’ve had an idea…

This isn’t a post about the history of Fort Brockhurst, one of the “Palmerston’s Follies” built during the 1850’s and 60’s to defend Portsmouth against possible French invasion, which never appeared. That’s it – end of history lesson.

I wanted to go for a walk this morning, and I use weekends to try to visit parts of Gosport that I don’t normally see during the week. One of these areas is Alver Valley, where I am very keen to spend some time. But not today. I had it in my head that I wanted to visit Fort Brockhurst, driven mainly by a couple of Facebook Groups that I’m in; The Gosport Unofficial Camera Club and The Gosport Nature Trail, Both of these are worthy of a post, and I will do that later, But it is sufficient to say there are some seriously fine pictures taken by people. I’m not intending to compete with those photographers, but it would give me an opportunity to see what it looks like there. Plus to do a bit of a circular walk would help contribute to my #Walk1000 total.

There was a lot of Moat based wildlife; Swans, Coots, ducks (various), Canadian Geese.

I don’t know what the stuff is that these (I think they are Tufted Ducks) are swimming through, but they don’t seem disturbed by it, and some of the birds were swimming through it and hoovering it up, so it looks like it might be beneficial.

Although it was a bit nippy today, it was a lovely bright day with a lovely blue sky, and that made for a lovely walk. There certainly was plenty of wildlife in the area and because I had trainers on, I didn’t feel able to explore some of the areas around the fort that may get a little damp. Next time, I will wear slightly more robust footwear. Because I will be going back. Today was an absolute delight.

I could write all sorts about the Rising Sun, but what I want to say is best said here;

I had read in my D-Day Book that the pub was popular with service people from HMS Tormentor, a base just a little distance away. We went in and had a drink, and I thought a bit about the times that people had there in 1944, and what it must have been like.

We went for a walk along the waterfront. It was really interesting. I was trying to work out what these were for;

They are on a pier owned by the Warsash Maritime Academy. I think it is for students to practice being launched in a lifeboat, to experience a drop. I thought it would be quite interesting (entertaining) to find out when it was happening, and go and watch.

We went for a walk along the waterfront. I was amazed to see along the sea front. There was a line, millions of seashells;

It was a really nice trip out.

Vlogging! I haven’t written about Vlogging for quite a while. Just in Icase you had thought I had forgotten. I haven’t. On a Thursday night I do the Thursday Night Net for the Isle of Wight Radio Society. I’ve been doing it for four or five years now. At some point I started doing it as a live session on Facebook. If you go to FB and search for GB3IW, it’s a page not a group so anyone can find it. There are literally hundreds there.

I’ve taken to during the first and last minutes of the session to just speaking to the camera, during the first minute some people may join, or I may be talking to myself. In the last minute before I turn off I sign off. The thing is I’ve been videoing myself. It’s spontaneous and only lasts a few seconds, but I almost get some of the effects I’m after.

I’ve got pretty much everything that I need to produce some reasonable quality video. What I am lacking is a topic range that I can reasonably talk about. The last time I talked about this, and what I was proposing to cover, was as usual a bit too ambitious. Yesterday I received a package that I had ordered from Amazon. I wanted to try it out, so I did a video. I really am going to do this, I’m going to put it here. Unedited. I’m going to make a few points about it. I mention two people, both of which you are unlikely to have heard of unless you are my age. They are the television heroes of an age, and whilst I can’t be like them. I want to be like them. Is that pretentious?

Jack Hargreaves and his TV programme Out of Town. Here’s a link to a page about him; https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=jack+hargreaves&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari and the intro music to his programme; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTtRsRcFVyk which always brings back nice memories when I hear it.

Then there is Dr. Magnus Pyke, He used to be on the TV show HOW from the 1960’s always very educational and entertaining. I’ll ask again, is this pretentious?

It’s not a good picture, sorry about that. But you can see the fox. I just a few yards from the high street when I saw the fox coming from the left. I was probably about 15 – 20 yards away. As it trotted along, it saw me I started getting my tripod positioned, phone already mounted. The fox took up position on South Cross Street. It quite happily sat there whilst I took these pictures. It was still sitting there when I walked away.

It made me think about other wildlife we might see here in Gosport. Birds certainly, lots of different birds, and sadly rats. I haven’t seen them myself, but I know they are at the waterfront on the sea side of the prom wall. I think there may be deer in the Alver Valley. I wonder when the best time would be to see them. I expect that will be early in the morning. I’d like that.

I think that most success would come with birds. This morning, we had starlings, ring necked doves, pigeons, sparrows, magpies. Not too bad, but there are others. What could I do to attract them? Some research needed. How many times have I said that at the end of a post? I might have followed up a bit on some of them, but not all.

The Blue Plaque commemorating the India Arms in gosport can be seen over the middle of the entrance at the right of the white building. What confuses me slightly is that it is the site of, but it appears that the building is Grade II listed – so this must be the building. I have an account with the British Newspaper Archive. There are loads of articles about the India Arms. It looks like there were lots of auctions held there. Here’s an extract from a news paper report;

“At the INDIA ARMS INN, GOSPORT The Good clinch-built Cutter LORD NELSON, Dimensions Length 55 feet 6; breadth 18 feet 10; depth in hold 7 feet 5; Built at Bridport 10 years since admeasures e75 tons, is pierced For 14 guns , completely fitted for an hired armed cutter or private vessel of war”

It’s that last bit that really surprises me – a ship for mercenaries, and no bones about it. There were a lot of auctions held there. I must admit I did a search to see if there were any reports of fights or Press-Gangs. There were, but not associated with the India Arms. Perhaps that’s a good thing?

When I went out for my walk yesterday morning I decided that I would try to focus on detail rather than the wider shots that I have been taking. I thought that the lamp over the door way of the Clarence Tavern would make an interesting subject. My first effort below wasn’t good enough;

It’s the composition isn’t it? I wrote about it last night. I wanted to have another go. I am much happier with my first effort at the top of this post. I just think that the lamp is an interesting topic and I like the way that the light beam points up in to the lamp.

Every so often, I print off a picture to put on my wall. I think this could be a candidate for the wall. I was all set to put the first one up as my evening’s post for the 365 project but then I looked at this picture;

I really can’t tell you why I like this one. Once again, it is a piece of rubbish discarded in the cockle pond, but it’s there and I like it.

You see something, you look at it, you take a picture and then you look at it on the iPad and you hold your breath. The major flaw with this picture are the various components the lamp pole; I did want the light behind the lamp, but didn’t expect the lamp post to be quite so prominent. I’m not sure about the housing upper left below the lamp’s bracket, is that a webcam? The street sign intruding in to the bottom of the frame, composition is dreadful, considering that I wanted to get the lamp as a guard dog looking down on everybody that passes underneath. But then I look at it, and I see the sharpness, where this is a night picture, and you can see the mottling in the glass in the lamp, and I am just so pleased with the camera in the iPhone 12, and feel so guilty that the phone camera has put my DSLR in to hibernation.

If I haven’t in the past said that I’d like to write a book, I am going to now, I’m sure I have, and I’m sure your are getting fed up with me going on about it. I must admit (and I’m fairly confident I’ve written this before) I do question why on earth would you want to read it? I guess that if you are going to write a book, the question is how do I do that, and where do I start? well, I had a look on Amazon, and keyed in something like “how to write a non-fiction book” and up popped a book “How to write Non-Fiction” by Joanna Penn.

Part of my thinking goes along the lines of “If I really did have a book inside me, then I would know intuitively how to write it”. Since I don’t know how to write it, do I really have a book inside me? Well, it may be that I do have a book inside me, but at the risk of creating my own “Ratner” moment (if you don’t know, google Gerald Ratner – famous gaffe), better still, here’s a link; https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gerald+ratner+%22crap+moment&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari I’m going to write the book, I don’t care if you don’t read it (well, clearly I do, so if I do write it, please read it). Anyhow, back to Ms Penn’s book. I have to confess that I bought it with some scepticism, I’ve read a few self help books, and the main self help appears to be to get money for the author (others have been really good). So I thought, I’ve bought it, I started reading it thinking “I wonder if I will get beyond the introduction?” Well, within the first 20 pages it has very (and I mean VERY) cogently laid out exactly why I can and should write my book. So it looks like this one is a real goer. I am quite fired with enthusiasm.

And the reference to D-Day and walking in the title? Well, that’s thanks to another book; D-Day Our Great enterprise by Lesley Burton. I am up to page 19 in this book. It’s about how the people who lived along the south coast were affected by, and played a part in the build up to that momentous day, and the subsequent events that followed. My thought was, that if it mentions a place, then I would like to visit and write about the visit here, in this blog such as The Rising Sun in Warsash, which is where service people used to meet during the preparations. The same pub is still open and I think we will pay a visit.

And I may write about it here.

Whilst I haven’t totalled it up, I fairly confident that I’ve done more than my targeted 35 miles this week. Less than 36, but more than 35. Over the week it has been relatively straightforward getting to 30, those last five miles were the slightly more difficult goal. It’s todays walk that allowed me to reach my goal.

I was on Clayhall lane when a bloke came up to me and asked me where the light aircraft that was flying over head could have come from. I replied that it was likely that they came from either the civilian airfield at the old HMS Daedalus (actually I said Dauntless. I was probably surprised by the approach). He went to tell me he was a scientist working on historical research, that was a reservist just visiting the area, and that last week he had been talking to Boris Johnson. He was either telling the truth or delusional. He sounded quite rational.

The whole conversation took place whilst we were walking around the detention centre and along the pier wall. He told me that he was out for some exercise and was walking for town minutes and running for ten. He said good day and then took off. He left just as we were about to pass the front entrance of the detention centre. I continued my walk along Haslar Road past what was Haslar Hospital. Both sad that the hospital closed down, and happy that the buildings are being preserved if converted into flats.

I’ve walked past Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery quite a few times. I keep on intending to go in to pay my respects – I really must do that, I’lol make a point of putting a walk to one side for that purpose.