Bills Posts

It really was very nice to just get out for a couple of hours this evening and have a wander around on the other side of the harbour. As you do, we took a few pictures which was very pleasant, I’d even taken my big camera with me, but as it was night, I took the tripod as well. I needed it. I don’t have the steadiest of hands.

We went into Gunwharf, and the Lindt shop was open, but we both exhibited great will power and resisted the urge. Luckily, when we came back it was closed.

The ferry trip over was slightly strange. The captain seemed to take a very wide course, as slowly as he could. Coming back a couple of hours later, it seemed like the captain couldn’t get across the water fast enough. It was OK though. Both quite smooth journeys. A very pleasant evening.

Sorry, but it was at least 20 years ago. I was listening to the radio, and the presenter was at the Prickwillow Pump Engine Museum. I have to be honest and say. That they painted a fascinating picture of the engines that were used to drain water off the Fens in Norfolk and Suffolk.

WE visited the museum. I enjoyed the visit. Elayne kind of didn’t. I have to admit that it looked like the museum was in its early days.

I’ve just checked online and Prickwillow is still a thing, not sure if it is in the same place but it has significantly grown, I have to say that I am really pleased that it is still going, and appears to have grown and is hopefully doing really well.

Anyhow, there is a reason I am telling you this. I’ve found another one – similar but different, and hopefully much, much better. We haven’t got there yet, but we will do. I’ll tell you about it.

I haven’t checked, but it’s quite likely that I’ve used this picture in a blogpost sometime in the last month or so. It’s a location within easy walking distance of home, and I think the image has a lot of potential, in that I like the structure, but I’m not happy with the picture. I’d like to make it better.

When we were out with the camera club a couple of weeks ago, I had one of those moments when I realised that I just don’t know enough about some the settings on my Nikon, which as a camera which only went out of production a couple of years ago is still not a bad purchase – even 2nd hand. So, this week, I am going to play a bit more with some of the features on the camera.

One of the things that I have regularly moaned about is the lack of opportunity to take pictures, where I might get even the slimmest chance of getting a good shot. The camera club offers a regular walk usually in the countryside, but this Monday there’s a chance of some night-time work. I’ve been saying that I’m not going to go as I’ve been rough and not felt like it, but I do feel better and might just change my mind. There’s an opportunity – why not take advantage?

I fell asleep, I woke up feeling really tired, realised I hadn’t done my post panicked in case I fell asleep again so thought I would dash off this feeble effort to keep the count going.

The title and the picture are nothing at all to do with the subject of tonights post, which is more about the position I would like to be in with this blog.

I asked a friend if it would be better if I had a single topic to consistently write about, or is it better that I jump about writing on what are essentially random topics?

Actually, I think if I wrote about the same topic each night it would be pretty boring unless it was something incredibly interesting which I am fairly confident that I don’t have.

What I would like is to at least have a rough idea let’s say up to a week ahead, what I am going to write about. That will need a bit of planning.

Elayne’s collection is growing. I have to admit that having encouraged her, it is lovely to see the delight on her face when she looks at her collection.

I get to help her doing a bit of research when we find something slightly unusual, take for example the header photo. Purely by luck, I think we’ve tracked down the producer, a company called Mirrette, known for Art-Nuevo designs in the early 1900’s.

Fascinating stuff to find out.

I’m told that the interchange is opening tomorrow. The outer fence is gone, everything is in place and apparently it is good to go for the busses to start using it.

That means the main busses station will begin to be demolished possibly tomorrow. The next phase.

Busses will be using the new stop on north cross street. I’m wondering how the busses will exit from there onto Mumby road.

Monday evening as we were coming home there was a lot of roadworks going on none of it related to the interchange, but I did wonder they would put lights on the north cross street that would trigger to give the bus priority.

We will have to wait and find out.

We went out for a meal with dear friends whom we haven’t seen for quite a while. We had a lovely rime, and have just got home (around 10pm) to the realisation that I have eaten too much and just want to go to bed. It was a lovely evening though.

Now, here’s a thing. I do not write about certain subjects on this blog, one of which is politics, certainly party politics. It’s just too sensitive and divisive. So, no. I won’t write about it.

Although there is a lot of party politics in local government, it’s slightly different because local government is something which is much closer to the people (OK, I know about taxes and the NHS and the like – not talking about them here).

I do feel that it is less remote, closer to home, at the town, or in the case of Gosport, the district council and at the county level. It’s where you can see with your own eyes jobs that needs to be done.

Who is going to do these jobs? The lot that is in, are they doing a good job? That’s what is important – are they doing the job well? How do we measure that?

Don’t ask me why I took this picture of a discarded piece of plastic in some rather yucky water on the portsmouth side, but there is something about it that appeals to me.

I used my bus pass today to go up to Fareham, I got off the stop closest to the Oxfam bookshop, I didn’t buy anything but did have a good browse. They have quite a good history section, well worth keeping an eye on.

I got the X4 I think it was to Portsmouth and got off at a stop near the shopping arcade (too small really to be a mall) and had a look at the London Camera Exchange, if money were no object, I’d definitely go for one of the Nikon mirrorless range, although I do quite like the look of the Fuji range, their cameras appear to have more traditional settings on the top plate. I’ll keep an eye out for dealer days nearby.

I did the usual hours (at least) in waterstones. This time though, I got a sandwich and sat in their coffee lounge and had a think about what I might be looking for, and although I enjoyed looking there really wasn’t;t anything that I felt I needed to buy – except one book, the defence of Hampshire which is quite interesting, but at £22 I thought was a bit expensive. I think I can get a 2nd hand copy for less than £10, which would be good.

Then caught the ferry back to Gosport, it was the approach to the ferry where I paused to take this picture.

I noticed that there was a sign up, announcing the new Gosport Interchange, it really does look ready for use, they just have to clear the fence line away. That’s something to watch out for, and then of course, demolition will start, and I some how think that won’t take long.