Bills Posts

This is not really a macro image. But I quite like it. Taken on the iPhone using the zoom setting to get in closer from a distance.

It’s frustrating that I have a perfectly good macro set up but I am not using it. Why is that? Well, the camera and the lens are in a bag in a cupboard and they are fiddly to get to. So most of the time I can’t be bothered and it is surprising how often that annoys me.

Apart from the fact that my batteries are probably shot, the camera is really nice I do like it I love having a Nikon. but it’s frustrating for me that I am not using it. I think that is absolutely down to me rather than the kit.

Perhaps I should have another go at getting it out again

The picture is nothing at all to do with the title of today’s post. It’s a picture from the Isle of Wight Steam Gala we visited on Saturday.

I have a job to do, which needed a washing up bowl. We didn’t have one, so obviously I had to go and buy one. The shops where I was pretty certain I would get one is about a mile from the house.

It’s not until you start walking back home when you realise that it’s not everyday that you see someone walking along carrying a washing up bowl. I mean, they are an everyday object and I think you would be hard pushed to find a house that doesn’t have one somewhere. But, having purchased it, you put it in the boot of the car, and it doesn’t see light until you get home.

So, here I was walking along the road side, carrying just a washing up bowl. As cars went past I could see people looking at me and laughing. I wasn’t bothered, there are times when I quite enjoy being the butt of humour.

I wasn’t 100% sure of my route as I had extended the walk so that I could go to the mini store, I was approaching a bloke who was out walking his dog. “Off to a washing up party then?” He asked. “Well< you know, sometimes you have to do these things” I replied.

He confirmed that I was heading the right way and we both set off laughing. It really was quite entertaining, and a pleasant walk. I shan’t always be carrying a washing up bowl though.

We were on the commercial railway, heading toward Shanklin. It was a bit of a mixed day. Breakfast in a cafe just across from Shanklin station, which was very nice. Then a walk through the town centre and on down to the waterfront. I hadn’t appreciated how high up we were.

We got the cliff lift back up. By then I’d had to confess that my leg was hurting, so we decided to head back to the train, luckily the path back was fairly level. I had to buy some painkillers and Voltarol. Which both worked quite well.

Instead of heading back to the ferry, we got off the train at Smallbrook and transferred across to the steam railway. The trip up to the main station Haven Street Station was interesting, we shared our carriage with a real enthusiast. He was making a point of travelling behind every engine that was running during the gala and was very knowledgeable about the railway.

There was a lot going on at Haven Street, displays, artefacts in the museum and information. There were trains running all the time. The header picture train, called Fenchurch was obviously somebody’s pride and joy. It was immaculately turned out.

As it turns out, my leg was fine, and gave me no further problems, and we were very glad that we took the time out to visit the gala. We headed back to the train for the trip back to Ryde. All in a lovely day.

It was a fairly random decision that led us to go over to the Isle of Wight today. We wanted to take train from Ryde to Shanklin basically, just for heck of it. It was that which led us to being on the wightlink fast cat at 0915.

Apart a bit of niggling pain in my lower left leg, we had a lovely day. We had a good breakfast in cafe which was very nice and lasted me all day before walking through Shanklin town centre and down to the waterfront

We spent a few minutes in the arcade but decided not to play any of the penny arcade machines. We had found out that the Isle Of Wight heritage railway was having a gala day. We decided to look in.

It was very interesting we had a lovely ride on a steam train and good look around the displays all of which were nicely laid out.

I came across the water today. No, not a long journey onboard the Santonia from France. Just across from Portsmouth to Gosport.

I have to say that the Gosport ferry service is alway run with consummate professionalism. The captains who operate them are able to steer them with such skill, I’ve never known one miss the berth.

Several books have been written about the ferries and it is nice to be able to say that I know one of the authors.

I know there is a way of including an audio file, I’m just trying to get at the file. It’s what recoded this morning, 22 Jun 23 at around 4AM. The birds going wild. It is, without doubt, the most beautiful alarm clock you will ever hear. It is so loud here in Waterlooville.

I wanted to walk a circular route, and I am not having much luck finding a nice one here in Waterlooville. Part of the walk had me alongside the dual carriageway heading into town, not at all pleasant. At least with my morning walks in Gosport I am minimally affected by traffic fumes.

I think it would have been good if the planners had woven a wooded walk into the town, which is only a couple of hundred years old. I can remember knowing the name Waterlooville, from many years ago, well before we moved to the area, but I can’t think where or why I heard it. Indeed at risk of insulting the town, it’s fame is primarily in its name, and it’s association with the Battle of Waterloo through a pub called “The Heroes of Waterloo” named so because on it’s opening day in 1815 soldiers who were returning from the battle decided to stop there. Apparently, a lot of them settled here.

I think that’s as good a reason as any to be famous.

Waterlooville is a strange place. Quite dense housing, with small patches of really quite dense wooded areas, too dense to walk through, and having a really dense canopy.

Having said that though, it’s still quite pleasant to walk through. I really do enjoy walking through a nice wooded area, but get so few opportunities to do so in Gosport. About the best place is Alver Valley, the nature reserve, that’s very nice.

There just something quiet and cool, especially on a hot day. Plus you never know what wildlife you’ll see or hear. I must admit, the morning chorus does seem very loud here.

The header picture is of an alley way just off the town centre of Waterlooville. Apart from the charity shop, every frontage is boarded up. And there were other areas closer to the high street like this.

In its heyday, it must have been a bustling complex of shops. I wonder what went wrong,vane whether any of this was due to Covid, or just part of the general running down of all town centres?

I haven’t looked at the web site of whichever council is responsible for the town, but the area is only fit for demolition. Hi hope that when that happens this eyesore of what I am guessing is a 1960’s dream-turned-nightmare is replaced by something that is respectful of the towns location and history.

Doubtless much of it will be turned into accommodation. If that happens a nice green area would be appropriate, as would a small complex of artisan shops, along with a good tech shop, and an excellent bookstore (or a really good 2nd hand bookshop) would be ideal. But there again, what do I know?

It’s a bit of a dark one this, and the start of this weeks research round is about The Plague and it’s impact on Gosport. Certainly it was bad enough to warrant an entry in the timeline.

One claim made was that the town was a, if not the, point of entry into the country. I think that is disputed and may be claimed by what is now a suburb (without wishing to do an injustice to the place, the name of which eludes me) of Weymouth.

What is known is that this horrible disease had a significant impact on Gosport’s population. The extent of which I have still to determine. I shall do some research and will hopefully produce a post sometime during the week.

In the meantime, I shall think about turning last weeks subject into a vlog script and hope to do some filming at some point. I’m hoping that as time goes on, my currently non-existent video techniques will improve. We shall see.