Old friends and new

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A few more colourful days in wonderful Wight.

On 17th, Andrew and Wendy Lamb, who introduced me to the island with our daytrip together last year, came down to see how I was getting on ... and found me, of course, fallen on my feet in the Most Beautiful B&B in Britain.

We strolled up on the downs in the sunshine, and I introduced them to Mr Hoy’s Folly and the ‘pepperpot’, we dined sumptuously ‘at home’ gazing out sybaritically over the glorious ‘nearly-longest-day’ evening view, down over the rolling fields to the sea, and in the morning we headed down to renew acquaintance with Ventnor. We ended up promenading in ancient Bonchurch, once a village near the town, and now apparently its most classy suburb. 

Bonchurch 1812

Such wonderful houses … little plaques tell us that the poet Swinburne and Lord Macauley (and a couple of other folk of whom I’d not heard) lived there, and one can see why. A grand spot. And Swinburne and Macauley wouldn’t have had to worry about the parking…

After Bonchurch, we headed off on my favourite drive, to Shalfleet, partook of a walk down Newtown Estuary, the whole execrcise ending, naturally, at the New Inn, Shalfleet, for lunch. Not overcrowded today, and I sampled their local sausages on mustard mash. Oh, yes! 

 
After lunch, there was just time enough left to nip across to Newtown where the Old Town Hall was just opening. I think Andrew was as much taken by its charm and its tale as I.

And then, after what had been an all too brief rendez-vous, the Lambs headed off to Cowes and I ‘home’, to Hermitage Court Farm.

Today, 20 June, at Hermitage Court Farm is a special day. For today, here, we have not one but two birthdays! Papa Chris and son number two, Charlie. Charlie is seven, Chris is age-classified. Charlie has just been unwrapping his birthday gifts over breakfast, so I grabbed a moment to snap him with his new scooter. And I promised him he’d be on the blog by the time he gets home from school. So here goes