I can’t believe it.
Where did it go?
Tomorrow morning, Red Fred goes back to his owners, I take the train to Ryde, the ferry to Portsmouth, the train to Waterloo, the tube to St Pancras, and the Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord… where Jean-Baptiste will be waiting to pick up the pieces and carry them back to Rue Claude Vellefeux for a few days R&R.
I’ve had a grand time here in Wight. So grand that I’ve decided to come here next year for rather longer. Well, now that the Tikeibank, the Gazellebank and their sisters have been sent to Taiwan to be turned into teaspoons, my shipping days seem to be over. So why not spent my ship-time here…? Well, that’s my reasoning, we’ll see how it goes in 2010.
I have had a good send off. Night before last, champagne round the kitchen table with the Holmes family, and yesterday Wendy and Andrew Lamb .. who brought me here in the first place, two years ago .. came down for a day and a night. We’ve walked to all the beauty-spots up on the downs, and today we lunched at Godshill.
Yes, Godshill! The place with the threatening thatch that I thought was far too touristy for me.
We had extra-dry sherry (tick), ginger-beer shandy (tick) and liver, kidneys and bacon on mash with cabbage. Well, if you go to a pub for a meal, you have a pub meal. And this one was rather superior. Ten points to the chef who actually cooked my offal pink, as I like it, when I asked. Anyway the Inn is called the Taverners, it’s warm and friendly and nice, and there’s a big carpark nearby … free!! Look out Ventnor, I may on principle, shift my allegiance to Godshill!
And now Andrew and Wendy are on the way back to Croydon, and I have packed my bag.. and now I have to pack the computer and go to sleep and try not to think about tomorrow’s trek…
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