Better late than never...

Well it's taken me a week or so to write this post about our wonderful trip to the Isle of Wight and Somerset.  

 

Portsmouth - The Spinnaker Tower  

We arrived in Portsmouth early in the hope of going up the famous Spinnaker Tower.  Alas we were a little too early, so a photo from ground level will have to do....... It is huge, amazing and suprisingly a very female form.... All will be revealed later... 

As we left Portsmouth I glanced back to get a photograph of this amazing old figurehead looking out across the docks.  Our crossing was calm and with a beautiful sunny day it was glorious.

We stayed in a wonderful B&B run by a wonderful lady called Jo. We have never eaten such breakfasts, 5***** absolutely fantastic, and the room was so clean, we would go back at a drop of a hat... Loved it and lovely landlady. Hey Ho! 

Osborne House

We visited Queen Victoria's holiday cottage.......... Impressive!

There were few of these wonderful fellows around the gardens, which were a sight for sore eyes despite the lack of rain.

 

Swiss Cottage

She had a 'play house' built for her children. ( bigger that our home)  It was just like a real house, she had it built so that her children could be taught all aspects of running a household.....A very forward thinking lady.

The house and grounds were spectacular, it is just a shame that you are not allowed to take photographs inside the house. 

Another day, another adventure... No, we had not gone to a desert island, we are still on the Isle of Wight, can you believe it? This is the beach at Fort Victoria.

The beach walk was wonderful with lots of flotsam and jetsam to photograph and sketch.

I must have taken a hundred photo's of old tree's on the beach let alone the wonderful patterns the seaweed had made.

We visited Karen Mead, the printmaker I told you about in a previous post, she was lovely and her work.... Was   wonderful..... And huge!.  Some almost as tall as me.   Both Karen and her husband Lawrence made us very welcome, lots of tea.... In fact we were so busy talking that I forgot to take any photographs, so you will have to click on her name and visit her website to see her amazing work..I hope to see  her  again sometime soon.

Back to Portsmouth.... Click on the photo above and you will see what I mean... All woman, in a 'man's world'... We get everywhere....

Then we were off to Somerset to visit our daughter and her lovely family....

We all piled in the car and went on a visit to Wells Cathedral, it just blew me away.... Our grandson looks so small . Bless..

My favorite bit, the staircase up to the chapter house.... So beautiful built in 1265-1280... The stone masonry was phenominal.... It was amazing.   I will go back for another look, I could happily spend hours and hours in the Cathedral and grounds... Another day soon, perhaps..

 Grandpa Norman and our sweetpea, Reu.... Just thinking...

We found a couple of love birds at the Chalice Well  Gardens. One of their favorite places in Glastonbury.

On the down side..... We received a phone call from home to say that our home had been broken into while we were away... 

We didn't let the news spoil the holiday, but it was a shame and made us feel quite sad.  On the upside our son was not hurt, he was out, thank goodness.  

The little 'BUGGERS'...... Bold as brass, kicked in the front door.... What a mess, new locks and door frame needs a lot of work to repair it.... Such a shame for the old house. And all they took was the TV... Nothing much else to take... We are not big 'stuff' that's worth pinching.

The police arrested 6 youngsters from the Harwich area, who have been bailed, waiting for the evidence to be processed.... Words fail me....

Special thanks to my brother in law who made good the door and made sure that our son was OK.