Mural #1

A couple of weeks ago S and I ventured into town together on a school uniform buying mission.

As well as buying new polo tops and jumpers I also had another item on my agenda.

I wanted to go and see the two murals I had recently picked up a leaflet about.

The first one we found is a recent addition to the City and the more we stood looking at it the more we saw.

I recommend clicking on the photo to see an enlarged version.

The central panel was made the artist.

'What do those pink and white dots on the tree remind you of?' I asked S.

'Blossom' she answered.

'All I can think of is pink and white marshmallows' I told her.

The items around the border were made by local residents which I think is fantastic. Imagine being able to point out your very own contribution to a work of art proudly depicting the history of your home city.
The best bits for me are the Saints football scarf.

The old floating bridge, an old cable ferry which crossed the Itchen and was taken out of service in 1977.

The P&O flag. P&O have had a long association with the City. I remember when the Canberra left the docks on her journey down to the Falklands.

The information plaque which mentions how this mural came to be created following the restoration of another mural. This one is on display just around the corner and will be in my next post.

Lepe Beach

This day out is from the weekday before last, this weekend was a very quiet affair spent more or less at home.

We like to use public transport as much as possible and when we found about  the beach bus service we thought it sounded like just our sort of thing.

For £15.00 we were able to take the ferry from Southampton to Hythe, then take a bus to Lepe Beach.

The bus also goes to Beaulieu, Buckle's Hard and Exbury Gardens and you can hop on and off all day. 

Plus showing your ticket at these destinations entitles you to 20% off the cost of the entrance price.

The ferry would normally be this price alone so great value for money.

Four of us went, me, G, S and her friend L but the £15 is available for groups of five.

Oh and you all get a free ice cream from the kiosk at Lepe when you present your ticket.
Once ice creams were eaten and enjoyed the girls headed into the playground you can just make out behind S.

It was such a pretty spot to sit and enjoy the view we stayed there to eat our picnic. The Isle of Wight can be seen in the distance along with a few of the boats which were out on the water.

Once the girls had had their fill of playing we took a stroll along the front and found somewhere to settle for the next couple of hours.
This was the view to our left.
The white building had scaffold all around it and a sign to say it was a private residence. I would love to know who owns it and what it's like inside.

This was the view to our right.
The Beaulieu River Millennium Beacon 

and another private residence. This one further back from the beach, but I bet the view from the top is spectacular.

Initially the girls went in for a paddle but before long they were in the water playing mermaids. S was called Sapphire and L was called Aqua. They could have stayed there all day.

The wooden groynes were absolutely plastered in seaweed.

Just as we were starting to make our way back to the bus stop this group of birds began swooping through the air together and then settling back on the waters edge before taking off again. It was a sight to see.

More colourful sails from the boats out around the Island, Cowes week was on so I guess they were taking part in a race.

The orange of this plastic bucket sung out brightly from it's surroundings of blue and green.

Once back in Hythe we only had just over half an hour until the ferry was due. Time enough for G to have a quick dash into a couple of charity shops to look for records, for the girls to have another ice cream and for me to stand and gaze at the bunting.

Freebie

Later on this morning we'll be heading out to the car boot.

We all did well last week.

G bought two albums for a pound each and sold them both on later the same day making about £20 profit.

S found a couple of new skirts for 50p each and bought (yet another) teddy bear, although this week she has had a sort through her old ones and two carrier bags of cuddly toys were donated to the charity shop.

My best find of the day were these boots which cost me nothing.

Mum was walking just ahead of the rest of us and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

She heard the stall holder tell the person next to him that they were happy with the amount they had sold and the money they had made that morning, that they were off for a wander to check out other sellers and were leaving a sign on their goods to say 'everything free, take what you would like'.

Better than packing it up and taking it home again if you really don't want it anymore I suppose.

The boots have hardly any wear, they can have only been worn a couple of times. I felt very guilty when I walked away with them, I really felt like I had done something wrong! 
Once home I tried them on. They fit perfectly and are incredibly comfortable. 
G walked into the room whilst I was trying them on, took one look and said 'So when are you taking up professional wrestling then?!'
I could see what he meant about the style but as I intend to wear them under trousers they will do just fine. 

Morning Stroll #2

Last Tuesday me, mum and S went for a little walk.

Our stroll ended by a pub.

 There was a sign outside advertising the fact cooked breakfasts were served until midday.

A plan was made.

We would go for another stroll, explore a different route through the copse and make sure we ended up by the pub for 11.30.

So this Tuesday we parked up and headed off into the copse, me and mum using the small gate, S climbing over the larger one.

Instead of going towards Pine Walk this time we headed in the direction of Old Ivy Lane.

The path meandered through the copse for a short distance and then we were out and in the middle of a housing estate. 
Ivy Lane turned out to be one I have driven past thousands of time and never really noticed and it leads to a very busy road. This wander wasn't as green and pleasant as the previous week.
The highlight at this point was this gorgeous red front door with stained glass panel.

 

Walking alongside the busy road we were passed by a very sprightly older gentlemen who greeted us with a cheery 'Morning Ladies'.
Just after this we took the first opportunity we had to turn off from the road and try and find our way back to the copse once again. It was here we discovered a monster of a blackberry bush from which we picked a very small handful of quite large fruit for S to snack on.

We found the path we needed easily enough and managed to time our arrival at the pub just right.
Unfortunately the rest of our visit didn't go so well. They took ages to serve us with our food and when they did some of it was inedible. 
I did, very politely, complain and have also emailed my complaint to the customer service department.
In the end I had to leave mum and S to finish off whilst I made a dash to get to work, thankfully I wasn't late.
Not quite the relaxing treat we had planned but again it was good to spend our time together and outdoors.

Beach Huts, Blooms and Barons

What a glorious weekend we've just had.

The sun shone and we made the most of it.

On Friday G had taken S to Salisbury to spend a couple of days with Grandma and Auntie D and so with S away and T busy volunteering at his charity shop G and I were free to go day tripping.

A plan was made and by 9.30 we were off on the train to Bournemouth.

The walk from Bournemouth station into town isn't, initially, the most picturesque, although the row of shops and businesses along Holdenhurst Road do have an air of faded grandeur about them.

Plus I was keen to starting using the new camera G had given me for my birthday so the first photo of the day is the last shop in the row. 

We wandered into and through the town taking a more meandering route towards the seafront

which is how we happened upon this beautiful mosaic on the corner of a road by the church above. On this site there once stood a guest house by the name of 'Muriel'. The mosaic is from an art work by Aubrey Beardsley who was once a resident at Muriel having been sent to the coast for his health.

We haven't been to Bournemouth for a while and it so it was the first time we've seen the zip wire. The launch tower is on the pier and you land of the beach zipping across the water, the view must be fabulous as you travel across.

On of the highlights of the day for me was seeing the Cath Kidston beach huts. I had seen them on Instagram and you can read more about them here. I was hoping we would be able to go and see them for real and now I have! These 3 weren't being used 

but the cloud and fish ones were so I thought it would be more polite to take a sideways on snap of the group of them.

As polka dots are such a favourite of mine I was so pleased this one was free as I was able to pose for a photo and have a CK beach hut all of my own for a very short while.

From Bournemouth we strolled along the front heading towards Boscombe and there were more beach huts. 
Would you prefer yours to be green

or blue

or a shade of purple?

I particularly liked this bluebell one.

G and I had expected the beach to have been packed out with holiday makers but whole sections of it were completely empty.
It was a perfect walk.

We were ready for lunch by then having walked up a bit of an appetite and stopped for something to eat before heading up into town through the Chine Gardens.
As G's brother lives in Boscombe he sent P a text to see if he was free and the 3 of us met a short time later for a cuppa and a chat.

To round off our day G went to visit the vinyl shop in Boscombe and whilst he did that I went to Oxfam and came out laden with some great finds. Then it was off to Pokesdown station where we were waved off by this bikini clad blonde.

G reckoned we had walked about 5 miles or over the course of the Saturday. 
Sunday was a little more sedate.
We had to go and collect S and as there was another music event in the park we all met up in Lizzy Gardens for a picnic lunch and listened to jazz and swing.

For the first time this summer we were plagued with wasps and to escape them I took my camera off with me for a short wander.

When I returned everyone was looking at this little fellow who had fallen out of the tree we were all gathered under and which was perfectly camouflaged on one of Grandma's picnic cushions.

As previously mentioned Salisbury is home to a Baron trail this summer and walking around discovering them is what kept S, Auntie D and Grandma entertained on Saturday. They found them all that day bar 3, so yesterday they went and found the final one in town which they had missed. The other two are a little way out of town but we hope to see them later on in September when all 25 are going to be displayed together by the Cathedral.

Auntie D has taken S's photo by each one and so I felt it was only right I had mine taken with one of them too.