Maritime Festival

My plan on coming home from work yesterday was to sit down and write this post about our day out on bank holiday Monday. Instead I had to take G to the A&E department as he had whacked his head so hard he had double vision and was diagnosed as having mild concussion.

He has been off work today with a very thick head but looks much less dazed than he did!

So now to Monday. Our chosen venue was the docks for the Southampton maritime festival. 

I'm starting with a photo of this double decker bus, not quite in with the maritime theme I know, but what a fantastic idea to convert an old bus into a pub. G says he has seen this at a couple of festivals being used as a Pimms bus. 

Each time we see a soft top car T says how would love to own a car like that one day. I quite like the colour of this one. It was just one of many Rolls Royce cars made on display and all were in an immaculate condition, each one obviously a well loved vehicle.

There was also a small display of different vehicles used by the AA through the years too, I'd rather have a Rolls given the choice.

This was a first for me. I have never seen a tram, seen them in photos and seen them on the TV but never actually seen one in the flesh as it were. You were able to go and sit in this one but it was so busy I made do with just taking photos and listening into a conversation where one of the volunteers was explaining that sometime after this tram was taken out of service it was bought by a gentleman who had it situated in his garden for his children to play in as a grand Wendy house.

There were a few people dressed in vintage fashions and WW2 uniforms.

Girls love a man in uniform, but I'm not so sure about this model, his 'skin' was kind of velour-y, very strange.

Whilst we were sat eating our picnic we were given plastic flags to wave at the King and Queen as they were due on a royal walkabout. The regal pair in this instance was King George VI and Queen Elizabeth complete with corgis!

I really liked the display outside this medical tent, striped deckchairs and a wooden airer hung with a selection of clothing and undergarments to one side

and a stretcher, medical bag and bicycle on the other.

Inside the tent was a huge and interesting display of medicinal aids and also a few pieces of enamelware.

I had a chat with a really lovely chap about the kit which was provided to soldiers. He joined up in 1952 and said that the best present his mum gave him was a darning mushroom and teaching him how to darn his socks properly. The item at bottom right could be worn as a scarf and also rolled up and worn as hat.

Throughout the day there were different art and craft activities for the children and S was pleased to see face painting was on offer.

During the summer there are going to be a number of rhinos around the City celebrating the 40th anniversary of Marwell Zoo and there was one here on display to showcase the event.

Unfortunately this is the only photo I took of the boats and it's not that great, but it has to be included because these boats played their part at Dunkirk and so are very special indeed.