Don't Feed The Goats!

 If you were in a mountainous region you might expect to see agile goats climbing the higher slopes, but goats on the cliffs in Bournemouth on our day we spent there were most definitely not on my list of things I had planned to see. Here they are happily munching away on the vegetation. I guess it makes a difference to the more traditional donkeys which I believe are no longer a thing down on the beach? Times change and for the better in this particular instance I think.

The one and only time I've ever been to Bournemouth was as a teenager with my then new boyfriend. I remember it being a drizzly cold day, but we stuck it out on the beach and then went for chips afterwards. It was those heady early days of a romance which floundered a few months later. The weather and temperature this time round was fairly similar, but staying on the outskirts meant that we could walk in and have a poke around on our first day away. I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to go back, but the way it's struggling saddened me. That said we enjoyed our few hours there and it made a good start to the holiday.

Even as a very much confirmed land lubber I do consider myself to be a bit of a closet hutter and the town has the most fabulous set of rainbow coloured beach huts. Very pleasingly they run across in various shades of one colour before moving onto the next block. I photographed them all, but for your sanity am restricting myself to just the one. Below are a few more details from around the seafront area. The tiles are part of an entire wall which is dedicated in memoriam to those who have died from Aids. The quirky coastal themed sculptures of a couple of a series that  are on the fence which runs all the way down. Some of them had a bit of a Beryl Cook feel about them which made me smile.

If you are a fan of art and musems the Russell-Cotes gallery is worth a look. It has the most fantastically preserved rich and vibrant Victorian interior. Everywhere you look there are rich colours, layer upon layer of decorative detail, stained glass and stuff. If I'm being honest I could appreciate it, but it left me a bit cold. Just a question of personal taste. What did please me greatly though were the pieces of Pre-Raphelite art on display and this modern work decorating the dome in the cafe by Sophie Ward.

The one thing I did want to do was to go and seek out the grave of Mary Shelley. Helpfully you're given a bleeding great notice and an arrow so there's no missing it. With the connection to her husband's family coming from Horsham and Percy being born here, his spouse was a highly acclaimed writer in her own right. Her Gothic masterpiece, Frankenstein, was famously written after a night of ghost tales told during a storm in Geneva. Percy drowned in Italy in 1882. His remains washed ashore ten days later and he was cremated on the beach. However, his heart didn't burn [possibly due to calcification from the TB he had suffered]. It was saved and preserved in wine to be returned and then interred with Mary here upon her death.

We celebrated the literacy legacy of this famous couple by classily raising a glass in the Spoons across the road before plodding back. Well it had to be done didn't it and we were on foot after all🍻

꩜Aril꩜

On sacred ground

 All Saints Church in Alton Priors doesn't shout about its presence. It sits quietly in a backwater now in the care of the CCT with an uncluttered and simple white washed interior which exudes calm. There's no assault on your senses or any sense of overwhelm as you cross its threshold which has been my experience in some other places. I could feel my breathing immediately start to slow as I took a quiet look around. 

You have to seek out Agnes Button's brass memorial under a rug, but she was the wife of William who was an MP and aide to Thomas Cromwell. He outlived both his spouse [d1528] and Henry's chief minister who was beheaded in 1540.

In the churchyard it blew my mind that the yew tree is at least 1400 years old and that it continues to grow despite the fact that the trunk is now in two separate halves. I was left wondering who the enigmatic TF was who has left their initials for us carved within the heart on the gravestone.

This stunning etched window is the work of Frank Grenier and upon it you can see Woodborough Hill and the Alton Barnes white horse which is visible on the path running up to the site. 

This is a landscape of many neolithic wonders and this is truly what brought me to the church door. Set in the floor are two trap doors and beneath them lie sarsen stones. This one has a man made hole in it. There's no definitive proof as to why they are are there and one theory put forward is that they are the floor of an earlier building. The other suggestion is that the church is built upon a henge and that's the one I'm going with. To encourage people to move across to the new Christian religion it's believed that the sites for some churches were deliberately built over the places where folk were already venerating their deities. You can see this very clearly at Knowlton https://gnatbottomedtowers.blogspot.com/search?q=knowlton, but even within Sussex I've been to one church with a Bronze Age burial mound within its grounds and another one has been put within an Iron Age landscape feature. I find the whole business intriguing.

꩜Aril꩜

Floral Friday

 We wandered around Kingston Lacy earlier this week. I love these relaxed meadow borders. I'll write more when it's cooler, but in the meantime I hope you have a good weekend.

Arilx

Holiday Oddities

David likes to send photos through to his sister and friend of some of the oddities we regularly stumble upon. May I present to you his modest selection from our week away.

Exhibit 1

One bog standard red triangle warning sign for a narrow bridge plus ahem a U.F.O. These days though the correct term should be U.A.F standing for unidentified anomalous phenomena ( I knew that all my Fortean Times reading would come in useful one day) At the time we were to be found in a tiny Wiltshire village called Honey Street. If I tell you that it has a crop circle museum then you'll see that this fits perfectly with the hippy vibe of the place.

Exhibit 2

Just a completely random encounter in Bournemouth. We were just on our way out to buy fruit when we saw this. I have no explanation as to why this particular property is festooned with daleks and a tardis but how splendid. Looks like the dream home of your average Whovian.

Exhibit 3

This randomly appeared in the front garden of the house next door to where we were staying and then vanished again a couple of days later. Our pet theory is that the house was being cleared after students leaving. Hope so 😱 It's just a tad disturbing, but would be perfect for Halloween themed decor.

Enough of my nonsense....I think the heat must be getting to me🤣

Arilx

Midsummer's Day 2026

 

This stunner is by Albert Moore and is appropriately titled 'Midsummer'. I know that the mercury will be rising today, but I hope you enjoy a few personal glimmers. I saw this painting in the Russell-Cotes gallery last week down in Bournemouth. Have had a smashing holiday in Dorset.

Arilx

A Floral Bouquet

I know that I signed off on Friday, but the packing has gone smoothly so why not share some of the floral delights we saw yesterday as we enjoyed the open gardens in a local village with our friends. Was most tickled by the small plastic fish in the birdbath which the owner says frequently go missing. Her little grandson likes to add them to the borders!

Arilx

Toodle-loo

Many thanks for all your kind comments about David. This little corner of the blogging world is full of kind folk. This past year has taught us to live more and make sure that we get on with doing the things we have always spoken about trying. No week is the same and I have done the reverse to what most people do when they retire by stepping away from all the volunteering for which I needed to give a regular commitment. This week alone I've found some Roman sherds of pottery on another archaeological dig, got soaked to the skin whilst counting orchids in a local meadow and somehow found myself having a pint and watching my first ever cricket match which turned out to be a hilarious combination of the Horsham Lions versus the Lardy Army which is the name the supporters of our town's football team give themselves raising money for our nearest hospice. We were supposed to just be walking straight home after completing a dormouse and reptile survey. How do these things happen eh. Anyway it was a rather splendid diversion and not a bad way to spend an hour in some most welcome sunshine.

Every June I ponder whether I'll still be blogging in a year's time, but here we are thirteen years on and I'm still enjoying it so if you'll have me I've no plans to give up. We had rather a surprise this week to discover that we are due to go on holiday next week and not the week after as I had thought. Thankfully the cattery have been very accommodating about changing the dates for Humphrey. I will be back in a few days hopefully with fully recharged batteries and a tale or two to tell. 

If you're wondering the photos are from Winchester's small toilet museum which appropriately enough is displayed in the window of the public conveniences in the city centre. I was particularly drawn to the medieval water pitcher with the face. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Arilx