Chilton Chine

Another glorious spring day on the Isle of Wight, and I was off out to lunch with a friend in Brighstone.  The drive to Brighstone was delightful; turning left at The Sun Inn at Calbourne meant I drove along a country road passing Winkle Street,  between arches made of tree branches meeting the hedge opposite, leaving dappled patterns of sunlight on the road.  We had lunch then we loaded my friends' dogs into her car and headed for the military road in search of a beach. We parked at Chilton Chine, near Isle of Wight Pearl and headed along a short footpath to a dilapidated, but stable, stairway to the beach below, bordering the chine. Turning right at the bottom we headed along the beach, throwing balls for the dogs and putting the world to rights. The sky was a glorious blue, with fluffy white clouds, and there was a stiff breeze blowing. We were well wrapped up though, so that didn't matter. The beach was strewn with boulders cut into myriad shapes by the action of the sea and the wind, all different and many fascinating to look at. The cliffs above were made of unstable clay in various shades of orange and yellow, with patches of blue slipper clay on the beach below.  There were signs too of recent cliff falls following winter storms. Other detritus included lobster pots, a bright pink buoy, various lengths of rope and large pieces of driftwood. The tide was coming in and the surf running up the beach was pure white and frothy. We turned back after about three-quarters of an hour as the tide was coming in and we didn't want to get cut off; there are few points of access to the beach along this coast, which is ncurrently worse than normal following coastal erosion over the winter. After a steep climb back up the steps to the top of the cliff, we were back at the car, having paused to admire the superb views along the coast from the Needles to Blackgang Chine. I shall definitely come back here!

The Poo Museum

This afternoon we went on an expedition to the 'Poo Museum' located within the Isle of Wight Zoo at Yaverland. Once we had seen it advertised, it would have been rude not to go.

The zoo is located in an old fort on Yaverland seafront, a bit further along from the Dinosaur Museum.  If you go, and are expecting an experience similar to London Zoo or Marwell Zoo, then you will be disappointed, as this is a small zoo in a slightly dilapidated seaside town. However, it does have quite a lot of animals, all well cared for, and staff who know what they are talking about and who give tours.  Back to the poo....

The Poo Museum was located inside the walls of the fort, and was put together by Ecclestone George, a collective of local artists I think; there were various lavatories located around the walls containing information leaflets, and quite a few poo samples which had been prepared and contained within spheres of clear plastic (I think!). Samples included rat poo, skunk poo, cat poo in a shoe, dinosaur poo and human baby poo. Each sphere rested atop a drainpipe, and was connected to other pipes. At the far end was a 'Poo Tree' with small black plastic bags among its branches, as this seems to be a common sight in the countryside these days.  Certainly an interesting idea and display all round, and the children and adults in there seemed to be enjoying it. I did, certainly.

We toured the zoo as we had paid to get in (discount for Island residents with proof of address), and admired the many lemurs, spider monkeys, giant rabbits, and goats before getting to the stars of the show; these were the big cats. The zoo is noted for rescuing tigers from circuses and we saw four or five beautiful creatures today, including a pure white one. There was also a GORGEOUS jaguar (my favourite big cat), with stunning markings. We couldn't get close to the lions as their enclosure was roped off - I think they were being given space to get to know each other. However, we could see a large male lion in the distance.

After the zoo we went for a drive, via Shanklin and Ventnor, and ended up having a blat up the military road before heading home along the back roads to avoid all the road works, and singing along to Snow Patrol and Beyoncé at the top of our lungs. Along the way, in fact all day, we had played 'Yellow Car No Returns' which I won, much to the teenager's disgust ("I'm not playing any more anyway Mum"), with a final score of 23 - 17. Always a good game.

Simi the new Tiger

Busy Weekend

So, Friday night became quiz night. I was invited to join a team of friends for a fundraising event in aid of Layla's Trust, a local children's charity, at the Traveller's Joy in Northwood. The night began with an all you can eat curry, consisting of four types of curry, rice, onion bahjis, poppadoms, and chutneys. Very nice indeed! The quiz started at about 8pm, and got rather competitive fairly quickly. We knew the majority of the neighbouring team so quite a bit of heckling ensued. Great fun. We didn't win, but we did have a good evening. The pub was packed so I expect that a lot of money was raised for the trust. 

Saturday was very busy. We had a family outing to Lymington and met up with my sister and her family. We all pottered round the market (well worth a visit) as well as the lovely shops, before going to lunch at The Ship Inn, a pub on the quay. Here we had a delicious meal, although the service was unusually bad, and caught up with all the family news. I recommend the burger and chips!

In the evening, once back on the Island, I joined a couple of friends and we drove to Newport to join in the 'Wight on Pink Breast Cancer Now Torches and Tassels' walk from Sandown to Newport. We registered, then caught the free bus to Sandown Bay Academy, the mustering point.  Everyone had to stand around for a while in the cold ready for the 8pm start. We were entertained by a jolly samba band though, who got everyone in the right mood. At 8pm we lined up, listened to a speech by a town crier, and set off accompanied by more samba music.

The route was well planned, with marshalls at road crossings, and pink arrows sprayed on the path to direct us. We followed the Sandown to Newport cycle track, the old railway line for the most part, which was bordered at the start by the River Yar, and later on by the River Medina. About halfway along the route there were ladies handing out water, and a portaloo was provided. Everyone was in a jolly mood, many people were in fancy dress (not me) and fun seemed to be had by all. As we walked along, and walkers were spreading out, we could see a line of pink fairy lights and light up head-dresses moving along the route. It must have looked quite peculiar to anyone seeing it from afar who didn't know what was happening.

At the end of the route, we passed under a bridge and through an archway of pink balloons and were cheered and given a medal and goodie bag. An excellent, well organised event which I hope will be repeated next year.

Route: http://gb.mapometer.com/walking/route_4273406.html

Distance: 8.5miles 

Lymington Quay

Samba band

Sculpture near Blackwater

Balloon archway

Medal and goodies

Symphony Orchestra March 2016

Off to Medina Leisure Centre I went this evening, for a concert by Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra, arriving with about a minute to spare due to my poor timing. However, I had already bought a ticket and found my seat easily.  On my arrival the ticket checker asked 'Are you on your own?' to which I replied 'Yes', and received the reply 'Never mind dear, there's plenty of company inside'. I wasn't quite sure what to say! Surely plenty of people go to concerts on their own - I can't be that unusual! Most of the tickets had sold, but I had most of a small row to myself and was able to spread out. Bliss! I don't enjoy being cramped up with people I don't know.

The first half had two pieces of music; the first was 'Scherzo Fantastico' by Suk which I thoroughly enjoyed. Suk is not a well known composer apparently, but this was an interesting piece and kept me entertained throughout.  The second piece was 'Four Last Songs' by Strauss with the soloist Jane Streeton. This was performed well by the orchestra, and Ms Streeton had a beautiful voice, but it wasn't really my cup of tea.

After the interval, during which I ate a delicious Minghella ice cream, the orchestra played 'Symphony No. 3' by Rachmaninov. This was performed exceptionally well and I enjoyed every minute of it. I will endeavour to attend their next concert as I have enjoyed both concerts I have attended recently, and they are good value for money.