Southampton

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Note: I screwed up uploading the photos - they're on the last entry!

Doreen has been a gem - she is 73 yrs young, lives independently, still working part time, is a committee member at her local club and goes dancing every Saturday night! She has driven me all over The New Forrest (designated hunting grounds way back to King ) and pointed out beautiful places - Burley (where the annual Sweet Pea competition/exhibition was on - just amazing the size of the blooms and PERFUME en masse was stunning), Beaulie (ancient stone manor house in beautiful gardens/lawns acreage - home to the Motor Show collection of classic cars), Lyndhurst (lots of wild horses roaming over the grounds - all free to do so under law). Drove me to Bournemouth - went on the Bournemouth Eye - an anchored hotair balloon which rose 500ft up to get a fabulous view to all points N,S,E,W - but the 'driver' didn't know any of the landmarks!!! but I was able to make out the spire of Salisbury Cathedral 25mls away!), we had the traditional English 'fish n chips' (Dor had the 'mushy peas' too) lunch at Ramseys (the institutionalised famous place to do so), walked the pier, viewed the famous and beautifully painted and frightfully expensive 'beach huts' - most of which get inherited! - sat on the SAND beach - I went in the water up to my hips and had to beat a hasty retreat as my shins were aching from the cold water!

We also have been to Portsmith and Gosport - did a harbour tour - home of the British navy - lots of BIG ships - 3 aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruisers, fuel and supply vessels etc, went up the purpose built 105m lookout tower called The Spinnaker, which has the tallest glass floor (60ml thick) in Europe - a bit of a wobbly sensation the first time I stood on 'space'! From up there the battle ships looked like toys, the people down below - ants, and the view ranged over 40mls in all dierections. Went to the Naval display yards where we toured The Warrior - first iron clad fighting tall ship sailing/steam vessel and an engineering marvel for it's time - and ran out of time to adequately see the Victory tall ship - Nelson's flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar - and the Mary Rose - King Henry VIII ship resurrected from the bottom of the Thames(?) which needs to be kept wet to deter further deterioration - but my entry ticket is for a year, so may return and see them - did listen to the Royal Navy's Band giving a performance with the Victory as a backdrop!

I was taken to her club on Saturday night and met several of her cronies and we had a great time drinking, singing and dancing the jive to live 70-80s music- when they asked for 'a young female assistant for the next song' the gang nominated yours tryuely as the Aussie on hols and we sang 'Mustang Sally' - with me playing the tambourine and doing the harmony! really enjoyed myself. We all envied the bloke who won the £1065 jackpot raffle!!!! mainly because we didn't. Next week we're off to a Barn Dance place?!!!

I took a 50min bus ride out to Eastleigh to view the scenery - not much to comment on - and returned, pleasant enough.

Dor and I went up to London on the train and 'did' the London Eye - think of a gigantic 100m diameter, rotating (1/2 hour 'flight' - it's owned by British Air) spoked bicycle wheel with airconditioned 'pods' attached to accommodate up to 25 people - it was a crystal clear sky and 27 degrees - perfect - the views were extensive and now I understand why London is so steamy during Summer - it lies in a basin! We took a 50min River Thames cruise while we ate our lunch - very informative and funny 'spiel' by the captain (eg - passing the Tate Modern he said "we Brits have a special word for this world famous gallery - crap" - there was appreciative giggles all round) and great views of the city from the river perspective - it was flowing VERY fast and was a dirty brown colour.

There is an ancient Roman Wall and Bar Gate (used to protect the 'city' back then) still in evidence, a Tudor home-n-garden and Merchants Hall, as well as a Medieaval Merchants House, King John's palace (ruins), a Maritime Museum, and God's House Tower - a museum of archaeology - all seen on the tour - a good days outing. There are also several beautifully maintained public parks/gardens in town where lots of people picnic. The 'Common' - a huge public park for games, cycling, picnicing etc - is a delight to observe.

Then of course there's always the shops and the produce market here to spend a few more £s.

The harbour is host to numerous cruise ships going to Europe and Canary Islands and the Mediterranian - I want to get on one! It is also 'home' to the QE2, Queen Mary I and II - must be a sight when they are all in port! The small stretch of water between the mainland and the Isle of Wright is said to be the most expensive bit of waterway traffic in the world - the 20min ferry trip costs £38 one way! And apparently it's cheaper to buy two single crossing tickets on a car ferry than a return one - go figure?

Doreen's friend Merle very generously gave me her time and transport and we went up to Winchester to see the cathedral - it was bloody closed - there was a school graduation ceremony going on and we couldn't get in, so we had lunch, walked the shops, got the photo and went home - thanks Merle.

Had a spur of the minute decision to get on a ship cruising to the fiddly bits (fjords) of Norway and then on to Spitzbergen and back to Leith in Scotland - 12 nights - there goes the budget! Fly out 4th July Friday morning 7am, arrive 8am, walk Edinburgh till 4pm when I must be aboard - a bit pricey, but hey - I'm on holidays!

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