making the most of it

Past the halfway mark of October and Dorset still has much to offer on a sunny day.


What about this as a change from seaside views?


Compton Abbas Airfield in the heart of the county.










Of course, you can't see Compton Abbas quite like this unless you go up in something like this.
Norm in Augusta will probably recognise the model it as it was one of theirs a long time ago!











Or, you can sit in the restaurant and watch them take off.











Or, go across the road and, with your feet on the ground, look at a view  that comes fairly close to the one from the sky above.

Compton Abbas is close to Shaftesbury where King Alfred built a priory in 888AD.
He clearly had an eye for beauty, as seen when you walk along what may have been ramparts in his time.















Shaftesbury hasn't changed much over the intervening years:











and when it comes to health and safety even the locals do not seem to care too much.
Note the plank on the way down!!!!
It was great entertainment while we watched them dismantle the whole thing this way, including the metal poles, while we sat looking out of the pub window opposite.









He at the bottom actually caught the poles one-handed.
You can see where they got the idea and understand why King Alfred wore a helmet.







So much to see down here: even the van that prompted someone to ask if I had gone back to work for a brewery.

a life on the ocean wave

"Heave ho me hearties!"

This is the life for those who like the sea; even if there is a suspicion of hard work about it.









Is this the last sight of land before we set out on an adventure to match Moby Dick or Treasure Island?













Are these intrepid Anglers and Amazons about to set off for deep sea fishing at its most hazardous.

Have thousands come to see us off?
Well, a couple of dozen anyway!

No! We have come to Swanage again to enjoy an Indian summer without having to share the hardships of typhoons and doldrums.












And if it's fishing you want you don't really have to put to sea for excitement. So far they had caught two small fish and three even smaller crabs. How small? You may get some idea when I tell you they are in the bottom of the plastic bucket.










Time for our search for an oasis.
Has grandson Jack gone into business for himself?
Not much doing if he has: it was closed: or he had gone out to lunch!

Last day of summer?

If you are going to make the most of the last day of summer, beside the sea is the place to be. But you must join in the spirit of a seaside holiday.


To begin, it helps to have someone who knows where to go and how to get there.
Here he is; our driver. I don't know his name but he was a very nice man.

Did you go on a coach outing you may ask?

No! more exciting than that; especially if you are still a boy, or girl, at heart.

This is it!








We sat in one of the open carriages, with what'shisname behind us. Don't ask me - I don't know who he is; but he has always  been in the background whenever someone has taken a picture of us during the past 66 years!
It was a bumpy ride, but Doreen enjoyed it.















Here are a few other views of our outing to Hengistbury head and Mudeford Quay.













Christchurch Priory is in the distance











If you think buying a house is expensive, try getting hold of a beach hut!

Of course, you need to join in the activities and support the local refreshment oasis.

You can bring your dog, or play with one belonging to someone else.

But most of all, please come properly dressed as all small boys do.

"I do like to be beside the seaside" ?????

There are times at the seaside when you can see lovely sights such as this barque rig, 'Tenacious', tied up alongside Poole Quay this morning. Part of its usefulness in life is "to enable physically disabled people of all ages to sail on equal terms".










There are times of course at the seaside when you may think the song "I do like to be beside the seaside" was written by an idiot. In fact, like this morning not long after the picture of the ship was taken, when our trip to the seaside was as seen from a multi-storey car park. Particularly so when you find in the shelter of the Information Office that the Cockle Trail is a walk round the old town lasting approximately an hour and a half!


What do you do when the shops have nothing you want? Of course, you seek out an oasis. There is always one somewhere near if you are knowledgeable explorers. It may be of course that a helpful relative has suggested such a place. But, would you really enter when you see it at first glance? And it wasn't raining when someone else took this picture!








Neither was the scaffolding up, nor the view as seen from the inside when we tentatively made an entrance.

We were in and it was too wet to look elsewhere.












Is this a sight that would half persuade you that you may have struck lucky?









Or, perhaps this?

How lucky can you get?
One of the best Italian restaurants we have eaten in. Or any othe sort of restaurant come to that.

Da Vinci's on Poole Quay.

Oh! we do like to be beside the seaside!

A bird in the stream

This is the middle of Wimborne this morning. The Minster is in the background

Just past the hanging sign on the left, "Carnival Flowers", is a small bridge over a stream.
















Looking over the bridge we could have been in the middle of the countryside with this heron taking lunch!

Wareham

This is a stretch of Wareham Walls, built by King Alfred to defend Wareham in Dorset from the Danes. To some extent they still suround the town: the walls not the Danes.
I think he must have had some help because, as Alfred The Great, he spent time in Rome, Ireland, Wantage, and Pewsey where John Beaty Pownall The Great now lives and where there stands a statue of Alfred. Much of the time he was waging battles and, as everyone knows, he was in Somerset at one time burning cakes: Alfred that is, not John.





Wareham is quite a pleasant and interesting town.
Here is the river cruise boat arriving from Pooole this morning, packed with people who are quite easily segregated according to the ticket office.
You will have to click on the picture to enlarge it to read the fare list.

Wareham Quay is an important embarcation and wining and dining hub. On late summer days like today, with the kids back in school, the OAP's, Old Sops and Wrinkleys tend to have the place to themselves more or less.

Just off the quay is this lovely old church where even the weather vane demonstrates the size of fish caught hereabouts!

Nearby, an unusual cemetery, part of which is given over to the War Graves Commission containing 49 First World War burials and 15 from the Second World War, 5 being unidentified. There are also 12 German graves.

They are still remembered, in some cases 100 years on, in a beautifully maintained setting.

Exploring in colourful shirts

My friend (?) John Beaty Pownall has a way with words as you may see from comments on recent blog postings.

  "Smart shirts - did you get them from Wang Lee's Emporium, because they look very similar to a couple I bought recently ? Only wore them once and they are now half their original size."

    "I am surprised that there is anything left for you to explore !"

As regards the shirt; I bought it from Aldi a long time ago in Daventry and I can neither get it to shrink nor wear out. As for Wang Lee; sounds like a  real Wiltshire name.



There is always somewhere to explore; although with recent weather it is best to keep within striking distance from home - i.e. 10 minutes: like this example which you could imagine is in the depths of the countryside.






Here is another view of the same spot. 
I realise it is only a duck pond of sorts, but if peace is what you want here it is!






And where in Dorset is this delightful spot?




Here! In the middle of a housing estate.
Creekmoor Ponds, proving you do not have to destroy the countryside to build a few houses.








If you prefer more colour there is always a heath ten minutes in the other direction.









And at the end of the path you may get a surprise. 
Surely she doesn't have a holiday home here?