Tag: Jane Austen

The lost estates of Bitterne – Chessel

Chessel House

With all the editing on Plagued complete, and publishing wheels in motion, I needed a break from looking at screens, zoom calls and fiddling about with old photographs to come up with cover art. In fact I needed a break from thinking about 1918 altogether. July 2021 was almost over, COVID restrictions had been lifted but I didn’t feel ready to throw caution to the winds. Instead I decided to walk the perimeter of one of Southampton’s lost estates, the Chessel Estate in Bitterne.

Continue reading The lost estates of Bitterne – Chessel

In poet’s footsteps

20 August 2017

Most people like a little lie in on a Sunday morning, me included, but today, not long after eight o’clock, I was in Winchester. This was mostly because of the Winchester Half Marathon. Commando is pacing and I am tail walking, like I did last year. This morning there was a training session for the runners to get used to the route. There was no way I’d be taking part in that because I’d never keep up but, rather foolishly, I decided to go along anyway and have a walk. When the alarm went off at silly o’clock this morning it suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea but Mitch was keen to come walking with me so I dragged myself out of bed.  Continue reading In poet’s footsteps

The tale of the disappearing castle – first published 9 June 2014

An engraving of Southampton Castle

Back when I was walking towards Hurst Castle on that never ending shingle bank I said I was a little disappointed it wasn’t a real castle. Yes, I know it was technically a castle, or at least a fort but, for me, a castle is a tall thing with crenellations, towers and battlements. Maybe this is a byproduct of living in Southampton all my life where things like that are commonplace. The thing is, Southampton doesn’t actually have a castle any more but it did once. In early June 2014 I went to look at the spot it once stood.  Continue reading The tale of the disappearing castle – first published 9 June 2014

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

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3 November 2016

Poetry is something I’ve always been fond of so having to learn poems by heart at school was never a hardship. Long before I met Commando and acquired a poetic surname, one of my favourites was John Keats, To autumn. The fact that it was written as he walked a trail through the water meadows in Winchester makes it all the more special and I’ve long been meaning to follow in his footsteps. Today, with the words of the poem running through my head, CJ and I did just that.  Continue reading Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Crossing the river to Crosshouse

The best allotment view in the world?
The best allotment view in the world?

15 February 2015

Given my cold and the need to keep fairly close to a box of tissues at all times, I didn’t think it would be wise to wander too far from home for my Sunday walk. After much umming and ahing and a little poring over maps I decided on Crosshouse. It fit in very well with last week’s walk and, if I got tired or ran out of tissues, I could wander up into town for a sit down. This meant I started off much the same as last week with a walk to the green and then across it. Still, even if you take the same walk every day there’s always something new to see and this was no exception. Continue reading Crossing the river to Crosshouse