Tag: Midanbury

Where is my bench?

St Mary’s College fields

Friday 13 January may not have been the most auspicious of dates for my inaugural 2023 walk, but it was the first non-stormy day that I felt well enough to risk venturing further than the local shops. It was still cold and windy, so I planned a route that gave me plenty of chances to cut things short if the weather turned nasty or my post-Covid tiredness got the better of me. I began with a slow stroll along the cut way beside the old St Mary’s College playing fields. I wanted to see if building work had started on the site since the College closed.

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The end of an era

28 January 2014

Back in January 2014, I wrote a post about a famous Southampton landmark. It wasn’t the Bargate, the medieval walls, the Civic Centre, or any of the usual monuments; it was a giant boat in a humble garden in Midanbury. To be honest, it was more of an analogy than a history, a cautionary tale about things getting out of control and ignoring the elephant in the room — or the boat in the garden. Sadly, Peter Bromley, the man who built this unintentional folly, has now passed away, aged 93, and, this week, the boat was finally dismantled. Avon Road will never be the same.

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All about hills

6 August 2019

One of the worrying things about the Clarendon Marathon, apart from having to walk twenty six point two miles in under eight hours, is the last five miles. By all accounts they are very hilly, including a trek up Farley Mount (the Mount part is a particular worry). With this in mind I thought our short walks should be hilly ones. On Sunday morning I scouted out part of today’s eight mile route and I was fairly sure Kim wouldn’t thank me for it, at least not today. Maybe on Marathon day though, she would.

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A proper walk at last

6 July 2017

Since we got back from Vancouver there has been zero real walking. Ok, so there was the Itchen navigation and there have been ups and downs of the Big Hill to the shops, along with some outings in the car, parkruns and races. What there hasn’t been is proper walking, me, my camera, a plan and CJ along for the ride. Today we finally put that right with a meander along the river.  Continue reading A proper walk at last

What goes up must come down, then go up again – first published 4 March 2014

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Early 2014 seemed to be mostly about interviews. So many I look back now and can hardly remember them all. There was one I really liked the sound of in a research unit at the hospital as PA to several professors working on cancer research. At least it was only a short interview. No tests, tricks or hoops to jump through. After that there was a tour of the office so I got to meet the people I would be working with. They seemed a cheery bunch which was nice. The only real fly in the ointment, if I did get the job, was the travelling. The hospital is surprisingly difficult to get to. I was even thinking about buying a bike if I got it. They said they’d let me know the next day so, while I waited I went for a little walk. Continue reading What goes up must come down, then go up again – first published 4 March 2014

Walking while the sun shines, almost – first published 19 February 2014

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The beginning of 2014 was mostly about rain so when my weather app told me 19 February was going to be the best day of the week I figured I’d get out walking while I could do it without getting soaked. Finding a route wasn’t easy. The river and the shore would be too wet after all the rain, the woods too muddy and I didn’t fancy getting hit on the head by a falling tree. In the end I decided to take the hilly route up Midanbury Lane and then head towards the airport. After that I’d try Lakeside, if it wasn’t too flooded or Eastleigh if it was. Continue reading Walking while the sun shines, almost – first published 19 February 2014

Weight loss and the giant boat in the garden – first published 28 January 2014

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January 2014 was all about walking off the unemployment blues as much as the weather would let me. My penultimate January walk. took me to some of my childhood haunts. Some surprised me by being very different to how I remembered them, others surprised me by being much the same, if a little older. One in particular had me thinking about how weight goes on without us noticing and, more importantly, how it stays there. Continue reading Weight loss and the giant boat in the garden – first published 28 January 2014