Tag: Spitfires

Peartree Green – fires, bombs and Mother Nature

Chessel Bay

April 22 was one of those changeable spring days, with heavy skies that could as easily have brought rain as sun. I’d had a mind to walk down to the shore, but I’d been dithering all morning, waiting to see if the rain would come or not. In the end, I decided on a compromise. I would walk to Peartree Green and have a wander around. Then, if the heavens opened, I wouldn’t have too far to go to get home and dry. At least it wasn’t cold. In fact, by the time I’d climbed the steep steps from Braeside Crescent to Gainsford Road, I was boiling in my ‘just in case’ mac. Normally, I walk the other way — along Braeside Road and up the hill, but the view from the top of those horrible steps drew me. A tantalising glimpse of the railway line and Chessel Bay through the trees and beyond the roofs of the houses makes the climb worthwhile.

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Urban footpaths and a limbo summer

I have always been a sucker for a footpath. Something about seeing those signs gets me all excited. This odd obsession has led me on quite a few wild goose chases in my time. It has led me astray, miles from where I wanted to be. Sometimes, it has caused me many miles of backtracking, or unnecessary detours. But, still, I cannot resist the lure of the footpath. Maybe it’s because there are no cars, and, generally, no people? Or it could simply be the anticipation of stumbling upon something strange or beautiful at the other end. Whatever it is, I’m hooked and on 15 April, with blue sky overhead, I needed a fix. Unfortunately, time, a lack of available transport and the need to knuckle down and do some work on my next book, meant I was going to have to keep it local.

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Planes and boats and trains – first published 19 February 2014

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February 2014 and the first day with no rain for what seemed like forever found me trying to walk to Lakeside. There were a few worries that it might be flooded when I got there. I made it as far as the airport without rain or flood stopping me, although there were a few damp patches where the river and the stream didn’t seem to know their place. Despite the grey skies there was a definite feel of spring in the air. Continue reading Planes and boats and trains – first published 19 February 2014

Drawn in by Southampton Art Gallery

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11 August 2016

We’d seen Zebby Road, the zebra I really didn’t want to miss, and, although I’d originally planned a far longer zebra hunt, I really wanted to go home and see Commando. The news that his injury was far worse than he’d thought was a shock and he’d sounded very down in the dumps on the phone. Before we left the city centre though, I wanted to take a picture of the mural on the side of Solent University’s Sir James Matthews Building.  Continue reading Drawn in by Southampton Art Gallery