Does going out for a meal in the evening count as an outing? Well, I do it so infrequently – except for birthdays – that it does for me! So I was invited to join 2 other friends for a meal at the Rai d’Or – a pub that serves real ale and Thai food. It had to be a real ale pub for one of the friends! Good evening – pleasant food and company.
Then a friend and I went for a morning to Godshill – just to have a break and maybe see some wildlife. There was some really heavy rain on part of our drive there – visibility greatly reduced. We stopped at the “Fighting Cocks” pub – but it wasn’t open so went on a bit for a short walk.
It started raining just as we got to the farthest point we were aiming for – but fortunately not too heavily and we were not too wet when we got back to the car. We saw cows and ponies – do they count as wildlife? Also some house martins near the pub – they looked as if they might be nesting in the village hall.
After the walk we went back to the pub – which was just opening – and had the coffees we were hoping for (and used the loos). Then it was home via Downton – in time for a late lunch.
The next outing had to be greatly adapted due to rain! Instead of going to Langford lakes in the morning, we went to the garden centre for a coffee – with bacon sandwich for my friend and a toasted tea-cake for me. We had a pleasant time as it was very quiet (being the day of the king’s coronation). In the afternoon a third friend joined us and we played Beetle and then Ludo – which kept us amused!
For our next trip we took the bus to Bournemouth. We have to sit on the top deck and at the front on the right – apparently! We were going initially to find where the buses to Swanage left from as my friend needed to know for their holiday. We started by finding the right bus stop and then found a necessary loo and coffees.
We thought we would have a look round the town, but either we didn’t know where to look or the town is very run-down with lots of shops closed. We found somewhere for lunch – the Mary Shelley, a Wetherspoons pub. That told us that Mary Shelley’s grave was in the churchyard opposite, so when we had finished lunch we went to look at it. We were surprised to find that her grave was in Bournemouth – not somewhere one would think of in the context of the author of Frankenstein!
Then we walked down to the front and along the promenade, which was quite sandy in places. We were able to enjoy clear views of both the Isle of Wight and of Hengistbury Head.
We found that they had goats feeding on the vegetation on the cliff -something we had not seen before – but it seems quite a good way to “mow” it!
We eventually found an empty bench and sat on it to just enjoy the sun, the sea and the views. We did eventually see a boat to keep my friend happy – but there was only one!
It was then time to get a cup of tea, make a final check on the bus stops and catch our bus home.
So? Outings are good – but much better when it is dry and sunny!