Ryde

For our first visit to Ryde we elected to drive and park on the Esplanade. Which meant that the day started with a second yacht race (the first being noticed at reference 1), this one around a dozen, more or less identical model yachts - Bemuda rigged sloops - on the pond on which we have, on occasion pedalled large plastic swans, not visible on this occasion.

A bit further on, some serious waterworks involving big pipes, big pumps and generators, with the western end of these works snapped above. A lot of it being down to the people at reference 4, where very similar setups are to be hired.

The eastern end of the waterworks. With one of the seafront cafés, the white building visible middle right, seemingly closed for the duration.

Looking north, the usual huge expanse of very flat sand, with little if any action by the worm diggers.

Onto the café in what used to be the Puckpool Battery, once one of the forts guarding the entrance to Portsmouth, possibly first built at the time of the second Napoleon, suspected of following the imperial ambitions of his uncle on our island. Where we took truly excellent bacon and egg baps, the best baps of this sort of the holiday.

By the time we had finished our baps, the beach scene was enlivened by two or three para-surfers. A sport rather like the model yachts we had seen earlier in that a good part of the fun seems to be in getting set up. What seems to the spectator like endless fussing with all the ropes and other tackle. Perhaps for them, this is the opportunity to chat up any young ladies who might take an interest.

We also had quite a lot of people, of all ages, walking for Retina, the charity at reference 6, a charity which has to do with retinal problems: 'many inherited sight loss conditions occur when cells in the retina, which is the light-sensitive region at the back of the eye, deteriorate in an unpredictable way. These conditions are often referred to as inherited retinal dystrophies'. Quite rare, with about 25,000 people in the UK affected. I think the young lady we talked to was a neighbour or relative of one of them - as often seems to be the case with people involved with charities of this sort.

Home via the giant Tesco's on the road between Ryde and Brading, even bigger than our Sainsbury's at Kiln Lane, with 33 checkouts to our 23. Where I was able to buy some factory brown bread, but where I found no trace of foreign sausage, French or Polish. I decided that, in future, visiting such establishments would once again be delegated to BH.

At home, tea and Dundee cake, made to order by BH, without any almonds on the top, against the holiday. Wouldn't want rock cakes every day.

Reference 1: http://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/07/back-to-yaverland.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/07/ryde.html. No trace of the plastic, pedalo swans themselves to be found. The best I could do was this reference to them from 2017.

Reference 3: https://www.theduckiow.co.uk/. Still there, behind the boating pond and looking busy by lunch time, although on this occasion we did not use it.

Reference 4: https://www.selwood.co.uk/.

Reference 5: http://theoldbarracks.co.uk/about-the-barracks/.

Reference 6: https://retinauk.org.uk/.