Shanklin

Just under a fortnight ago, in the absence of the Island Line, by bus to Shanklin, a place at which we have spent quality time over the years: town, honey pot thatch, chine and beach.

Another No.34 on the road between Lake and Shanklin. A good augury.

First stop, the new-to-us bookshop where I ran down a proper, reading copy of Clarissa, already noticed at reference 1.

Second stop, the nearby café, where we took at look at the dubious news sheet snapped at the top of this post. The sort of rubbish I thought only existed in darker corners of the Internet. The sort of rubbish which the vulnerable feed on. Nothing at reference 2 that I can see owning up to who is responsible. While the names in the snap above have all been redacted.

On the up side, for the first time for a while, the tea came in a teapot, together with a tea strainer and a purpose built bit of crockery to put the strainer in after use.

Somehow, we managed to miss the junk shops we remembered from our last visit, and wound up at the top of the chine, which we proceeded to descend. Plenty of water in their waterfall on this occasion. A decent, if not particular large specimen of carex penula.

Plenty of this stuff on the damp, shady rock faces. Probably some thing a bit primitive which does spores rather than flowers.

Took a sausage sandwich in the café half way down, where we were entertained by a lady blackbird, which seemed to have the knack of not appearing to pay any attention at all, but knew very well when a crumb (or better) appeared.

Down to the bottom, wandered along the esplanade for a bit, then up the cliff and back to the bus station. Cherries and sliced white from Morrisons, this last for the manufacture of fried egg sandwiches, not the same on brown. Although, as it turned out, a bit let down by having to use oil in a non-stick frying pan. Not the same as lard in a real frying pan at all.

Home to a spot of corned beef hash, taken with green cabbage and a spot of white. What seemed like the first bit of regular cooking for a while. Rounded out with the cherries from Morrisons, which were fine, despite being shaken up a bit on the bus home.

I must have a little too much hash, as a little while later I was trounced at Scrabble.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/07/clarissa.html.

Reference 2: https://thelightpaper.co.uk/.