The chine

Having had a quiet day, as noticed at reference 1, we thought to venture as far as Shanklin and pay our near annual visit to Shanklin Chine of reference 2. An interesting old attraction dating from the early nineteenth century, which has survived, if not always thrived, for two hundred years, a keeping which has involved charitable status (whatever that might mean, but see reference 3) and a selection of dinosaur exhibits tucked in among the plants. There was to have been a new tea room this year, but that was swept away, just before the season started, by a little local landslip. One Anne Primrose Popham Springman has been in the chair for more than twenty five years now: a lady with an interesting story, as can be found at reference 4.

We took the train to Brading, crossing, for the purpose, a rather rattly footbridge, possibly temporary, but in any case standing in for the original, present but presumably condemned. Out at Shanklin to catch the fake noticed at reference 5, but to miss the interesting bookshop and the interesting charity shop, once a sale room, which we usually visit. Either we were not paying attention or we had taken the wrong road from the station to the town.

Tea and Eccles cakes at Grace's bakery, with Hurst's, the island's answer to Robert Dyas visible in blue a bit further down the street. A place where, for example, you can buy keyrings in all different sizes - two of which hold my braces up as I type. The Eccles cakes were very good, as good as I remember having, so we thought we could take a chance on one of their white loaves - which was fine.

Through the old village, where the slightly pretentious, Keats flavoured restaurant where we had once eaten after a show, was firmly shut up. See reference 6.

On into the chine, with the timbers supporting the first section being snapped above. Lots of interesting plants in the chine, as ever, including something which looked very like knotweed. Reading the leaflet provided later, I found that knotweed had been a problem, but that it was now under control. So maybe it was knotweed.

Not sure that I would want the fairy lighted offering after dark, which probably comes with sound as well. But it is good by daylight, and not usually very busy.

Giant rhubarb in good form.

While outside, the hydrangeas were in good form. Always something of a puzzle how they are grown in full sun outside houses at the seaside, while at Ventnor Botanic Gardens they are mainly grown in the shade, under mature trees.

The café where we took crab sandwiches last year was shut, we didn't fancy a public house and most of the other cafés were shut too, but more or less at the end of the esplanade, we came across a proper seaside chipper which was open. The sort of place with chairs and tables fixed to the floor and which could probably get through a lot of people in an hour should need arise.

The chips were good and the steak and kidney pie was a lot better than might at first appear. BH was quite happy with her cod and chips. With mushy peas, naturally.

The offering from Bayside. The bay in question being Sandown Bay, with Shanklin being towards the southern end thereof. One supposes that whoever named the café knew this. Unless, of course, it is just one member of some larger family, that is to say a chain. 

An exercise for the curious: what proportion of seaside resorts can reasonably be described as being in a bay? In the way, for example, that Lyme Regis is in Lyme Bay. I don't think one could stretch to saying that the whole of a coastline can be expressed as series of bays (edges) linked by headlands (vertices) - not least because, at the limit, one might have a more or less circular island, with neither bays nor headlands. No safe harbours at all. So perhaps no seaside resorts either...

The two blocks of flats which rather dominate the southern skyline, as seen from outside the chip shop. Much more dominating than the snap above from Street View would suggest. Were the heritage folk on holiday when this one came up?

We thought we might walk along the promenade to Sandown and get the bus or the train from there, with the option of copping out at Lake. Lots of hydrangeas.

As it turned out, we did cop out, taking a zig-zag path up the cliff. To find at the top four swifts swinging about above the gulls. And at ground level, a Robin Reliant, something I don't recall seeing for years. On the road too.

And, as luck would have it, we did find the bus stop just in time for a bus to take us to Brading, so missing out on the half hour wait. We missed out on the rain too, at least in very large part, despite the forecast. But it did rain after we got home.

Home to a spot of impromptu bread pudding, using up some odds and ends of bread, but in the absence of a properly stocked larder. So while it looked rather well, it was a bit light on both sugar and fruit. All gone though by 09:00 the following morning.

PS: some late news from the Guardian. First, they have updated their editorial code, which can be found at reference 7. Not easy reading, but it is good that they should publish such a thing. Second, we have the case of one Siyabonga Twala, a South African who has lived in this country for the twenty years or so since he was fifteen. Not to be confused with the actor, personality and businessman of the same name to be found at reference 8. It seems that the Home Secretary/Home Office used the opportunity provided by his family taking a holiday in South Africa to block his return, so stranding him in Turkey, using the excuse of a five year old, one might say purged, cannabis offence. We are not told why he did not bother to take out citizenship, but we can assume that his son, now back in the UK, was born here, and it seems quite wrong to make an exclusion order of this sort. He is effectively, if not in law, British, and he is our responsibility, warts and all. Along with all our public figures who use, or who have used, drugs of one sort or another.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/07/best-dressed-crab.html.

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

Reference 3: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/5092611.

Reference 4: https://www.islandlifemagazine.co.uk/anne-springman-a-life-full-of-fun/.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/07/fake-164_17.html.

Reference 6: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/07/keats-kitchen.html.

Reference 7: Guardian News & Media: Editorial code of practice and guidance - Guardian - 2023. To be found at: https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2023/07/27/GNM_editorial_code_of_practice_and_guidance_2023.pdf.

Reference 8: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siyabonga_Thwala.