I recently went on a road trip with one of my friends and picked out the town of Tewkesbury. at random. It was an inspired choice as it happens and we arrived at an historic settlement located at the point where the River Severn and River Avon meet. These rivers were much in evidence in…
Category: Art & Culture
Lee-on-The-Solent – the seaside resort that died
As I live near the sea in Hampshire, books on the heritage of the traditional seaside holiday have always intrigued me. Hence, of course, I snapped up Sarah Freeman’s “Beside the Sea” tome on Amazon and promptly read the thing from start to finish. One section called out to me – the one on Lee-on-The-Solent,…
A miniature world rediscovered
When I was a wee young thing, my favourite toy was a miniature garden produced, I have since remembered, under the brand name Britain’s Floral Garden. You bought lawns, fences, flowers, rockeries, trees, greenhouses, crazy pathing etc – either in a pack form or individually in separate packs and used them to form a garden…
#Waterlooville200 – In the news
This week marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the place where I live – #Waterlooville200 here in Hampshire, close to the coastal city of Portsmouth. Our town was, as one might expect, named after the battle and there are many local reminders named in honour of the key individuals – Nelson, Wellington and…
Café culture experienced!
I wrote recently about the sudden influx of cafés arriving on Southsea Beach and I have finally made it to eat at the newest, Southsea Beach Café. We sat outside with The Hound who was immediately made welcome and offered a bowl of water which of course, he turned down scornfully. He was waiting for…
Café culture finally makes it to Southsea!
It’s like waiting for a bus for ages. First one comes and then another in close succession. So it is with the former catering wilderness that was, until recently, Southsea Beach in Portsmouth, Hampshire – even The Guardian picked up on the new Southsea buzz a few weekends ago. Taking The Hound for walks along…
Foreign felines make you feel at home
It always surprises me whenever I travel how many nations love the small fluffy animal which is Felis catus or the domestic cat. (Above – Baku, Azerbaijani resident at the Karvansara Restoran in the Inner City). Once worshipped as a god, these elegant feline beauties display no linguistic difficulties when encountering strangers, enter into amicable conversations…
The incomparable Hermione
Every once in a while, a big idea comes along which is breathtaking in its audacity, scope and simplicity. Welcome to the story of Hermione, the replica of the ship that took Lafayette over the Atlantic to the Americas in the War of Independence against the British. Why am I so struck by this…
VE day – Victory in Europe
The nation will be returning to the 40’s this May to celebrate VE Day – Victory in Europe Day: Friday 8th being a day of remembrance, Saturday 9th – one of celebration – and Sunday 10th, a day for thanksgiving. At the heart of the festivities will be St James’s Park, London’s oldest park and for…
On the trail of Jane Austen …
With the 200th anniversary of the first publication of the novel Emma this year, I thought it might be fun to share some of the “Austen Trail” I have done on my travels around Hampshire and Surrey. I’m sure there’s a lot more you can do but these are the few things that have crossed…
a3traveller.com 