Home again

 After a decent (though not exceptional) night's sleep, we rose soon after seven. I showered, then made the tea and coffee that would keep us going until breakfast. We managed to get the packing finished and then headed down to the restaurant. Di concentrated on the continental breakfast, while I enjoyed a couple of poached eggs on some brown sourdough toast. 

Back in the room, I grabbed the cases and ferried them to the car, stopping to pay the bill on the way back. We started the car just after ten and headed out through Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst towards Cadnam and the M27. It was strange as we headed eastwards on the M27, with no westbound traffic. The road was, of course, still closed as a result of the fires. As we approached the last open junctions, it was clear that the tailbacks were significant and I was very glad we were eastbound.

The route home was, otherwise, unremarkable and even the Chichester traffic seemed benign. We unloaded and, after a cup of tea, unpacked. I then whizzed around to Sainsbury's to get some lamb shanks for dinner.

The afternoon has been spent quietly reading our Kindles in the lounge. Zoe phoned while I was preparing dinner, but had finished the call by the time I served up. I think we will be having a quiet evening before Ellie descends on us tomorrow morning.

Jekyll and Hythe

We were up soon after seven. Again, chemical influence helped Di sleep well, and I had a fairly good night also. After a shower and an early coffee and tea, I read the news while Di prepared for the day. We had booked for breakfast at nine, and set about deciding on the day’s agenda as we broke our fast.

The first stop of the day was Bucklers Hard. We had visited before, but when the girls were young. The location was an old shipbuilding slipway, where wooden ships were hewn from local oaks to serve in the Royal Navy. Some 55 ships were built there over the years, including Nelson’s favourite, Agamemnon. They have been doing further archaeological excavations there this year, and though they have now closed down, there was a marquee showing what they have achieved. It was quite gripping.

After a coffee, we returned to the car and headed to Hythe, on the west bank of Southampton Water. We parked up and walked down towards Hythe Pier. This is 700 yards long and one of the longest in the country. It is also home to the world’s oldest continuously running pier train. We paid our £1 entrance fee and walked out over the water. To the north-east of us, we could see P&O’s Iona in port along with Celebrity Cruises’ Apex and another smaller ship. I must say that it was quite tempting. I felt that a cruise would be quite pleasant right now! 

As we walked along the pier, there were several plaques explaining some of the local history - the Supermarine factory, the home of T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), the berths for the Empire Flying boats, and so forth. Hythe was also home to Sir Christopher Cockerill, who invented the hovercraft. It was really very interesting. When we had finished on the pier, we had a stroll through the town and then stopped in a pub for a drink before continuing today’s explorations.

Leaving Hythe, we headed back towards the hotel, but drove straight past in order to go to the Blackwater Arboretum. This is just 3 miles from the hotel and tucked in an area of the forest with the most amazingly tall trees. That may sound a bit obvious, but much of the New Forest is wide open clearings with gorse and heather; then there are wooded areas with moderately sized trees, but nothing I would consider tall. Then we arrived at Blackwater and found one of the rails marked as “The Tall Tree Trail”, and this was fair and truthful advertising. We didn’t follow that trail, but even at the trailhead huge cypress trees and sequoias were soaring into the sky. Offhand, I can’t think of any other arboretum or even woodland that I have visited in the UK that has quite such a collection of huge trees. 

We actually followed a different trail. This took us round the periphery of the arboretum and gave us a chance to see the wide variety of trees that the Forestry Commission tends in this part of the Forest. Though there were other people about, they were few and far between, and our walk was immensely tranquil.

We spent a quiet couple of hours in the hotel garden. We were accompanied by some lovely cold drinks and our Kindles. I finished the book I had started yesterday, and started on a new one. Soon after five, we returned to our room to get ready for dinner. Like yesterday, we skipped the main dishes on the menu. We both made do with a starter, while we sat and chatted.

With dinner finished, we returned to the garden with our Kindles and sat in the warmth of the evening, enjoying our books until it started to get dark. It was the last full day of this short break, and it had been lovely.

Out and About

 We slept well, despite the heat. (There is no air conditioning in this old hotel.) We surfaced soon after, and while I showered, Di dozed waiting for me to make some tea. With tea and coffee on the go, I returned to the conundrum of the Internet connectivity. I can connect easily enough to the hotel’s WiFi and can access the Internet on my iPhone, but cannot get through to the Internet on the MacBook. Every idea that I have come up with (and AI has suggested) has failed. I decided I would try again after breakfast when I was closer to the WiFi hub.

We went down for breakfast. Di chose Eggs Benedict, while I went for a “Lite English Breakfast”; this was like a full breakfast but skipped the baked beans, the tomatoes, and the hash browns. Once that was finished, we went to the bar, and I resumed my battle with the Internet—which I lost. I did, however, manage a “Plan B” whereby I did a copy and paste from the MacBook (where I had written the post) to the iPhone and then emailed the blog post to the blog. This is all very fine, but it does mean that there are no photos embedded in the text on the day it is posted. I will have to retrofit the photos when I return home (or maybe post them individually).

While I was struggling with this, Di was chatting with a lady who sat nearby. She had a small dog which she was raising with a view to it becoming a companion dog for people who need some emotional support. She was a very nice lady, Polish originally, but living in South West London while working remotely (in tech) for a Norwegian company. She, like us, is staying until Sunday, so we will probably see more of her before we leave.

We decided that we would visit Milford-on-Sea. It was only about 25 minutes away, and we followed the SatNav down to the car park at the beach. It was really quite delightful. Having paid the fee (more about this later), we walked along the promenade towards Hurst Castle for about 100 metres, then turned and walked the opposite way.

Across the water, there was a good view of The Needles, at the tip of the Isle of Wight, but in the other direction, we could see across to Mudeford and Hengistbury Head. Though it was hot, there was a lively breeze, so it seemed very comfortable. Clearly, the sea was a big draw, as many people were enjoying the water and swimming between the breakwaters. We did an about turn and stopped off for a coffee and a snack. Di chose a Dutch Apple cake, while I had a rock cake with clotted cream. It was a good snack to see us through until dinner.

We returned to the car and programmed the SatNav. The next stop would be Exbury Gardens. We had visited before (in 2009), but the gardens warranted another visit. The gardens were laid out by the de Rothschild family and are quite spectacular (even if a little stressed by the continued hot weather). 

It was while we walked through the gardens that my watch “pinged”. I had a message, ostensibly from RingGo, the parking company. It claimed that I had an outstanding payment and demanded I log on to the website they quoted and provide my car registration and my payment details. I smelt a rat. I checked Apple Pay and could clearly see that my payment for this morning’s parking had gone through. I also checked where the message had originated, the Philippines. I think not. The message was ignored, but clearly RingGo has a data leak.

We drove back to the hotel. Di’s needed to lie down and elevate her knee. We headed for our room and I went in search of cold drinks. We had a couple of hours with our Kindles before getting ready for dinner. We weren’t too hungry, so both limited ourselves to just a starter, before retiring to the garden for a few more quiet hours with the Kindles. 

New Forest

The day started around seven. We both slept well, though in Di’s case, chemicals were involved. Though we are off for a few days’ break, there was no hurry to get going. We had a very leisurely breakfast and then pottered around until Lottie arrived. We were then distracted by the latest disasters and tales from her family.

I had charged the car to 100% overnight. This was the first time I had successfully done this. When I unplugged the charger, it estimated that I had a range of 368 miles. When, however, we set out some time later, the estimated range had increased to 406 miles. There’s no way the car would achieve that, but I admire its optimism.

I finally loaded the car, and we set off at about 11:00. It was not a smooth journey! After 35 minutes, we were still on the Chichester bypass, less than 6 miles from home. Further on, we hit the traffic filtering off the M27 because of the A31 closure (caused by the recent fires which have destroyed the equivalent of 240 football pitches in the New Forest). From that point on, we were in a slow-moving convoy all of the way to Brockenhurst. It was gone 13:00 before we arrived at the Forest Park Country Hotel. We were too early to check in, but sat in the bar with a beer and snack.

Refreshed, we went for a short walk to see the ponies who were sheltering from the blistering sun alongside walls and under trees. They were quite content and very happy to hold up traffic when they were in the mood. Being on foot, this didn’t trouble us. 

We returned to the hotel and checked in properly. I fetched the cases up to the room, and we unpacked. Then, we retired to the garden and sat in the shade of a large parasol and made the most of the glorious afternoon.

We had an early dinner, then went out for a walk in the forest. We found a quiet spot in an open area and sat down to call Ellie and see how she was faring. She hadn’t slept well last night, and spots were still coming out, but she was feeling okay in herself.

We returned to the hotel and settled in the garden with our Kindles. I spent some time writing this blog post, only to find that I couldn’t get connected to the Internet. Pah!

A Break

We were up soon after seven. Di had not slept well, but that seems to be par for the course at present. She will be taking some Oramorph tonight to help dull the ache from the knee replacement. 

While we had a leisurely start, we were surreptitiously gathering Jasper's stuff together. By mid-morning, it was time to drop him into the carrier and take him to see the cat whisperer. Mark, at Treetops Cattery, was his usual caring self, and Jasper was immediately feeling at ease. He now has a quiet week's Spa break with Mark to look after him. I dropped off 10 boxes of cat food to ensure the flavours that Jasper has been ignoring were put to good use.

We had timed the trip well. By the time we headed home, the traffic coming towards us was queued for several miles (for no apparent reason). Once home, we did a full clear-up before stopping for some lunch. I then cleared out the fridge and filled the food-waste bin with food that will be out of date by the time we get home from our upcoming trip.

We had some Kindle time during the afternoon and managed to get our cases packed. It's not that we have an early start; it's just nice to get it done and out of the way. I plan to charge the car to 100% overnight in the hope that we may not need to recharge while we are away on our short break

Ellie is still feeling rotten as the spots continue to come out. Chickenpox is no fun, particularly in this heat.

We were going to take her out to watch this evening's eclipse, but have decided that it is not a good idea. We will go round to Zoe's and watch the feed from the BBC.

We'll have to wait until 2090 and watch the next one with her. (She might have to hold me up as I will be 138 by then.)

Damned Poultry

 The early part of the morning followed its usual path. Coffee and tea were consumed, breakfast was eaten, and we made ourselves ready to address the day.

I updated the accounts, and then we drove into the village so that Di could return some packages, post some letters, and collect her meds. Once home, I waded through a small pile of ironing. It was during this exercise that Zoe and Ellie dropped by. Ellie had a few marks which she put down to mosquito bites and also a sore arm that she put down to all of the cartwheels she had been turning. Zoe had arranged an appointment at the doctor's.

After lunch, we sat in the cool of the living room and enjoyed some Kindle-time. It was during this that Zoe phoned. It turned out that Ellie had a dose of chickenpox and was feeling particularly sorry for herself (as you would expect). At least she has a couple of weeks to get over it before returning to school. In the meantime, we can play "join the dots" on Ellie's tummy!

We are due to go away later in the week. We are staying in the New Forest - if we can get there. This week's dreadful heathland fires are blocking many of the obvious routes to our destination. It is pointless trying to second-guess what will happen over the next couple of days, but hopefully the Fire Brigade will manage to get things under control.

In and Out and Celebrate

 Today has been a bit of a yo-yo. We were up and about soon after seven, and the day started in its normal fashion. (I am assuming, here, that taking Jasper to the vet is a normal exercise, now!) We got him to the vet in time for his 10:00 appointment, but he wasn't seen until 10:30, by which time he was getting somewhat stressed. He seems to have stabilised after his recent troubles and isn't now due back until next month.

Back home, we cracked on with various domestic activities and even managed some Kindle time. Mid-afternoon, however, we were back in the car and heading for Chichester. Di had her appointment with the surgeon to review her progress. The appointment went well. He was delighted with her progress and signed her off. She was told the joint would continue to improve for the next 6-8 weeks, and then more slowly for the next 18 months. After that, it will be as good as it will get. His comment was that she can now do anything she feels comfortable with, and that there will be days when it aches because she has pushed too far, but not to worry that she has done or could do any damage. This was excellent news, and we are delighted with the outcome.

Today was also Zoe's birthday. She's changed a bit over the years!

Kim had been round to see her during the day, and they went out with Ellie and Poppy to Hotham Park.

We met up in the early evening and took them to Fino's in Felpham. We had a lovely meal, with Di choosing the Lasagne while I chose a Tagliata (beef slices on a salad).

Everyone dined well, and we had a lovely time. We took the birthday girl home just after eight.

Early Celebration

I was up at 6:30 and had a quiet hour or so with the overnight news and social media. Once we were both up and about and breakfast was finished, I returned to my study to complete the analysis of all of the photos in the photo library. Because of the sheer scale of this, I broke the task into 17 separate chunks, each handling a range of years. It took an hour or so, but eventually the whole library was processed, and I had a series of summary files holding the details. With that done, I shut down the iMac for the day.

Tomorrow is Zoe's birthday, so today we had invited her and Ellie, and Kim and Jon to lunch. As Ellie had her friend Poppy staying, Poppy came along as well. We had a pseudo-BBQ planned. We no longer have a BBQ as such, but we had bought the usual suspects (burgers, sausages and chicken drumsticks) and I was going to prepare them in the oven. I started by drying off the chicken drumsticks and tossing them in a bit of baking powder, then mixed them with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and dusted them with paprika and garlic powder. Forty minutes in a 200C oven did the job nicely. With the chicken done, I then set about the rest of the meat (and also prepared a sirloin steak for Di, who doesn't like BBQ).

The family all arrived, and we chatted over a glass of Prosecco while setting out the table. The whole event was very casual (as befits a BBQ). Some sat inside, and several of us sat on the patio. We all drifted in and out of the next couple of hours. Kim had made a lemon drizzle cake, which was decorated with candles and brought out for the birthday girl. As it happened, the wind blew the candles out before Zoe got to them - but the thought was there. We even sang "Happy Birthday".

Everyone left soon after 16:00, and after a bit of tidying up, we settled for some Kindle-time while the dishwasher did the bulk of the work.

Not quite

 I was up just after 6:30. I snuck downstairs because Di was still out for the count. I grabbed a coffee and started looking through the news. I was interested in a piece about how Sweden had reduced their influx of illegal immigrants, and another on the folly of the current PM's council house building schemes. These, I thought, would provide grist for the mill when it came to the call with the cousins. As it happened, however, it wasn't up to me to wind up Tim; his brother Chris lit his blue (or should it be red) touchpaper, and we all sat there chuckling while he went off on a predictable diatribe.

Once the call was over, I went to Zoe's to have a look at the progress that was being made on the landscaping, and to retrieve our sack barrow. I must say the garden is looking very smart, even if the slabs have just been positioned directly on the earth for now. They will have to be taken back up so that the hardcore can be put down and tamped.

When I arrived home with the sack barrow, I shifted a couple of large pots that Di wanted relocated. Once that was done, I returned to my little project. I soon discovered another anomaly that meant I had to make a small change to the program I thought I had finished yesterday. It was not quite right. It now seems to be working as required, and I have spent the rest of the day developing the second program in this suite of utilities. This program has come on very well, and I must now knuckle down on the last points of the design.

Di spent the afternoon pottering in the garden. (It's a good job we had raised beds installed when we had the garden landscaped.)

Cracked it - I think

It was Boeing Time before I got up (7:07) and went down for my coffee and to make Di a tea. The first part of the morning followed the usual pattern. As I finished my breakfast, I completed the shopping list ready for a raid on Sainsbury's.

We stopped off at the local doctor's surgery on the way to Sainsbury's, but were pleased to see that the shop looked quiet (judging by the car park). We wandered around the store, slowly but surely, filling the trolley. We have a BBQ-style lunch planned for Sunday (and Zoe's birthday). This meant getting a whole lot of stuff that we don't usually consider. We don't even have a BBQ any more, so we'll have to cook it all in the oven.

The shopping trip didn't take too long, but it took nearly as long again to stow everything away. Once that was done and I had made us some tea, we settled down for some admin. Di completed hers and was invited over to Zoe's to see the progress being made on her garden redesign. I stayed at home and finished the program that I have been writing for the last week or so. I then moved on to the next program, which will process some of the information captured by the first one. This took me the rest of the afternoon, and I still have a way to go. I am pleased, however, that I have learnt so much during this exercise. I'm sure it will prove useful in the future for other projects.

Once Di returned home (suitably impressed), I started preparing dinner. Tonight it was freshly made mixed salad with chicken Kyiv.

Out, out

 We had a normal start to the day. We are nothing if not consistent. We got on with a few domestic chores first thing, but there was no need to overdo it!

Mid-morning we launched ourselves onto the highways. The first stop was the vet's, where we had to collect some meds for Jasper. Then, much to the surprise of the car, we didn't head back home (it was, after all, getting used to the journey to the vet). Instead, we drove up through the Downs and up to Milford. We were heading for "The Refectory", where we were meeting with Jane and Trevor.

We arrived a bit early, but by the time we had used the facilities, J&T had arrived, and we settled down for a coffee. We then made our way to our table for lunch. Di chose the steak sandwich, and I had a southern fried chicken burger. With the decisions made, we got on with the important stuff - family news, general gossip, health, and Jane's proposed switch to an iPhone. In this last case, one of the things she was worried about was moving her notes from the Samsung to a new phone. I used this as an example of how Gemini (AI) could be useful, and asked it for suggestions as to how this could be achieved. It came back with a clear set of options, which I forwarded to Trevor. We had a lovely few hours chatting before saying our goodbyes and heading home.

We had a good run back and settled down for a quiet evening. Zoe called, just as I was shutting the laptop. Had we got a sack barrow? Well, of course. Could she borrow it? Well, of course. Could I take it round? Well, I did, and it gave me a chance to look at the progress in the back garden. I offered some encouragement and a few words of advice and then left her and Hannah to it. I think it will look very good when it is finished.

Another Quiet Day

 Seven seems to be the optimum time for starting the day at present. That's not to say that I wouldn't readily sleep for longer; it is more a case of my body bursting into life according to its own clock. After coffee, tea, and breakfast, I set about the family accounts before getting stuck into a surprisingly small pile of ironing.

I pottered for a bit before returning to my coding exercise. This, effectively, consumed the rest of the day. I am pleased to say that it seems to be remarkably robust. I still have a couple of small changes to make before moving on to start a companion program that will take the output from the first and use it to inform the Immich photo library.

Di has been working on the exercises recommended by her physio while awaiting a call from the vet, which at the time of writing hasn't occurred.

Round the corner, Hannah has started on Zoe's back garden. We await the finished article with interest.

More of the same

 There is very little to report. I was awake at 2:30 when our neighbours loaded the car to set off to the airport, but soon dropped back off to sleep. We were both up and about around seven-ish and enjoyed a quiet breakfast as we drank our morning beverages and read the overnight news.

Mid-morning, like yesterday, meant a trip to the vet. Jasper was booked in for some grooming and to have his blood pressure checked. I took my Kindle along and sat in the waiting room - my role is purely chauffeur and sherpa. Jasper is clearly not himself, so Diane is keen to get to the bottom of matters.

Back home, we called Zoe to inform her about Jasper, and she told us about the patio slabs that had just been delivered for her garden. Hannah, from Muddy Boots, is hoping to get started on the landscaping this evening.

After lunch, Di went up to rest (she hadn't slept well last night). I stayed downstairs and continued with my coding project. This consumed the rest of the afternoon. There is, of course, plenty more to do.

Bloods

We were up at the usual time... around seven-ish. It was clearly going to be a glorious day again. I really could get used to summers like this. It's very much like summer in and around Poughkeepsie.  We had the usual quiet breakfast and got on with some domestic chores.

Jasper hasn't been his usual self, and Di had managed to get an appointment at the Vet. We swept him up and put him in the carrier, then headed across to Oving. I helped carry him into the consulting room and left Di and the vet to it. They were there for a good 25 minutes, and various tests and blood tests were done. We are due back tomorrow for the results (and a bit of grooming). He has been very lethargic since we got home and really isn't eating the way he normally does.

Once home, I went off to the village to get some cash and to get my haircut. There was a new barber on duty when I arrived, and he gave me a fairly severe treatment. I'm sure it will grow back eventually! I wandered back home afterwards, having thoroughly enjoyed the first proper walk for a month or so.

I spent the afternoon writing and testing code. This always makes me feel great, even if I still have a long way to go until it is finished. Having dropped the manuals into Gemini-LM, I must say that the ability to ask AI how to do something is saving me heaps of time wading through the manuals.