Portsmouth

 On Thursday last, a big day out - to Portsmouth and the Mary Rose exhibition, something we have wanted to do for a long time.

The Historic dockyards are a very draughty location - and it was a cold, windy day.  Armed security guards give it a serious tone, but there is lots to see as well as the Mary Rose.

This is HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship, carrying a full freight of symbolic meaning within its hull.  It is currently being supported by huge steel rods but amazingly still open to the public.  We walked, crouched and ducked and dived below decks, easier for some of us than for others.  It is fitted with ninety cannon, so the living spaces were crammed in between them.

The view from the main cabin, incredibly lit by Georgian windows.  Imagine this in heavy seas.

The Mary Rose exhibition begins with what is now termed an "immersive" experience, but we did not expect that to be taken quite so literally as first we were addressed by a 3D image of Henry V111 and then found ourselves on a simulation of the ship as it went out to battle and then sank.  How they resisted accompanying this with authentic sound effects, given that over four hundred and fifty poor souls drowned that day, we will never know.

The wreck itself is just that: a wreck, but the thousands of artefacts recovered with it tell a really detailed story of life on board.

On the way back through the dockyards we took in M33, a small WW1 Monitor boat.  I imagine that HMS Gnat, the Yangtse River gunboat on which my father served during WW2 was somewhat similar.

Three ships from very different periods  - and a fascinating day out.

Chichester

 Another day, another outing, this time to Chichester.  Now that is what I call a Cathedral.

Inside, some real treasures. This is the Arundel Tomb, used by Philip Larkin in his poem.  Note the ungloved hand-holding.

Outside, a statue of Saint Richard

...and inside a wonderful copper font.

A stained glass window by Chagall....

And outside some lovely examples of Norman arches.

Arundel castle

On Monday, a peaceful day visiting Denman's Garden with my sister.  This is a tranquil space with gravel acting as a kind of mulch everywhere.

Tulips out in full force and birdsong, uninterrupted by the occasional visitor.

My sister and I drove into Arundel for a shopping fix: car-park pretty much empty and, for lunch, a delightful tea-room right there among interesting independent shops.

Very different the next day when Arundel Castle was open.  We queued for the car-park tickets, then queued to get in even though we had pre-booked tickets.  Later, we queued for lunch.  If the Duke of Norfolk is one of the richest men in England this must be one of the reasons. 

The castle was having a tulip festival, with extensive plantings all over the enormous grounds.  The massive main building dates from about 1900.

The Norfolks were Roman Catholics and kept their half of the parish church partitioned off - the other half is C of E.  Their half is full of family tombs.

Of course you also need a cathedral if you are really going to make your mark on the skyline - and, from a distance, Arundel is like a fairy tale.

 

Then, there were the actual gardens, as opposed to the grounds.

And back to the tulips, red ones cascading down the slopes, perhaps in a take on the Tower of London display.

It was certainly spectacular, if not very peaceful.

 

Arundel and Chichester

A rare event for us: a holiday in an area we have never visited before where a genuine sense of exploration and discovery can be had.  We drove down to the Sussex coastal area, calling at Nymans on the way.

Our cottage was a converted coach-house attached to the house of the owner.  This turned out to be a boon because on our first evening there was a lengthy power cut.  The owner was round like a shot with candles, lanterns and a camping stove.  Fortunately it did not come to that as we drove out to a lovely restaurant just out of the area which had power, fortunately.

The next day we began the sight-seeing with Petworth, a National Trust property crammed with Old Master paintings.  The parkland was almost as impressive, with many veteran trees.

But most staggering of all was the life-story of the 3rd Earl of Egremont who not only fathered forty-three children, but maintained fifteen mistresses at Petworth with their various children. He owned land in Sussex, but also around Cockermouth and, of course, Egremont in Cumbria. He was a very busy man as he had a full range of business interests: canals, agricultural innovations, lime-kilns....

Petworth itself is a charmingly quaint place full of nooks and corners.

On our way home we took in the Roman villa at Bignor.  My goodness, the mosaics! 

 

Although some are stained with algae, most are in a wonderful state of preservation.  I don't recall seeing gladiators shown in combat like that.  It really gave an idea of how extensive the use of mosaic would have been in that long hallway carpeted with a plain geometric pattern.

Back-tracking

Just for you, Maureen - a fabulous place to visit outside London.  This is Framlingham, a small market town with a castle and a really impressive church, burial place of the Dukes of Norfolk, although Framlingham is in Suffolk.

Then on to the coastal town of Aldeburgh, where small fishing boats still land their catch daily, so you can buy fresh fish from their stalls.

In that neck of the woods, many historic churches to visit with interesting features. We had a few wet days while there and this proved a good way to get out and about.

The first of the bears - this is a pattern called Bertie Bear by Angela Turner.  It's a great pattern.

Then, a series of baby blankets, using patterns from Ravelry.  All these went to either the women's refuge or the neo-natal unit at the hospital.