We Could Have Done A Runner

Frost lay on the bright, sunlit, garden this morning;

Frost on bench

glittering on benches,

Frost on gernaium leaves

and on geranium leaves;

Frozen pond 1

and the Waterboy pond was frozen. Abstractedly.

This afternoon Jackie drove Becky and me to The Beach House via Milford on Sea Post Office where I posted the prints to Frances.

This hotel, formerly Westover Hall, was built in 1897 from a design by the famous Victorian architect Arnold Mitchell for Alexander Siemens. The magnificent building was a beach house looking across the Solent to The Isle of Wight.

Firs backlit

I have often photographed the firs in the front garden, but never before against the lowering sun.

The Needles and lighthouse 1

The Needles and lighthouse 2Isle of Wight, The Needles, lighthouse

Similarly, this view of The Needles and their flashing lighthouse, is no stranger to my lens. It is the pastel shades of the scene that appealed today.

Cyclist at sunset

Isle of Wight, Needles, cyclist

A cyclist,

Isle of Wight, Needles, walkersSunset walkers

and walkers promenaded alongside the changing palette.

Sunset reflected

Reflecting a new meaning to solar lighting, the sky appeared to have illuminated some neighbouring rooms.

Fir gnarled

Near these modern homes, in The Beach House Garden, a gnarled pine has staggered to the ground and created a Hobbit house with similar internal lighting.

When I had finished wandering I joined the ladies inside for tea and cakes. Becky said I should get outside again because the light had already changed. I handed her the camera. She went off to collect some images of her own. They included

Dovecote

a dovecote;

Anchor

an anchor;

Herringbone path

a herringbone path;

Sunset 1Sunset 2

and more sunsets,

Walkers in sunset 3

one of which was a backcloth to further walkers.

Fire escape

Turning to the building itself, she spotted the fire escape outside,

Mirrors

and, inside, the hall of mirrors from which all the loos lead.

One of these doors was labelled

Bottomless Pit

She was unable to resist trying the door which was locked. Anyone fancy writing a story about it?

PS. Poet Rummager took up the challenge, with a beautiful poem. See the pingback on her comment below

About to put the car key in the ignition, Jackie asked: ‘Has anyone paid?’ at which Becky and I both leaped (poetic licence here) out of the car and sped to the reception desk. The man who had served us had binned our bill because he assumed his female colleague had taken our money. He had to put it all back into the computer. We thought the charge very reasonable and exchanged jokes about having missed the opportunity to do a runner.

This evening Ian drove us to Dynasty Indian restaurant in Brockenhurst where we enjoyed excellent food and service. My choice was Lamb Tikka jalfrezi with special fried rice. We all shared onion bhajis. Becky drank rose wine and the rest of us drank Kingfisher.

52 comments

  1. Like Monet and his water lilies; the variations are endless 🙂 By the way it is impossible to have a bottomless pit, that would be a tunnel.

  2. Sometimes, when I’m photographing sunrises/sunsets, I see other people going about their business, not even noticing the awesome display before them…

    And here I am, driving down the road, with my mountain in front of me (or in the rear view mirror), having trouble keeping my eyes on the road…

    People are strange. (Gorgeous photos, as always.) 🙂

  3. Beautiful again. I often wondered what the Dynasty was like. I can highly recommend the Tea Tree Indian restaurant in Ringwood – in fact all four of them there are pretty good.

  4. So many great pictures. The lighthouse, the silhouettes, the gnarled tree, and the fire escape. My favorite, though is the herringbone path. I love the lighted steps and the chairs at the side. So glad you didn’t do a runner.

  5. Fantastic photographs. And the Bottomless Pit is indeed worth a story! It reminds me of the schoolboy’s misspelling: “The Dark and Bottomless Abbess”.

  6. Wonderful photographs, both yours and Becky’s. You live in a very beautiful place. I will, however, admit that the bottomless pit picture gave me a shiver.

  7. A beautiful set of photos and such a lovely commentary. Very much enjoyed. (Is a bottomless pit the gents toilet, by the way or simply a warning of Danger keep out !)

    1. We think it is a warning to keep out, Gill. The gents has photographs of early film actresses, whereas the ladies has such as Cary Grant. Thank you for your comments

  8. You have such a lovely eye for texture, color and mood in your amazing photos! I may have to try my hand at a story or poetry for that “Bottomless Pit” door 😉

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