Red Arrows – derrickjknight

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It was a bit early in the morning to be presented with a Rorschach test, but that is what Jackie spotted in this morning’s sunlight.

The cosmos and lobelia planting in the iron urn obscures the gazebo path.

Ginger lilies are now in bloom.

After the early burst of sunlight, the morning was dull, but the skies cleared this afternoon when we visited the last four stragglers in the Hordle Scarecrow Trail. All are individual entries.

There are two more Rapunzels, being No.15 at 22 Stopples Lane,

and 20 at 6, Heath Road.

No. 21, The Pied Piper of Hamelin attracts the rats two doors away at number 10;

Rodents, in the form of entry number 19, Cinderella’s mice, also appear to infest 43, Charnock Close.

After this, Jackie drove us to Christchurch, on the banks of the River Stour.

The Red Arrows (http://www.raf.mod.uk/reds/) were performing various routines in the sky above,

leaving their trademark trails passing the mastheads.

Various activities included kayaking;

more leisurely boating;

feeding the birds,

like these swans vying for victuals;

kicking pigeons;

swinging on rails;

or toddling along, balloon in tow.

Some, more sedentary, enjoyed the comforts of benches and deckchairs.

Others stepped it out along the quayside.

One young woman enjoyed a ride in a wheelchair.

Jackie and I were not the only ones who enjoyed an ice cream.

Some way from its natural environment, a hippopotamus canoodled with a mallard,

and, in the distance, waterfowl lined up in harmony with the beach huts of Mudeford. Thanks to my friend, Lisa, I now know that the woman on the right is paddle boarding.

This evening we dined on a highly spiced pizza and salad. Jackie drank Hoegaarden, and I drank Almocreve tinto reserva 2014.

I spent this morning posting the delayed entry from yesterday. Jackie then drove us to Bournemouth for a visit to the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum. Along the sea front on the way there I was fascinated by a sculpture that carried no caption but seemed to represent three of the famous Red Arrows. Up on the railed-off high cliff top above the town’s pier, outside the Art Gallery proper, there was mounted a modern display of motifs representing the seaside. A gentleman I was to see inside the Russell-Cotes building photographing many individual exhibits, worked his way along the railings doing the same thing. Whilst tempted to photograph numerous wonderful paintings, ceramic, or sculptures full frame, I was fascinated by the pieces in their sumptuous, splendidly opulent setting, which is what I concentrated on. One iconic painting was, however, worthy of its own photograph. Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Venus Verticordia is probably the most famous picture in the entire collection, but that is not the reason it warrants our attention. The Pre-Raphaelite painters’ female subjects mostly bear some resemblance to each other. Their particular coiffure is shared by Flo. She is not red-haired, like Alexa Wilding, this model of Rossetti’s, and perhaps therefore has more similarity to the dark-haired Janie Morris. We were both attracted to a sculpture of a male reader, possibly an author, but are not sure who he is. The Henry Irving sector has a warning stencilled on the glass. I wondered how many foreheads had sported bruising before this precaution was taken. The bust of a Moor seems to stand guard over his eponymous Alcove. In one room a marble female sculpture exchanges gazes with a wistful young lady. Or maybe she simply covets the ceramics in the stylishly inlaid cabinet. The gorgeous galleried landing, lined with splendid paintings, contains several well-filled niches. Access to the conservatory was denied. The tiles in this room, which could be seen through the glass door, although rather duller than those at Lindum House, seem to be very similar in design. Perhaps a sun-room floor is more exposed to fading than that of the entrance hall in our former Newark home. In 1901 Sir Merton Russell-Cotes gave his wife Annie this dream house on the cliff-top overlooking the sea, as a birthday present which they filled with beautiful objects from their travels across the world. Six years later, they donated the house, named East Cliff Hall and the art collection to the people of Bournemouth. Mrs. Russell-Cotes’s dress remains on display for us all to see.