We had brought provisions for a schematic breakfast with us and made tea to go with this.

Then it was time to confront the shower. This is always a small adventure in a new place as showers vary enormously not only in their intended facilities but also in their quirks and vices. I am the designated shower pioneer and report my findings back to Tigger.

The shower in this hotel, I glad to say, is fairly well behaved. It produces a steady supply of water at your chosen temperature without sudden scaldings or cold snaps.

The Hard – HMS Wsrrior

We took the bus to the Hard, as usual. The cafe we had visited yesterday was open and today I found out its name.

Oasis

We decided to have a brunch or early lunch as that would leave us free for our next activities.

Inside Oasis

We had hoped to visit the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard but it turned out that you have to book in advance at present so we left it this time around.

Victoria Gateway

Instead, while I made a detour via the toilet (where I had to queue – o tempora o mores), Tigger booked a boat tour of the harbour.

Monument

Passing through Gunwharf Quays to reach the tour boat, we discovered this monument to defusers of mines.

The Spinnaker

I took the opportunity of a better angle to photograph the Spinnaker. You probably can’t see them but there were two, presumably maintenance, men hanging down the outside, each from a thread like a spider.

Aboard the tour boat

We boarded the tour boat and while the rest of the passengers went into the upper covered areas, we stayed in the stern, initially alone but later with a few others.

Isle of Wight Ferry departing

As our craft was reversing out of its mooring, our path was crossed by the Isle of Wight ferry backing out, like us, into the main channel. This is always an impressive sight not least for the inch-perfect skill with which this massive ship enters and leaves its dock.

The view behind

There was a spoken commentary relayed over the loudspeakers but, with my hearing, I could barely understand it. In any case, it was largely concerned with the naval vessels in the harbour, their vital statistics, history, etc. etc. So I tuned out and looked at whatever I found to interest me.

The Gosport Ferry

We passed the Gosport Ferry about to sail. This useful service is under threat (and, some say, always has been) partly because of the cost of tickets which people find too expensive.

HMS Warrior, stern view

Yes, this is HMS Warrior again, but this time a view from the stern, only possible from the waters of the harbour.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Despite being “navaled out” by endless descriptions of war ships, I will include just one, the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, nicknamed “Big Bessie”.

Our wash

We left an impressive wash in our wake.

Here are a few photos for which I do not have specific comments, being scenes snapped as we went.

Ashore again, we repaired to Carluccio’s for refreshments. With my coffee I had what is billed as a MERINGA CON PANNA AL FRUTTO DELLA PASSIONE.

Meringue by Carluccio

Well, it is (almost) my birthday!

Aspex Art Gallery

We then visited the Aspex art gallery, whose entrance is discreetly set in a courtyard. You are allowed to photograph the artworks and there is a shop and a cafe. The only formality is that, in common with many establishments, they ask one member of the group to provide name, phone number and post code, in case Covid-19 tracing should be required.

Daphne (part)

The exhibition was Daphne by Sarah Taylor Silverwood. Modern art like this is not on my wavelength (or I am not on its wavelength), so I will not venture an opinion. I recognise that there is something there but quite what, I don’t know.

Camber Dock

We took a turn round Camber Dock, one of the harbour’s oldest, which seems now to be mainly for fishing boats and other small craft.

Juvenile gull

A juvenile gull is prospecting for food aboard a fishing boat.

A view of the dock

From here…

Doorway to the beach

…we came to a doorway to the beach.

Hotwalls Beach(?)

We think the beach is called Hotwalls Beach. The doorway is in fact an opening in the fortifications built to protect against invaders.

Portsmouth Cathedral

We reached Portsmouth Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of St Thomas. We did not visit it but decided, as we had done a lot of walking, to return to the hotel, which is nearby, for a rest and a cup of tea.

Around 6pm we readied ourselves once more and went out.

Agora

On a bus ride yesterday, we had seen a certain restaurant and wanted to try it. Called Agora, it bills itself as offering authentic Greek and Turkish cuisine.

Turkish colourful lamps

Happily, it was far from crowded and we had a choice of tables. I had hoped they might have lentille soup on the menu but in that I was disappointed. Otherwise, the food was good.

Ayran in pewter tankards

As they did not serve Turkish tea (another disappointment), we had ayran to drink. It was served in these decorative pewter tankards.

Sunset from the bus stop
Photo by Tigger

After the meal, we went to the bus stop where Tigger took a photo looking along the road which happened to be in line with the setting sun.

Sunset at Portsmouth Harbour

The bus took us to the Hard, where we had to wait for a second bus for the hotel. This provided the opportunity for more sunset pictures, this time looking across the harbour.

The arrival of a number 23 bus concluded this stage of the day’s outing.

Victoria Station

We caught a 38 bus to Victoria Station and arrived with about an hour to spare. Better that than risk missing the train.

For once, the platform was announced about 15 minutes before departure so we had time to teach the train and find seats.

We discovered that the overhead luggages rack is too small for anything larger than a briefcase and that there sre no other provisions for baggage. How can train companies be so stupid?

We found seats in two facing rows of three and put our bags on the floor beside us. If any train crew object to this they can arrange matters themselves.

As the title suggests, our destination is Portsmouth where we will spend four nights, returning to London on Wednesday. The train, if on time, will arrive at Portsmouth Harbour at 12:05.

Skyscape
Photo by Tigger

Tigger has just sent me this dramatic skyscape. According to the forecast, the weather in Portsmouth is cool but sunny. Let’s hope that’s right.

Horsham

This uninteresting view was taken at Horsham where we arrived around 10am. The only noteworthy fact about this is that our 12-coach train divides here and only the front 4 coaches continue to Portsmouth. And yes, we did remember to sit in the right part of the train!

Landscape by Tigger

This photo by Tigger shows that the weather is looking better but we still have quite a way to go and in Britain even a short distance can make a big change in the weather.

The Spinnaker

As we approach Portsmouth Harbour, we have the first glimpses of the Spinnaker tower which has become the modern symbol of the city. We will see it again during our visit.

HMS Warrior (1860)

As we left the station, we photographed that other, more ancient, symbol of Portsmouth, the battleship HMS Warrior, launched in 1860, Britain’s first iron-hulled fighting ship. Despite her very short career (she was decommissioned in 1883), she represents an important stage in the evolution of British warships.

Looking towards Gosport

I also took this photo for sentimental reasons: it looks across the harbour to Gosport where Tigger was born!

Boats in the harbour
Photo by Tigger

This photo by Tigger shows some of the small boats of which there are many. I think the largest one is probably a private yacht.

Wagamama, Gunwharf Quays

As check-in time at the hotel is not until 3pm, we decided to have lunch. We went into Gunwharf Quays which, despite its belligerent name, is a shopping centre, and looked to see what was available. There were queues at many restaurants.

We joined the queue at Wagamama and fortunately did not have to wait too long. Apart from that, the experience was lacklustre. I won’t bore you with the details but will say the starters and mains arrived in the wrong order and the first cups of tea were tepid.

After lunch, a bus ride and a walk brought us to our hotel. The room was ready and we were able to occupy it straightaway.

A corner of the room

This is a view of one corner of the room from my vantage point on the bed. It’s a fairly standard, no frills, room but notice one detail: the kettle. That’s Tigger’s own kettle which she brought “just in case”. And it’s fortunate that she did because, unusually for hotels in Britain, this one does not provide a kettle and the makings of tea and coffee. Not to worry, though, as we have brought our own, so all’s well.

Seaside funfair

Around 5pm we bestirred ourselves and went out. We went down to the waterside. There is a funfair there with a big wheel among other things.

Flying a kite

Someone was flying a kite over Southsea Common which is now a pleasant stretch of parkland between the seafront and the houses.

The Brittany Ferry

We watched the Brittany Ferry coming into port, presumably from France. The coastline you can see beyond the ferry is the Isle of Wight.

Southsea Common

We walked back across Southsea Common to find a bus stop where we could catch a bus to the Hard, which we hoped to find our evening meal.

Bird feeding frenzy

Someone had just scattered some food on the grass with the result that a mixed crowd of birds flew in to eat and squabble over it.

The cafe

We took a bus to the Hard, which is the area near the station, and looked for somewhere to have supper. The first place we tried was closing, the second was reservation only and our third try was this cafe. We were the only customers and they closed while we were eating.

The cafe (I forgot to find out its name) is run by a married couple who have had the business for about 30 years. The place was a shop before they took over and there were still some traces of that (for example, see next picture).

The cafe, exterior

When the cafe is open, there are tables are chairs out in front but they have been moved inside now it’s closed. Note the sign projecting from the wall above the white door: it bears the three words “SWEETS NEWS TOBACCO”, obviously dating back to when this was a shop.

We will “bookmark” this cafe for future reference as we may find occasion to eat here again.

Canoe Lake, Southsea

From the Hard we took a bus the carried us back past our hotel and to further along the coast of Southsea. Where we left the bus is what is called Canoe Lake where you can go boating though by now it was closed for the night.

Figures on a beach

We went down to the beach just to “see the sea”. The light was beginning to fade as the sun neared the horizon.

South Parade Pier

This is the South Parade Pier. This photo is from the shadow but is the only photo I managed to take of (almost) the entire pier.

The pier, sunlit side

Here it is from the sunlit side but as this is a panorama shot, there is a certain amount of distortion.

The esplanade, looking west

This is a view of the esplanade, looking west. As the light faded, we decided it was time to return to the hotel.

We took a bus and as it approached our stop, pressed the bell. It didn’t work! I pressed another button and this one worked but just too late for our stop. The bus carried a us a stop too far from which we had to walk back to the hotel. However…

The Museum, illuminated

…this did allow me to have this extraordinary view of Portsmouth Museum, illuminated in glorious (?) colour! We had hoped to visit the museum at some point but have yet to ascertain whether it has reopened.

From here, we soon reached our hotel and our temporary home where Tigger’s kettle enabled us to make tea.

Thus ends our first day in Portsmouth.

Tomorrow we are off on another trip, this one in honour of my birthday. We shall return to London on Wednesday.

Where are we going? I expect the destination will reveal itself from tomorrow onwards as I will endeavour to post to my blog as we go. You can follow our progress on this blog, and I will copy the posts to SilverTiger later.

In the meantime, here is a clue. Our destination is a historic seafaring town on the south coast, its name beginning with ‘P’. Easy, no prizes!

Jacqes Prévert 1900-77

Tigger had to go in to work today and would not be back until long after the launderette had closed (see yesterday’s post), so I set off bravely on my own to reclaim our laundry.

St John Street

Here I am in St John Street heading to the launderette.

The laundry

This is what the laundry looked like when I collected it. They made a good job of packing it all into the available space, plus an extra bag on top. It may not be obvious but laundry is heavy. Moreover, as I am tall, the trolley tends to catch my feet as I walk.

Missing the bus

I had walked to the launderette and that had taken me about 12 minutes. But that was downhill. Going back, I would be travelling uphill and dragging a heavy trolley. If I had any notion of catching the bus, that was frustrated by said bus reaching the stop while I was too far away to reach it before it set off again.

Besides, what with lockdown and subsequent restrictions, we have become a little lazy and out of condition. I thought that a good uphill walk dragging the trolley would be good exercise. So off I went.

Still spinning

On one of our exercise walks during lockdown (see Along St John Street), I photographed this barber’s shop and remarked on the fact that the sign was still spinning. I don’t know whether they had left it on by accident or deliberately, perhaps as a sign of hope. The shop is now open again, like other barber shops, and yes, the sign is still spinning.

But notice something: the name of the business has changed. Compare the above picture with this one.

Crown and Woolpack

Back in September 2011, I wrote a post entitled A stroll with a purpose and in it mentioned the above dead pub. At that time I said that I knew nothing about the pub, not even its name. Well, that was rather remiss of me because…

Name still visible

…the name is still visible in the floor mosaic at the entrance. Knowing that the pub was called Crown and Woolpack enabled me to find out something of its history.

The pub was already in existence by 1765 and seems to have been a sizeable property with a brewhouse and a bowling green attached to it. Those dependencies were subsequently built on.

The current pub is possibly the version that was rebuilt in 1827, plus alterations made later in that century. It is said that a room in the pub was used in the early 1900s by Lenin and fellow revolutionaries, presumably to discuss politics and their plans for the future.

When the Crown and Woolpack ceased to be a pub I do not know for certain but have seen a suggested date of 1990.

At present it serves as a beauty salon though it seems closed at present. Who knows what its future holds?

Arriving home, I stowed the trolley for now. We will sort out the contents later.

The bus stop at the clock tower

When Tigger let me know she was on the bus home, I went down to the bus stop at the clock tower to meet her.

The bus arrives

Tigger’s bus arrived and we made our way home.