A day of roses, cockleshells and the sea

I visited a rose garden the other week. Late October isn't the ideal time of year to do this of course. The sheer headiness and intoxication you get from inhaling the scents of  scores of rose bushes was sadly lacking.



There again, I hadn't planned this visit to the Southsea  Rose Garden. My daughter, husband and I were walking our three dogs along the beachfront on a sunny Monday morning....

 

 

that was when my daughter said the magic words "rose garden", and there was a sudden detour to the rose garden.



 

Actually, it's the ideal time of the year to see the bones of a garden.

I liked the simple design, the weathered brick , the trellises,  the clean lines of the paths and the fact that there were lots of benches to sit down in different parts of the garden.

Of course at the end of October, you expect patches of brown earth, and true, many of the roses were had lost their blossom, but there was still enough colour to gladden my heart.

 

I do like this ruby wedding rose even if it only has a faint fragrance 

 

 



This beauty, which I don't know the name of, was a vision of pastel prettiness...and its scent was just as subtle.

It's not a huge rose garden, but it's a perfect place to sit and ponder, away from the harsh winds of the sea front and the noise of the cars, to just relax.



But there's so much more to the site of this rose garden. It was previously an eighteenth century fortification called Lumps Fort. After a chequered history, in World War II, this area was used as a training base for the Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment.



 Have you ever heard of the Cockleshell Heroes? It's the title of a film made in 1955, which honoured the incredible bravery and fortitude of the men who trained here before launching a raid by canoe, on the harbour in Bordeaux a mere thirteen years earlier. They were an elite squad housed in two nissen huts , and trained for their mission in the Solent a few yards away.



The raid was called Operation Frankton, and back in those days Bordeaux was a key port for the Germans. The mission for the men was to attack all the cargo ships  which kept the German army supplied after paddling into the harbour by canoe.



Five canoes and ten men managed to not only sink one ship and badly damage four others with limpet mines, but they succeeded in curtailing the use of the harbour for months. Can you imagine what it must have been like to be taken to France by submarine, then sailing into a heavily guarded German occupied port in the depths of December?



Such a daring plan, but it was one which cost eight of the men their lives. Six were executed by the Germans and two died from hypothermia. Major Hasler and Bill Sparkes were the only two to survive.

 

It's said that Winston Churchill believed that their mission shortened the duration of World War II by six months. What a feat of courage, and how wonderful that this site wasn't built on in the post war frenzy of building.



I love the fact that this small rose garden, just a minute away from the rush of modern life, has been created as a place of tranquillity, of quiet beauty, where we can remember those heroes of World War  II.

 

A day at an empty beach, apart from a body

Any visit to see my daughter in Southsea, no matter how short, always involves a walk at Eastney Beach. Right at the end of the beach, just before the naturists take over the next section of beach. No further though....my daughter is not a naturist.

At first glance you may think there's nothing much there, just shingle down to the beach, and perhaps a few scrubby plants. Your eyes are drawn to the Isle of Wight in front of you and Hayling Island to your left.

Oh, and some beach huts.

But come rain, come shine, it's a great place for walking the dogs, to throw a few stones for the dogs to chase into the water. Rudi, my daughter's dog, and son of my dog Boo, loves this game and gets a good work out with both running and swimming for as long as you will let him.




The last few times we've been here, it's been in the depths of winter, or early spring, so it was lovely on Friday to see what's growing on this vegetated shingle beach.

Sea kale,so bluey green and so rare.

Valerian...slashes of red against the brown and sand coloured shingle....which highlighted the colour of Rudi's collar.

This part of the beach is designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation , containing rarities such as the sea kale, sea holly and sea bindweed.

Holidaymakers  sunbathing on the shingle are rarities too, but this time, we did see a body stretched out by the shoreline. You couldn't miss it, dressed in a yellow high viz jacket, and as we walked closer, shorts and trainers. We knew this person wasn't sunbathing, as it was overcast with a slight drizzle. As we walked closer, there was still no movement. We were hoping that this body would sit up . She didn't, we observed for a moment,  keeping a respectful distance, then all of a sudden, she waved us away without speaking.

Was she an exhausted runner who, completely knackered, had simply flopped down on the rather uncomfortable shingle, or was she communing with nature and the elements?

 We never found out.

We had a ferry to catch to the Isle of Wight, for a rather important wedding....

Blue sky days

I've still been looking upwards.....skywards over the last week...I can't stop looking at the sky.

Last weekend Mr Thinking of the days and I went to see our darling daughter who now lives on the South Coast. Boo came too..

Leaden skies , the rain all the way





It was still grey as the eight of us (well, six humans plus Boo and her new spaniel friend called Ozzie) began our walk along the front at Southsea on Saturday morning...

But within what seemed like moments, the world changed....blue skies were overhead and I could smell the sea.



Instantly I was in happy place...sailboats, blue water and blue skies took me back to family holidays on the island across the water...and to teenager years when I lived by the Indian ocean.

We all walked and talked...upto the Castle...where we sat outside in the sunshine enjoying coffee and for some, huge bacon butties....

But my eyes were still skywards....I've never seen clouds like this in such a deep blue setting

Or perhaps I have, but not appreciated them before. One thing is for sure - there's so much more I need to know about this wonderful world above us. There's a wonderful man called Tristan Gooley who's written books on natural navigation and exploration http://www.naturalnavigator.com/the-natural-explorer/ ...I must get hold of a copy.

Aren't these skies just magnificient? By the way, none of my photos are surgically enhanced....these colours are exactly what my iphone and I see.

The following day, another walk with just family...and my daughter finally persuaded Boo to go near the water....

A lovely weekend ...appreciating simple pleasures, mindful that it will be a while until we feel the sun on our backs, and such beautiful summery blue skies , which immediately make me feel happy..

Today's track is by Jamirquai....Blue Skies