We left London promptly at 08:00 on April 26th. The temperature had dropped 10 Celsius and it was pouring rain. Had the weather been thus yesterday, I would not have gone to Tonbridge.
We were aiming at the hotel in Foreham, where we would spend 3 nights.
As expected, the trees had suddenly come into leaf.
The Tour Manager told us that it had snowed in the Collingwood area and the Blue Mountain Ski Resort still has a 60 cm base. This is the latest it has stayed open, the previous record being April 25th.
The sides of the motorway was covered with yellow broom or gorse. Pussy willows were sproutingand the hedgerows were covered in various blossoms.
“Oh, to be in England now that April’s here!”
Today I was Tilley, top to bottom. Beige hat, vest, shirt, heavy khaki pants and socks.
We passed a three wheeled Messerschmidt on the M3. The last time I saw one was near Soltau, Germany in 1965 while in my Centurion tank with The Fort Garry Horse.
We arrived in Winchester, Hampshire at 09:30 where we met Pamela the local guide. It was 9 Celsius. Throughout our stay bands of rain and hail peppered us.
“Welcome to the UK, four seasons in a day.” I guess it could also be called a “Vivaldi Day”.
King Aelfred established this Saxon Kingdom. Winchester was the capital long before the honour was passed to London by William the Conqueror.
We had a long visit at the cathedral and then wound our way up the High Street to the hall that had housed the Round Table.
After that we had three hours to kill. This is the normal drill as the rooms were not ready. I managed to stave off Cornish pasties for lunch and settled for an apple. I walked the entire period trying to lose some of the five pounds my doctor had ordered dropped. After the four hours of pavement pounding the day before, my feet were really aching by the time I got back onto the coach.
At 15:00 the coach driver, Collin from Newport, South Wales, went back to the M3 to continue our journey southwards. I had lived in Newport with my Welsh grandparents in 1953/54 prior to emigrating to Canada.
About 15:30 we pulled into a delightfully isolated Solent Spa. My room looked out onto woods and it was so quiet. For dinner I ordered battered haddock and got a piece of fish big enough for two.
The Travels of David Ironsides 