23 February 2016
St Denys is a small place, easily overlooked. Like many people, I regularly pass through, usually on the way somewhere else, without really giving it much thought. This does it a disservice though because St Denys has hidden secrets and today was the day I sought them out. Continue reading The lost priory of St Denys
28 January 2016
When I left St Mary’s Church I still had time for a leisurely stroll along St Mary Street before my next appointment. Although it’s down at heel in places, the rich history and the vibrant mixture of old buildings and interesting shops make this a good street for mooching about. A lot has changed since the Saxon town of Hamwic or Hamtun sprang up. The grid of streets with wooden buildings, are long gone, along with the blacksmiths, carpenters, thatchers, leather workers and potters who once plied their trade there. Continue reading St Mary Street a very old new town
28 January 2016
There was a time when I passed St Mary’s Church in Southampton every day at least once but I’d never seen it with the doors open before so I’d never been inside. Today I had a couple of appointments in town and the plan was to have a wander along St Mary’s Street and take photos for a post about this interesting area of the city in between. When I saw the open door though, I couldn’t pass up the chance to have a look inside the mother church of Southampton. Continue reading St Mary’s church Southampton, survival against the odds
13 January 2016
Standing in front of the last mural on Orchard Lane, feeling slightly disappointed that my quest had been so easily completed, I debated whether to walk up into town for a coffee or just go home and have one there. It was still quite chilly so I decided on the latter and, rather than retrace my steps, I thought I’d walk over Northam Bridge. When I turned towards Threefield Lane though I spotted something on the side of the block across Orchard Lane. It looked suspiciously like another mural. Continue reading Holyrood Estate, more than meets the eye
15 December 2015
Commando always takes a couple of weeks off over the Christmas period so today Christmas Shopping was top of our list of things to do. This, of course, meant a trip into town and a chance to see the Christmas lights. Weather wise it probably wasn’t the best day for it. It had been raining on and off all day but it’s been raining on and off every day lately. Half way through the afternoon probably wasn’t the best time to go either, but Commando wanted to see Santa flying through the air on his sleigh and that doesn’t happen until five o’clock, at least not in Southampton. Continue reading Santa in Southampton
Working a five day week was turning out to be harder than I thought although I had plenty to keep me occupied. To make up for less walking at the weekend I was trying to get as much walking in during the working week as I could. The walk of the day was to Canute’s Palace to explore the old walls. Continue reading not the best of days, not the worst of days – first published 6 June 2013
Back in February 2014 I published the second of Commando Senior’s memoirs. It was written when my wonderful father in law was still in good health, dashing about all over the place and appearing out of the blue on our doorstep with a cry of “it’s only me,” bearing gifts of his delicious home made cakes. Little did we know that in less than two months he’d be in hospital with a broken hip or that this would begin a decline that he never recovered from. This instalment is set during World War II. It is hard to imagine living through such a time as an adult but for a child it must have been both bewildering and frightening. Imagine waking each day to a landscape changed beyond belief, familiar landmarks replaced by smoking craters. Continue reading random musings of a geriatric delinquent – the blitz – first published 28 February 2014
31 July 2015
When I finished work on Friday it wasn’t exactly the end of my day. Commando’s friend Pete, the one who organises the spring New Forest Walks, had some tickets for a Southampton Ghost Walk but found himself accidentally overbooked. Knowing about my slight obsession with ghosts, Commando said he’d take them off his hands. There was just about time to freshen up before I had to dash back out again with CJ in tow. Neither of us knew quite what to expect as we made our way through a mostly empty city towards the Bargate. Continue reading Ghostly goings on in Southampton
19 July 2015
Commando left the house early on Sunday morning to join his Itchen Spitfire running buddies. They’d all volunteered to marshal the Southampton Skyride so he’d be standing about most of the day directing cyclists or something similar. After he’d left I sat around for a bit trying to come up with an interesting walk plan. Maybe it was the week of sticky humid weather frazzling my brain but the more I looked at the maps the harder it was to decide on anything. After half an hour I hadn’t come up with a plan so I decided to go over to town and check out what all the fuss was about. Continue reading Skyride Southampton
1 March 2015
Before the medieval town of Southampton was even thought of, or the villages of Hawick and Hamtun that came before it, there was a Stone Age settlement on a wooded bend of the banks of the River Itchen about three miles from Southampton Water. In AD 43, the Romans invaded Britain and, around thirty years later, built the fortress settlement of Clausentum on the spot. The sharp bend in the river enclosing a promontory of land made it easy to defend the site with just a wall and two ditches and inside this enclosure wooden huts and wharves were built. On Sunday morning, I thought I’d explore what little remains of Clausentum, I didn’t have far to walk because my village grew up around it. Continue reading Clausentum, the beginnings of a city