2020 – WorldofWills

Salisbury short break

I’ve been desperate to get away for some time; to get away from managing Mum’s estate; I’m sure if she’d known the insanity I’m faced with then she wouldn’t have died. Anyway, we decided on a short break to Salisbury. Salisbury although it’s out of county is not too far away; its campsite is walking distance from the city centre and it’s a nice place.

I don’t do ‘God’ and I generally don’t do churches, but Salisbury Cathedral has a wonderful ‘authentic’ feel to it and is well worth a visit. It feels as though it is unchanged since the 13th century when it was built.

Along its nave are a number of tombs; one tomb of a Knight who fought at Crecy (1346) and at Poitiers (1356), and a tomb of another Knight who fought at Agincourt (1415). Marvellous.

The Cathedral from the outside is a very imposing building; it’s size and detail really do impress, however the interior is remarkable. To think that this structure was built and decorated 800 years ago without the use of power tools or computers!

As we wandered around this magnificent old structure the choir was practicing. The music and singing made the £8 entrance fee all the more worth it.

One of the relics not to be missed is the Cathedral’s copy of Magna Carta, on display despite an attempt at stealing it in recent years and one of only 4 original copies available today.

Old Sarum was worth the walk around. It is the original site of the city which was moved in around 1200ad to its current site approximately 2 miles away. Nowadays all that’s left are some gigantic earthworks which used to form the original hill fort and motte and bailey castle.

Here is a selection of our photos from Salisbury

Summer’s over

Well, Covid-19 thoroughly ruined the late Spring and Summer 2020. As we were locked down for months and unable to travel except for essential journeys we didn’t get up to much. No foreign holidays are planned for this year and the wine fridge is looking quite empty. Most of the New Forest campsites (and others) are closed until 2021.

Once full lockdown was lifted we were able to travel so used the van for days out and picnics in the New Forest and elsewhere in Hampshire.

During lockdown we unexpectedly had a legal matter to deal with. Thankfully I’ve had brilliant support from most of my siblings, excellent advice from various authorities and even contact with the office of the Attorney General.

Here are a few photos taken during the year

Here are some of the photos taken in the New Forest

Cycling in the lockdown

OK, I’ll admit it, I’ve been really slack on the fitness front over the 2018-19 winter with few running and cycling outings, and as a result I have gained a bit of weight. The weight gain may be due to excessive indulgence with the homebrew rather than lack of exercise, but it is time to do something about it.

I now have 4 bikes. My old Raleigh M-Trax is starting to feel its age; it’s front wheel and bottom brackets need replacing, as do the tyres, tubes, brakes, gear changers etc, all of which were going to add up to a pretty penny.

Giant bikes are usually discounted heavily in late August as they announce their new ranges for the coming year so I took a look at the discounted prices. I bought a new Giant Roam 2 hybrid bike in September with a huge discount of over 10% off the new price. Being a hybrid it is comfortable, can be fitted with a rack, mudguards and a bar bag so is ideal for commuting to the shops etc and can be strapped to the back of the ‘van for when we go away.

The new bike, complete with bar bag and rack

Cycling so far this year has been limited to jaunts along the bridleways and small roads to Meon Shore, Lee on the Solent and Alverstoke as I’m reluctant to venture further away as we are all supposed to be in lockdown. I will regain my fitness by treating the 17 1/2 mile trek to Averstoke as a sprint and see if I can average over 16 mph each outing, and then when lockdown is lifted I will venture back out to the “top of Hampshire” and beyond.