Bus Trippers Photos July-Dec 2017
Chichester Canal Christmas Cruise - Thurs 30th Nov 2017
A festive group went on the Chichester Christmas canal cruise. We had glorious sunny weather. A very gentle cruise along the canal to Hunston watching the wildlife. We saw an enormous heron perched on a tree and lots of life size models of Snow White and the seven dwarfs and various other children's cartoon characters. We passed Father Christmas's house but he wasn't in. We had a very nice lunch and wine and mince pies and coffee. Surprise surprise - Father Christmas appeared on board and we all received a chocolate Father Christmas. As we left by bus, we saw the Queen, dressed in pink, boarding her helicopter after her visit to Chichester Festival Theatre. A very enjoyable day with friends.
Winchester Christmas Market - Mon 27th November 2017
A group of 10 Bus trippers set off for a journey to Winchester Christmas Market. Luckily the rain had abated before we reached our destination. There were some delightful gifts to purchase and food to taste. Also delightful Christmas music to really get you in the mood. Most of us purchased a few items and we lunched in various eateries. It was dark by the time we reached home. A very nice time was had by all.
Portsmouth Guildhall behind the scenes - Mon 25th Sept 2017
Being a Bus tripper is not all about going out carousing and engaging in acts of gluttony. Quite often we like to attempt a bit of lifelong learning, even though the brains of some of us act more like sieves than receptacles. Our tour behind the scenes at the Guildhall was very interesting and informative. None of us knew that the Guildhall is now managed by a charity - Portsmouth Cultural Trust - and not the City Council. But the stand-out fact that most of us came away with was that the wallpaper for one wall of a (not especially large) room, cost £7,500. We were also intrigued by the mysterious erasing of the words which followed the name of Alderman A S Blake on a large commemorative marble wall plaque. The Portsmouth Music Experience Exhibition which featured the Isle of Wight Pop Festivals, as well as posters from many old local nightclubs, generated quite a bit of humming and quiet singing. All well worth £3 of anyone's money.
Sandown to Shanklin walk - Sat 16th Sept 2017
On a day forecast to be one of the wettest and wildest of the year, more than a dozen Bus trippers turned up for this trip led by the Isle of Wight's biggest fan, June Vanner, who wrote:
We arrived at Commercial Road, where the Hoverbus was ready to pull away. One of our nimbler members managed to get him to wait while the rest of us tumbled on. We got to the Hover Terminal, and again the Hovercraft was ready to leave. On arrival, some members couldn't go another step without coffee and Toasted Teacakes. The "not-so-good" weather forecast came to mind as well as the thought that we were going to get rained on during the walk along the Esplanade. However, it turned out well, and we eventually arrived at the Fisherman's Cottage Pub, and although there wasn't a Wedding Party (like last year) to amuse us, we sat outside for our meal, some of us in the sunshine! I had my favourite Crab Sandwiches, washed down with a White Wine Spritzer! We got back to Portsmouth and it was raining, so we had been very fortunate.
Many thanks to June for leading the trip and to Mary Shilstone for the photos.
Gosport Ferry Summer Cruise - Sat 2nd September 2017
Saturday 2nd September saw 21 of the bus trippers' group head for the sea! We boarded our Gosport Ferry cruise boat and made our way to The Needles. The weather was perfect and we were able to get really close to them before heading off around the island and our stop at Yarmouth. The group were booked in to The Blue Crab café and we had a lovely, very fishy meal! The crab sandwiches were delicious.
On the way back to Gosport we had a little diversion for a close-up view of HMS Queen Elizabeth. She is certainly big, and closely guarded by two police boats! All in all a great day out.
Many thanks to Anne Bradley who very kindly organised and led the trip, and to Mary Shilstone for the photos.
Mary's Beach Hut - Thurs 17th Aug 2017
Deputy Co-ordinator Pam led the group on its annual visit to Mary's Beach Hut.
On a very blustery day 12 ladies and 1 gentleman embarked on our trip to Mary Morgan's beach hut on Hayling Island. All dressed for winter. We missed our bus connection at Havant so caught a different bus which gave a us a tour of the island before arriving at our destination. After tea/coffee and biscuits and much laughter we went to the local chip shop for fish and chips. 2 of the ladies caught the small train back to Mary's. The sun eventually came out. Some went to see the monument to the Cockleshell heroes. More tea/coffee followed before we started our return journey. Much appreciation to Mary for all her hard work.
Lunch at the Riviera - Mon 24th July 2017
Where next? To the Riviera, suggested Clive. And who needs the Côte d'Azur when you have sunny Selsey and the Riviera Restaurant only 3 bus rides away including the rather luxurious No 51 when any moment you expect someone to bring around a bag of nuts and a refreshing towelette. The Riviera's no booking policy meant 18 people were taking a bit of a gamble getting in but we were all up for a flutter. Lovely staff, efficient service, good food, excellent value. By way of even further enrichment, the driver of the No 51 on the return journey added one or two foreign words to our vocabulary when a car pulled out of a side street right in front of us. Vivre les Bus trippers!
Day trip to Bognor - Sat 8th July 2017
"Didn't we have a luverley time the day we went to Bognor?" Yes we did. Fab weather, great company, double decker bus journey, stroll along the prom, lunch in seaside cafe, ice creams, and paddling in the surprisingly not very cold sea! Good idea June and Dorothy.
