Christmas Winchester

For the past few years I've been posting waterside Christmas pics like the Emsworth lobster pot tree. This year we were out and about in Winchester early evening walking. The grounds of the famous cathedral were lit up in very subtle tones.

 

The main entrance doesn't really need any decoration, simply flood lit fascia of a building that's stood in this place for more than a1000 years, sadly the night we visited the Christmas market, which was the reason we were there, had closed due to storm Darragh

Walking up the old high street, the city doesn't seem to have spent much on festive decorations this year

Few more around the town's Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas

 

 

Local knitters out in force  and doing a great job decorating not just the post box but the old phone box for Christmas, will make you smile even if you've missed the last posting date.

Collective Spirit

I've read about Collective Spirit a really interesting project boat which is made up of over 1200 donated components

Walking alongside the hull is fascinating, seeing all the items that have been set into the hull

"Donors gave their wooden objects for the project from the highly personal to pieces of national importance. They include fragments from over 50 houses, hockey sticks, sections of vessels from family sailing boats to the Mary Rose, a piece of the Cutty Sark and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Wooden spoons, toys, even a shaving from one of Jimi Hendrix’s guitars.

Each item was catalogued, capturing the fascinating stories and memories behind each donation. The story behind each piece was documented and became part of the fabric of the boat."

 

Grey Christmas?

 Things certainly aren't looking likely for a white Christmas, this time of year London is usually cold and ablaze with festive lights, not currently, it's so grey and overcast that some of the taller buildings are obscured by the low clouds that have descended on the city.

 

 The cold grey Thames looks well cold, grey and uninviting

Spare a though for those unfortunate folks with apartments in in the shard, who's view has been completely spoiled.

The only bright lights on this particular night were from the traffic reflecting off the wet streets.

 Fingers crossed things get better before Christmas,

Wandering around Bursledn yards

 I realise I'm probably getting a bit dull writing about and taking photos of the same old places, but I haven't actually been this part of the Bursledon waterfront for quite a while

Lovely clinker dinghy/daysailer above, presumably good to keep in the water for the season. Below a modern GRP version of a classic I think a Lock Broom post boat.

At the very back of the yard some interesting projects that look like work might have stalled

Out in the river below and above the bridge things are pretty crowded, yachts downstream and motorboats upstream beyond the bridge.

 

More Advent brewing

Mrs BB has been busy scouting interesting and unusual beers, of which Ice Coffee pale ale was probably the most unusual. Actually it was surprisingly ok.

Chocolate stout always good at this time of year on a cold dark evening.

Predictable and drinkable, perhaps easier to drink from a can than some of their showcase pubs,  I'm waiting to see someone very drink come out of the toilets and get stuck in the slide in their Waterloo pub, if you've been there you'll know what I'm talking about.

 Not sure why northern punks (and in case anyone west of the Atlantic should drop by, punk as in Johnny Rotten or Joe Strummer both from London) should want to drink apple strudel and custard flavour beer, I'll find out shortly.

 Outland Bader seem to spend a lot of time writing about badgers and sheep, although the beer tasted fine.

Not sure about session beer in a can, not that I'm especially up for a session these days, but if I was it really needs to be in the pub with your mates and hand pulled.
 

Breezy - storm Darragh

 The weekend was a bit breezy as storm Darragh swept through, first thing Saturday I walked do the river, the winds was blowing perpendicular across the river and even with that short fetch was kicking up waves on the lee shore, the pic doesn't really do justice to the scene.

Sunday was a bit more traumatic one of the trees at the front of the house had blown down, fortunately missing the cars and  especially Cornish Cormorant Tosh by inches which is parked almost under the tree.