The Last Post

Lets hope 2021 has more promise than the outgoing year.

 

 

Powder Mill Post

Walking through the forest near Fritham we spotted this curiosity which is actually an old post box.

It was erected in the 19th Century bu the nearby Shultz Gunpowder factory to make the postman's life easier and presumably safer.

 Long disused it has been restored by the forestry commission.

Scoprion Dinghy

 Spotted this really nice example of a Scorpion dinghy launching at Lymington on a fine winter morning.

It was immaculately built and finished with bright varnished deck and cockpit and grey topsides but curiously named "The Back Pearl of Lyminton".

 I keep bumping into the Scorpion dinghy but have never sailed one. Years ago a friend offered me the use of one, but the trailer and launching trolley were so badly rusted at the back of the dinghy park that we didn't bother.

New Forest Natives

Mrs BB and I were out in the deep forest, not exactly lost but certainly off the beaten track, we were scrambling across a forest stream to rejoin the trail and looked up to see this stag and does looking curiously down at us.

From the pictures in the British Deer Society web pages those amazing antlers look like a Fallow deer.

We stood watching each other for a while, until the deer moved off, as we climbed the hill we could see more of the group watching curiously from a safe distance.

Wonderful moment.

Kelpie

 Looking fantastic.

Perfect winter day for rowing, sunshine and almost no wind, the river is sadly quiet with the lockdown

River views

I managed to injure my lower back kayaking towards the end of summer and so unable to run I've been taking a daily brisk walk every day it's not raining.

Going slightly slower and not having to watch my footing on the rough ground has left more time for looking around and admiring the views.

 These were taken back in September, things  are different now, the leaves have fallen and the ground is much wetter but the outlook is just as good.

Folk boat Beagle

A really nice Folk boat heading up to Bursledon, looking spectacular as it passes Brooklands, I was kayaking down from Botley and just had time to pull out the camera.

And still measures up really well against the expensive modern fleet in Swanwick marina (formerly Moody's).

 While I'm particularly attracted to open day boat, a classic like this is probably much better for our local waters and just as much fun to sail.

Elswick

I'm a bit of a sucker for classic bicycles, in fact there's a Raleigh Medale very similar to this lurking down in the garage which I've been thinking about restoring but in reality only needs a couple of tires. But my 30 year old mountain bike is ready to go so the Medale continues to get neglected.

Back to story, I spotted this Elswick which is almost identical to the Raleigh and looks like a great bike for tooling around on.

 

When I was young I saved up all my pocket money, plus money from Christmas and birthdays for an Elswick Hopper which for a few years was my pride and joy. An elderly aunt encouraged me to go with an Elswick as she had been something of a long distance cyclist before the war.

Checkmate

 Wooden classics like this are popular in the US, but all too rare locally, probably post war Britain had austerity pretty much up the the beginning of the 1960's in contrast to the States.

No idea whether this is a native or import but those twin and large bore exhausts suggest something more than a Austin 7 engine lurks under that rear deck.

Classic windscreen and central steering position is interesting.

Say it all.