Winter Evening

Cold and dark just after 4 pm, but it's still great to be out on the river during winter.

Get the Girl

It was ten years ago today that Erica and I got married.

When you set out on a life together who knows where it will take you or what lies ahead, perhaps then what really matters is a common purpose and shared values.

A house that's a home, someone you want to come home to, someone to share the good times and who will share the burden of the bad times.

There have been lots and lots of good times during past last ten years.

More Gaffers

Just a collection of interesting gaffers I've spotted in the local yards over the past few months.

This one turned up at the start of the season, I've seen her around the Solent but don't really know much about her, she has the look of a smack with that low stern.

Next up is a west country boat, I chatted to the owner who's been restoring her for some time, but sadly have lost the scribbled notes I made. I think she's a Falmouth working boat, her hull shape certainly suggests she would make a powerful oyster dredger and load carrier.

And finally something a bit more modern, I've written about this turbo gaffer before, apparently she is designed and built by a local shipwright and ashore for some modification to her keel.

Merry Christmas

The jury's out on a white Christmas for Bursledon, almost all of the snow from last week has gone, but with a cool and strong northerly blowing who knows.

Whatever the weather, I'd like to wish everyone a great Christmas and say thanks for visiting my little part of the world. Going by the number of hits there are either a lot of you out there or quite a few who come around on a regular basis, so thank you. A special thanks to everyone who has left comments or emailed me. And last but in no way least thanks to my fellow bloggers for taking the time to put up so much interesting stuff.

By way of a Christmas Special and from a fellow blogger, have a look at this from the East Coast Gaffers - Brilliant and I understand thanks to Dylan Winter for the abuse of some of his excellent footage and to Leafy who's blog I must read more often.

Merry Christmas - Max

Track Santa's Progress

Log on Christmas Eve and watch Santa in real time as he speeds through the night to deliver toys to children around the world.



NORAD is North American Aerospace Defense Command, apparently a mistake in a 1955 advert by Sears & Roebuck miss printed a telephone number inviting children to call Santa. The number was actually a hot line to Colonel Harry Shoup the Director of Operations at NORAD who told the children who called that his team were tracking Santa on their radar and gave out details of his position.

NORAD has been keeping up the tradition ever since

These days NORAD even update Santa's progress on Google Earth

Here's wishing everyone at NORAD a great Christmas.

Oranges and Lemons

Said “the bells of St Clements”.

We’re at the nursery rhyme stage with Joe, many of the old rhymes have their basis in London history, and since I work in the City (the financial district of London – what is Old London Town) I thought it might be interesting to track down the churches behind the old children’s song.

The first one was easy to find in St Clements Lane near Monument, or rather it would have been if I hadn’t walked right past it. The church at the end of the lane is St Edmund’s. I’d past St Clements which is on the corner of King William Street.

Above St Clements, below the mistaken St Edmund's




“You owe me five farthings” said the bells of St Martins.


Had a bit of trouble with this one, St Martins Within (above) is the church which stood inside the law courts at the Old bailey, despite wandering around and asking a policeman for directions, I couldn’t find it. But I did see what looked to be a chapel window in “Armen Court”a gated private court. Finally I found it situated on Ludgate Hill just down from St Paul’s – I’d managed to walk right past it twice!!

“When will you pay me? “ said the bells of Old Bailey.



Actually the Old Bailey didn’t have a bell, this line apparently refers to St Sepulchure – Without Newgate (above) which was used as the bell of Newgate prison to sound during executions.

“When I grow rich” said the bells of Shoreditch.



Easier to find, St Leonard's Shoreditch is a delightful church with park grounds on the old A10.

“When will that be?” said the Bells of Stephney.



With my business suit and laptop bag, I though I might be at risk of getting mugged by a gang of “hoodies” who had gathered on the park benches outside St Dunstan’s All Saints of Stephney. In the end I faced them down, got out my camera and took my photos, keeping an eye out and enough distance between us.

“I do not know” said the great bell of Bow.



Back on safer, familiar ground just off Cheapside, St Mary le Bow. The “church yard” is now an alleyway of trendy and expensive shops, and a very popular sandwich bar, which always has queues summer and winter.

To be a cockney, tradition dictates that you need to be born within the sound of these bells; my mum was, so that’s my only tenuous connection between this post and Bursledon!

Apparently the reference to the candle is that one was brought to condemned prisoners on the night before their execution. Executions were both frequent and numerous in Newgate, the bell of St. Sepulchre marked the time (death knell) of imminent executions before Newgate prison acquired its own bell.

"Oranges and lemons" say the bells of St. Clement's
"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St. Martin's
"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey
"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch
"When will that be?" say the bells of Stepney
"I do not know" say the great bells of Bow
"Here comes a candle to light you to bed
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head
Chip chop chip chop - the last man's dead."

Blowing Bubbles

Visiting friends recently we were told that we had to take Joe to see the "clock which blows bubbles."

Built as a show piece in a shopping centre it was designed by Kit Williams the artist and illustrator most famous for his mystery book Masquerade.

On the hour all sorts of animation happens including the giant fish which rotates and blows bubbles to the delight of small children and more than a few of the adults.

Those of us with an eye for boat building will appreciate the cold moulded fish body!