From the Rector - School's.....in!

What a joy that barely three weeks after my induction three classes of children from Fairfield First School thronged the aisles, crossing, transepts and nave at St. Faith's to explore and learn about our parish church.  I was equally thrilled to be shown around their school recently on the back of a visit earlier the same morning to the amazing Bosmere School.  By the time you're reading this the children of Glenhurst too will have asked their questions no doubt about crosses, stained glass windows, organ and 'funny white nightgowns' worn by the choir!

To have such vibrant schools in the parish and beyond notably at St. Alban's Church of England School is fortunate enough before the announcement was made during the recent summer holidays that Warblington School has entered into an 'Affiliated Schools Partnership Agreement' with the Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth.

This means that children from St. Alban's, West Leigh and St. James Emsworth C of E Primary Schools now have the opportunity to progress to a local secondary school which has decided, along with designated church secondary schools further afield, to 'value and seek to develop high standards of Religious Education, worship and spiritual, moral, social and cultural education'.  It will, as it builds upon its relationship with the Anglican churches of St. Faith's and St. James', celebrate and develop the contribution of faith to the life of the school.

As a parish we are privileged to have a secondary school in our parish which has chosen to embark on this new phase in its development at a time when its academic performance particularly in the GCSE programme is by any measure rocketing.  Warblington is also going to benefit from the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme which will see its physical campus transformed as a focus for learning.

This new affiliated school arrangement brings with it responsibilities for our local Anglican church community.  The Partnership Agreement expects the parish to support and enrich the spiritual life and worship of the school, support it in practical ways as well as through regular prayer and to support events organised by the school not least by giving them publicity.

I am personally looking forward to occasionally leading worship, helping with the R.E. and humanities curriculum and offering chaplaincy services to staff, students and their families.  Already we are planning to involve musicians from the school in our Rotary sponsored Community Carol Service at St. Faith's on Sunday 13^th December at 3pm.  But more importantly still are the opportunities our parish church has as a family to welcome, encourage and support our local young people in their quest for achievement, fulfilment and faith in an increasingly challenging world.  I hope you will support this new collaboration with your prayers and your actions.

Peter Jones

From the Editor

It is Remembrance Sunday on 8^th November and it is poignant that there is an article from a Wren Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) Officer, which is reproduced from the “Wren”, on her 6-month’s tour of duty in Iraq when 179 military personnel died during the conflict and a service to commemorate the dead was held at St. Paul’s last month.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Fair Trade Fashion Show

A Fashion Show was held on Saturday 10 October in the Church Hall jointly organised by the Ladies Kairos Group which involves St. Francis, St. Clare, St. John’s (Rowland’s Castle) and St. Faith’s.  The clothes all came from the Fair Trade Shop in Southampton and were modelled by our Rector, Bruce & Mary Strugnell, Martin Poliszczuk, Fiona & Louise Hedley, Claire & Eleanor Toole, Victoria Smith, Deborah Creasy, Kate Walsh, who also entertained us with her guitar playing and singing, and people from the other churches.  The master of ceremonies was Mary Close, a Reader at St. John’s.  Our thanks go to the Dynamo Youth Theatre for building the cat walk and providing the lighting and to Sandra Haggan for organising a really fun evening with a difference.

Round the Churches Ride & Stride – September 2009

St Faith’s was open on the 12^th of September to greet the ‘Riders and Striders’ who were fundraising for the Historic Churches Trust.  (Thank you to Michael and David for your efforts on the behalf of St Faith’s).  It’s good to know that half of the sponsor money you raised will come back to us.

There was a steady stream of visitors in the morning including one lady from St Alban’s who came on her mobility scooter!  Although she lived in the Borough she had never been inside our church before.  During the afternoon the sponsored riders tapered off but there were still visitors coming in who seemed very pleased to meet the volunteer ‘meeters and greeters’ from among our congregation.  The delicious cakes which Diane and Margaret had made were very much appreciated.  We had a message from John Butt from Idsworth (via Geoff Porter) that our cakes were the best but that the doughnuts at Chalton took some beating!

An email was also received from Andrew Stewart of Warblington saying: ‘A very big thank you to all those from St Faith’s who kindly gave up their time to support this event.  The warm welcome received by walkers and cyclists alike was very much appreciated.  I visited 30 churches during my ride and would like to send my personal thanks for the delicious cakes.  They were the best from all the churches I went to.  I hope that the same will be on offer next year!’

The weather was perfect and I know that all the participants enjoyed themselves.  Thank you to everyone who helped make this day a success.

Hilary Deadman

Advent Sunday – 29 November

As November closes, Advent begins.  The exact birth-date of Jesus is not known, but during the 5^th century the date of 25 December was chosen to become the Feast of the Nativity, or Christmas.  By the sixth century, the Christian Church was in the habit of spending several weeks leading up to Christmas in prayerful, expectant preparation.  The fourth Sunday before Christmas Day became Advent Sunday.  ‘Advent’, of course, means ‘coming’, or ‘coming in’, and traditionally special candles have been lit, and more recently, advent calendars used, as the Church prepares itself for the coming of the Holy Child, the long-awaited Messiah.

Iraq – From the Eyes of an RNR Wren Officer

The telephone call asking if I could mobilise for Iraq came in mid April 2006.  I was to take a job out of my branch, which until now had only been filled by the Regular Services, and I was to relieve an RAF officer.  The job - the UK's senior military media officer in Baghdad.  The pressure was definitely on.

Geography told me I was miles from the sea.  I felt it in my bones - another crocodile job - in at the swampy deep end.  Looking back, I had absolutely no idea how many crocodiles I'd confront.

Getting prepared.  Within the space of a few weeks I had to extricate myself from my job with the courts, handover the RNR employer Support job, do a week's media course, and complete 3 weeks of predeployment training which was understandably land/soldier focused; for example I did vehicle ambush drills.  Throughout my entire RNR service I'd never had a requirement to handle a weapon - now I was being expected to master a pistol and an SA80 semi automatic rifle, in double-quick time.  I don't mind admitting I found the entire experience extremely difficult.  I'd never seen so much kit - thank goodness Frank, my husband, was there to offer advice, keep carrying it into the house, and assist with the last minute preparations.

I had to make personal adjustments too.  Frank had just retired, and I'm sure he'd envisaged a quiet holiday, rather than me preparing for duties in Iraq.  As we said our farewells on a Sunday morning at Brize Norton neither of us was under any illusions as to what I was getting involved in.

Environment I was going to.  Iraq was taking its first faltering steps in democracy.  Nouri al Maliki had been Prime Minister for 3 months, but was struggling with resistance to his fledgling government.  Insurgency was rife, particularly in the seat of government capital.  US Forces who had responsibility for Baghdad were suffering terrible losses, and I arrived as sectarian violence was reaching a crescendo.

In that July alone 500 people were killed.  A typical day in Baghdad was:

• Suicide bomber kills 38 and wounds a further 108

• 15 bodies found in various parts of the City - all shot in head and chest, bearing signs of torture

• 12 unidentified bodies located in the River Tigris, blindfolded, shot and tortured

• Highway patrol finds 3 heads displayed outside a petrol station

• Attack on restaurant leaves 6 dead & 3 wounded

• US forces attacked on roadside patrol - 2 killed & further 2 lost when helicopter shot down

• 9 Iraqi Police killed when attending an incident

This was Baghdad.

Getting there.  My journey to Iraq was very hot, tiring and extended - I eventually got there late Thursday after 5 days of travel, thus reducing my handover to less than 2 days.

Iraq has 18 provinces (counties), 4 of which, in the south, the UK had been assigned responsibility for (Basra, Maysan, Dni Qar and Al Muthanna).  There were 7,000 Brits attached to Basra, working mainly with Italians, Japanese, Australians and Danes.  A further 200 Brits were based in, and around Baghdad.  I was one of those.  My boss the most senior Brit officer in Iraq (Vice Admiral Equivalent) was 2IC to all the Coalition troops in Iraq and he too was based in Baghdad .

My Puma helo flight into the International/Fortified  Green Zone of Baghdad gave me a bird's eye view of my new home.  Ahead I could see Saddam's old Palace, now the US Embassy - this was to be my place of work, and just north across the River Tigris lay the forbidding Red Zone.  The gardens were full of palm trees and steel cargo containers, affectionately known as hooches.  Other Brits were accommodated at the nearby fortified British Support Unit, but because I was working very closely with the US Military, and the American State Department (civil servants) I was given a US steel cargo container - all of my very own to live in!

Adjustment.  I learnt quickly.  The first time the Duck & Cover alarm went off I was in my hooch.  The drill was to put on helmet and body armour, before crawling under the bed.  The only difficulty was - my bed was too low!  I knuckled down to a completely alien environment, and experienced a severe pang of homesickness.  Unlike all my annual RNR training sessions when you could go home after 2 weeks, this time I knew I was here for the long haul - 6 months.

The Job.  It soon became apparent that if the Iraqi Government had any chance of surviving it needed help from the Coalition – but military might alone was not enough.  I worked with senior figures from the UK Embassy, Ministry of Interior, and the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, trying to assist with their media plans.  I also had to think of the UK market - No 10 Downing Street and the MOD Press Office, as well as keeping in close touch with my opposite number down south in Basra.

The aim of my job was for the Coalition Forces media messages to be coordinated, in tune with their own national Governments, and always supportive and in sympathy with the Iraqi messages: the latter were not always apparent as the Iraqi Government was having to deal with so many unexpected problems.  The media (Iraqi and Western) loved the information vacuum, and this made the job more fraught because without facts, they could make it up.

The UK was very keen to be first to hand a province back to Iraqi control, so within 48 hrs of my arrival I attended a meeting at the UK Embassy in order to discuss the mix of media that should be transported to the Province of Al Muthanna.  With at least 5 different countries represented, a smattering of interpreters, and everyone pushing their own country's agenda, rather than considering the Iraqis - it proved to be a fascinating, and not untypical introduction to my job.

Barely 2 weeks later I accompanied the media to the handover ceremony - bumping along for many hours in a helicopter - and on landing I had my first encounter with Iraqi men and boys who insisted on taking constant photos of me, following my every move - even to the smelly portaloo.  An armed, fair skinned female in combats was certainly something they found intriguing.  The province was handed back to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al Maliki on 13 July, and the event made world headlines.

My life was a whirl of 'making things happen' for the media, and the Command.  Such as:

• Getting BBC vehicles and satellite dishes moved to Basra for the football World Cup

• Overseeing the arrival of the Band of the Royal Marines who gave a formidable performance in the Embassy Grounds on American Independence Day

• Taking Iraqi media out to their economic lifeline – the Oil Platforms south of Umm Qasr

• Embarking Iraqi media on board HMS Echo so they could see the Ops Commander of the Iraqi Navy receive new charts of the North Arabian Gulf and Umm Qasr port area

• Arranging for my boss to be interviewed by video-link with the Pentagon Press Corps in the US

• Attending the commissioning ceremony of a brave new batch of Iraqi 2^nd Lieutenants at Iraq's equivalent of Sandhurst

• Taking media to the September handover of Dhi Qar, the second province to be passed back to Iraqi control

And on the 5^th November every TV channel, even those that were pro Saddam, waited to learn of the trial verdict - Saddam Hussein was to be executed.  The celebratory fireworks lasted a good 2 hours; everyone stayed inside to avoid being hit by a stray bullet.

Meanwhile, American forces continued to suffer lots of fatalities.  In the month of October they exceeded another 100 personnel killed so it seemed only appropriate that a group of American soldiers be asked to participate in the Australian's Armistice Day ceremony, and the UK's separate Service within the British Compound on Remembrance Sunday.  Baghdad's time zone (3 hours ahead) meant that our Remembrance Service had finished, just as the London Cenotaph ceremony commenced, so I was able to settle down to watch the event over satellite.  Tragically, near the end of the UK ceremony news came through from Basra that we had suffered 4 fatalities, and more had been very seriously injured: a patrol boat on the Shatt al-Arab waterway in Basra had hit an improvised explosive device.  Amongst those killed was the second British servicewoman to die in action in Iraq, and although I didn't know it at the time, one of the seriously injured was a member of the RNR.  It is a Remembrance Day I'll never forget.

My December release date got put back as I'd negotiated for a group of 9 key Iraqi communicators to visit London.  Being so close to the end of my tour the challenge was immense, but I was determined that they go.  I travelled over to the UK, and was there to meet them on their arrival at Gatwick.  Thereafter I escorted them during their stay, which included visits to various government departments, such as No 10, the Foreign & Common­wealth Office and the MOD Press Office.  On completion, I zoomed back to Baghdad to prepare for my relief - an Army officer.  My final flight home from Iraq was as long as the outward journey; thick fog entailed a diversion to Manchester, before an onward coach transfer back to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.  While waiting for the coach in the Arrivals Hall at Manchester airport dressed only in my desert combats, I was surrounded by Christmas partygoers wearing ridiculous Santa Claus hats, and was struck by the bizarre contrast of it all.  I was exhausted, and just wanted to get home for a rest.

Cdr Jane Allen RNR

The New Deal

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was probably the greatest American of the 20^th Century.  Despite suffering from poliomyelitis from 1921 which left him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he served a record four terms in office.  When he became President in 1932, he inherited an economy which had collapsed following the Wall Street crash of 1929.  Later, he was President when the United States entered World War Two on the day following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour, without a declaration of war, on 7 December 1941, which he described “as a date which will live in infamy.”  He was thus the leader in the two greatest perils to face that great country.  History repeats itself.  Just as world leaders failed to recognize the signs of an impending collapse of the global banking system so also the Wall Street Crash burst on an unsuspecting America in 1929 when Herbert Hoover was President.  Like his successor, Roosevelt, he recognized the need to finance major projects to set the economy moving and no project was bigger than the Hoover Dam which was started in 1931.  In 1932, Roosevelt received a massive endorsement from the American people when he won an overwhelming victory at the polls.  Roosevelt continued with the Hoover Dam project which was finished in 1936.  The  result was a massive dam, 726ft high and 1,244ft long which created an artificial expanse of water, named Lake Mead, containing 247 sq miles of water within a shoreline measuring 550 miles.  Hydroelectric generators converted this to 1.5 million kilowatts of power, sufficient to meet the needs of Arizona, Nevada and Southern California.

Once in office, Roosevelt embarked on what became known as the New Deal.  He got Congress to endorse a massive programme to put the unemployed to work building houses, roads, bridges and dams across America.  He set up a Brains Trust in Washington by bringing in experts from every field to advise him on how to move America out of recession.  His first action was to immediately create a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which guaranteed to secure the deposits of up to $100K for each saver.  He then produced the necessary legislation to move America forward including an Emergency Banking Act which introduced stringent rules enforced by regular federal banking inspections to ensure that banks were made to operate in a responsible and risk-free manner.  In 1933, be created the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Their first action was to construct dams in order to produce hydroelectric power at minimal costs.  The low cost electricity attracted many new industries to the area, thereby putting many thousands into productive work in an area which had hitherto been impoverished.

Throughout the 1930s, America went from strength to strength and became the workshop for the free world following the outbreak of World War Two.  Just consider the following.  During 1944, Germany and Russia each produced 40,000 aircraft, Britain 28,000 but the US 96,000!  Throughout the war, Britain produced 123,819 aircraft but the US, which only entered the war December1941, produced 284,318.  The US shipbuilding yard built a standard “Liberty Ship” (10,500 ton merchant ship) in 100 hours!  It was fully equipped and ready for service in two further days.  Within two years and despite the losses at Pearl Harbour, the US Navy had twice as many battleships and three times the aircraft carriers that Japan had.  By May 1944 the US had 31,000 landing craft.  We could do with another Franklin Delano Roosevelt now to sort out the global economy.

Roger Bryant

Operation Christmas Child – Bring Shoe Boxes to church on Sunday 29 November

Correspondence Column

A letter of thanks from Bishop Kenneth and Sarah

Dear Friends

This is just a line to thank everyone for the warm generosity expressed in the cheque handed to me after the Farewell Eucharist in the Cathedral on Saturday.  Both farewell services at Newport and in Portsmouth will remain with us for a long time to come.  I know it must have involved a great deal of organization, at a time when many people are hard pressed.  So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This diocese has been a wonderful place to be these past fourteen years, and we shall take many memories of you all with us into retirement.  The gifts were beautiful, flowers for Sarah, and the photo-album carefully put together.  Right now, we’re not sure what to spend the rest of the money on, but the first instalment - garden furniture - is going to look great in our new environment.

Much love from us both and God bless you all.

Kenneth and Sarah

Dear Friends and Colleagues in Portsmouth Diocese,

I am delighted to have been asked to take on the role of Commissary Bishop for the diocese in the vacancy, as we await the appointment of a new diocesan bishop.  All being well, we should know who the new bishop is to be by early in the New Year.  Then the appointed person has to prepare for the move to Portsmouth, so it is likely to be a few months later that the new bishop will begin his ministry here.  Meanwhile I shall do my best to undertake the various Episcopal responsibilities in the diocese. 

You will be glad to know that Bishop Kenneth and Sarah have settled happily in Chichester and Kenneth seems in much better health.  I know you will want to keep them in your prayers.

I am glad to have the assistance of retired bishops Peter Selby, formerly of Worcester diocese, and Godfrey Ashby, formerly a bishop in South Africa and latterly assisting in Leicester diocese, in taking some of the services.  Peter lives on the Isle of Wight and Godfrey in Horndean. 

With Bishop Kenneth’s poor health in the last few years it has meant that others have had to carry an extra burden or responsibility and I would like to acknowledge that and thank other members of the senior staff – the Archdeacons, the Dean, the Diocesan Secretary and the Chaplain – for undertaking so much extra work and indeed continuing to do so as they seek to support and guide me.

I look forward to the opportunity to meet and get to know many of you over these next few months, whether that may be at a synod, a Confirmation service, a Cathedral occasion or at some other meeting.

May I ask for your prayers as I undertake this important work and also ask that you continue to pray for those who carry a major responsibility in the work of the diocese?  Pray too for the work of the Crown Nomination Commission, six of whose members are your elected representatives.  They meet in October and November to carry out the selection and appointment of your new bishop.

I shall be remembering you each day in my prayers.  Let us together continue to be faithful in our worship and witness for Christ.

Yours sincerely in the Lord,

Ian, Bishop of Dorking

Commissary for the Bishop of Portsmouth

Llandaff Cathedral.

In August, a last-minute change in family commitments enabled me to join Westbourne Church choir and travel to Llandaff to sing services in the Cathedral there.  The teenagers that joined us came from St Luke’s School in Portsmouth, now known as Charter Academy, and these extra singers borrowed our choir robes for the week.  For most of these pupils it was their first time away from home and their first holiday in a place other than their own Portsmouth environment.  For one or two it was too much of an ‘ask’ and they returned home.  For others the experience was character forming and their late-night laughter and chatting outside the hostel went on late into the evening!

Llandaff Cathedral is built on one of the most ancient Christian sites in Britain.  All that remains of the original building is an ancient Celtic cross that stands near the Chapter House.  However the Cathedral has not forgotten its Celtic roots and still houses the tombs of two of its original Celtic Saints – St. Dyfrig and St. Teilo.  The present building was begun by Bishop Urban in 1120 and contains art works and artefacts that range from the medieval through the Pre-Raphaelite to the Victorian and contemporary.  Inside the Cathedral just west of the Choir is the famous statue - “Majestas” - by Jacob Epstein that towers over the nave and is a truly awesome sight.

Accommodation was in single study bedrooms that were very comfortable.  Students these days have en-suite ‘wet-rooms’– very different from my day when the whole hostel shared the toilet and bath facilities!  Since it was on a self-catering basis, I had taken plenty of food that lasted the whole of the weekend.  The student accommodation was arranged in “flats” each with six study bedrooms and had shared kitchen facilities complete with large fridge and even larger freezer.  There was a huge Tesco’s at the perimeter of the student residences that would have solved all one’s dietary needs.

I joined the singers for Evensong on Friday and Saturday, then the 9.30am Eucharist and Evensong on Sunday.  Rehearsals were held in the Song School that was accessed via the relatively modern (1950’s) Welch Regiment Memorial Chapel.  One had to negotiate some tortuous corridors and steps before entering the bright and airy Song School where there were only two chairs to sit down on!  Like other Cathedrals, Llandaff’s Choristers and Lay Clerks are expected to stand for rehearsals!

In the Cathedral the acoustic was good, although temporarily interrupted by the building of a completely new Nicholson Organ.  The organ on the north side of the Choir had been almost completed, but those of us singing on Decani had to negotiate bits of scaffolding and planks that impeded our view somewhat.  We also had to contend with a set of lights that switched on and off with no warning - almost like St Faith’s!  Next year it will be a privilege to sing accompanied by this amazing new organ.  I hope that some of our more senior choristers (and adults) will take advantage of this great opportunity to sing in the beautiful surroundings of one of our most ancient Cathedrals.

Sylvia Willey

A Different Type of Holiday in Plymouth

An unusual holiday resort for someone born and bread in Portsmouth and having no interest in naval ships!

Most people think that my main interest is Railways, but really it’s Passenger Ships-Ferries, Paddle Steamers, and local pleasure boats and Plymouth is the ideal centre for such an interest.

My Priest friend has a similar interest and as he lives in London, I arranged to meet him on the London train at Exeter St. David’s.  I travelled via Salisbury and Honiton on the old Atlantic Coast Express route.  As my friend is no longer able to carry his suitcase, I helped to get it off the train and to a taxi to take us to the Royal Hotel our venue for 9 nights.  On our foreign holidays when sailing from Plymouth with Brittany Ferries, we always used the Royal which is managed by a former naval person.  We unpacked and were off for a walk along the Hoe to the Barbican which is an area of refreshment and where the ships depart.  Supper followed at Rocky`s.

We had done our homework before the holiday and in most cases had the various leaflets needed for our trips.  The weather was fresh and bright.

On our first day, we were off to Par on the 09.19 train for a visit to Fowey.  Walking from the station to the main road was a bus stop.  Both sides of the road showed the bus for Fowey, so it couldn’t be decided which side to stand, but in the end it didn’t matter as we caught a taxi because the bus was late!  Because of a later arrival, the proposed trip to Mevagissey wasn’t possible, so we went across on the ferry to Polruan for lunch at the local Inn.  We returned the same way and did a 50 minute cruise on a 28 foot launch to the river mouth and up river towards Golant where China Clay loaded onto freight trains, but not today!  It was a fine warm day.  After a brief refreshment, I used my under used mobile telephone to get the taxi to pick us up for Par.

The following day, we did the Morwellham cruise up the Tamar on the Plymouth Express, a small very basic ship with character and only 17 passengers on board for the 1hr.50 minutes cruise in the rain.  We made straight for the Ship Inn where a lovely lunch was taken.  The ship returned at 15.25 arriving back at the Barbican at 17.05.

Next day we were off to Falmouth to go on a former Port of Portsmouth Floating Bridge Co Ltd Steam Launch, the Princessa which had been built in 1921 by Camper & Nicholson of Gosport.  She had been sold in the 1950`s to the Isle of Wight and much later made her way to Falmouth.  The ship is still registered in Portsmouth and retains her name although not her steam engines.  It was a glorious trip in bright sunshine, a moderate breeze and slightly choppy sea to the Helford River and Frenchman’s Creek.  We had a good journey home to Plymouth.

On Saturday 4^th July it was an unsettled day and found that the afternoon cruise we had already booked for to the River Yealm had been cancelled because of wind and rough seas.  Instead we did a 75 minute cruise around the Dockyard and decided also to do a non-landing cruise to Cawsand on a former lifeboat.  The trip was in a swell and choppy sea with fresh wind, which involved much movement!  The person collecting the fares was surprised that we didn’t want to get off and had to work out a fare for our journey.

On Sunday my friend had been recommended that we went to St. Peter’s Church which we found out was a Forward in Faith High Church and the 10.30 Mass.  It was a Victorian building that had been beautifully restored.  They have a website at plymouthstpeter.co.uk.  It was a satisfying service.

As there was a 14.00 cruise on a small passenger boat going up the river to Calstock, we decided to do it.  The vessel was very slow taking 1hr.55 minutes and 2hr. 5 minutes coming back.  However, the ship was a solid vessel which reduced rolling and does cruises to the River Yealm for another company.  It’s a real family affair with the crew consisting of Mr. Smith and his son being the owners and Mr. Smith (senior)’s wife staffing the Bar.  We were invited to the wheelhouse by the son.  The weather today was unsettled with a strong wind.

On Monday we caught the train to Totnes and a double decker bus ride to Kingsbridge.  The driver was bemused by the fact that we wanted to pay rather than use the free bus pass.  On arrival at Kingsbridge we had a nice lunch at the Creeks End Inn before walking to the Boatyard Quay to catch the Rivermaid for a cruise to Salcombe with about 90 minutes ashore.  Despite the poor weather, we had lovely sunshine on a clear day.  We returned to Kingsbridge at the Quay because the tide had come in.  Salcombe is well worth a visit and I believe cruises to some of the creeks off the Salcombe River is rewarding.  We had heavy rain overnight.

On the Tuesday it was off to Totnes again, this time to do a cruise down the Dart to Dartmouth.  The only problem was that the tide was out and the shipping company had got it wrong!  We caught the bus to Dartmouth instead, having lunch at the Station Restaurant.  It’s a station that has never had a train, but that’s another story.  We did the 14.30 Dartmouth Harbour cruise up to Dittisham and down to Dartmouth Castle for an hour, before the 16.15 cruise to Totnes and train back to Plymouth.  It didn’t rain but the weather was unsettled.

On Wednesday it was the little Weston Maid to Cawsand where landing is over the bows onto the sandy beach.  We checked the buses for Cremyll and found a nice pub for lunch.  We got to the bus stop in plenty of time for the 14.25 First Bus to Mt. Edgecumbe for the Cremyll ferry to Stonehouse Plymouth.   However the times were confusing and when the bus came along with Cremyll on it, we boarded only to be told he was going to Plymouth and hadn’t changed his destination board!  With a smile, he said the bus we wanted was on the other side of the road and gone!  Fortunately I had spotted that Aline Coaches were going at 15.15.  We were the only 2 passengers on the bus and the driver was very friendly and helpful.

On arrival at the pier for the Northern Belle to take us to Stonehouse Plymouth, we came across someone who we had spoken to at the Barbican several times regarding trips and he insisted we had a free trip on the ship, which we gratefully accepted.  We walked back to the Barbican and went across to Mount Batten on a small launch, had a short walk and returned on the same boat to Mayflower Steps.  After a walk round Sutton Harbour which is adjoining the Barbican, we returned to do the packing.

On Thursday we caught the 10.44 to Paddington via Exeter St. David’s where I changed for the Salisbury train.  All the trains I travelled on were on time or within a few minutes.  All the trips we did from Plymouth were on Cheap Day returns using the Senior Railcard.  We didn’t have as much rain as had been promised by the weather forecasters, but we enjoyed ourselves very much getting on 12 different ships in 10 days!

Terry Creswell

Lest We Forget