Things I Did Yesterday 17/08/10

Well, shit, it's an improvement, isn't it? Anyway, yesterday I:

- Woke up in a hotel room in Winchester, Roman town and seat of power to the kings of Wessex and later to William the Conqueror. Lovely place, where Alex had arranged for a weekend getaway to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. The anniversary was actually on the 1st August, but she was polishing elephants, or whatever they do down there in South Africa, for her mother's birthday.

- Had as hearty a breakfast as a hotel allows (wasn't too bad, to be fair), then hit the road, headed for Lyndhurst, at the heart of the New Forest. Got stuck in the prettiest traffic jam I've ever been in, with lush forest all around.

- Lyndhurst was bustling tourist central, so we didn't spend too long there: just a quick half in a wasp-infested beer garden. Then we went for a drive, headed to Beaulieu (didn't stop at the motor museum or Palace House, as the entry was £17/head!) The New Forest impressed me greatly and we'll definitely be back. We've long talked about a camping and cycling holiday there, and this motivated us both to make it happen. Lovely, varied terrain, with ponies and cattle wandering freely everywhere, and the occasional picturesque village to boot.

- Went on to the spit at the Calshot (past picturesque oil refineries and power stations) and popped into Calshot Castle, a fortress built in the 16th Century to defend Southampton. Nice little English Heritage place, with some amazing models of old seaplanes that used to operate out of there.

- Drove on to Southampton, where we stopped very briefly for a quick drink before hitting the road back to London.

- Dropped the rental car off at the depot near Pentonville Prison, then wandered home.

- Once home we drifted off to do our own thing. I caught up on The Daily Show while Alex watched the soaps, then watched Burning Bright, a silly but fun film about a girl and her autistic younger brother trying to escape a tiger that has been nefariously let loose in their house, which has been battened down for a hurricane. Really, it's not too bad, and has a smart, resourceful female lead; nothing to take for granted in the genre.

- Watched a True Blood (speaking of silly), then hit the sack.