| Tilily
Tangerine the Traveling Sasha |
Visiting the D-Day Museum |
Tilily's
First Stop in England: the Portsmouth Area |
Old
House at Home, Havant.
Tilily in front of surviving old cottages circa 1339 |
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The
whole of this area dates back to Roman times and there is
a hostelry nearby called 'The Centurion' which is built on
Roman remains! The outer suburbs of the city of Portsmouth
includes several small towns.
Havant
has a long - and sad - history. In 1760 a fire gutted almost
the entire town - all that remained was the little church,
Faith's and a row of tiny cottages, all of which have been
preserved to this day. We explored the church and grounds
and then went to visit the museum which, unfortunately, was
closed the day we went, but Tilily decided to pose for photos
outside and on one of the very modern-day seats. The old town
hall, built in mid-1800, is now home to the Arts Centre so
we took a peek.
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Havant
Tilily has a short rest
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Tilily
in Hampshire, England: visit to old parchment-makers' building |
Faith's
Church in Havant
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Next
stop was the row of tiny cottages that survived the fire and
are now a very inviting and attractive hostelry - called the
'Old House at Home' - preserved intact on the outside and
with original beams (two coming from the Spanish Armada),
walls where feasible, fireplaces etc.on the inside. Tilily
obligingly posed under the sign showing the cottages were
built in 1339. Finally, we went along to an area called 'The
Parchment' which is now a most attractive residential road,
but right at the end is the very old, still intact, building
used by the parchment makers, this being the main industry
of Havant for a long time. The spring which bubbled up beside
the building provided the water needed in the manufacturing
process.
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The Old House at Home
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Havant Museum
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Havant Museum
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Tilily
Visits an English Garden for Tea
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Waterlooville
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Waterlooville
(left}, was named in honour of the foot-sore, weary, soldiers
who stopped there for refreshment after docking in Portsmouth
harbour for their return to London from the battle of Waterloo
in 1815.
In
the shopping precinct there is a cannon (right) which perhaps
the battle-worn soldiers decided they had pulled far enough
and so left it there for posterity.
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A Visit
to the D-Day Museum
The
museum commemorates the allied invasion of Normandy, France
on the 6th June, 1944 (D-Day) which essentially was the beginning
of the end of World War II. The museum is also home to the
Overlord Embroidery so named because 'Overlord' was the code
name for the invasion plans. It was commissioned by Lord Dulverton
in 1968 and the designs were executed by Sandra Lawrence.
The embroidery consists of 34 panels measuring 272 feet in
length and is the longest work of its kind in the world -
it is 33 feet. longer than the Bayeux Tapestry. It took 20
embroiderers from the Royal School of Needlework 5 years to
complete and battledress khaki and gold braid were appliqued
onto the panels.
We
stopped for refreshment in the tea room and Tilily enjoyed
being photographed beside the various war uniforms on display
and the war bride's dress. Then we went along to the castle,
which was built by Henry VIII in the 1500s. I think Tilily
preferred the fountains to the castle and would have gone
in for a paddle if I hadn't restrained her! The photos show
the lighthouse beside the castle and the overall setting.
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D-Day Museum, Portsmouth
Home to Overlord Embroidery
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Tilily with a uniform on display
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Museum tea room
Map of South Coast
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Tilily
climbs on an anti-aircraft gun
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Tea
Room at museum
Tilily likes the war bride's wedding dress |
Some
of many displayed uniforms |
Southsea
Castle, Portsmouth
Built by Henry VIII in the 1500s |
Portsmouth
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Tilily
with Isle of Wight in background |
The
Hovercraft travels across the sea on a cushion of air which
inflates just before take-off
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Portsmouth
and the adjacent area Southsea whereTilily was fascinated
by the Hovercraft -- this area is one of the few places to
have a Hovercraft.
It
does the crossing to and from the Isle of Wight all through
the day and travels across the water on a cushion of air which
is amazing to watch when it inflates ready for 'take-off'.
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Hovercraft:
Base inflated and entering the water |
