Watchet

We have always had a soft spot for Watchet – a harbour town with a brand new marina just along the coast from us. Its main claim to fame is that Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the Ancient Mariner whilst travelling through there and Daniel Defoe was fascinated by the fossils and geology of the coastline. I have previously written about Coleridge and the Coleridge Way which I finally completed - in short bursts - a couple of years ago. Tom bemoaned the fact that the maze, which used to be painted on the north end of the Esplanade, was no more.

Holiday makers recently were transfixed by the sight of the SS Balmoral steaming towards the narrow harbour entrance when a cheeky little yacht cut across her bows. I saw this on SW News and gasped. # 1 son – a real ale fan – had read about the Esplanade Club where one could gain access to the Harbour Bar with a copy of CAMRA’s Good Beer guide and we had a pleasant sit and sip al fresco- the first time I remember being really warm on the Esplanade.

We gave the familiar Boat Museum, the Railway station and the Museum a miss and enjoyed walking round the harbour and staring at the sea before a café lunch. Nothing exciting happened; nobody fell in the sea but the time passed all too quickly in a pleasant haze of warmth, old familiar faces and places.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,

The furrow followed free;

We were the first that ever burst

Into that silent sea.

The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1722-1834)

How can one get hold of Firefox to request that they desist bouncing me off line, and to refrain from installing updates which I do not require when I am in the middle of a complicated posting. I mean REALLY!