ROCHESTER BLIND BOWLING GROUP

  10 a.m. was a civilised time for pickup and Steve, our driver, gave us a lunch and a comfort break by Guildford Cathedral. For those amongst us who had sped past over the years, it was a revelation that inside the Battersea Power Station type exterior was a beautifully light and elegant space that was well worth the visit.

  Then, our journey continued to Portsmouth and a crossing, as if on a mill pond. As we landed on the island, we were united with our tour manager, Anne, who was to stay with us throughout the trip. Another forty minutes and we reached our hotel, in Sandown. Within minutes, we were settling into our very comfortable rooms. A very smooth and relaxed journey, shaving hours off last year’s trip to Llandudno.

  We had a side room of the restaurant to ourselves and enjoyed the first of our excellent evening meals.
Plenty of choice, hot and served with incredible efficiency by Aisa, newly arrived from Poland and for whom
nothing was too much trouble. It left us plenty of time after the meal and we commandeered a lounge that
was just the right size for our party and sufficiently removed from the other guests, so as not to intrude. And
the entertainment began. Hans and Chris, with Evelina, took off from where they left off at Hayling Island.
They gave a great show, with which we could sing along. We went off to bed, at a reasonable time, tired but
very content that this was going to be a fantastic break.

  After a substantial breakfast (Hans, Chris and Terry, in particular, manoeuvring the first of many extras
form Aisa), we set off on the day’s outing which began in Whippingham, at St Mildred’s Church. Few, if any,
 of us had heard of it, but we were soon enthralled, as we learned that after being rebuilt by Nash, in 1804,
 it was again rebuilt, during 1857 to 1860, by Prince Albert, for Queen Victoria’s use on her frequent stays at
Osborne House. Sadly, he died in the December before the church was consecrated, in January, but the
many references to the family, in the church reminded us of the many and varied paths that were the
future of the children, particularly in the Russian revolution and with Kaiser Bill in Germany.

  Victoria’s association with the island’s churches continued with St Thomas’s in Newport, substantially rebuilt at her direction, with a memorial to Charles I’s daughter Caroline. Then to Godshill, a pretty village with a model village and a cider shop amongst its attractions. Ann H and Bill climbed the hill to visit Godshill Church, (Click here). Finally, to Arreton with a smaller but very pretty church, in St George’s and further places to explore such as the Maritime Museum.

  The weather was extremely kind to us all day, the sun shining brightly; a full day, but not so tiring as to stop us reconvening in what we now considered to be our lounge for another evening of singing and, thank you Pat F, a lively performance of knees up Mother Brown!

  The next, day bad weather threatened but held as we visited Shanklin and took a lunch stop at Niton. But, as we followed the Coast road to the west, the rain started and mists drew in to curtail the splendid views. We could certainly see some rough sea in the English Channel though, and after a short stop at Isle of Wight Pearl, a good number decided to stay on board the coach rather than brave the wind and rain to see the Needles, and even fewer ventured off to explore Yarmouth. It was the weather we had expected for the day, we were just lucky we had the morning before it really drew in.

  The hotel provided entertainment, in the evening, with a keyboard player, allowing our group’s vocal chords a rest. Ann and Peter, Hetty and Pat, Carol and Wilf, as well as Lynn and Albert, were prominent in showing their paces on the dance floor.

  Thursday saw over half of the group take up an optional extra trip, to Calbourne Mill. In perfect weather, it turned out to be an absolute delight, even before the group’s pleasure at the attention of the many birds in the area, including peacocks. Penny and Jean were thrilled to be covered, almost head to toe, by doves they were feeding. Click here, to read more ...

  Hetty and Pat took the steam train to the north and west of the island, click here to read about their trip, Ann and Peter visited Osborne House (click here to read about this choice) and several simply took their leisure in Sandown. It was a lovely day for everyone, whatever their choice of outing.

  The evening saw Anne, our tour manger, back in action, this time providing the entertainment. No surprise really, as she had kept the coach in fits with an amazing array of jokes, sometimes helpless with laughter, herself. She took us through Play Your Cards Right (Jean and Albert were winners) and a unique form of bingo. We all wrote one of five animals (dog, donkey, cow, sheep or cockerel) on a slip of paper with five numbers, under thirty. Anne called the numbers and we had to make the sound of the animal if our number came up. This provided a fine opportunity for chaos, and we grabbed it with both hands. Anne reminded us that one moo, crow etc would suffice, but the blind bowlers would not be inhibited. It was bedlam, but got the evening off to a fine start. Her husband then took over, playing guitar, singing and serving up another array of jokes which rarely overlapped with those told by Anne during the week. So gales of laughter again, and in between we could sing along. Mike has a fine voice. A good number saw it though to 11 p.m., which made it another long, full day, but once again hugely enjoyable.