Travel

A quick break in Lymington

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) British, Holiday, Humor, Humour, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation , , , , , ,

Just back having spent a lovely couple of days in the New Forest town of Lymington (England). Boyfriend Ben was busy attending to work matters and, with me having copious amounts of annual leave left to take, I thought I’d have another go at exploring.

Unlike last year, when I visited neighbouring Lyndhurst, this time I didn’t get ill from Norovirus (actual yay!!)

I didn’t take many snaps for a few key reasons:

  1. I was only in Lymington for two full days
  2. I spent most of that time in coffee shops and eateries, reading books or writing like the Devil himself

Other reasons:

  1. I visited the St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, but they had a policy of not taking photos in the gallery (which is fair enough)
  2. It’s November, things get dark from 16:30
  3. I walked up and down the main High Street so many times I felt I was one selfie away from being branded a loitering millennial
  4. Pulling together videos takes time, especially when…
  5. I’m also taking part in a personally adapted version of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year

But hey! Here are a couple of snaps I did manage to take. (All of which from around the quay at the moment I thought “I should probably take a photo for the website”)

There’s a nature reserve (located next to a busy stretch of road – you wouldn’t know it!)

There are ferries to the Isle of Wight (which I didn’t utilise, but I did walk up to with no intention of boarding. I went right to the edge and thought “huh, so that’s what the ferries look like up close. Okay,” then retraced my steps back to the quay. Valid use of an hour’s walking with a laptop strapped to my back, if ever there was one.

There was also the mini event of the train cutting over the quay, which felt strange and yet very watchable.

And then there’s me, hello!

In conclusion

Lymington is a wonderful place to visit for a short break, particularly around this time of year (November), when things are less crowded vs the high/school holiday season.

I stayed within the town throughout my stay but there are plenty of other local attractions within the New Forest for those wanting to explore, alongside the car/foot passenger ferry to the Isle of Wight. Lymington is accessible by car and serviced by two train stations, one of which being only a couple of minute’s walk from the town centre.

For what it’s worth, these were the coffee/catering I visited* (*I visited other establishments which formed part of nationally recognised chains, so I’ll celebrate the independents instead!)

Lounges of Lymington

The Larder, Lymington

The King’s Head Inn, Lymington

Coffeelogy, Southampton (this place isn’t in Lymington, but I stopped here on my way home!)

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Relaxing summer days in Devon

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) Devon, Holiday, Humor, Humour, Travel, Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , ,

This is a smidge of a belated one, given boyfriend Ben and I were holidaying in the last week of August. What can I say? I’ve been rather busy since getting back, and by busy, I mean swamped in work emails.

Back in South Devon, we had a rather splendid time in and around the English Riviera (even if Ben’s reaction to that description was laughter, followed by “no, really? The English Riviera?“)

We did wine tasting, we did a cider tour, we visited National Trust properties, I even did a walk along the River Dart in hopelessly inadequate footwear. We did all the classy things. We had a simply wonderful time thanks to all the wonderful human beings that made it so.

Oh, and Ben’s car almost got flooded, due to the super blue Moon (he’ll insist it looked worse than it was, but he was the one moaning about his wet socks for the rest of the night!)

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Attractions visited (in no particular order):

  • Ring O’Bells, Chagford (pub and restaurant). Great priced bagette sandwiches, just what we needed after an early start on the road
  • James Bowden & Son, Chagford (shop). AKA the never ending shop
  • The River Shack, Stoke Gabriel (restaurant). Coffee, breakfast, pizza, this place never fails to delight
  • The Castle Inn, Stoke Gabriel (pub and restaurant). Repeat customers throughout the week
  • Hunt’s Cider, Stoke Gabriel (tour and tasting). Tried about 6 ciders, then got offered more by the owners because we were one of the last ones there. We may have been stumbling across the fields on the way back…
  • Sandridge Barton (home of Sharpham Wine), Stoke Gabriel (wine tasting and self-led vineyard walk). Oh my god, the wines were beautiful!
  • Slapton Sands (beach and WWII memorial). Got our steps in and relaxed on the pebbly beach, taking in the sounds of local nature and the sea (relaxation somewhat broken when Ben said “look! There’s a dead crab near us”)
  • National Trust – Coleton Fishacre, Kingswear (visitor attraction). The property where Ben compared every bedroom to the side of his house and I made passing comments over the 1920s obsession with single beds
  • National Trust – Greenway, famed author Agatha Christie’s holiday house, Brixham (visitor attraction). The property where Ben said “so, this will be the kind of second home you own one day?” I pulled a face that made him laugh
  • Brixham (town). There were models/figurines of topless mermaids everywhere (locals, please fill me in on this, I didn’t get the connection, other than it being a significant fishing town)
    • I previously wrote a post giving my person review of Brixham, including top attractions. You can read it here
  • Paignton (town). See above, alias “where Alice loitered in a coffee shop with her book”
  • Ikea, Exeter (shop). Because we stopped off there on the way back and Ben and I love day trips to Ikea…even if it is only the second time in 10 years I’ve been to one)

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I Saw “Is That All There Is?” at the Tate Modern and I’m Still Hooked

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) Art, Culture, Humor, Humour, London, Travel , , ,

I don’t know if it’s the warped soundtrack, the computer-generated vocals or the mesmerizingly basic Adobe Flash animation but whichever way, I saw “Is That All There Is?” at the Tate Modern (London) and now it’s all I can think about.

I swear to goodness I wish it would just leave me alone. After all, it’s hardly something you can sing along to, not when the earworm in question sounds like a deflated emergency siren.

And, a much as I value the importance of art, I wish this wasn’t the one thing to have stuck with me since my visit to the Tate Modern in November 2022 (that’s right, it’s still haunting me!)

…I’m off to get myself a strong cup of tea.

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(For what it’s worth) Display caption lifted from the Tate Modern website:

IS THAT ALL THERE IS? considers the environmental impact of global warming. YHCHI often use dark humour to highlight difficult issues. The text and melody of the work are based on the song Is That All There Is?, made popular by singer Peggy Lee in 1969. The fire in the song’s lyrics here becomes a reference to wildfires in California. The question ‘Is That All There Is?’ is repeated again and again, highlighting the lack of personal and political accountability in relation to climate change.

Gallery label, April 2022

Artist credit: Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries

Title: “Is That All There Is?”

Featured post image (also used below): “What The Hell’s Going On” by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries (https://www.artpapers.org/young-hae-chang-heavy-industries/)

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Plant Takeaway: the Eden Project Exhibition that still Traumatises me

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) British, comedy, Humor, Humour, Mermaid, Travel, Uncategorized , , ,

Few things have shaped me more than a mechanic exhibition housed in the visitor centre of Cornwall’s world famous Eden Project. Shaped me, in a negative way.

Back in 2000, when the biomes for The Eden Project were still under construction, the visitor centre was opened up to the public. I was eight years old. “This will be educational,” my parents thought, “Alice will get to see this amazing thing being built and learn a bit about the nice plants in the visitor centre.”

Traumatised I was. Traumatised.

Image credit, Joe N., FourSquare.com

Plant Takeaway, an exhibition also referred to as “The Dead Cat” (which personally I think says it all) is, according to the attraction’s website, “[an] automated puppet show that explores our total dependence on plants. Visitors watch as absolutely everything made of plants in Alan and Enid’s kitchen is taken away.”

It sounds all harmless enough, sure, but let me put to you this; Plant Takeaway features scary mannequins (and you know how I feel about those), nudity and what I have always assumed to be a “Peeping Tom”. It is a reminder of the importance of plants (big tick) and how their removal will result in the painfully slow erosion of everything you hold dear (uh-oh) until ultimately you die from starvation or a lack of oxygen, which ever comes first.

“…Daddy, am I going to die?”

I can see Mumma B rolling her eyes at me now, “she’s 30 and still going on about that silly mechanical exhibit at The Eden Project” but you know what, Mum, yes, I am still going to harp on about it. There was an eight year old me, eyeball to eyeball with a naked collapsed man. To top it all off the cat dies. That’s it, THE END.

I spent the rest of the day crying. When we got back to the holiday cottage we were staying at I was in a state best comparable to that time Hermione got herself petrified in Chamber of Secrets. I remember these things because I was haunted.

Image credit: Pinterest

I think I had a mild form of PTSD, Plant Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Years later we returned to The Eden Project, where as a teenager I was quickly rushed through the visitor centre. We’d all hoped Plant Takeaway would have been retired and thrown into a skip somewhere but nope, still there.

I was going for third time lucky when I visited last year. On seeing its ugly, clunky presence I decided to face my fears and watch it through to the bitter end.

I gave up halfway through.

In my defence I really did try, and in my equal defence this exhibition is a pile of trauma. Other people have recorded and uploaded the whole thing onto YouTube…or at least I assume so (I’m not going to check; go look yourself and on your own mental health be it).

The other 98% of The Eden Project is absolutely lovely and well worth a visit, but this? Nah. I have two questions to put to the management of this attraction 1) who in their right mind signed off the development of the Plant Takeaway exhibition and 2) who is continuing to let it stay?!

Uh-oh, I think I might have triggered myself again (passive-association from the memories). I’m off to get some ice cream.

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*VIDEO* A New Type of Adventure: Budapest 2022

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) Europe, Holiday, Humour, Travel, Vacation , , , ,

After years of having my beloved city breaks restricted by geographical borders, in September I travelled to Budapest in Hungary.

Any that wasn’t the only change in scenery…

Ps this video was uploaded later than I planned to because a) life, b) my laptop broke down (and then even longer to get it fixed) and c) once I’d finally put the video together, the file got corrupted during export, causing no end of headaches. But we’re here now.

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Alice Likes Honey

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) comedy, Europe, food, Humor, Humour, Travel , ,

A new thing I’ve discovered, honey sachets!

I am fully aware of the existence of both honey and sachets but the two together? Ruddy marvellous.

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I need to do a collaboration with this artist!

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) Art, Holiday, Humour, Mermaid, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation , , , ,

This painted door in Funchal (Madeira) is beautiful!

Artist: Tiago Machado

Door number: 105

Funchal’s Painted Doors

Find out more about the other painted doors which feature in the city of Funchal’s ‘Old Town’ district (Rue de Santa Maria). Click this link or enter “Painted doors Madeira” into your trusty search engine. There are some absolute beauties to be found.

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The Elizabeth Line: An Alternative Review

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) British, Humor, Humour, London, Travel, Uncategorized , , ,

Here’s a quick run-through of what happened when I went on London Underground’s newest service, the Elizabeth line.

The first thing I was aware of when I descended the escalators at Paddington was the whizzy LED signs.

I don’t know why, but I found them mesmerising, like a lava lamp. It was also 7:30am and I hadn’t had coffee, which I acknowledge may have been a contributing factor. Nudged by another commuter in that classic “get-on-or-move-on” fashion, I hopped onto the next Eastbound train.

Now the thing is…well, I wanted to illustrate that even though it was very busy at Paddington station the train was pretty quiet. But, equally, I didn’t want it to be obvious I was taking random photos of the train. You can see my predicament. So what do you get?

A slightly burred picture of a door.

It really was a classically Alice dilemma.

Oh, thumbs up for the seat coverings by the way.

And the floor? I mean, I wouldn’t say I’d be eating off it, but by London standards it was fairly squeaky.

I just wish I could say it was seam-LESS! (Get it? Because there’s a joining line? Well, I thought it was witty).

And here’s a photo of Custom House, before a-la-mosh pit I got scooped up by corporate commuters and funnelled toward the ticket gates.

*Then Alice did actual work stuff at the ExCel conference centre*

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On leaving the ExCel I was running back what felt like the thickest black jacket in the hottest day. To say I was a bit toasty was an understatement, I was effectively drowning in a pool of sweat and free pencils.

Honestly I was so relieved to be somewhere with air conditioning and seating I forgot to take any photos. Minor detail.

It was probably owing to this (realising at Bond Street I hadn’t taken any photos and unable to, thanks to the copious amounts of free pencils filling my hands) that I became very obsessed with scoring a selfie with the Underground sign at Paddington. That, and in part because of the very strong coffee I knocked back before leaving the ExCel.

Ten attempts later (not kidding), I settled with what I got and shambled upstairs to find out the outbound train I’d been racing to get was actually a very slow train so ended up loitering around Paddington for 40 minutes for the train which, it turns out, all my colleagues were on as well. None of them were interested in my pencils, only moaning about the cleanliness of the toilets at Paddington. For a whole hour.

So yeah…

The Elizabeth line! Clean (enough), mesmerising signs (if you’re suffering from caffeine withdrawal) and just enough air con to stop you gagging on the stench of someone else’s body odour. What more could you want?!

Oh, and it’s actually super quick to get places. Minor detail.

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Writing Retreat in the New Forest *VIDEO*

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) Book, British, Humour, Mellennial, Mermaid, Staycation, Travel, Uncategorized, Vacation, Writing, Young Professional , ,

Video of my recent five-day break in the New Forest, England. I went out specifically to focus on writing and while it didn’t quite turn out entirely as I’d hoped, I had a very relaxed time in beautiful surroundings.

Until the next time!

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**Video** A Belter in Belfast (Solo Travels #5)

My Housemate's a Mermaid (Alice E. Bennett) British, Culture, Europe, Holiday, Review, Staycation, Tourist, Travel, Uncategorized , , , ,

As promised after my solo trip to Belfast back in September (Geology, Politics and Guinness: My Week in Belfast), here’s the video covering the highlights of my trip.

(Song: “Belter” by Gerry Cinammon)

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