Saturday 13th Aug 07:30pm, Shanklin, Isle of Wight

For the last two days the weather was not very appealing. Quite constant light drizzle, trademark UK drizzle of the sort you get very often over here, meant that I was mostly staying indoors, watching TV, reading books and having a discussion with the whole family at Roseberrys about blood pressure (Steven, an uncle of the kids, refused to believe me that 180/120 is Grade-3 hypertension that requires an instant check with your GP; he thought it was "pretty normal, innit?"). Once it cleared up for a couple of hours I went out to see a battery (cannons, that is; not electric stuff). The Heritage guy held quite a long speech about the cannons - I think he was glad he had someone to talk to; I was the only visitor there. He claimed that these cannons could still fire life rounds and fend off enemies. I replied that this is impressive, although it is rather unlikely that the Spanish Armada, or any Armada, wants to attack England again and, even if, could be repulsed with some 18th century cannons. He shrugged and pointed at one of the cannons. Engraved on it, it said: SEMPER VINCIT. Well, try that against an aircraft-carrier! I'm still unconvinced.

Back in Shanklin, when I was strolling along The Promenade enjoying the light rainfall, I met a guy from Newcastle and his son. They were just discussing whether it would be okay to kill a seagull and if so, how they would go about it. I joined in by saying that it's not a swan, therefore killing one would only be viewed as a minor crime. So we started talking about this and that. At one point he asked me if I "knew these ferns". Ferns? Fearne, the person or ferns, the plants? It turned out he actually asked if I knew about the new iPhones ("Ah-Ferns") and whether they are any good. You know, I'm usually quite good at accents but these Geordies get me every time!

Rain, TV and a guy from Newcastle - not much going on, you might think. Well, you're right. At least until suddenly big clouds came up over the land (symbolically speaking; literally speaking they were already there). It was the moment when my cash-card decided to go out of service. So there I was, stranded on an island with a hotel bill pending and almost no cash. Everything seemed to be okay with the card, though: enough credit in the account, card intact and not blocked, all perfect. Except that it didn't work. That's what I hate about this modern day technology (you know, computers and that sort of stuff): It doesn't work but it ain't telling you why. You know it needs fixing but you can't fix it because you don't know what needs to be fixed. If you are, in addition, stuck on an island in a foreign country, that sucks big stylee!

I was finally relieved when GOD intervened (well, my mum actually...) and paid the hotel bill by credit card and adjusted the monthly spending limit on my cash-card (that's where the problem was). That was such a relief to me that I felt like going to have a real dinner (not the 'Original American Hotdog' again). At the Waterfront Inn, where I was having a lovely Chicken Dixie - chicken breast, bacon and cheese on it with BBQ sauce - a family with three kids sat next to me. When they were discussing the plans for tomorrow, at one point the mother asked: "Do you want to go to Boredom Castle (I forgot the real name) or to the zoo?" What an impertinent question to ask a child, I thought. The result of the vote was, with 3 - 0 for Zoo, not surprising at all. I myself, however, didn't go to the zoo. I'm going to travel across the Solent again and onwards to Bournemouth on the 'Sunshine Coast'.

Oh yes, of course: The Shanklin Regatta was on this afternoon and the great fireworks display in the evening (compare photo).

Keep walking...

johnniewalker