Isle of Wight visit

Thursday was our nicest day on the island, starting with a gentle walk over the Downs to the battery, somewhat slowly because grand daughter had a tummy ache so bent double like an old lady with osteoporosis and a sack of potatoes on her back. We sang "The Battle of Waterloo" to get us marching. She cheered up when we reached the chairlifts (videoed when I can get YouTube to accept my upload) and she sketched the needles while her brother threw stones into the sea. Grandpa searched for different coloured chalks from the cliff for her to experiment sketching with. Then we walked back over the downs. We met a man with a bouncy dog. It ran circles round grandson, whilst the man announced that the dog was frightened of children. It didn't look frightened of grandson; it looked like it wanted to play and it ran more circles round him, while he got more and more nervous. Then the poor child fell over. Man called dog, stroked his nose gently and murmured lovingly "bad dog". Grandson picked himself up, covered with dusty chalk, a bit bruised and he bit his lip. He nearly cried, but he is so plucky, and we told him so. Plucky was another new word that we'd collected that day. Plucky grandson.

In the afternoon we went down to Freshwater Bay, a pebbly but pleasant beach and the sun came out. An elderly woman was collecting seaweed. Yesterday on 'The Apprentice' the competitors had been collecting seaweed to make soaps. I wondered to husband how to do it. He suggested I ask elderly lady. "Excuse me." She told me she was collecting the bright green weed to eat. You had tow ash it very carefully and well, put it in the microwave for 30 secs and it was good with pasta. She also had been collecting rock samphire and gave me some to taste. Delicious, like a succulent parley. I went where she suggested to collect some, which I mixed with tomatoes for a salad. Husband and I liked it but not the grand children. Someone told me how her grandmother in law used to have it in a soup with hot milk.

The seaweed was even less successful, so I think I'll find out how to use it in soap instead of eating it.