On a clear day you can see forever

Shame it wasn’t a clear day, though! It was lovely when we left home, warm and sunny. Shall I wear a jumper? I mused. No, a light jacket’ll be fine because it’ll be breezy on the coast, thought I. No, it wasn’t breezy at all. The rain fell straight down. It was weird in Portsmouth because we were in the area where I used to live, but it’s changed somewhat since 1973 and I kept getting a visual overlay of the past to help me get my bearings. “You can see the Spinnaker Tower for miles” we were told “You can’t miss it”. You can when the clouds are as low as they were today! When I looked at the location of our destination on the map I thought it was at HMS Vernon, and I was right. It’s just that HMS Vernon isn’t there any more - it's now a retail and expensive-residential centre - and you can walk through the gateway without being challenged by armed men. We met up with Stu and Sarah and Kouros, then Elly and Claire and Sam arrived, so we went to have a coffee and get warm. Sam entertained us by showing how high he can count (114) and we were on the edges of our seats, collective breath bated, at each contemplative pause. Cheers and a round of applause greeted the successful reaching of his century.

Because Elly and Co had already been up the tower when there was a view they decided to pass an opportunity to go up and see nothing, so the remaining five of us went in, braving the lift-man with halitosis and emerged at viewing deck 1, where there’s a panel of glass floor for brave souls

to walk on. It was fascinating watching the rain falling when you were above it. The 'Crow's Nest' deck, supposedly 'open to the elements' was disappointingly enclosed by glass, but the netting roof allowed the rain to fall on us. I'd imagined a secure waist-high barrier with netting below to catch jumpers and fallers, and to be able to feel the breeze. Ho hum.

The clouds cleared briefly and I was able to see the common where I'd used to play lacrosse, and the open space behind where my old home used to stand, and the fairground where my pals and I used to hang out when we were feeling flush, and the Round Tower where we stood and waved when Ark Royal steamed into harbour, bringing my Daddy home from his year-long tour of duty ... memories, memories.

At ground level again, we met up with Mally and Maddy and went to a 'quiet pub' for a quick drink. I must run the definition of 'quiet' past Mally sometime!

Today's Tower