Bognor three

Our third day started with a perfectly respectable sausage sandwich. Intriguing how it has become quite OK for quite fancy restaurants to serve bacon or sausage sandwiches these days, sometimes rather spoiled by their affecting to call them butties. Not to mention the rather good bacon and egg sandwich I had and noticed at the wine bar on the balcony at Waterloo station - a notice which I cannot now find, all the words involved popping up all over the place. It would probably have been easier had I not taken so many bacon sandwiches at Whitecross Street, having got their via Waterloo Station.

Breakfast completed, we settled on a trip with Southern to Arundel, starting off at the once busy station at Bognor. Trains fine, ticket collection feeble. Almost on a par with that on the Island Line on the Isle of Wight. But perhaps the new franchise holder there - Stagecoach having just lost it, in the middle of the major refurbishment at Waterloo just completed - will take things in hand - provided that is, that they do not just close the irritating little line down.

First stop at Arundel was Belinda's a very proper sort of tea shop for a tourist honey trap like Arundel, complete with lots of dark beams and dark wood furniture, possibly old. Rock cake unusual but good. Entertainment provided by members of the Arundel chapter of the red hat society at their fortnightly gathering for tea, coffee and cake. We learned that their most recent annual convention had involved a parade in Liverpool and the mayor. Furthermore, ladies who were young at heart not only wore red hats but also carried red small clothes in their handbags to wave at passing gents. See references 1 and 2.

On into the castle where we settled for a pair of gold tickets, rather than paying the extra for gold star tickets which would have entitled us to see the ducal bedrooms, the ones said to be actually used by the duke and his family. Presumably on an occasional basis. Not too sure that I would want the great unwashed creeping around our bedroom here in Epsom, taking a close look at all our books and bottles.

Started improperly with birds of prey, which you were allowed to touch for a fiver, and chaps dressed up as knights in armour taking swipes at each other with swords. Much clanging. Must have been hard work if you had to keep it up for hours.

Started properly with the Fitzalan chapel, already noticed for its fake at reference 5. There was also a notable tomb, with a knight in full-dress armour on the upper level and with the same knight in shrunk and decayed condition on the lower level, it being thought wise in those days to stay on top of eventualities, not to lose sight of the end game.

Moved onto the Earl's Garden, also already noticed for its fakes at reference 4. It also included a small scale version of the beech walk in the privy garden at Hampton Court. A walk which we learned the hard way was not very waterproof.

But in among the whimsy, there were some interesting plants, for example the first lupin that I recall seeing this year. In among all the upended trees roots, a feature of this part of the garden.

Into the house, which, inter alia, housed a notable collection of paintings, arms, armour and old brown wood furniture. Not terribly well displayed; they would have done a better job at the V&A. The house also sported a huge great hall and a big dining room. We wondered whether either had ever been used for real. Perhaps you can hire them for weddings, although the expense of moving all the art out on a temporary basis would be considerable. Overall, the place rather reminded us of Castle Drogo, another cod castle which takes in visitors to top up the coffers. We asked a trusty where all the Arundel money came from and she thought that the answer lay in one of the Arundel people marrying a Sheffield heiress, presumably rich on steel or coal or both, after the manner of the Sitwells of nearby Renishaw. While Castle Drogo was built by a 19th century grocer, relatively speaking, new money.

The castle chapel, where, we are told, his grace occasionally pays his respects to his lord. Or maybe he had one of those little sitting rooms built into the side of the chapel so that he could pay his respects in comfort. We were not allowed in, so I was not able to check. According to the BBC, Louis XIV certainly had such a thing at Versailles, as did the people (bankers rather than knights in armour) in the big house at Stourhead. See reference 8.

We took a light lunch in the café, where we were entertained by an older gent. from Paington who was happy to chat, rather than to march around the castle. He and BH were able to swap stories about Devon. He knew all about both Teignmouth Grammar School (now a community school) and the mansion built by the Singer family with sewing machine money, noticed at and around reference 7.

Penultimate stop was the Catholic cathedral, a rather grand place inside but which looks rather truncated outside, as if the Duke pulled in the purse strings half way through. Had an expensive problem with the central heating in the main castle, or something of that sort. In any event, the occasion for reference 3.

Last stop was back at Belinda's for more tea and rock cake.

A young carex pendula spotted on the way back to the railway station. The first of the day.

A view of Arundel Station. Presumably built for the crowds in the days when Bognor Regis was riding high and motor cars had not been invented. 

Back at Bognor, we did what we have never done before and took our dinner at the Lobster Pot Café, for the second day running, with the same choice of food and drink as on the day previous. We even earned a word with the lady proprietor, who wanted to know where we were staying and what was wrong with their food. Which left us with the thought that it is very hard for a hotel restaurant to compete with the likes of this café, with its cheerful ambience and good food. I suppose the hotels had a better time of it when there was very little competition and they got enough trade to put on a decent show.  Whereas on both Friday and Saturday, our hotel dining room was very quiet in the evening, despite the food being perfectly respectable and the hotel being fullish if not full.

PS: the bacon and egg sandwich mentioned above has now been run to ground at reference 9. I though I had it cracked when bing told me that the place used to be owned by Corney & Barrow, whoever they might be, which did turn up a couple of references to the right place, but the wrong references. Persisting, a Windows Explorer search with 'cabin bacon egg sandwich waterloo' on the blog archive turned up rather a lot of hits but I got lucky on the second one that I investigated.

Reference 1: https://www.redhatsociety.com/.

Reference 2: http://belindastearooms.com/.

Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/rubbish.html.

Reference 4: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/fake-7.html.

Reference 5: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/fake-8.html.

Reference 6: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/drogo-4.html.

Reference 7: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/two-follies.html.

Reference 8: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/pew.html.

Reference 9: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/master-builder.html.