Wine shipper

Following the visit to Heima noticed at reference 1, we thought it would be nice to buy some more of the wine from Slovenia, so towards the end of our recent holiday on the other island, we drive over to Meadowdale Wines, in Swanmore, just south of Ryde proper.

Operated by a long-resident Swede out of a shed at the side of his house, a Swede who was more than happy to sell us half a dozen of his finest Slovenian - flat packed unlike the stuff that we more usually get from the likes of Majestic. We learned that he got his wine by touring the wine fairs, at any one of which he might sample a hundred or more wines, presumably mostly from smaller producers. It seems that after spitting out, the trick is to make notes on your catalogue as you go along, and then revisit the likely ones for a second try. And possibly for an invitation to the winery itself to do the job properly, to be sure that this smaller producer could produce a consistent product. The money side of things was handled by a card reader and a laptop application, both from Paypal, seemingly a good solution for someone in a modest way of business. We wondered but did not ask about physical security.

Postcard

Returning to our car we noticed what appeared to be the tower of a Victorian church so decided to take a look. And it turned out to be the place which, given the small and dwindling congregation was thinking about closing its doors, and the church hall attached, to the dismay of the various groups which still used this last. Meeting about it that very same evening. The church of St. Michael and All [nine orders of] Angels.

Unusual, not to say, rather forbidding appearance from the outside, including an unusual apse, unusual at least in parish churches. Inside, a visitors' book dating from the early 1950's. High church, built in the middle of the nineteenth century, perhaps something of a show off item at the time, perhaps like the church at Ranmore noticed at reference 2. A large vicarage, so perhaps the ecclesiastical equivalent of a rotten borough.

Nave

With the fancy brickwork reminding me of that of St. James the Less just off Vauxhall Bridge Road, noticed at reference 3. Notice also the stations of the cross and the suspended, elaborate crucifix, both unusual in an Anglican church.

Nave vaulting

Lady chapel

The lady chapel with a ceiling painted with the nine orders of angels and with at least two sanctuary lamps (I think the one in the middle was the one which was lit when we visited).

Our Lady

The lady of the lady chapel.

Chancel

Forbidding exterior

Out and back down to Tesco's to buy some Pukka pies (only the best would do) for tea. Some difficulty as to size, as while one two person chicken pie would not have been enough, two would have been too much. So we settled for one two person chicken and gravy pie and one one person chicken and mushroom pie. I might say that, as it subsequently turned out, I much preferred the former to the latter, containing as it did rather too much of a thick floury sauce, not unlike tinned mushroom soup.

We also found a table full of second hand books, donated by grateful customers, to be had against a donation to some charity or other.

The haul

Rolph, because I got muddled up with the rather earlier Rolfe, famous for Hadrian VII.  But not a problem as he turned out to be an interesting chap that I used to read in the New Statesman, many years ago now. Enright looked to be amusing, another take on the Alexandria of Lawrence Durrell. George because of the family connection with Burma. This turned out to be a novel about a couple of chaps in the British army in Burma at the time of the Japanese occupation during the second world war.

Frontispiece

Which I found interesting for its account of one of the few of our places which were occupied by the enemy, at a time when there were certainly some people in this particular place who thought that the Japanese might be a better bet than the British. Interesting also in that is was printed in 1948, a time when woodcuts were still used to illustrate popular books, had not been completely eclipsed by photographs. Although, that said, woodcuts did hang on in niche markets like catalogues for scientific instruments and books about birds and animals - such as that mentioned at reference 4, a book which subsequently provided invaluable support for the animal game at reference 5.

Winding up with a quick, last visit to Yaverland, before heading home to tuck into the pies.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2018/07/heima.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv3.blogspot.com/2017/09/st-barnabus.html.

Reference 3: https://pumpkinstrokemarrow.blogspot.com/search?q=james+less+church+vauxhall.

Reference 4: https://psmv2.blogspot.com/2014/11/dalhousie.html.

Reference 5: http://psmv3.blogspot.com/2016/05/new-game.html.