Our Dorset break, and two collectors shows.

In the early summer, we went on a couple of breaks to the some very pretty parts of the coast. First was Dorset on the south coast of England, for my 40th birthday. On the way down, we stopped off in a rather rainy Winchester to have a look at the cathedral and a mooch about the very nice town centre, and grab a spot of lunch. The cathedral was wonderful - I was impressed with the old library there, lots of weighty tomes delicately made by monks of the past...and of course, the stunning medieval architecture. We were amazed to find out the massive building is actually built on marshland! Poor Carla got scared in a dark corner - she picked up a 'bad vibe' from what looked like a 'dark figure'.....spooky! Oh, we found an interesting cinema just past the town centre as well, in what looked like an old school hall.

The impressive interior of Winchester Cathedral. 

We got down to the coast ok, and found our lovely cottage easy enough, which was located right in the middle of the stunning village of West Lulworth, just up the road from Lulworth Cove - a tiny hamlet located on the famous sheltered bay. The evening sun was blazing by this point, although it was a little windy, we went out for a walk by the coast. It was so beautiful there, seeing the sea and bay in late afternoon sun. The views over the bay and coast were simply amazing.

Lulworth Cove, Dorset.

Looking west from Durdle Door, along the 'Jurassic Coast'.

Carla at Lulworth Cove, after the epic descent down the long stairs!

The next day we went walking all around the the cove and up and down the famous and dramatic 'Jurassic' chalk coast nearby, both in East and West directions, in a rough 'figure of eight' route around our cottage. We initially headed west through the countryside towards the famous coastal formation of Durdle Door, which provided us with some fantastic views, then back to Lulworth Cove along the coast, for some reason against most of the walking traffic! After lunch, we went the other direction and climbed the hill that separates the village from the coast. There were very steep steps down to the far side of the bay, but once down safely, it was great to investigate the area which was a little more wooded. We got back early and spent a lovely two hours in the garden in the sun. Bliss!

The ruins of Corfe Castle.

The next day was very sunny and warm, so we went for a visit to Corfe Castle (and the pretty village of the same name next to it) - which is a very impressive ruin of a fortress that must have been amazing in its glory days, due to the stunning location and design. We enjoyed walking around the castle, especially as we were re-creating scenes from the 1970's comedy, "Nuts in May" which was filmed there. After finding some very tasty eccles cakes in a baker's shop, we parked up near the village of Worth Matravers and did a long walk around the lovely coastal headland of St. Aldhelm’s Head. This was a wonderful walk, as it took in impressive (if a little bleak in places) countryside, fantastic sea views, and Winspit Quarry that happened to have been a "Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7" alien planet location in the late 1970's! Here, we had a funny encounter with seagull that loves houmous sandwiches. Later, it was good to discover a tiny chapel right out on the headland, which was very atmospheric to visit as it was 800 years old. Then, a bit further around the headland, was what could be best described as 'the stairs of Cirith Ungol' (Tolkien geeks will get the reference.) Wow, going up and down those was a great work-out! To finish the day, it was off to Swanage, a pleasant seaside holiday resort town that has all the usual stuff: beach, little port and pier, gift shops, arcade, cinema etc. We even spotted the Isle of Wight from the beach.

Me at St. Aldhelm's Head.

The next day was a bit cloudier, but still fine. We drove over to the North West of Dorset to visit the infamous Cerne Abbas Giant chalk figure, or the 'huge nob giant' as I call it! We had a little walk up to the edge of the figure (unfortunately you can't go onto it now) and then back down and explored the village. Then it was onto Dorchester, the county town of Dorset, to have a look around. Really good museum there, and the town centre has a nice vibe with lots of good shops and an old cinema -we liked it a lot. Just outside the town is Maiden Castle, an ancient Celtic / Anglo-Saxon settlement on top of a huge man-made hill.
 mpressive defences! ....and a great place to walk your dog.

Saying 'hel-looo' to the Cerne Abbas Giant!

Carla at a cold and misty Portland Bill - everything was closed!

 Our last full day was spent visiting the headland of Portland Bill (disappointing to be honest, and a bit odd down there, very bleak and rocky on the headland....hence the picture!), then Weymouth, a lovely and bustling port and resort town - lots of boats in the harbour and pretty nice seafront. I bought a cheap book about "King Kong". Fun to see the crows on the seafront dropping seashells on the promenade to break them open. We discovered something called 'Dorset Apple Cake' in a baker's shop in Weymouth, and it was astoundingly good! After a late lunch at Subway, we headed up the coast to find some Roman remains before the rain hit. On our final day, we drove back home via the towns of Wareham (nice little town and nice views of the marsh and river), Blandford Forum (some interesting architecture but rather dull), and stopped off in Salisbury (a wonderful and bustling city, and the cathedral and grounds are *amazing*) for lunch. Also, we planned our trip so we could drive past Stonehenge. All in all, a nice little trip (more on our other trip in the next post.)

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A week or three after that, it was time for me to attend a couple more film/TV collectors shows. First up was MCM Expo at the ExCel centre in London's Docklands. It was a very hot day, which must have impressed the large amount of cosplayers as some were in very heavy costumes! An interesting show, although a bit of madhouse actually. Good to see my friends Bill, Mark and Clare, catch Jamie (briefly) and watch Jane spend all of her money on Totoro stuff! I didn't get around to getting Elvira's autograph, but I already had one anyway. However, it was nice to see her in costume, she still looks amazing. :) Next show was Collectormania in Milton Keynes, held at the football ground over the bank holiday weekend. Our pals Mandy and Bill came to stay with us for that weekend, so off we drove down the M1 to the show. That went fine, but it took ages to park as half of the stupid car park was shut! Still, once in, the show was good to mooch around, and as always nice to see other pals such as Jane, Ben, Darren, Graham, and Mark and Claire.

Prometheus.

Afterwards, some of us went into the town to meet Mark (another one!) to see "Prometheus" in 3D at the Cineworld. The film was good, although it took me a while to get to grips with the odd things the characters did in places. Great SPFX and design though: Ridley certainly knows how to get 'the look'. Michael Fassbender as (David the android) steals the show. I ended up seeing it again a couple of days later, in 2D this time, with the Mrs and her pal, and enjoyed it a lot more. Anyway, after the film the group went for a cheap but pleasant pub dinner. :)