Pompey girl Cat has always had a place in her heart for Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. This relentless innovator, with his over-compensating stovepipe hat and ginormous cigars, cut a formidable dash in that famous pin-up photo of him in front of the chains of the SS Great Western.... Read more
You’ll have heard us harp on about how Ryde is the international cuisine capital of the Island with its varied world food offerings. But what’s this? Is sleepy Carisbrooke snapping at its heels? The village is already home to one of our favourite English pub roasts, plus what must... Read more
At the outer edge of England lies the Isle of Wight; at the Island’s southerly perimeter is Ventnor – and clinging to its shoreline is Seapot. We approached the cafe from the Bonchurch end, pausing to read about how, when Victorian celebrity Tennyson popped into the village, local girls... Read more
These days denying yourself is the new hedonism. Where we used to brag about how much our houses were worth and chunter on about our exotic foreign holidays, now it’s all about staycationing and the hair-shirtism of Dry January. Around the world people are woke to the nightmare of... Read more
With Cat unexpectedly incapacitated, Matt had to find himself an alternative dining-out companion. First in line was barbeque-enthusiast Kieron, an old pal who has many times plied Matt with more perfectly-grilled meat than a normal human should ever eat. The well-matched duo set off towards Ventnor on the hunt... Read more
Plant-based Dining at Ventnor Botanic Garden
ArticlesUncategorised 23rd July 2018 1
Veganism is the new black. Or something. Certainly there has been an upswell of interest in cutting meat out of one’s diet – but dairy too? Is that a step too far? Although fish is usually on the menu at the Edulis restaurant in VBG, Chef Brad Roe used... Read more
Although we don’t claim to have our fingers on the pulse of all the zeitgeisty food fashions, a recent trip to Bristol showed us that ‘raw’ food, sliders and nose-to-tail eating are still very much on the mainland’s (artfully-chipped enamelled) plate. Islandside, we’re all over The Rise of the... Read more
Is pub grub an actual genre of food? It probably is. Leave aside the rather chummy and dated feel of the word ‘grub’, and the conveniently rhyming description gives a clear expectation to the prospective diner. Sizeable portions of hot food, usually a focus on meat and chips, and... Read more
Now that David Bowie has shuffled off this mortal coil, the memory of him will surely eventually fade away. But for old codgers like us, there is no greater shorthand for reinvention than the conceiver of the Thin White Duke and Ziggy Stardust. And, just as the erstwhile David... Read more
One of the great things about having mainland visitors is proudly showing off the Isle of Wight to them. Whether they are staunch monarchists, transport buffs or competitive children, you will find something to impress them. And so it was when we took recent guests to Osborne House, the... Read more