Dual-carriageway, known locally as ‘the motorway’
Atrip to the Isle of Wight really is a trip back in time, and I’m not just talking about how the island really is about 10-15 years behind the mainland. In recent times Asda and Primark have made the short, brave five-mile dash across the Solent to open branches on the garden isle.
The island boasts only three-quarters of a mile of dual-carriageway which is known locally as ‘the motorway’, and does not possess a shopping mall or outlet shopping.
That’s what gives the island its charm. Think more Cornwall than Isle of Man. There is a slower pace of life, with many boutique independent shops and beautiful country pubs.
But the real step back in time comes when I visit my folks, especially at Christmas when the old pre-war leatherbound suitcases appear from the loft stuffed full of decorations.
Their tree really is a museum piece, from the angel that tops it, which was made by my mum at primary school, to highly flammable, threadbare tinsel.
I suppose they just can’t bear to part with any of it. My nan remembers buying the glass baubles from Timothy White’s back in the 1950s.
Every year I always have this argument with my wife, who likes decorations to be classy and minimalist – a simple tree with the odd festive ornament on the mantel.
Meanwhile, on the Isle of Wight, people drape their houses with flashing lights and illuminated reindeer in such numbers that they would confuse a pilot landing at Southampton airport.
So much so, that the local bus company actually puts on daily open top bus tours, covering all the main towns and their estates, which are so bright they give Fawley oil refinery a run for its money.
For me, I love the streamers connecting each corner of the room to the central light, accompanied with one long balloon and two round ones, in a rather ‘accidental’ phallic fashion. It’s very de rigueur.
Travelling back at night, the Spinnaker Tower lights the way. Looking back, flashing Santas and LED rope lighting reminds me of bygone days.
Oh how I love my trips back in time.