It's a bit weird to travel almost to the end of the Island to get your hair cut... But I like the way they do it there...

And anyway, an excuse for a day out in Port Erin is always welcome. Especially if you go by steam train...



The weather forecast for Wednesday 10 June turned out to be faulty again. Having seen the temperatures and the winds they were predicting, we decided a packed lunch would be a bad idea. Actually, it was a beautiful day, and a packed lunch would have been a really fine thing. The sandwiches wouldn't even have got the least bit sandy. Too late, though.

So, we had a non-packed lunch at the Whistlestop Cafe (nice quiche), and once the hair was cut, we visited Port Erin's two little galleries (which, embarrassingly, we'd never done).

First, the Erin Arts Centre:






And, second, the Rushen Heritage Centre, which is currently featuring an exhibition on the churches and chapels in the south of the Island (of which there are astonishingly many).




A few days later, and here we are, back down south, this time attending the Southern Vintage Engine and Tractor Club's fine display, which is being staged just outside Castletown.


All sorts of old-timers have been trundled out for this occasion. There are cars and tractors and lawn-mowers and threshing machines and little engines that just sit there Doing Something Important.

It's kind of heart-warming that not only do people keep and maintain these granddaddies, but they're also willing to trundle them along to a big field for everyone else to enjoy.

Apart from anything else, they're amazingly photogenic:


















The weather confirmed the viability of a packed lunch today, and we ate it very comfortably in Poulsom Park. And then we followed the poppy-strewn river path back to Ballasalla and the bus.