Over the sea and not very far away...

My family and I have just returned from a short weekend break at Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight.

Arranging things around our children's schooling didn't leave a great deal of time for a holiday, but much as I love my work as a councillor representing the town in which I was born it is always nice to go away for a couple of days and recharge the batteries.

As "overseas" holidays go the Isle of Wight might seem rather an unexotic option, but it has a relaxing and peaceful character whilst the small expanse of water which separates it from the mainland truly gives one a sense of having "got away".

Sadly my council-issue handheld considers the Isle of Wight to be something akin to the North Pole or the summit of Mount Everest, and all the e-mails sent to me over the weekend finally manage to break through only when I am on the ferry back to Lymington.

I'm glad to report that normal service has now been resumed.