Blue(ish) Sky over King Alfred The Great

Not quite as blue as yesterday and blipping was all a bit rushed today with the start of the dreaded audit (please imagine a scary face icon).
I took some picture this morning of mist rising odd the local lake/pond but wispy mist does not photograph well. I tried to take Donnington Castle from the A 34 (stopped in a lay-by not while driving) but not successfully. So an old stand by; I have taken something similar on a number of times and today it is its turn.
King Alfred is the only English monarch to be given the title "the great". As well as being one of England's most famous kings, King Alfred had a big impact on Hampshire, when it was the central region of the kingdom of Wessex. Wessex stretched from modern-day Dorset and Somerset to Berkshire. Alfred ruled Wessex from Winchester and his reign marked the beginnings of a kingdom of England.
Hamo Thornycroft designed this statue and he was given much freedom to propose the design and form. The statue shows Alfred as the great Christian soldier of the 9th century, with his sword forming the emblem of the cross and the shield being the emblem of defence.