Spooktacular

We hadn't planned much today. Some errands required a trip to Newport. Some lovely people in Hurts helped us identify the proper magnetic catch, but Currys didn't have the range of fridges we wanted to look at, and Dunelm didn't have the kind of doorstop we needed.

Instead, we had an unplanned but delicious lunch in Toto. I started with calamari and was almost defeated by the BBQ pork belly pizza, but not quite. I felt that I needed to walk around afterwards to let it settle.

When we returned, PY took some washing to the laundrette. I am insisting that we get a plumber to reconnect the washing machine so that we minimise the risk of anything leaking. I appreciate its overkill, but I'd feel better. However, we forgot to book anybody, so a thirty-nine-minute laundrette wash cycle for £3 was required.

When back, he mentioned that Shanklin Chine was having another of their spooktacular Halloween events, and this would be the last night this year when we'd have the opportunity to see it. So, our second unplanned event of the day saw us board the train to Shanklin and enter the Chine by the upper steps around 7:15 p.m.

The atmospheric night lighting was all around as we walked down the Chine. The animated pumpkins that lit up and made spooky sounds were scattered around, and plenty of animatronics amused visitors. Much was similar to the last time we did this in 2021, on the first day of our one-month trial, but I still thought it was brilliant. On the way out, there was live music, and we stopped at the new café for a hot chocolate, which set us up for the walk back up the hill to the station.

We got stir-fry from the first Co-op, and then, realising we'd forgotten to buy a bottle of wine, we bought it from the second. We then walked to the station to get the 8:30 p.m. train back before settling in with our wine and food.