Holiday were always spent at The Isle Of Wight
Its sandy, long beaches ideal for building castles
Floating in the shallows of the sea
Safe from rapid currents and rocky projections
It was without much tourism and low priced.

Year after year we returned to the same spots
The same  walks and the same unpredictable
Weather.
At shop counters the assistants did not change
Only the hotel owners, running at a loss the previous year.

My parents bungalow situated near to Totland bay
Overlooking field filled countryside, narrow lanes
With the sea salt reaching noses on windy days.
It was a paradise of simple meals, memories
And long conversation of the regularity of things.

Intertwined were the years of my own childhood
Playing with my brother on chalet steps as
My parents prepared the day's sandwiches
And those, taking my four across the Solent
For annual holidays visiting of grandparents.