On Saturday 20 September the Friends were delighted to welcome visitors to the Bastion again for the Gosport Heritage Open Days programme. It was particularly enjoyable after the disappointment of having to cancel two days on the previous weekend because of bad weather. Like most events at open air venues in England we are always in the hands of the elements. This time the weather was mainly overcast with occasional showers and sufficiently predictable to encourage human and non-human visitors throughout the day. The Bastion is regularly used by dog walkers (thank you for using a lead) and there were a few canine visitors on the open day, but it was the first time we had been visited by a cat – thankfully, not at the same time as the dogs!

One of the pleasures of an open day for the Friends is learning from visitors’ knowledge and experiences. A visitor this Saturday was a local submariner, referring to an image of a 19th century soldier on the Friends’ display bord, explained that the nickname “bootneck” for a Royal Marine was because of the high leather collar of their uniform. Another visitor, Ian from Southsea, told us about his many relatives who had lived in Gosport, some of whom had been in the Royal Hampshire Regiment and were likely to have known the Bastion well. Ian was also a friend of the late David Moore who was well known for his research of Gosport’s history. Ian told us that David had found a photograph of a Territorial Army group taken at the Bastion to celebrate the coronation of King George VI.

Our first feline open day visitor – a lovely cat with immaculate white fur, a black patch around an eye and a black tail. We didn’t find out her name because she didn’t sign the visitors’ book!

The Friends of the Bastion, ready to welcome and inform visitors to the open day. Their gazebo, which provides helpful shelter from any showers, is decorated with the familiar brilliant pink bunting of the Gosport Heritage Open Days.