Day 13 Wet and stressful day
The forecast was for very heavy rain today so we planned to do some indoor things. We had a leisurely breakfast and at around 10 it was overcast but no sign of rain so we drove to the German Underground Hospital Museum. Before going in we walked to the Little Chapel which is nearby but does not have a car park. This was a longer walk than I expected and it had started spitting with rain by the time we arrived.
The chapel was indeed “little” but beautifully decorated inside and outside with fragments of crockery, porcelain, shells and pebbles. Inside it is a church in miniture spread over 3 floors and there is an alter, a recording of a church choir singing and little electronic LED candles.
Apparently this was the 3rd version built. The first built in 1913 received a lot of criticism as it was too small so it was knocked down and a bigger version built during WWI which could only hold a maximum of 4 people. Then in 1923 the Bishop of Portsmouth came to visit the chapel but he was too fat to get through the door so again it was knocked down and the current one rebuilt.
Outside there are steps and a fountain all decorated in the same way.
It was raining steadily as we left the Little Chapel so we walked back to the German Underground Hospital Museum. This was quite different from the one in Jersey as it is still very much as it was in 1945 when the Channel Islands were liberated. The tunnels were very wet and water was dripping from the tunnel roofs. There were several escape routes, some involving very long vertical ladders up the walls. There were a few exhibition halls with information about the occupation of Guernsey, Sark and Alderney. Herm was not invaded and the islanders were able to live freely although the Germans occasionally paid them a visit.
We then went to Oatlands Craft Centre, not far from the hotel which had a lovely café where we had tea and cake and then looked around the little shops which included a craft and needlework shop, a jewellers and a clothes shop. There is also a Mini Golf course and a lot of childrens attractions. I bought some material to make a dress and Paul bought me an unusual necklace. I also got a present for an upcoming 30th birthday. The centre is built around 2 former brick kilns.
When we came out it was raining heavily so we went back to the hotel.
Then our nightmare started. On checking emails we found that our ferry on Wednesday had been cancelled and we had to contact Condor to rebook. We did this and were told the next available ferry was late on Sunday night – over 4 days later. They said the Friday one was fully booked. As the phone doesn’t work here I was trying to do this over their “Chat” line. I asked some specific questions about the possibility of getting on the Friday ferry through a cancellation or no show. I also asked about getting back to Jersey and a direct ferry to Poole but these questions were not answered. I was only told that there might be another sailing on Saturday but there was nothing decided yet. So I reluctantly agreed to go with the Sunday booking. We had a family lunch with the Lincoln side of the family booked so it is looking like I will miss this.
I emailed Condor separately asking these questions again and I am waiting for a response. I met another couple in our hotel who also have the same problem. Fortunately the hotel is not full and are able to accommodate us in the same room for an additional 4 nights.
In parallel to this, Paul decided to try and contact Virgin to find out why we cannot connect to any network in the Channel Islands. 4 hours later he had to leave it as we had a table booked at a local restaurant. They seem to have done something to my phone as I am now able to pick up a local network but Pauls still doesn’t work. We had planned a restful afternoon but it has just been stressful trying to sort a ferry back and get the phone working when we are out and about.
To make things worse, we decided that we needed to do more washing so Paul played around with the radiator and managed to get it to come on so we could dry washing quicker while we were out. The radiators are now on full heat but we cannot turn them down. Even at 0 or the frost setting they are still very hot. As the windows dont open fully and overnight temperature is just 16C, we are in for an uncomfortable night.
Then I ate some blueberries while sitting on the bed. I dropped just one of them and it rolled around on the sheet and caused a few stains which it has taken me ages to get out.
We did have a good meal at the restaurant near to our hotel but had to take the car as more heavy rain was forecast but when we left it was quite dry but now very windy. The forecast tomorrow is for another sunny day with a max temperature of 21C so we are hoping to see the bits of the island that we missed so far.
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