MALCOLM MIME WRITES: I DON’T know if it’s an age thing, but recently I’ve had a number of conversations with different friends about the so-called ‘bucket list’ of places to visit in the world.

Each time I’ve had the conversation, I’ve explained I’ve never given much thought to such a list — but that might be because I have something of a phobia of lists of any kind, brought on many years ago when the current Mrs Mime started writing me ‘to do’ lists.

I’m sure if I put my mind to it, I could come up with a ‘places to visit in the world’ list, but what the conversation has actually made me think about is places on the Island I have never visited.

Don’t get me wrong, this certainly isn’t a bucket list — there is nowhere on the Island I have a desperate burning desire to visit, otherwise, after all these years, I’d have actually gone and seen them by now. But, as I am a born and bred Isle of Wighter, I am a little ashamed there are certain places I really should have gotten around to going to.

So here it is, my ‘non bucket list of places I have never been to on the IW’. Once you’ve finished reading mine, feel free to compile your own. You may surprise yourself at where you haven’t been.

  1. Osborne House. I know, I know. Goodness only knows how I have managed to avoid a visit to Queen Victoria’s famous home.
  2. Brading Roman Villa. I’ve had a sandwich in the cafe, but have never actually gone in to see the ‘beautifully preserved mosaic floors’. Again, I’m surprised I was never taken on a school trip, but I don’t actually recall going on any school trips. I guess against the background of 1970s austerity, there was no money for school trips — has anything changed?
  3. The Sun Inn, Hulverstone. I reckon I must have had a pint in the vast majority of Island hostelries over the years, but Benedict Cumberbatch’s favourite pub is one of the few I’ve never visited.
  4. Westwood Park, Cowes. In my younger years I played a lot of sport, particularly football. I’m pretty sure I have played at all the football grounds on the IW — exotic places, such as Pell Lane, Wootton Rec  and Partlands in Ryde. But the one ground I have never even set foot on is the home of Cowes Sports. In the words of The Who, I can’t explain.
  5. Rocken End beach, Blackgang. The 17-year-old me, along with three friends, once decided we would drive to Blackgang to look for, er, sunbathers at the Island’s only naturist beach. We couldn’t work out how to get to Rocken End and ended up going to Blackgang Chine instead.
  6. The Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes. Never been invited!
  7. The Needles Lighthouse. I’d love to go inside, who wouldn’t?
  8. Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater. No doubt I will one day get around to paying a visit.