Back from a blogging break

Well, when I say break it definitely wasn't planned I can tell you. Since the hubster retired one month ago, our feet haven't touched the ground - added to which this glorious weather we've been having of late was simply too good to miss. So, many apologies if I haven't caught up with you recently but hopefully I'm back on track now, just need to be organised and get myself into a routine again. As for housework - Mmmm that's another story. Oh well, live for the day that's my motto!

Anyway I've cobbled together a few piccies of some recent good moments during the last month.

A trip to Rochester in Kent - a place very synonymous with Charles Dickens. Wonderful Cathedral and we used our English Heritage passes to visit the Castle.

A much awaited visit to London's Royal Albert Hall to see my favourite Puccini opera La Boheme - simply wonderful!

Visited a local venue for an Artbookart book fair, where I met the lovely Sandie from Itchifingers who designed and created these wonderful journals - a very awe inspiring morning to say the least.

Several trips out in the campervan - stopping for a brew along the way. Do you like the jar of places to visit that my sister Helen gave me? She'd cut out lots of articles of local beauty spots from magazines - a lovely homemade lucky dip.

and of course it goes without saying that we simply had to partake in the obligatory Monday Munch! Look at the weather too.

Anyway dear friends, I hope to be back very soon. Wishing you all a lovely day today.


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Spontaneous end to a lovely day

Sunday was such a gorgeous day that we took ourselves off to Kent to visit the place where John was born - Erith. We visited his father's old shop, the school, Sunday school and a plethora of memorable places. It was good for him to re-live his childhood and we both enjoyed it. Now many of you will know that I just love the work of Charles Dickens and have a fair collection of his books. One of my favourites is Great Expectations. With this in mind and as we weren't too far away we made our way to the tiny village of Cooling in the midst of the beautiful Kent countryside

                             

passing on our way many of the lovely old Oast Houses or Hop kilns with their distinctive cowls - designed for drying the hops as part of the process of brewing beer.

I particularly wanted to visit the medieval Church of St James 

Charles Dickens loved to walk here from his home at nearby Higham

Dickens used the churchyard of St James as his inspiration in the opening chapter of Great Expectations where the hero Pip meets the escaped convict, Magwitch. This site on the Hoo Peninsula is dramatically bleak in winter, recalling the opening scenes of the book.

It is here that we find what has come to be known as "Pip's Graves" the forlorn gravestones of thirteen children aged between 1-18 months old - that Dickens describes in the chapter as ...five little stone lozenges each about a foot and a half long which were arranged in a neat row.....and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine..." 

These graves belong to the children of just two families who died in the late18th century. Dickens reduced the number in the book to five to make it more believable.

These two sets of medieval benches at the rear of the church, complete with woodworm were probably installed in the 14th century

Loving the sun through these windows

As we entered the churchyard I spotted what I though were flowers on a tree stump but soon discovered it was fungi and oh so pretty.

Just along the lane stands Cooling Castle - which was a bonus as I didn't know this existed. Built in the 1380s the main part of the castle is in ruins with a private house inside and where the barn is licensed to hold marriage ceremonies.

A lovely spontaneous trip to a place I'd longed to go to one day.

Just out of interest, we drove a mile or two towards the coastline of the Thames Estuary and I was amazed to see (through the zoom lens on my camera )- that we were in fact exactly opposite Leigh on Sea where my son and his family now live. Probably as the crow flies about 3-4 miles across the river but because we had to travel to the QE2 bridge and then come back on ourselves a trip of 37 miles.

Have a great week

xx