And we're off................

 Well, almost. I'm nearly there. Just need to get confirmation from the Oncologist, Justin, on Monday, but I'm pretty much there now.

My overall health and strength are a lot better, and my leaky wound don't leak no more. Whilst I'm not quite up to my earlier walking ability, I can now walk a good 2.5 - 3 miles on fairly level ground at a reasonable pace.

What I'm looking to do, is to catch a train into central London on Friday, and have a prowl around Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross and the Strand - more to test my ability and to push my limits than anything. Then, subject to weather of course, a couple of shortish trips out on Twinkle, my little 125 motorcycle, early next week. If that checks out OK, then I'll rescue Graham, my Yamaha from the depths of the garage and start putting together longer and more interesting explorations.

I'm about to add a new page at the top of the menu. I get a lot of people (usually non-Brits, although...........) questioning the make-up of the United Kingdom, Great Britain etc. 

Therefore. I've decided to write a page dedicated to the way that, over the centuries, we've managed to turn a mass of tiny islands into one country.

Onward and...............

 ....well, not quite. 

Had the misfortune to contract a nasty infection in the open wound, that has delayed healing slightly.

However, Charlotte and Lauren, the lovely nurses at the GP surgery, have worked hard to get it (and me) under control, and there are now signs of recovery and  healing.

Meanwhile it's my birthday in a couple of weeks, and there's a slight possibility that I may be able to ride Twinkle by then. If not, I've promised myself a train trip out - some where - anywhere - just for a break.

Watch this space

New Year, New Life...............

 ...and I'm not joking! Came out of the Christmas festivities, straight into major surgery.. So, here I am, minus various bits of my internal anatomy, and more importantly, minus the cancer

My marvellous surgeon tells me the surgery went better than he anticipated, and it won't be too long before I'm back to travelling and researching all those little untold stories that exist in our towns, villages and churches. In the meanwhile, I've promised that I won't try to push things along too quickly and will take my time getting back on the bikes - poor things must think their petrol lines have been cut!

In the meanwhile, I've done lots of reading and research, so pray for good weather and the price of petrol not going up too much!

My most heartfelt thanks to all the staff at the East Kent Hospitals University Trust, Especially those at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, and Birchington Ward at the QEQM in Margate.

My deepest thanks and love to the Macmillan nurses who keep an eye on me, Dr. Justin Waters and his team and the Very Important Mr. Andy Nordin and his team, who showed me that laughing with an abdomen full of stitches really does hurt!! :D

Finally............

 Odd isn't it - two days ago, I felt too weak to get even the little Monkey bike out of the garage. Today I felt so well I got the Yamaha out and went for a short ride along the coast. Not too far, as it is very cold , but at least, with the Yamaha, I've got heated handlebar grips. 

So we went for lunch at our favourite cafe (Nikki D's at Romney Meadows Caravan Site in Lydd). Sent the Other Half off home by himself, because he's had a bit of a cold this week and I didn't want him poorly so close to Christmas.

I carried on in the sunshine, down to Dungeness, then back along the coast, through Greatstone, Littlestone and Hythe, then back home. Because it was cold, and because I'm not sure how my stamina will hold up at the moment, I resisted the temptation to go exploring, but I did stop for a quick couple of shots to add to Littlestone, and I've started a page for Greatstone

Have a lovely Christmas folks, and hopefully the New Year will see me well enough to bring you some more stuff.

            

A small detour

 Just a little detour today, on my way home from the hospital. But at least the sun was shining and the strong winds have dropped. I basically did the same route home that I took in my last post, but managed to add a quirky tale to the review of St. Mary's church in Willesborough, and a quick couple of shots to start off Newtown on the same page. 

Willesborough - more than just a suburb?

 It actually wasn't raining when I left the hospital today, but the promise of precipitation was there. 

However, I thought it was worth the risk to come home via part of Willesborough. Now just a suburb almost subsumed by the ever-expanding town of Ashford, it still has a lot of history to find.

Didn't have a lot of time today, but the church of St. Mary the Virgin was open for one of their coffee mornings, so it was well worth a little detour. Today being Remembrance Day, and following the Remembrance Service last Sunday, the church was full of poppies.

So, I've started a page for Willesborough, and I will eventually also include the windmill, South Willesborough, Newtown and the old railway works on this page, as and when I can.

Currently only the church and a short mention of the pub will have to suffice, but there is oh so much more to come. 

Watch this space!

Food Glorious Food

 Seeing as how I am unable to go exploring very often at the moment, I have turned to one of my other delights - cooking.

Now, I don't claim to be anything more than competent, but it's something I really enjoy - especially when others appreciate my efforts by eating the food! I have a large collection of cookery books from all parts of the world, but some are very old ones full of traditional and historic recipes.

I hate people who say that the British Isles have no cuisine. We do. And a lot of the most delicious recipes are those that have been handed down through families, often for many generations. The dishes are generally simple, delicious, and usually made with seasonal ingredients.

When I was young, my father had a huge garden where he grew all the vegetables we needed throughout the year, as well as soft fruits and orchard trees. Many of the recipes I cook make the best of these ingredients, and my voyages through my British cook books have reminded me just how many good dishes and cakes etc. are regional, or universal with regional variations.

So I have decided to add a little more information to the County pages, selected from the left-hand menu. As you scroll down each county page menu, at the end of the places you can visit, you will find recipes that are local to each county. Some will be named for the county (e.g. Yorkshire Puddings), and others for a specific place within a county (e.g. Bakewell Tarts). One or two have no obvious connection to a place, but I happen to have discovered the origins (e.g. Gypsy Tart)

I accept no responsibility if my recipes are not the same as yours, but these are MY family recipes, not yours. They are old and well-tried recipes that we eat on a regular basis, and some have been adapted to suit my family's likes, needs and dislikes. For instance, you will not find any alcohol in my recipes, but where a recipe would normally include alcohol, I have replaced it with my alternative liquid.

It is obviously going to take me most of the winter to get this underway, so keep checking back, and I hope you find something you and your family like.

Farm Shop visit.

There's a lovely farm shop on the outskirts of Brookland, where I get my fresh vegetables and fruit, and where the lady makes her own sausages in a wide variety of flavours, depending on the season. Our favourite is Pork with Cheese and Marmite. 

It's called The Old Tractor Shed, and all they stock is locally sourced and thoroughly delicious. Today's haul also included banoffee meringues, sparkling fruit drinks, pickled pears, and a carrot and cardomum chutney.

So, Twinkle duly weighed down with seasonal veggies, I decided to stop a couple of times on the way home, and add a couple of small items to places already covered. Thus I have finally added the village sign for Brenzett, and the new memorial in the middle of Ham Street.

Off now, to make a big batch of leek and potato soup for the freezer, and then decide what I can do with an assortment of tomatoes in all colours, shapes and sizes..............

More of Faversham.

One of the things I didn't manage to do when I took a stroll around Faversham in Kent, was visit the church of St. Mary of Charity in the town centre.  

There was a service in progress at the time, so of course, I couldn't intrude. There are still other areas of the town I haven't walked yet, but this was by far the most important.

Today I managed it. It was in the process of being cleaned, and was virtually unlit, so I couldn't photograph everything clearly. There are also a lot of monuments mounted high on the walls that I couldn't read, and still others that are worn away so much as to be indecipherable.

However, I have noted what I could, and I hope further investigations will reveal even more of interest.  I'm about to start uploading some 70-odd photos, and then I will start researching what I can. 

I've included a little about King Stephen, who was buried here, but it is well-worth finding out more than I can put here about him and the Empress Matilda.

The Elham Valley

One of the roads around here that I really love to ride is that which runs through the Elham Valley. It goes from the A2 Dover-Canterbury, just above Barham, down to the A20 just below Etchinghill.

There's some attractive villages along the way too, and a lot of history!. As usual, I worked out where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to see, and it should have been easily achievable- do the entire length of the valley and then turn left and pick up a couple of extra villages on the end.

Problem is, the British weather thought otherwise. I managed to get half way along, and it started to rain. Only lightly, but I had three washing machine loads on the line at home drying. Oh well, there'll be other days.

So, I covered tiny little Postling, then on to Etchinghill, Lyminge and Elham, with a tiny diversion between Postling and Etchinghill to find a small war memorial alongside the A20 where it just encroaches on Sandling.

Now, when I got to Elham, I walked around the village, and as I walked back to Twinkle, the bell on the church clock reminded me it was lunchtime and I was hungry.

I was almost back to the Abbot's Fireside, when I spotted a new tea rooms that wasn't there last time I went through the valley.

One bottle of sparkling Kingsdown rhubarb (my new favourite) and a delicious cheese and tomato sandwich later, served by a lovely lady, I thought this is so me.

It's a very pretty place, the food and drinks are locally sourced, the service is impeccable and the pricing appropriate to the style of food they serve. I for one will make it a regular stop every time I pass between those hilly sides.

So, unusually for me, this is a firm recommendation: 

Go on, treat yourself - The Elham Tea House, two doors down from the Abbot's Fireside in the centre of the village, right on the main road. Please visit and show your love by signing the petition on the counter, to stop the Parish Council limiting their hours unfairly.

Elham Tea House

clicky-wicky their web-site above too.

Menu

OK so over to the Kent section now to work on the pages for Postling, Etchinghill, Sandling, Lyminge, and Elham. 129 pictures to sort through, so it will probably take me the rest of the week to get it all online. And the rest of the Elham Valley will go back into my system to be done another day.