I had been to most of the churches in range, due to the weather going on Saturday any further than I did seemed an act of self flagellation to be honest.
But Sunday showed there was another church in Ramsgate I had not heard of let along visited, despite driving one street away on my way to Waitrose.
Christchurch was designed by Gilbert Scott, and little expense was spared to compete with the Roman Catholic church of Pugin nearby.
From the Heritage Weekend listing, the church is rarely open, even for services, so this was a rare chance to see inside. There would be stalls there, and free form jazz or something, so best get there early for shots, and escape.
Jools went swimming first thing as there was little wind and clear blue skies, coupled with a fairly high tide. I slept in, only waking when she called to say goodbye before roaring off in the car.
I made coffee and saw how Scully was, then sat outside with her to take her mind off demanding more food.
Jools came back, we had breakfast, and were Ramsgate-bound by half nine, so to be there just after the ten o'clock opening.It is set among streets of terraced houses, all back to back, and the church built into a shelf cut into the side of the down, so that it is invisible until you're next to it.
We find a place to park and walk to the door, we were welcomed warmly and encouraged to enter.
Christchurch is a fine late Victorian church, and as with the money sent and makers, the details are stunning, even if some of the carving went uncarved so save money. So a warden told me.
The glass is of a very high quality indeed. I use the big lens for details, so that in twenty minutes I was done, and we could make good our escape.We drove down to Waitrose, where I managed to spend over £60 on olive oil, bread, beer and preserved lemons.
We made another escape before I saw something else nice to buy.
We drove home, into the teeth of an increasingly strong westerly that would bring driving rain in the afternoon.
Also bought in Waitrose was a rack of lamb, which I prepare by coating it in Moroccan spices and leaving it for a few hours to marinade.
Preserved lemon is used in tagines: was there a tagine I could add it to if defrosted?
No. So, I make a big bowl of tagine from scratch using chorizo instead of chicken. I fill with chickpeas, dried fruit and spices and honey, and set the whole lot to simmer for three hours.
Meanwhile there was football, three back to back matches, none of them much good, but the final one was the Manc derby, with Citeh won by 3-0 as Utd did not change tactics, their manager under the impression that doing the same thing over and over again is the last thing they'd expect.
I cook dinner, or finish it off. I sear the lamb, then pop it into a hot oven for twenty minutes, boil the corn, warm the tagine, as well as through the afternoon I had made roast potatoes, which came out perfectly crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside.
I which I had taken shots of dinner, as it was one of the best I have ever made, but was just too delicious.
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