Thursday 13th November 2025

Being a Thursday, the day begins, after a coffee, with me going to the gym.

I am keen.

I am keen to have normal feet and legs, and losing my belly, so that I dare not miss a session.

I have a long way to go, but now that most of my current clothes are hanging off, its time to search the attic for something slightly, for now, smaller.

Obviously, when I joined the RAF I was a racing snake. Three years previously I had lost lots of weight, then in the year prior to joining I ran at least a mile and a half most days. This was to pass the fitness test, which involved said mile and a half run and completing it in under eleven minutes.

To get into by collection of (music) tour t shirts from the 80s is a (impossible) dream.

Anyway,I cycled round another Spanish hilltop town for forty minutes whilst listening to a podcast until the end, then back home for breakfast and prepare to go out.

Out as it was a glorious sunny day, and we would be visiting two churches inland from Sandwich, one of which, Nonington, I had not visited for a decade.

There was supposed to be a coffee morning there, so the church should have been open.

A short blast up the A2 to Barham, then off past Womenswold and Woolage, and out across the fields to the only coal pit still standing in Kent: Snowdon.

Its ruinous, and the miner's institute has been flattened for housing, of course, but most of the buildings are there, slowly falling to pieces.

And then to Nonington, along the narrow Church Road which leads to the church, and for a change there is a good parking area beside it.

And surrounding the church are chocolate box pretty houses and cottages, so I snap my favourite. Again.

But no other cars.

We walk to the porch, find the door unlocked, so go in, and find no one there. No coffee morning. No cakes.

But I can get shots of the glass and memorials.

One thing missing was the "Two Roads" stone that used to stand at the entrance to the churchyard, a remarkable thing, but now gone, nor could I find it elsewhere.

There was some new glass: the coat of arms for both Sweden and Finland, but no Denmark. These had been hung in front of a plain window using what looked like fishing line.

We leave, and the next stop is at Staple.

A little known village, but with a fine church, St James the Great, and with several mosaics inside, which are well worth seeing.

It was a ten minute drive to Staple over more fields and through beechwoods carpeted in golden leaves just asking to be kicked, and to the church.

Would this be open?

Jools tried the door, but no luck. I went up, and pulled then pushed, and the ancient door swung open.

A new information display had been set up, and on it for the font, it claimed that the font had been especially made in Suffolk for the church.

To me this seemed odd.

The font was no doubt ancient, but to ship such a thing from Suffolk, and how would it be ordered?

It is no doubt East Anglian, and was there when Hasted visited at the end of the 18th century, even if his description was brief.

The glass is splendid, as is the mosaics, so snap them all again.

And we were done.

Last call was to the butcher in Preston. Not far I thought.

We followed the road out to what I thought was Ash, but was in fact Wingham. So, down the main road to Sandwich, turn off at the bottom of the hill, and straight on for Preston.

I am greeted warmly, and tell the boys I have a huge freezer to fill, so buy a beef roasting joint, a large steak for us to share at some point, minted lamb steaks, teriyaki chicken breasts and two not pork pies, but chicken pies. Locally made and raised.

Then back in the car to home, back past Perry Corner and Nash to Ash and then onto the Sandwich bypass to home. Taking it easy, as I'm an old retired bloke these days.

Once back home we have lunch, and then settle down for a relaxing afternoon.

It was cool enough to have the heating on as the sun sank low in the west requiring us to have the table lamp on.

We dined on crispy breaded haddock, Moroccan spiced rice with preserved fruit and the last of the season's steamed corn.

And then there was football to watch. England, already qualified for next year's World Cup, were playing Serbia at Wembley.

It was a poor game, lots of misplaced passes, but England ran out 2-0 winners and the crowd went home happy.