Monday 27th April 2026

We rejoined English Heritage a couple of years back as I wanted to visit Dover Castle. I justified it by saying we could visit their other locations in the area and thus save money on the annual subscription.

Two years late, and three years of membership payments later, we were to visit Walmer Castle.

It was to be the warmest day of the year, and the castle's gardens at their Spring peak. The bonus was that its just a ten minute drive away.

Again, my brain and body had me awake at just gone five, though I did go back to sleep for an hour, and when I did stir, Jools had fed the cats and was out on a walk.

I made myself a coffee and checked on the world.

We sat on the patio for breakfast, enjoying the warm sun and light winds. The lawnmeadow is about to spring into colour, all over are rosettes and basal leaves of native flowers and plants.

We left for the castle at ten, and arrived shortly after ten fifteen, there were only a few other cars in the car park. We walked over the road and up the drive, showing our membership passes we were allowed in, over the drawbridge spanning the dry moat, and into the inner courtyard.

Being English Heritage, there were lots of plants for sale, at a great inflated price. We walk by and into the castle itself, once the residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, the most famous of whom was the 1st Duke of Wellington, Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley.

Photography isn't allowed inside, so we walk to the back door and out to the bridge leading over the moat into the gardens.

A left turn brought us to the memorial garden of the Queen Mother, a large reflecting pool and a classical shelter. Usually there are dragonflies around here, but the season is yet young, so there were none to be seen.

Along a woodland walk, where although they looked splendid, the bluebells were the Spanish variety rather than our native English ones.

In the meadow, most of the Snake's Head fritillaries had gone over, but one was worth snapping, as ours at home failed this year, so the old wheelbarrow has now been scrapped.

The to The Broadwalk, laid out after the first world war, huge beds of flowers with large hedges to the rear, now cut in the popular "cloud hedges" style.

Still too early for much colour, but they looked wonderful with the hulk of the castle in the background.

Then to the walled garden, where most colour came from the huge variety of tulips and the fruit tree blossom.

I saw there was a café set up in one of the old greenhouses, so we go over and have an early cream tea: scone, butter, strawberry jam, clotted cream and tea.

We eat sitting outside, me in the shade of a parasol as the day was really heating up.

Our last station was the moat. Never water-filled, it is grassed with large beds around the castle, so we walked down the steep path and round the castle. I chased an Orange tip, but it failed to settle.

Once we were back in the garden, I asked should we go home?

We should.

So, we drive the ten minutes home, nothing much happened, except being in a train of cars following a small red Toyota that travelled no more than 35 mph.

Just as well we were not in a hurry.

And so back home, where I spent the afternoon reading Cameron Crowe's autobiography. Or most of it, sitting at the bottom of the garden in the sun.

He was washed up writing for Rolling Stone at the age of just 21, as the new young guns came through and demanded to write about punk, new wave.

It got chilly by five, so after feeding the cats we had a light supper. Me of some leftover chilli from the fridge, and Jools some more of her high protein breakfast which has been living in the fridge for five days.

It might just feed the five thousand.

The evening had football. Manchester Utd v Brentford. And was a good game, but I was tired and cold, so went to bed at half time with Utd winning 2-0.

Sunday 26th April 2026

As a taste of things to come over the summer, there is just one live football game for me to watch this Sunday, and one that has little resting on it. As Coventry have already won the Championship, while Wrexham need a win to get into the play-offs, but with their Hollywood money, Wrexham are pretty unlovable right now, with their TV series and all that.

Meanwhile, the second FA Cup semi-final is behind a paywall on what used to be TNT Sports, so I will listen to that on the radio, hoping that Leeds can overcome the awful Chelsea Football Club, who this month were found to have made illegal payments to players through most of the last decade, but their titles and trophies remain untouched. Not even an asterix.

We are up just after six, feed the cats, make and drink coffee, then are off to the sports centre for more phys.

I did a little too much on Saturday, so the stiffness in my thighs took fifteen minutes to ease, but then powered on to complete the session.

Then, instead of going home, we drive along the A2 to Barham for some gentle orchiding.

We turn off through Kingston, and park at the bottom of the bridleway. My target was to check up the slope for the colony of Lesser butterflies I thought died out six years ago, but apparently returned last year.

I tell myself the slope will be easy as I am a gym rat now, but the slope is steep, and i have just done a session, so two slight pauses on the way up, brought me to where the track levels out, and so can search where the plants used to be.

Much vegetation has spread, and areas that used to contain dozens of Early purples were now just covered with saplings and Dog's mercury, but in the wood, I find clear ground, and there were Early purples and Common twayblades. Not in huge numbers, but doing OK.

I went deeper, but other than finding more of the same, no Lesser butterflies.

I recheck on the way back to the path, and find one Lesser butterfly on the edge of a pit, spike forming, and another blind rosette.

At least they're clinging on, and there might be more nearby.

We walk back down the slope, then over the road to the beech wood, to check on the woodland Ladies.

Good news is that there were dozens if not a couple of hundred rosettes, many with spikes reaching for the canopy, and one partially in flower.

Also present were many Twayblades and a single Fly. I find last year's desiccated Birds-nest spikes, but no sign of this years.

I walk back to the car, then drive us back to the A2 and home, it was yet only nine in the morning.

Sadly, my left shin is a mess from where I kicked the log on Friday, so I need to rest up to allow it to scab up.

So, I sit around the house the rest of the day. Annoyed at the celebrations in Coventry as Frank Lampard's team play with Wrexham.

So O roast potatoes, then bake steak and stilton pies, steam vegetables, so that once the game ends there is just half an hour's cooking before we sit down to eat, with glasses filled with cheap pink fizz.

After washing up, I put on the radio but find it hard to stay awake. Chelsea 1 up by half time, and Leeds not looking like scoring. So it ends with Chelsea winning to meet Citeh in the final.

Meh.

The evening was filled with playing the Strangler's Rarities LP I bought last week, then New Boots and Panties for Jools, as its one of her favourites.

Finally some #wilflowerhour ing from eight, and that was the weekend done.

The beginning of the end of Brexit

Ah, Mr Brexit. It's been a while.

Let me start by saying that the EU will not allow the UK to rejoin unless there is a political consensus by the two major plitical parties in the UK. Larbour and the Conservatives, something that would give stability.

After having the UK as a troublesome member state, then go through Brexit, they wouldn't want to go through it all again.

And there will be no optouts.

But there is movement by the current Government to have coloser relations with the EU, even if that stops at anything meaningful.

But the reality is, with the Orange Shitgibbon in the Whitehouse, there can be no stability with the USA, and every tantrum threatens tariffs, so it makes sense to trade with those closer to us. Odd then that it is the US that will drive the UK back into the arms of the EU.

Of course, Nigel Farage will complain its a betrayal of Brexit and the referendum. But elections trump (ahem) refendums, and the Brexit that was negotiated at speed by Johnson has revealed its faults.

And as said on numerous occasions, Brexit was a process not an event.

We may have left the EU, but negotiations will go on forever, as standards in the UK and EU change, and there has to be processes to deal with it. Even if the UK doesn't change, the EU does, to non-compliance occurs by drift and inaction.

There is no appetite in the UK to politically litigate Brexit again, not the whole nation. Even numbers of people crossing the Channel by boats has halved in the last year, so the Brexiteers now turn their blame gun on those on benefits.

Its always someone's fault, but never theirs.

Farage backed Johnson's Brexit deal to the extent he stood down every one of his MPs in places where the Tories were expected to win, to ensure a landslide for Johnson.

A return to the EU is a generation away, no matter what some people and groups might say.

Saturday 25th April 2026

Amazingly, this is the last weekend of the football season where there are games in all divisions, as it was the last day of the non-league, and next week's Championship games kick off at half twelve on Saturday, meaning this would be the last afternoon on the sofa with Scully, Radio 5 and Final Score and the videoprinter.

Next time will be the August Bank Holiday, or around that time.

It was a Saturday, so after getting up at six and doing the usual stuff like feeding the cats and drinking coffee, we left for the sports centre at ten to six, getting there two minutes early, so we had to stand outside for the doors to open for a couple of minutes.

I go upstairs, climb on the bike, and begin pedalling at a mad rate, so much so that I burn 386K/calories in forty minutes, so that would explain my tired legs.

So tired, in fact, I bailed on going orchiding, saying we'd do it tomorrow. In fact the weather was cool and cloudy, but the sun soon burnt through that, and the temperatures quickly rose.

Back home then for brews and breakfast, and after a shower, sit outside on the patio where a series of cats came to sit, just to make sure there was any food about. Even Cleo sat nearby on the new tool box, keeping both eyes on me.

Of course there was football all afternoon: Ipswich on at half twelve, and again although they drew and moved back up to second, they seem to be lacking something up front.

Then to three and the radio and Final score, so I could keep tabs on Norwich. Our faint hopes of making the play-offs held as results went our way in the early kick offs, all we had to do was beat Swansea. At home.

It ended a 1-1 draw. A game of two penalties, both scored, one for each side. And so our season ends just falling short of the play-offs, though it would have been a year too soon for this group of players.

Meanwhile, Spurs and West Ham were fighting to see who out of the two of them would go down, and in a crazy eleven minutes West Ham scored. Everton equalised. Spurs scored against Wolves, thus moving themselves out of the bottom three. Before West Ham scored in injury time to leap-frog Spurs.

This battle royale has four more games to go. But the day meant Spurs won their first league game of the year! At the end of April.

Then came the FA Cup semi-final: Citeh v Southampton. And a good game, where the Saints scored in the 80th minute to set up the great upset. Only for Citeh to score twice after bringing on half a billion quids worth of players to run in two late goals.

Meanwhile Arsenal edged Newcastle in the league, 1-0 to go back top.

And that was more than enough football for one day.

Friday 24th April 2026

So, we have nearly made it to the end of the week again.

As always on non-phys days, I could lay in to six or half past, but my brain wakes me up before five. However, this day, much to my surprise I fell back to sleep, and was woken up for the second time when Jools drove up the drive en route for her yoga class.

I get up, get dressed and make coffee, before putting out the bins and drank a second cuppa sitting on the patio as the sun warmed the morning up.

I did have orchids on my mind.

On Tuesday, I bumped into one of the mods from my orchid group, who had just been to see the peloric Early Purples.

What is Pelorism, Precious?

Well, Wikki describes it thus:

"Pelorism is the abnormal production of radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) flowers in a species that usually produces bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic) flowers. These flowers are spontaneous floral symmetry mutants. The term epanody is also applied to this phenomenon. Bilaterally symmetrical (zygomorphic) flowers are known to have evolved several times from radially symmetrical (actinomorphic) flowers, these changes being linked to increasing specialisation in pollinators."

In other words, its a genetic throwback to an ancient form, petal and sepal arrangement.

I waited until Jools came back, and confirmed she didn't need the car, then set off to Yockletts.

Again.

Not much to report. It was quiet on the roads, and it was a fine, warm day. Perfect for orchiding.

I toyed with the idea of parking at the bottom of the Gogway, and just walking up to site where I thought I knew my quest would be ended. But, thought a walk across the whole reserve would be good, and get in my steps again.

So I parked in the small layby, grabbed the camera and walked into the reserve.

Unlike animals and insects, plants can't escape when a predator comes by. So it was a shock to see the glade where on Tuesday there were four flowering Early Purple spikes, to discover all were gone.

I walked to the lower glade: it was cool and in deep shadow, but the sun would reach it soon, and maybe there would be butterflies.

I stopped to snap the Fly orchids through the wood, up to the upper path to check on the couple of Lady orchids that were still in flower, just a little further on from Tuesday.

Over the Gogway, I checked on the site for the green Fly: no sign as yet. I think they have died out, but time may yet prove me wrong on that.

U the steep path where I expected to see the most advanced Lady spike in full flower, as it looked splendid but not quite all open on Tuesday.

But it was gone. The rosette was there, but no spike.

I don't know for sure that it was picked by a human or an animal. Deers love the taste of orchids for sure, but that meant four different orchid species on the reserve have all lost flowering spikes this year.

Too much of a coincidence really. I think they were picked, but I have no firm evidence.

I sigh and walk along the path, now quite overgrown to the bluebell wood, where there were most spikes already gone to seed, and only a handful of Early purple sikes showing well.

I find what I thought was the track to the peloric orchids, but I find none. Nearby a colony of usually shaped spikes were spotted, so through the undergrowth, over fallen trees, all while walking on the side of a down at an angle of 45 degrees.

I checked further down and still find no peloric orchids, but I do find another colony of Early purples, one with excess of pigmentation, hyperchromatic. An un-named variant.

I take shots.

Then walk back up the down, where as I was climbing over a trunk, my right foot slips, and instead of my left foot clearing the log, I kick it with my shin, removing the skin.

That smarted and will take some time to heal.

I curse my weak body and carelessness, but in truth I had climbed up and down the wooded down at least five times with no issues, no heavy breathing or needing to rest my back or knees.

I just did it.

And no walking pole needed.

I walk back down the main path, then along the bottom path, along where a decade ago there was a wide strip of grass, full of wild flowers and butterflies, but now scrub and soon to be woodland.

The orchids and butterflies will not return.

I sigh again.

Back over the Gogway, along the lower path and up to the lower meadow, where I take a seat in the vain hope of seeing one of our most fabulous butterflies: A Green hairstreak.

I had not seen them in the meadow since before COVID, so I had little hope.

I saw Brimstone, Holly blues, Large whites and Orange tips, but I kept looking.

In flight the Green hairstreak looks brown, and only is iridescent green when its scales reflect the sun.

I see two small brown butterflies flying close to the ground. I knew for sure these were Green hairstreaks.

I got up and walked closer. One landed, and I lay down, edging closer getting a few shots through the grass as it rested.

The camera over exposed every shot.

But it flew off, duelling with with another across the meadow. Round and round they flew, like a small two butterfly tornado, before circling a beech sapling over and over again.

I walked over and one settled. I edged closer, and through the sapling's leaves, I rattled off shots, hoping on would be in focus as I struggled to stay still on the steeply sloping ground.

And was done. It flew off, and it was time to leave.

I drove back to Stone Street, turned south towards Folkestone and the motorway.

It had turned into a fine Spring day, and even with a slow coach in front of the line of traffic was last in, I cared not.

So, back to Dover, as traffic for the port got confused as to what lane to be in, I turned up Jubilee Way and to home.

I had beaten Jools home, as she had walked the long way back from knit and natter, via Kingsdown Road the then the Dip.

I sat on the patio with three attendant cats, sipping from a pint of fizzy orange squash.

Lunch/dinner was Caprese with basil from the plants I repotted, and warmed a loaf in the oven.

It was a fine meal, the tomatoes now full of flavour, as was the basil.

The music quiz took place at six. I came second on the night, and so second overall for the month, but the fridge magnet prize was out of reach.

For the evening there was football. Could Nottingham Forest increase the gap between them and Tottenham and West Ham?

Sunderland dominated the first ten minute, with 91% of possession, but possession without an end product is just a statistic.

Then, then sky fell in on Sunderland, Forest scoring one, then three more in quick succession. 4-0 at half time, and they even managed to sweep in a fifth before the final whistle, thus giving themselves a nine point gap to Spurs in 18th, meaning it is between Spurs and West Ham as to who is going to take to last relegation spot.

A shame then, that Steve from next door chose this game to go and cheer on his team, Sunderland, on in person.

Thursday 23rd April 2026

St George's Day.

William Shakespeare's birthday.

Anniversary of William Shakespeare's death.

Thursday again, which means early morning phys.

Each day it seems to get a little warmer, and with the bike in a corner of the gym, the air con doesn't really reach, so I get a little bit hotter and sweatier as I peddle.

And as I now use over-ear headphones, suffer from sweaty ear syndrome.

And again it would have been easy to duck it, but we both are up, and tag team to test and jab Scully, feed the rest of the cats and make coffee, so that come ten to six we are ready to go.

We arrive too early, the doors were yet to be opened, but in a couple of minutes we were allowed in, though most went to the pool, so we gym rats went upstairs and began the workout.

Forty minutes later we were done, went to Tesco to fill the car up and then to the store to do some gathering.

On the way round I said hello to one of ladies doing the click and collect, and she remarked on how much weight I'd lost and what was the secret. I was taken aback, but pleased at the same time. As I was stuffing bite-size pork pies in the trolley......

Beer was gathered, as was other essentials.

And we were back home before half seven, putting the shopping away, having a brew and preparing breakfast.

After a shower i mow the non-wildflower parts of the lawnmeadow, just to make walking in the lush grass easier. Jools does more weeding, and so the morning passes.

In the afternoon, her fitness class were having a high tea afternoon in the Riverside Centre (!), so I stayed behind, sitting outside to read until the shadows lengthened and it got chilly.

Jools wasn't hungry, so I defrosted a batch of chilli, warmed that up and cooked some rice, so ate well.

And that was the day, really. There was a game on TV, Salford v Bromley, but I skip that, so was in bed by half eight.

Wednesday 22nd April 2026

It's the middle of the week.

And a day in which, usually, little happens.

I could even have a lay in, only my bladder and brain conspired to wake me at ten past five.

Good morning.

So, up at half five and potter about. Drinking coffee and generally getting in the way.

Everyone has to have a job.

Despite doing 17,044 steps the day before, and some of those steps being steep und and down ones, I was mostly ache free. But I took it easy to start with, reading old blog posts where I find out what we were doing three years ago in Spain and a year ago in India. Ten years ago we were waiting to leave for that Japan.

Jools went to her class, so I stay, have breakfast and a brew. Have another brew, then sit in the warm sunshine reading a fine book on the Comford and High Peak Railway, that a contact on Flickr wrote.

Jools returned at half ten, so I took the car to nip to Samphire Hoe again, or the waiting area at the top, to check out the colony of Early Spiders I found the day before.

Ignoring the double yellow lines, I park and check each of the spikes, taking shots with the phone.

And then back home for lunch.

Wednesday was the last visit of my churchcrawling group before we break for the summer and the full on orchid-madness for me.

I had arranged St Leonard, Upper Deal to be open, so just after one we make our way into Walmer then to Deal, through the roadworks on The Strand. I drop Jools off near the town centre, then I carry on to the church and park on the road outside.

I had half an hour.

So I look up a couple of sites for the history and details of the church, while outside I see members of the group start to appear.

My fears that the doors would be locked were unfounded, and so entered into the cool and unusual interior.

In the early Georgian period, the Norman Nave was swept away and replaced with a huge space, almost non-conformist in its orientation, a huge north aisle with gallery that swept round to meet the organ platform. On the balustrade, there are paintings of a warship, merchants and two representations of globes.

The church has strong Naval and maritime links, its walls full of memorials and hatchments to the great and good of the high seas who had their houses surrounding the church.

Above the gallery there are four unusual round windows that light the space, although it's fabric is suffering from damp and will soon need urgent repairs.

We had a fine welcome from the warden, and between her and myself we covered the history of the building and town.

The visit ended after an hour and a quarter, so I thanked the warden, wished the group a good summer. And the job was done.

I drove back into town, pick Jools up from outside The Port Arms, then drive back home where we both agree we were hungry.

I quickly rustle up dinner: fish, new potatoes and creamed spinach with sweetcorn and peas.

It went together well and quickly, just as well as I was off out again.

I take the car and my camera down the hill to Martin Mill station to photograph another railtour. Braughton hauling some VSOE coaches round Kent.

We could hear the whistle as she went through Walmer, and again as she approached the crossing at Cold Blow Lane.

We could now hear her pistons going, working hard. She appeared from round the bend about a quarter mile away, so I started to rattle off shots as she thundered through the station on the tracks by the opposite platform.

And she was on me, and past, steaming up Guston Bank towards Dover, smoke rising in the warm gloaming of a Spring early evening.

I walk back to the car and drive back up the hill to home.

Phew, that was exciting.

Ipswich on the telly to entertain me. Charlton scored after 41 seconds and it looked like Town might be in trouble, but they got one back before half time, then another dodgy penalty went their way. And it was done, they are almost up again.