So, sorry for the break in updates from the house of the happy kittens that Chez Jelltex now quite clearly is. But, we had a quiet weekend and then I had to travel to Kendal to climb their large ladder. I cannot believe that Kendal as the biggest ladder in the land, but it was that I was sent on how to climb and work at height without killing me or anyone else.
Saturday, we lay in bed a little too late, but once we got up and made bacon sarnies, got our act together and headed out to near Sittingbourne to find a home brew shop. There are better reasons for going out, but buying home brew kits is surely one of the best reasons.
We headed up the A2 and then into the boondocks to find the shop. It was full of lovely beery and winey goodies. we stocked up on two beer kits (for me) and a cider one (for Jools) before we headed off. we passed an unusually shaped church at Tonge, which needless to say, we stopped so I could snap it.
we then headed into Sittingbourne to see if there was anything worth snapping; after battling through it's one way system we decided to head right back out as noting other than soulless shops could be seen.
We headed out onto the Isle of Sheppy and then out across the marshes to the remote Hart Church and the Ferry Inn for a drink before heading back home.
From the motorway, I spied an unusual church, and as it was within a mile of a junction, we headed off to find it.
As it turned out, the church had a Christmas tree festival on; and so we parked up and walked in. St Peter and St Paul Ospringe as a very unusual tower, and some mad Victorians had added towers and turrets to it to make it really stand out from the crowd. We were greeted at the door and were told the church's history before we walked round, with me snapping away.
We headed home after having a cup of tea and a ginger star cookie, for a snooze and a lay down listening to the footie on the radio whilst covered in kittens and cats. As usual!
Sunday was a much brighter day, and so we headed out to walk along to revamped promenade in Dover and get some exercise in, and gird our loins for the trip to Sainsburys which we had planned next.
The new flowerbeds and paths were all twisty curvy things, and along with the bright sunlight suited my wide angle lens perfectly.
And then it was off to Folkestone and the battle of the superstore. In truth, Sainsbury's is not as bad as Tescos but we went round getting the stuff we wanted before getting the heck outta dodge and heading back home and vowing not to go out again that day.
And so a quiet afternoon deveoped with me, the kittens and the football on Sky getting acquainted with the sofa. Some snoozing might have been involved too!
And so, the day slipped through my fingers like sand and darkness fell and the NFL went by mostly unwatched, especially as the Vikings game got postponed due to snow inside the Mall of America dome; they have some serious snow there for sure!
And so Monday dawned and my long trip to the ladder in the north loomed large. At least with modern trains, a trip to the Lake District is not a long one; a short blast up HS1 on a Javelin; a walk along Euston Road and then a Pendilino north meant that I arrived in Kendal in less than five hours after leaving home.
With a map on my phone I wandered around Kendal until I ad to ask where the Premier Inn was, and a further walk along past the bus station brought me to the hotel. I checked in, unpacked; I say unpacked, I took the tee shirts and stuff and arranged them in a ball on a shelf below the TV. And then it was time to head out to find a pub showing the football.
finding the white Horse, I bought a Christmas beer and settled down, chatting to a local guy on the table next to me and waited for the game to begin. In truth, no matter that the game featured two of the country's biggest teams, Man Utd and Arsenal, it was poor fare and the beer at least made it pleasant enough. Once the final whistle blew, I walked back to the hotel a bit peckish as I had not eaten since lunch; imagine my dismay that KFC was closed already, and the hotel just had a vending machine. And so I went to my room with a small packet of bite-sized cookies and a cup of tea.
Now, in my haste to get work done last week during my two days in the office, I failed to print out the joining instructions from the training centre. I had made a note of it's postcode. And so I thought it wise to set off early as possible to find the centre and better to be an hour early rather than an hour late.
So I walked back to the station, under the bridge and out on the main road north, the map on my phone promising me I was going the right way. And indeed I was, as I arrived at the centre dead on eight and exactly an hour early. I waited, and then waited some more.
At half eight the staff began to appear and I went inside the office building and waited some more, breaking the boredom by filling out forms. YAY!
And then, right on time at twenty to ten(!) the course began with some serious death by Powerpoint on the rules and regulations regarding climbing.
That afternoon the practical began; ending with each of us having to climb 20m or so. Now, 20 m don't seem very high, but up on the narrow rung of the ladder as I struggled with the harness and hooks and things, it seems halfway to the moon with people down on the floor looking like toys.
But, I passed the test, and thought the worse over. But little did i know what tomorrow would bring......
That night I went out with camera and took shots of the town centre in the dark; well, lit up by neon and streetlights. I met up with a guy from the course and we had a couple of beers and played some pool before I thought it best to have a meal once in a while, rather than just ale.
I went back to the hotel and its attached pub and ordered steak and mushroom pie which appeared in 5 minutes. It was horrible, clearly microwaved and stodgy to say the least. But the ice cream I had for dessert was fine enough.
And so a second day climbing training and I could go home; easy, eh?
Well, an hour of watching videos and then back to the climbing frame thing and TERROR! We had to climb through a hatch in the floor and just using the harness and ropes gently float to the ground!!!
I say ropes, they were properly tested ropes and harnesses and shackles and stuff. I was last to go, and thought about it long and hard, but in due course I sat on the edge and let myself go and I was floating down to the ground like a large leaf. A very large leaf indeed.
The rest was easy easy and we were let out at three and the guy I had met the previous night for beers and me shared a taxi to Oxenholme station on the main line in order to get a nice early train. Ten minutes after I arrived, a train pulled in just stopping in Preston before arriving in London; I got on and tried to find a seat. And so as the sun set and dusk crept over the land we sped south and the snow clouds threatened to gather and scatter the fluffy white stuff around and maybe could have left me marooned in Kendal.
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