Wednesday 3rd October 2012

Monday was October 1st, and it really felt like the first day of autumn, especially after the bright sunshine and warm weather of the weekend. When the alarm went off at five forty five, it was still dark, and as dawn crept over the land, it revealed a leaden sky with a key breeze blowing. It did not get fully light until I got to work. And as the day went on the weather got worse, the wind blew and rain fell, and it was already gloomy when we got home at a quarter to five.

To darken our mood further, Mulder has not been seen since Sunday evening, and how quiet it is without his constant mewing and playing. Still no sign of him Tuesday morning, either. Its still not long, but he never disappears for this long, the others; maybe. But not The Boy. We shall see.

The weekend, as I said, was bright and warm; so we headed out on Saturday morning to visit another church. It is a real benefit being on Flickr, when friends or contacts visit somewhere interesting nearby and we can then go along. So it was we headed up the A2 to Rainham, one of the Medway towns, to visit a church with a wonderfully painted ceiling. The Rainham Towns, Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester all blend into one large town spread along the southern banks of the Medway. And, and lets be honest here, is not the prettiest of places. It is historical, there is the old Naval Dockyard, Rochester Castle and Cathedral. But, mostly it is houses and bland shops. And it seems to cut through with by-passes and dual carriageways, which is good for those driving, it is not eyecatching.

Anyway, after turning off the M2 we drove into Rainham, found a place to park at the nearby shopping centre and went looking for the church. As usual I had not noted the name of the church, just its rough location and apparently just hoped for the best. I do hope that one day I will learn from this and make some notes so we know exactly what it is we are looking for when we go hunting for churches; in some cases the actual village name would help, rather than me saying ‘well, it begins with a B!’

Anyway, a brief walk up to the A2 and there was a church; turns out it was THE church, and after crossing the road we found the door open and so we went inside. On the ceiling in each panel is a representation of the sun, overlaid with both the red rose and white rose of York and Lancaster. It is very impressive, as is the rest of the church, built on large scale as Rainham always has been an important town.

We headed over to Costa for a coffee and a wad, which we consumed outside so we could watch the world go by. And the world seemed to be mainly female, checking their phones and wearing skin-tight leggings of various designs. Its how the other half lives.



We went back to the car and headed to the Medway Tunnel and the much more attractive surroundings of Upnor. I guess Upnor was once an isolated village, but now the tunnel is there, the centre of town is just 5 minutes away. The town is attractive, and the best part is the cobbled High Street lined with old houses and a couple of fine pubs. At the end of the street is Upnor Castle, and although we did not plan to, we did go in. Not before checking out a walk along the river, which seemed like a good idea, but it must have been high tide recently, and the ground was saturated, and then the path headed into a most unattractive industrial estate; so we headed back to the castle.



Before going in we stood and watched bees and butterflies getting the last of the summer pollen from a hedge in the sunshine; I got a few shots. And then we went in the castle; a wedding was being prepared for, so we had a quick look round and headed back out. We called in at the Kings Arms, where we did go in and order two salads and retired to the beer garden. And spotting several dragonflies did run round the garden trying to get more shots. Being in the garden, and it being sheltered, it got warmer, if not hot, and was like a reminder of summer.



Once we had eaten, we headed back to the car and then back home, arriving back in time for afternoon coffee and the beginning of the three o’clock kick offs, and more pain as Norwich crumbled to another heavy defeat.

That evening, we sat in the window of the back room, watching as dusk fell, the air fill with swallows and martins, as they gathered at the edge of England before heading south for the winter. One swallow doesn't make a summer, but seeing that many here means the end of summer for sure.....



Sunday was breezier, but bright enough; so after breakfast we headed out and parked up along Reach Road near to the Coastguard station and headed out to the edge of the cliffs. Words cannot describe, even after living here over 5 years, how thrilling it is to look down at the cliff’s edge, and across the Channel to France. We walked down towards Langdon Bay down the course of the old railway, right down to where Jubilee Way cuts through the cliffs. And then turned back and walked back to the car.



It don’t sound much, but it was a fine way to spend a couple of hours, very exhilarating.

Back home and then it was slaving over a hot stove as I prepared and then cooked a huge pan of stew for us to have for dinner during the week. And at the same time cook a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. Jools went to collect Nan, and at one we sat down to a very fine dinner indeed, along with a glass of vin rouge, and then spent the afternoon trying, and failing, to fall asleep.

And that was the end of your weekend.

Sadly.