Sunday 10th June 2018

Sometimes there just isn't enough hours in a weekend.

I slept poorly, waking up just before the hot water switched on at half six, and as I had arranged to meet my friend, Mark, at PGD at nine, which meant just an hour before I had to leave the house. But first I needed coffee.

Lots of coffee.

We sit, bleary eyes watching the light outside, but I could hear the orchids calling.

Whilst I would be away, Jools was going to plant the rest of the seedlings, or as many of them as she could. And I would look for Musk Orchids.

I drove up the A2 to Barham, then down Gravel Castle Lane and out onto the Elham Valley road and then onto the down.

I was alone. I mean not one person there. The Monkey are nearly over so most people don't come after that. So they miss the thousand upon thousand of Common Fragrant Orchid and Common Spotteds stretching out in all directions. I should have looked at more, but where do you start?

Although there were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of orchids, these were not I had come to see. Somewhere in one of the paddocks, in a tiny square of meadow would be the small spikes of the Musk, just waiting to be discovered.

On the way my eye was caught by two butterflies, roosting on a plant stem. Toon good a chance to miss, so I rattle off a few shots, and the results? Well.

I walk on. I know just where to go, I tick off the small landmarks, go past a mound, and look down. In about thirty seconds I see the first spike, with a half open second beside it. Not much to show, as after half an hour further hunting, I find no more spikes, but then I had found what I wanted. And as if to make the moment perfect, the sun came out as I sent to get some closeups.

Lovely.

I walk up to look at the Common Spotted at the tp of the down, looking for a var. alba, and sure enough I spot one from ten metres away. Clever boy.

I even see a few var. albiflora Fragrants too, no idea why some species are var. alba and others are var. albiflora. Just to keep us on our toes, I guess.

I snap many orchids, so many orchids.

Mark had not turned up, and the light was fading again as clouds rolled in. I turn for the car and drive back to Dover, via Tesco, as we had little food.

Tesco at 11 on a Sunday morning is a scary and busy place. I rush round getting what we needed and what I think we needed. And out, home by half past, and in time to help Jools plant the last few flowers, so then we could both have twisty cheese bread things with a brew, a starter for the main lunch of rills and followed by raspberries and cream, our first of the season, and to be honest; bland.

We had been persuaded to go to play cards on Sunday as we had been busy the night before, starting at four, the usual two rounds of meld and Queenie until the pots had been won.

And talking, laughing and drinking. And at about eight, Doritos and dips and more beer.

John scoops the pots with a flourish, so at half nine, with Jools and I both yawning, we take John home, then go home ourselves.

Phew.