Saturday 17th September 2022

Second weekend of the annual Heritage event. It seems wrong to call it a weekend as it now compromises two weekends and many meedweek events too.

And scanning the events, there were some in Canterbury, so we decide to head to the city for a wander: jools would go shopping while I would go and do some snapping.

Of course there is always shopping first. Off to Tesco to fill the car, then fill the fridge and larder. I am away for three days, nearly four, so not much needed on top of some ready meals for Jools. Still came to seventy quid, mind.

A tub of cheese footballs did fall into the trolley, which helped.

Back home for breakfast of fruit and more coffee, and then off to Canterbury, parking near St Augustine's Abbey, walking to the centre via a subway. We parted, Jools went to Body Shop and a couple of other shops, while I walked down High Street, past the Eastgate Hospital, Westgate Tower, Canterbury West station to St Dunstan's.

I could say I walked straight there, but I had a quarter of an hour to play with, so when I walked past a pasty shop, I went in for a coffee, and although wasn't really hungry, I did have a pasty anyway.

Once fed and watered, I walk on, up the hill past the station, and on the left was the church, the door already open despite it being only five to nine.

I went in, and found I had the church to myself.

Last time I was here, the Roper Chapel was being renovated and so I couldn't get inside. Important as it is in the chapel that the head of Thomas Moor, beheaded on Tower Hill on orders of Henry VIII. The windows of the chapel have several representation of him and scenes from his life. I snap them all.

I go round with the wide angle lens, now the church is fully open again.

That done, I walk back down into the centre heading for Eastgate Hospital.

I have been here before, a decade ago, when I went round with just my wide angle lens, and go a few poor shots. So, with it being open for the Heritage Event, it seemed a good idea to go.

The hospital is ancient, it goes without saying, and is still in use.

I have walked up and down High Street in Canterbury dozens of times, and never really thought about what lay behind buildings on the west side.

At Eastgate, the ancient hospital straddles the Stour, or one branch of it, on the other is the timber framed house, Weavers, with the ducking stool further downstream.

I re-visited the hospital, and on the way out was told I could visit the gardens and Greyfriars Chapel at the same time.

A shop, former pawnbrokers, is now a charity shop for the gardens, and through the shop there is an exit to a path beside the river.

This opens out into two acres of gardens, still used to feed the patients in the hospital, and the monks who still live and work here.

There used to be a large priory church here, and there are parts of ancient walls and ruins to be seen, as well as a bridge of the same age.

Over the river, a former lodging building from the 13th century, as been converted into a chapel, Greyfriars, with pillars supporting the building as the river passes through a tunnel under it.

It was rather like walking through a wardrobe into a magical place, with the Stour gently flowing through it, and a few other visitors making their was to the Chapel and surrounding gardens.

We sat for 45 minutes in the meadow waiting for a service to end, so I could get shots. So, we people watched and delighted in Migrant Hawkers flying by.

The sounds of the city seemed a hundred miles away.

I got the shots once the group of ladies left, and once I had the three shots, we followeed sign to the exit, leaving the garden through a plane gate beside the old post office.

Now what?

Well, nothing. Really.

So, we walk back slowly to the car, pay for three hours parking and drive back out of the city, down the A2 to the coast and home.

Back in time to listen to the footy, have a brew and try to avoid eating as we were going out in the evening. As, on Monday, it will be 14 years since we married, and as I will be in another country Monday, we celebrated it two days early.

Or would do come six.

Norwich were going for seven wins in a row, but never really got going against WBA, and fell a goal behind early on. Better in the second half, and drew level thanks to a defelction, but no win. But also, no defeat either.

I had a shower and put on some clean clothes and a spash of aftershave.

Ready.

I drve us to Jen's, picked her up, then drove slowly to Sandwich, then over the marshes through Preston to Stourmouth.

We were not the only customers; there was a wedding reception, and there were gentlement and boys in three piece suits, and ladies and girls in glamourous gowns and neck-breaking heels. Occasionally the bride would literally sweep through the bar, the train of her dress cleaning as it went. Not sure if what was the right colour.....

We had ordered when I booked the table, a huge pan of paella with chorizo, chicken, ham and shrimp. Jen and I shared a bottle of red, and we ate and watched the comings and goings as the wedding party got ever more rauocus.

We rounded off with a cheeseboard between the three of us, and that was it.

Jools drove us back to Jen's, dropping her off, then back home.

I had decided to open the bottle of port once home, and did. This has been on the shelf since my last trip to Denmark and I saw it at the airport duty free.

It was every bit of good that I hoped it would be.