Saturday 26th November 2022

It is the weekend. Again.

And with Jools suffering a relapse in her chesty cough, we slept late and I said I'd go to Tesco first thing, before coffee, and she could get dressed in her own time.

So I grabbed my coat, the shoppings bags and shopping list, put them in the car and drove to Tesco. First up was to fill the car with petrol, then drive roud to park up, get a trolley and head into the store, grabbing a scanner on the way in.

Apart from the weekly things, I got some stuffing mix and more blocks of butter for Christmas. Meaning that apart from the fruit and veg and milk, we are all abut done here.

Yay us.

Back home for coffee, unload the car and put shopping away, before finally having breakfast 1 of fruit then bacone butties and brews for breakfast 2.

That's better.

The plan for the day was for some local churchcrawling. After some internet research I had the name of the keyholder at Bekesbourne, I called but was told she was out but would be back "soon". OK, in which case we would visit some other nearby churches and go there last.

Not far to Barham from Chez Jelltex, just along the A2, overtaking lorries and slow cars until we turned off at Wootton, down past the filling station and into Barham, stopping on the road beside the church.

Barham is always open, I thought, no worries here. As I got out all my camera gear and lugged it over the road and through the churchyard.

Round on the north sade, we arrive at the porch and I find the door is locked after all. No news of a keyholder, but next week there is a coffee morning. If we feel OK after our COVID booster, we might go along.

Its a short drive along the Elham Valley to Bridge. And yes there is really a place called Bridge, and it does have a bridge. A bridge in Bridge, which takes the old Watling Street and high road over the bed of the Nailbourne.

Bridge never lets us down. And indeed it was upen, door ajar, and soon a warden came and put all the lights on so snapping was easier. I'd not missed much on previous visits, but with a new-ish lens, it was always worth in redoing shots. I did have the big lens with me, great for details of carvings and in staned glass windows, which I photograph enthuiastically.

From Bridge, its a five minute drive to Patrixbourne.

I wanted to come back here to take close up details of the Tympanum and rose window from the outside, so it wasn't too much of a loss that the door was locked after all.

So, I set about getting my shots and rattle off a couple of hundred.

Back to the car, and next village along is Bekesbourne, where I had called earlier. The keyholder lives in a "large while building opposite the church", the website said. Yes, it's a palace.

An actual palace.

So, there was scruffy me shambling up the large door, ringing the bell and asking if the church keayholder was in.

She wasn't.

And her husaband wasn't too keen on letting me have it.

Now I know how to get it, there'll be plenty of other times.

I leave, but on the way back to the main road, a large Audi passes us, and pretty much the only place she could be going was the palace: should we go back?

No, there'll be other times.

We head home, back along the A2, but calling in at Jen's to do some admin. That done it was back home, all back by one, and ready for some more World Cup action from the sofa.

Lunch was pizza and beer, done in ten minutes and easy as anything, so the main task of the day was to fight my heavy eyelids that threatened to send me to sleep.

Argentina beat Mexico in a bad tempered gmae, then France beat Denmark 2-1, by which time it was nine and time for bed.

Phew.