Saturday 19th July 2023

Last weekend I realised I would be away for Heritage Weekend, so the plans I was making are all scrapped, however the return to All Saints would be simpler as it is open most lunchtimes, including Saturdays.

So that was the plan.

A quick dash to Tesco for the shopping, which is getting ever more expensive, now would be almost ruinous amounts were it not for me being an international quality export. But seriously, how do families cope?

Back home for breakfast of fruit and another coffee, before I loaded the car with camera gear and set off into the traffic heading for the port. Not as bad as previous weeks, but we did have to got to the motorway along the Alkham Valley and avoiding a cyclist who seemed to thing give way signs at the mini roundabout at the bottom of Whitfield did not apply. Had we have been a second earlier, we would have taken him out, and it wouldn't have been our fault!

The rest of the drive to Maidstone was uneventful, but then we had the joys of the one way system, which I did get wrong, so had to go round one more time to find the right turning past the church and be in the right lane for the car park.

All Saints is open 120 minutes either side of midday four days a week, opening at ten, certainly on Saturdays until the end of September.

I tried to see inside on a cold, damp and grey day at the end of winter, Google had said it was open, but Google had lied. This time I checked the church website to ensure it would be open.

In the end, after arriving at ten past ten, I had the church to myself, and as befitting the county town of Kent, the church is full of interest. Its walls so full of memorials, it would be a task of several hours to photograph them all, so I did a few.

The church has some ancient memorials, of this is one, stares down at mostly empty nave, aisles and chancels.

It took an hour to complete my task, by which time the traffic into town looked horrific, and then it started to rain, so we hurried tot he car and then home.

Traffic was nose to tail entering the town, but we sailed out and back onto the motorway, and then putting along to the coast at 50mph due to the Brexit related contraflow.

Sigh.

To avoid the port, we came back along the Alkham valley, and then to home, getting back just before midday, so put the kettle on for a refreshing brew before I made bacon butties for brunch.

The rest of the day was pretty much taken with football, although Norwich don't play until Sunday, so I listened along and tried to stay awake.

At half five Spurs played Man Utd n a battle to see who was transitioning better. And turned out to be Spurs who ran out 2-0 winners.

We dined on rump steak, fresh corn and potatoes done in the air fryer, which still don't come out crispy, but I think I might have worked out what I'm doing wrong.

We shall see.