Wednesday 22nd April 2026

It's the middle of the week.

And a day in which, usually, little happens.

I could even have a lay in, only my bladder and brain conspired to wake me at ten past five.

Good morning.

So, up at half five and potter about. Drinking coffee and generally getting in the way.

Everyone has to have a job.

Despite doing 17,044 steps the day before, and some of those steps being steep und and down ones, I was mostly ache free. But I took it easy to start with, reading old blog posts where I find out what we were doing three years ago in Spain and a year ago in India. Ten years ago we were waiting to leave for that Japan.

Jools went to her class, so I stay, have breakfast and a brew. Have another brew, then sit in the warm sunshine reading a fine book on the Comford and High Peak Railway, that a contact on Flickr wrote.

Jools returned at half ten, so I took the car to nip to Samphire Hoe again, or the waiting area at the top, to check out the colony of Early Spiders I found the day before.

Ignoring the double yellow lines, I park and check each of the spikes, taking shots with the phone.

And then back home for lunch.

Wednesday was the last visit of my churchcrawling group before we break for the summer and the full on orchid-madness for me.

I had arranged St Leonard, Upper Deal to be open, so just after one we make our way into Walmer then to Deal, through the roadworks on The Strand. I drop Jools off near the town centre, then I carry on to the church and park on the road outside.

I had half an hour.

So I look up a couple of sites for the history and details of the church, while outside I see members of the group start to appear.

My fears that the doors would be locked were unfounded, and so entered into the cool and unusual interior.

In the early Georgian period, the Norman Nave was swept away and replaced with a huge space, almost non-conformist in its orientation, a huge north aisle with gallery that swept round to meet the organ platform. On the balustrade, there are paintings of a warship, merchants and two representations of globes.

The church has strong Naval and maritime links, its walls full of memorials and hatchments to the great and good of the high seas who had their houses surrounding the church.

Above the gallery there are four unusual round windows that light the space, although it's fabric is suffering from damp and will soon need urgent repairs.

We had a fine welcome from the warden, and between her and myself we covered the history of the building and town.

The visit ended after an hour and a quarter, so I thanked the warden, wished the group a good summer. And the job was done.

I drove back into town, pick Jools up from outside The Port Arms, then drive back home where we both agree we were hungry.

I quickly rustle up dinner: fish, new potatoes and creamed spinach with sweetcorn and peas.

It went together well and quickly, just as well as I was off out again.

I take the car and my camera down the hill to Martin Mill station to photograph another railtour. Braughton hauling some VSOE coaches round Kent.

We could hear the whistle as she went through Walmer, and again as she approached the crossing at Cold Blow Lane.

We could now hear her pistons going, working hard. She appeared from round the bend about a quarter mile away, so I started to rattle off shots as she thundered through the station on the tracks by the opposite platform.

And she was on me, and past, steaming up Guston Bank towards Dover, smoke rising in the warm gloaming of a Spring early evening.

I walk back to the car and drive back up the hill to home.

Phew, that was exciting.

Ipswich on the telly to entertain me. Charlton scored after 41 seconds and it looked like Town might be in trouble, but they got one back before half time, then another dodgy penalty went their way. And it was done, they are almost up again.