A day out in Kent.

Had a smashing day out with our friends on Wednesday. First stop was the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain memorial at Capel le Ferne near Dover. There's a replica Spitfire & Hurricane & a very interesting  visitors centre in the shape of a wing, once you get upstairs to the café  you can see it has the shape of the elliptical wings of a Spitfire.
We walked over near to the cliff edge of the site, heard the growl of Merlin engine , looked skyward & what should fly over but a bloody Spitfire!! We reckon Stan & Kas had arranged it! I tried to take a photo but was way out so decided just to enjoy watching it fly over. Fantastic! Puts the hairs up on the back of my neck, just brilliant.
Anyway, tea & wads (cake really) in the café & we  were ready to move off.

I wanted to have a look at a cemetery in Dover, as you know, I like a good cemetery, the reason being I have read a very good book about a World War One action called The Zeebrugge Raid on 23rd April 1918. The objective was to sink a couple of old ships in the mouth of the ship canals at Zeebrugge and Ostend to stop U Boats and  motor boats leaving port, a diversionary attack on the harbour (the Mole) was to be made by Royal Marines. All who volunteered for the raid were told to expect that they would not come back and nearly half of the four hundred or so Sailors and Marines who took part didn't! I have read a very good book about the raid which I urge you to read, 'The Zeebrugge Raid 1918  The finest feat of arms' by Paul Kendall ,follow this link to find out more. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zeebrugge-Raid-1918-Finest-Feat/dp/0752453327/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475769354&sr=1-1&keywords=the+zeebrugge+raid+1918
Sixty six were buried in St James Cemetery in Dover, others were buried in Zeebrugge and some were taken to their home towns.
The men who took part in this raid are all buried together in a mass grave, there are another nine who took part but remain unidentified. Vice Admiral Roger Keyes who commanded  the  force and led it across the Channel requested to be buried with his sailors when he died, so in December 1945 he was laid to rest  with the Zeebrugge Raiders. He was by then Admiral of the Fleet, his eldest son was killed in action during the Second World War in 1941 and is commemorated on his fathers memorial, he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.
There was eight VC's awarded for Zeebrugge though none are buried here there is one DSC and a DSM. The award of the VC's is interesting as two were decided by ballot. That is to say the whole unit excelled and no doubt were all bloody brave but it was put to the vote who got the VC. The raid was partially successful, the block ships were not sunk in the exact places they should have been so the channels weren't completely blocked but they did make things very difficult to get U Boats in and out, air photos showed the number of boats within the channels varied very little subsequently.
Churchill described this as 'the finest feat of arms in the Great War and certainly as an episode unsurpassed in the history of the Royal Navy.’ He was probably right. 

Stan before the graves of the Zeebrugge Raiders.

Grave of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Roger Keyes RN.

Memorial to Admiral of the Fleet Lord Keyes & his son Lt Col Keyes VC.

Close up of the memorial naming the unidentified.

Ornate seat commemorating WW1.

View of the Zeebrugge Raiders graves.

There are three Victoria Cross winners buried in this cemetery, we found two of them.
 Quartermaster Charles Wooden VC won his award during the Crimean War whilst serving in the 17th Lancers, then a Sergeant Major, after the famous Charge of the Light Brigade, in which he rode , he helped retrieve a wounded officer under fire. He went on to serve as QM in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, sadly he committed suicide on 14th April 1876 by shooting himself having had severe headaches the previous week. 

Sergeant Major Charles Wooden VC.17th Lancers.

 

    The second was Lance Corporal William House VC who served with the 2nd Bn The Royal Berkshire Regiment. he won his VC during the Boer War whilst also rescuing a wounded comrade. He too died early, he accidently shot himself while cleaning his rifle! He was only 32. His grave must have been either unmarked or in disrepair as in 1994 his present day regiment The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment had the grave stone photographed put in place.   

Lance Corporal William House VC. 2nd Bn The Royal Berkshire Regiment.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Memsahibs barnet.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Memsahibs barnet.: Now once upon a time, when the Memsahib & I first met she dyed her hair.........& it took me about a week with several prompts to no...

The Memsahibs barnet.

Now once upon a time, when the Memsahib & I first met she dyed her hair.........& it took me about a week with several prompts to notice. Tara has beautifully coloured brown hair with lots of other colour (red tones) in as well that you don't really notice, the up shot being that T hasn't changed her hair colour this past 35 years, until now that is.
Tara has talked about it but not grasped the nettle, shopping in Rye Tara & Kas get talking about hair colour & happen to be in Boots & then brought a hair colour  called 'Violet.'
The deed was done once we got back to Kas & Stans & it looks great! A very rich & lovely colour & Tara looks stunning. Thanks to Kas for this because if she hadn't done it the dye would have languished in Tara's bag forever and a day, but as I say the deed is done & it looks great !

Before.

After.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Great Spike.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Great Spike.: Buried in Winchelsea, East Sussex is one of the worlds greatest comics. None other than the great Spike Milligan. Born in India  the son of ...

The Great Spike.

Buried in Winchelsea, East Sussex is one of the worlds greatest comics. None other than the great Spike Milligan. Born in India  the son of a soldier he lived in South London & served in the Royal Artillery during World War Two, meeting up with the likes of Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe, post war the Goons were formed and the rest as they is history his manic type of comedy being the inspiration for the likes of Monty Python.
I loved his war memoirs ( a trilogy in seven parts!) and of course things like the 'Q' programmes, who can forget the Pakistani darlek, the idiot scout troop  and the rest.
When I was at school  part of my English Language CSE course was a book study. I chose Milligans classic 'Puckoon.' There was various things we had to do, review the book, write an alternative ending and find out as much as you can about the author. I managed to get in touch with Spike via Penguin Books  and to my sheer delight  received a personal letter from the man himself signing off with 'Sincerely Spike.' I also got  wealth of information about him which helped me greatly  to obtain my Grade 2 CSE !!
As he had Irish ancestry & I think Irish citizenship some of his gravestone is written in Gaelic, one sentence reading 'I told you I was ill.'
Leave 'em laughing Spike! There'll never be another!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: An afternoon on the railways

An idiots guide to an Idiot: An afternoon on the railways: Went on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway today. Picked it up from just outside Stan & Kas's. The engine 'Winston Church...

An afternoon on the railways

Went on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway today. Picked it up from just outside Stan & Kas's. The engine 'Winston Churchill' was pulling on our outward journey, built in 1931 it's still going strong. Trundled along to Hythe taking in the views which are lovely when in opens out, interested to see two pillboxes  from the train, type 22 & 24 I think, these were part of the 6500 pillboxes built during the Second World War. Photo shows the St Marys Bay pillbox a type 22/FW3 that was improved with thicker walls to be shell proof. I read a story about troops using pillboxes for training, however on opening fire with a heavy machine gun the noise was so terrible the crew elected to place the gun on the roof!
Also spotted the famous Romney Marsh sheep doing their thing in various fields.
Alighted at Hythe which is the end of the line and walked along the Royal Military Canal towards the town centre. The canal is another interesting defence structure. Completed in 1809, it wasn't as long or as wide as first intended to keep 'Old bony' at bay , of  course he never invaded and the canal  became bit of a white elephant, though in world war two the Germans planned to land a brigade of paratroops to secure it.
Into Hythe and went to 'Truly Scrumious'  a tea rooms that actually does cater for wheat intolerance, not just putting up signs that say the do! Excellent Lemon Drizzle cake and Apple & Cinnamon  cake plus coffee's partaken here then off for a potter round. Met various local loons, a woman who talked to herself , or was she talking to her dog? and a bloke with two small dogs who visit all the charity shops for their biscuit  treats. Dogs hurtling in before he's even off his bike, brilliant! 
Time went all too quickly and we made our way back to the station. This time 'Hurricane' was the engine, older than 'Winston Churchill' built in 1926.
The trains stopped at New Romney before Romney Sands where we wanted to go so Kas kindly  met us at the station.
Lovely roast dinner followed by a musical evening  by the  musicians from the newly formed  Romney Marsh Morrismen , follow this link for more info! https://www.facebook.com/Romney-Marsh-Morrismen-338999409774390/  

Memsahib waiting at Romney Sands station at 'Winston Churchill' approaches. 

'Hurricane' on the return journey.

Lypmne castle I think.

The famous Romney Marsh sheep

Pillbox from train.

Stan on melodeon, Dan on guitar. Matt on.........beer bottle! 

Stan and Dan.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Somme 1st Oct 1916.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Somme 1st Oct 1916.: Thought I'd take another of my periodic looks at the Regimental diaries of my Grandfather's regiments of one hundred years ago. The...

Somme 1st Oct 1916.

Thought I'd take another of my periodic looks at the Regimental diaries of my Grandfather's regiments of one hundred years ago.
These diaries, all kept at the National Archive in Kew, can at times be very sparse. At best they are very matter of fact reports of what was going on, not what the weather was like & sometimes it appears not much was going on as for both entries this time.
D1901 Private William Morgan 1st (Kings) Dragoon Guards.
Machy.  
'Lieut FWF Card,2nd Lieut EI Ward & 34 dismounted men rejoined from Albert having been employed in preparing cavalry tracks and clearing battlefields.'


Macy is in Northern France. 'Cavalry tracks' were  repaired roads, shell holes filled in & generally smoothed over so the cavalry could use them, they were marked by various marker flags, the work was undertaken by parties from the cavalry regiments though Card & Ward would have supervised! Much was salvaged from battlefields if conditions allowed, this would no doubt have included their fallen comrades or what was left.


G2104 L/Cpl Alfred Gower MM  2nd Bn The Middlesex Regiment.
Fouqueruil.
'2/Lieut CG Fawcus invalided to England.'


Fouqueruil is also in Northern France, the 2nd Middlesex had been there since 19th September as Divisional Reserve troops. They would remain there until 8th October, towards the end of the month they would be involved in an action that saw my Grandad win his Military Medal.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Last dig of the year.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Last dig of the year.: At Shillington again this weekend digging in an old farmhouse garden. The building dated back to the 15th Century  and in the 18th century w...

Last dig of the year.

At Shillington again this weekend digging in an old farmhouse garden. The building dated back to the 15th Century  and in the 18th century was a pub.
The usual format of a 1m square test pit dug in 10cm  contexts. On parade today was Derek, Kevin, Ivor, Nigel & Alison ( Saturday only), we got off to a cracking start and finds were coming up thick and fast, Victorian pottery the ever popular clay pipe stems with one or two part bowls as well, some probable Medieval pot and afew metal nails. It was all bit of a jumble in terms of the mix of periods we were getting, it didn't really prove anything to us but  we did come down onto a very rough surface at 0.3m which was probably a farmyard type surface made up of very rough material, broken tile, various stones. it certainly wasn't well laid like the surface in the previous dig. 
After the third context the finds started to thin out ,it got very stony and one layer had alot of sand in it probably from building work some years ago, we'd got to 0.6m by the end of the day and were now just getting clay ( gault clay).  We repaired to the Musgrave Arms for post dig analysis a very good pint of Banks and Taylor 'Dragon Slayer'  was imbibed here followed by another as Kevin was driving  today, my turn tomorrow!
Day two  yielded more gault clay with very little in it, alittle frustrating  but you just never know what may be just a trowels scrape away. 0.7m  was pretty empty so just a quarter of the next context was taken out just to see. It was deemed to be the natural  layer, untouched by inhabitation so we called it a day and back filled using the newly restored 'Old Thumper' that Derek had put a new handle on. To the Musgrave Arms again for a last beer and that was that. This was our last dig of the year though I'm pleased to say Derek has already lined up three test pits for next year, he hopes to get the pottery from this years & last years excavations  up to pottery expert Paul Blinkhorn for analysis this winter. Another great weekend digging.

General view of the front of the farmhouse and our test pit.

Derek records as Nigel and Kevin sieve the spoil from the pit.

Test pit at 0.1m

Ivor moves 'Old Thumper' to a safe distance as it wouldn't be used until Sunday. 

Alot more stones showing through.

Finds from the first three contexts.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Beer.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Beer.: I have been drinking beer for about thirty seven years............I could lie & say I was only six when I started but you know better!  ...

Beer.

I have been drinking beer for about thirty seven years............I could lie & say I was only six when I started but you know better!  What is it with beer? Getting served in pubs underage out with mates, having a laugh, well you couldn't drink lemonade could you, had to be a 'proper' drink. My Dad worked for Whitbread's in the days when they brewed beer so it was always in the house. Infact as he worked for the Diplomatic Sales Division  the beers , lagers I should say, were stronger than you could buy in the UK at the time & I didn't really like it!  I got more of a taste for it I guess & quite liked some of the bitters like Tankard, then I saw this mysterious beer drawn by a hand pump called Ruddles County, wasn't greatly struck on  the flavour but there was something about it.
I read up abit on Real Ales & saw a great quote which goes 'Being a beer lover and living in Britain is like being a wine lover and living in France.' I understood that and decided to explore Real Ale in , what shall we say, alittle more depth.
Most of my friends at the time were just lager louts, one drank lager & lime (yuk!) & another, always striving to be different drank lager and blackcurrant & for a while lager & coke!
Then we discovered The Kings Head on Harrow on the Hill, long since converted into flats sadly, this place had several bars on different levels throughout the old building & down in the depths of the building, the very bowels of this great edifice was the Real Ale bar.  You could pretty well hear the animal howls & strange scratchings as you approached down through the half light of the staircase down ,down ever down to the inner sanctum. It was probably the least furnished bar with just simple tables &  chairs, a video game called 'Frogs' and the bar, nay the high alter itself!  If memory serves they had anything up to a dozen different beers poured straight from the barrel, I suppose it was more of an old fashioned tap room. I first tasted Theakstons 'Old Peculiar' here, at 5.6% it's strong stuff. Had my stag night here, when a stag night was just that-one night! It was my round and everybody wanted something different, a couple of lagers, a Guinness, an ale, a short............I came back with eight pints of Sam Smiths 'Old Brewery Bitter,'  as I recall it all went!
Of course beer is the perfect accompaniment  to any social event & all post dig analysis after archaeological digs takes place in the local pub. It is possible, though I've yet to do it, to have a four course dinner with a different beer for each course as you might wine.
Had a very interesting trip round the Chiltern Brewery  that did a version of this, the last beer we tried was served with fruit cake. It shouldn't have gone but it did! The Hook Norton brewery is an excellent trip if you get the chance, their local pubs are still delivered to by horse drawn delivery wagons.
Tring Brewery beers are amongst my faves. Who can forget the polypin of 'Side pocket for a Toad' that Stan got when we subjected his garden to an archaeological dig a few years ago.
I haven't been to all that many beer festivals  though they are great fun and as the name suggests there is beer in abundance. I took Gary to the Dunstable Beer Festival a few years ago, even found some beers he liked, & he prefers Cider! The Globe used to do a great beer fest but now so many of the beers they get are more amber coloured summer beers I've given their festival up.
 Micro breweries are on the increase and have just added to the wealth of flavours on offer, there's a good one in Leighton Buzzard we visited recently on one of their open days & last year we went on the Leighton Buzzard Narrow Gauge Railway Beer Festival called the Buzzrail  Ale Trail there was beer in the engine shed, then half way along the track a stop at the Clay Pipe for another selection  and at the quarry terminus of the railway more beer and snacks.
One of the more unusual beers I've tried was made from Tayberries which are a cross between a raspberry & a blackberry, I can't recall its name but it was actually pink in colour! It was a guest beer at the Globe & I was rather taken with it. We were meeting friends to go onwards for a curry & of course I recommended this tayberry beer which few of our number seemed to like.............so their pints was passed to me. The rest of the evening was bit of a tayberry/curry blur but it was a good night I was told!
I'm very keen on the Brewdog range of beers from Scotland  recommended by a grand chap I know called Andrew, there're brilliant beers but again my friends don't seem as keen on them as me!
I do try & support the cause & have , on & off been a member of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). My first membership stint came to an end because of their ties. I brought one, just to show support & bear in mind this is when ties were quite thin. When the kipper tie turned up in the post I couldn't believe it! I bowed our shortly after ,I'd like to join again sometime but now I stick to T shirts.
There's nothing like a nice cool ale on a hot day, finished most of our walks in Sussex when Ella & Julian lived in Eastbourne at a great country pub. I've seen the future & it's beer!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Camera

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Camera: If you saw any of the photos I took at Cropredy and of a dig I was on recently you'll see there is a black dot appearing in them all. It...

Camera

If you saw any of the photos I took at Cropredy and of a dig I was on recently you'll see there is a black dot appearing in them all. It's not on the lens so must be inside, trouble is cost of getting it sorted is probably more than a new camera which is exactly what Tara suggested I  get. She's a good old thing & I love her very much. I didn't need to put this, I am just stating a fact.
The first cameras I looked at was the Canon Ixus 275 and the canon SX610, both compact cameras just what I wanted but both were out of stock in Argos  with no known delivery date for new stock, so I looked at others eventually going for a dearer one, a Nikon Coolpix S7000. There's a photo of it here taken on my old camera!
It's a very sleek  white model again a compact which is simple enough for me but with a few bells & whistles. I like to take some photos in black and white, they have a certain 'feel' to them & this camera has a 'high contrast' black & white setting which should be interesting as well as sepia and what they call 'toy camera' setting. Well it's al loaded with a memory card now & ready to go, just got to get out and take some pictures, stay tuned!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The mountains call and I must go.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The mountains call and I must go.: Laura entitled one of her photos this, as her Mum ( Kathy) said that's the name for your blog.  We spoke to Alec & Laura  for the fi...

The mountains call and I must go.

Laura entitled one of her photos this, as her Mum ( Kathy) said that's the name for your blog.  We spoke to Alec & Laura  for the first time since they left Blighty at the end of June, it was good to hear them and to talk to Alec even though the connection wasn't good. If you remember the comedian Norman Collier with his dodgy microphone gag then you'll know what I mean. if you don't know what I mean google it!
Sounds like they are living the dream, the photos they have posted are awesome, only attached one here of a sunset from an island  off the coast of Vietnam. This is their third country to date. They started in Thailand then Cambodia now Vietnam next country will be Laos.  The tunnels used by the Viet -Cong during their protracted war are now a tourist attraction! The pair of them have travelled many hours by train, plane, boat and bus not to mention moped! Animals checked off their list have been snakes, elephants, big spiders, monkeys, & as Alec put it 'Cows roaming everywhere.' Though Alec reckons  they are not on holiday because they've had to be up & out very early for connections etc...........Still sounds like a holiday to me! It was so good to hear from them, we have missed both Alec & Laura  like I cannot say, they seem to have met up with a few Europeans doing a similar trip to them & have kept in contact as they travel so can exchange information. By the way beer it 20p a pint though I expect it's just fizz! Alec says Laura has many books to write her blog in but doesn't know where to start, I hope she does soon. Alec is going to phone a gain when the get to Hanoi the capital where hopefully internet connection will be better.
They really are living the dream!  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Shropshire.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Shropshire.: 'Another border to get through, Another tube of superglue, I'm driving like a maniac, Drive the way to hell & back, Another ...

Shropshire.

'Another border to get through,
Another tube of superglue,
I'm driving like a maniac,
Drive the way to hell & back,
Another room, a case to pack.'
So sayeth Lemmy in the words to 'We are the road crew' from one of my favourite Motorhead albums 'Ace of Spades.'
The only link to this blog piece is the last line as I have been on my travels again this time to North Wales & Shropshire. Up very early  on Tuesday morning and in Llandudno my about 9.30am. Offered a cup of coffee at my first appointment, great! From there  to Conwy a lovely coastal town with a medieval wall still intact. Sadly just never have the time to look round these places. A quick jaunt to Porthmadog then its down the old coaching road of the A5 into Shropshire. Strange to think we live alittle further down the A5!  It's a lovely drive through North Wales  if the weather is at least reasonable  which it was, stopped at Oswestry then onto a couple of accounts in Shrewsbury & done for the day. Clocked up around 320 miles.
Stopover for tonight a pub cum hotel called the Mytton & Mermaid at Atcham a couple of miles outside of Shrewsbury. Stayed here once before a while ago, I tend not to go back repeatedly to the same place, it's nice to explore!
Stuff put in room then to finish work emails etc which I do in the bar with a very fine pint of '1066' to keep me company, though not for long! It's a  local brew  by Battlefield Brewery in Shrewsbury, at 4.2% it slipped down a treat after a long day. Quite a rich tasting beer & a good nut brown colour.
Thought it was all going to go terribly wrong when I came down later  for dinner, stood at the bar for ages even though a couple of staff had walked by however eventually met with a apology and they never looked back, although I asked to change my table as I was sat in what felt like the middle of the restaurant with all un-sundry walking past 'Billy no mates' with his book & IPad. Got a nice table in the corner and settled down for dinner.
Determined to have a change tonight I had Cauliflower & Stilton soup for starters with a large cheesy crouton in the middle of it & very tasty it was too.
Main meal was a trio of Wenlock Edge sausages with thyme & sage  mash, veg & shallot gravy. 'Yum' would be the best description for this meal all washed down with a pint of another local beer '3 Tuns Pale Ale' by the Bishop Castle Brewery , very nice but as the name suggests a pale ale so finished up with another pint of '1066.'
Absolutely no room to do a pud justice so knocked it on the head & retired to bed. Not such an early start next morning, just as well.

'Three Tuns' Pale Ale.

Cauliflower & Stilton soup.

Trio of Wenlock Edge sausages with all the trimmings.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: New Model Army

An idiots guide to an Idiot: New Model Army: Not Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army but mine.......You probably know that amongst the many things I collect are model soldiers, yes I k...