Martello Towers and trains.

We got the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway from behind Kas & Stans to Dymchurch today. English Heritage  had a Martello Tower open, one of the relatively few left intact from when they were built to see off 'Old Boney'  should the  French ever had invaded during the Napoleonic Wars.
An interesting structure, it's seaward side is thicker than the landward as any invasion would have come from the sea, though the gun on top of the tower  could traverse 360 degrees in case they were attacked from the land side.    A compliment of 3 officers and 24 men would man each tower  though as the threat of invasion lessened so the compliment was not kept up, some were later used by the Coastguard.It's still got the original gun on top a smooth bore 24 pounder on a rebuilt carriage.
A potter round Dymchurch and the inevitable cake and coffee then we got the train back. A diesel took us on the journey out and the steamer 'Southern Maid' on the return, we didn't get out at our stop but stayed on to go around Dungeness which was nice. A selection of photos follow, some with an arty effect. Tres bon.

In the Martello Tower.

Kas,Tara & I on top of the Martello Tower. 

'Southern Maid' drawing into the station.

Former lighthouse keepers cottages.

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of............having a few beers with a go...

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of............having a few beers with a go...: I could have called this blog thing the joy of beers or the joy of friends or the joy of being with our best buddies in Kent, however Stan ...

The joy of............having a few beers with a good friend.

I could have called this blog thing the joy of beers or the joy of friends or the joy of being with our best buddies in Kent, however Stan & I popped next door for a pint of Old Speckled Hen, and very nice it was, the only downside was the fact that there was wall to wall children & someone dressed as a giant rabbit, honestly! It was like a scene from the film 'Harvey,' we looked  at each other, did a double take and yes, it was a giant rabbit! The mascot of the camp site who's bar we were in.........it may not have been Harvey.
We pottered on  to the Jolly Fisherman, a pub with much potential but in need of a good refurb.  I mean, a three bladed fan in the ceiling, just as well it wasn't turned off as not only would it have been so unstable it would possibly brought half the ceiling down  but also we'd have got covered in dust but the beer was good , a couple of pints of 'Coaster' and a good conversation about music, Shepherds Bush, The Marquee club, Lemmy, Harrow, rock music in general, Muslims, the IRA and beer. Our conclusion? Beer good, religion bad. Rock  music good, the IRA bad. Strolled back with the sun on our backs, it had turned out to be a lovely afternoon, got back and gazed out on the  English Channel to write this blog thing.  A suitable place to finish I think.         

An idiots guide to an Idiot: First BBQ of the season.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: First BBQ of the season.: Well we're up and running with the old BBQ again! The weather was so nice today (23 degrees or so) Tara suggested we have a BBQ, Oliver...

First BBQ of the season.

Well we're up and running with the old BBQ again! The weather was so nice today (23 degrees or so) Tara suggested we have a BBQ, Oliver & I went to the supermarket for the victuals and having cracked a bottle of beer we got on with it.
Oliver marinated some chicken is a couple of sauces, one curry based the other Nandos hot sauce based and very good they were too. We obviously did some sausages, it just isn't a Barbie if you don't have sausages, some other chicken & bacon & for Tara Halloumi, just put on some silver foil with a little olive oil, pepper & salt  & then straight onto the BBQ & a couple of Mackerel fillets. Salad to go with & some potato salad  & there you have it , a feast fit for a king, the first of many this year I hope!

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of...........new t shirts.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of...........new t shirts.: I like a t shirt with a good design on it. Maybe a band or something funny or just relevant to me or not. My Consultant who I still see twi...

The joy of...........new t shirts.

I like a t shirt with a good design on it. Maybe a band or something funny or just relevant to me or not. My Consultant who I still see twice a year, always remarks he's never seen so many different t shirts! I suppose I do have a few, I haven't counted them but there are......a few!
I'm very pleased with my latest two acquisitions pictured here:

 The top one is an old comic called Jimmy Edwards. One of his comic roles was as a teacher with gown, mortar board etc called 'Wacko' it was a TV series. I remember it as being very funny, I wonder whether it has stood the test of time? The minute I saw this t shirt it made me laugh, I had to have it!
The other one is from my favourite 'Carry On' film the redoubtable 'Carry on Screaming.'
It's a pastiche of the Hammer Productions horror films of the 1950's & 60's. Made in 1966 I actually first saw it at the cinema with my Mum  and Brother, not in 1966, I'd only have been three & Paul only 1 but a few years later. It was on a double bill with another fave 'Carry On', 'Carry on Cleo' set in Roman times with Julius Caesars great line- 'Infamy,infamy, they've all got it infamy!' 
'Carry on Screaming' starred Harry H Corbet from 'Steptoe and Son' in his only 'Carry On' film as police Inspector Sidney Bung. What a name! It also starred Fenella Fielding, who my Dad definitely had a thing about! and of course Kenneth Williams pictured on the t shirt with his great line of 'Frying tonight!' as his latest victim was lowered into a vat of molten wax. 
I do like a good t shirt!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: DNA, family tree discoveries.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: DNA, family tree discoveries.: For xmas Oliver very kindly bought us the Ancestry.com DNA kit which we have just logged on to do.  Box containing the instructions and...

An idiots guide to an Idiot: DNA, family tree discoveries.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: DNA, family tree discoveries.: For xmas Oliver very kindly bought us the Ancestry.com DNA kit which we have just logged on to do.  Box containing the instructions and...

DNA, family tree discoveries.

For xmas Oliver very kindly bought us the Ancestry.com DNA kit which we have just logged on to do.


Box containing the instructions and sample pot.

 

Sample pot which you spit into, then add the blue liquid which is a stabiliser for the postage journey. 

All ready to go!






Basically you spit into a sample pot and that is posted off and the DNA extracted to find where your ancestors came from, or the regions of the world anyway.
It'll be very interesting to see the results as our trees differ considerably. Tara has ancestors from England, Ireland, Scotland, France & Switzerland,but in any direction I have gone it's all English and south east/ south west England to boot. I do have two Great Great Great Grandfathers who were born in Ireland but that's very little and a long way back (early 18th century).
Results can take anything up to eight weeks to come back so its a while away yet but I'll keep you posted.   

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday and another good dinner.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birthday and another good dinner.: Tim turned 50 the other day. Don't know how that happened! I first met him when he was about 13, he's always been a great bloke &am...

Birthday and another good dinner.

Tim turned 50 the other day. Don't know how that happened! I first met him when he was about 13, he's always been a great bloke & I will always have alot of time for him.
Don't think he was too keen to celebrate his big 5.0. I know he hates being the centre of attention so it was great when he invited us over to stay the night and partake in a little dinner at a very good pub in Marlow called The Royal Oak which is one of Tims favourites.
Three beers on tap , though the Ubu had just run out so I had to slum it on Rebellion Brewery's IPA. 3.7% of loveliness all served in a pint glass, a good copper colour quaffing beer that was very smooth on the palate. Third beer was Doombar I think but I stuck with the IPA. Tim was on G&T & Tara Bacardi & Coke. Couple of drinks at the bar then to our table.  
They have a full gluten free menu for Tara which is brilliant, a proper  menu she has more then one or two choices from is a rare thing!
For starters we chose:

Herrings with veg and toast for me.

Goats cheese and salad for Tara

Seafood chowder for Tim.

 Could maybe have been a little more herring on mine but it was a starter after all. Mains were chosen and served after a little time. Not too long after all part of going out to eat is to be able to chat and enjoy the company of who you are dining with.
Mains:

Cornish hake fillet with leak & pea barley risotto with a slow cooked egg for Tara,
Belly pork with all the trimmings for Tim.

Locally made pork sausages with mash,gravy and crispy onions for me.










 

 All delicious! Puds were offered & Tara had a blood orange parfait with a chocolate ganache with cinnamon salt, I had Affogato espresso with vanilla ice cream & Tim was full. A great night had by all, happy birthday Tim!

Taras dessert.



My dessert.

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of...........old freinds.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The joy of...........old freinds.: The joy of old friends is the fact that you can pick up from where you left off, more or less anyway. An old friend stayed overnight  and it...

The joy of...........old freinds.

The joy of old friends is the fact that you can pick up from where you left off, more or less anyway. An old friend stayed overnight  and it was great to see her. Of course there was a fair degree of talking about way back when,  but also about the parallels of life  and naturally what our offspring are up to.
Had  a very good dinner of African Peanut Stew ( a recipe Tara found on Kathy's daughter in laws website called 'It's a plant based life.' Follow this link to see more: http://itsaplantbasedlife.com/ ) , lentils & rice  followed by peach and pear crumble then more conversation till after midnight. A couple of bottles of both red & white were consumed, no surprise there I'm sure and a very good evening was had by all.
Chrissy was on her way up to Manchester & will be coming by this way again so we will be seeing more of her which is great and we'll call in when we're down Kent/Sussex way as well.
Chrissy & I went to college, that's about 39 years ago, inevitably life takes you in different directions  and we didn't meet for years, though did keep in vague touch with xmas cards. FaceBook has been very useful for keeping abreast of what's been happening and its one of the reasons I'm so keen on FaceBook.
We spoke about a couple of others who  neither of us has seen for years, a get together is a possibility but not a certainty, who knows!
Anyway, good times. It was really good to pick up with an old friend.  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Target for tonight: Wesel.The Rhine crossing 23rd ...

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Target for tonight: Wesel.The Rhine crossing 23rd ...: My Dad's penultimate  operational sortie was to be part of the attack on Wesel to smash any German resistance so the 21st Army Group und...

Target for tonight: Wesel.The Rhine crossing 23rd March 1945.

My Dad's penultimate  operational sortie was to be part of the attack on Wesel to smash any German resistance so the 21st Army Group under General Montgomery could cross the River Rhine. Montgomery was quoted after saying: ' the bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece, and was a decisive factor in making possible our entry into the town before midnight.'
Lancaster PA567 code U-Uncle took off at 19.30hrs loaded with 14x 1000lb bombs one of 14 aircraft from 106 Squadron joining the bomber stream of 181 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group Bomber Command. Pilots ( Flt/Lieut Mawer) notes state they bombed at 9900ft at 22.39 hrs on the southern edge of the red target indicators as instructed by the Controller. I well remember my Dad telling me he could hear the controller over the intercom telling everyone to be more careful as some aircraft were dropping their bombs short, possibly on their own men! 'You're going home tonight,' he said 'there're not!'  97% of Wesel was destroyed.
They landed back at Metheringham at 01.05 hrs after a 5.30 hr trip no doubt exhausted, they'd have been debriefed by Intelligence Officers & then no doubt off to the NAFFI for bacon and egg.
The war was nearly over though not for Flt/ Lieut Mawer's crew.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Saturday Thai.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Saturday Thai.: Oliver arranged a family get together this evening at The Coconut Garden in Dunstable. We hadn't been there for years so it was a real t...

The Saturday Thai.

Oliver arranged a family get together this evening at The Coconut Garden in Dunstable. We hadn't been there for years so it was a real treat. Olly kindly drove us and Gary & Ellie there & we had a couple of beers in the Mulberry Bush first, Doombar, when I eventually noticed it anyway!
Met Tim, Ella, Julian and Laura there than then went across to the restaurant.
A veritable feast was partaken! Wheat free & veggie for Tara, if alittle heavy on the tofu. Our meal ( a set menu for parties over 8) covered just about all the meats,, from prawn to duck and lamb pancakes, chicken and beef curries , all washed down with a Changi beer or two.
A grand evening of chat and laughs as always when we get together. Still odd getting together without Alec & Laura who are apple & pear picking in Australia at the moment. Cab back home about 11.30 I think, Gary, Ellie, Olly & Laura hitting the town. A great night!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Another long run.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Another long run.: Another long run to Norfolk covering Burnham Market, Norwich, Lowestoft, Sheringham, Holt and Fakenham ended at The George Hotel near Norwic...

Another long run.

Another long run to Norfolk covering Burnham Market, Norwich, Lowestoft, Sheringham, Holt and Fakenham ended at The George Hotel near Norwich. Tired once I'd stopped but it was a productive day with a few things to follow up.
Pint of Adnams bitter was very well received then dinner of Gravalax starter then liver and bacon with bubble and squeak as a main. Liver was alittle over cooked for my liking, having had it cooked by a French chef at a very good restaurant in Dunstable called Chez Jerome (follow this link to find out more http://chezjerome.co.uk/)   all else pales in comparison to be honest. However a good feed it was, went for a stroll and then bed by 10.30pm. A very nice full English at breakfast set me up for another day full of fun.
Tara has been working exceedingly hard to make her Avon business work for her, with  managing a team as well she rightly won  the Number One spot for achievement & was awarded a nice crystal thing to put stuff in ( crystal bowl!)  and the certificate photo'd here.  I am very proud of Tara, she is and always had drive and determination in the face of adversity  with all the crap that Fibromyalgia flings at her. I am very  proud. ( follow this link at Stores.ebay.co.uk/Grannas-Crafty-Attic  to find out more)

Gravalax starter. 

Liver, bacon with bubble and squeak. 

Taras certificate.

Crystal bowl award.