After 9 days in the area my assignment ends tomorrow so this morning I took the poopster for one last ‘wander where you want to’ walk…the last till when I return in December.
We passed the church along the way so I quickly popped in for a look. Charles Dickens lived at Gads Hill Place in Higham, so its imminently possible he worshipped at this church in his day. The marshlands around the area lent itself to the opening of Great Expectations.
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St John’s Church is Victorian, but a church would have existed here in Saxon times. Higham is also listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as having a 56 households: 24 villagers, 12 smallholdings, 20 slaves. Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
I remember visiting this church on my Canterbury Tales walk last year from Southwark to Canterbury. I do love exploring this country 🙂
I saw this graph going around the various Camino pages on Facebook and thought I’d share it with you.
How interesting to see where people are from, and which routes they walk.
Camino statistics 2017
I must admit that I was surprised at how few people were from the UK.
It’s also useful to note that not all pilgrims register for a Compostela on arrival at Santiago. I met quite a few pilgrims who were walking their 3rd or 4th Camino and weren’t bothered about getting a Compostela (certificate). So I guess the numbers are higher than shown here.
As for myself, I’ll be sure to obtain a Compostela for every Camino I complete 😊😊
After a few months of excitement and anticipation, on the 26th April, just a few days after my birthday, I finally experienced a flight in a Spitfire.
just before the victory roll, which was absolutely amazing
My wonderful daughter had booked me on a full-on Spitfire flight for my birthday. What an extraordinary experience.
coming back down to earth…my wonderful daughter
From the time we arrived till we left a few hours later, the on-site staff were welcoming, cheerful, helpful and informative…clearly love what they do.
Don, the pilot, was absolutely terrific and made my flight so special; from the time I climbed on board till I disembarked, totally exhilarated, he ensured that my flight was interesting and informed – talking me through the take off process, pointing out landmarks and executing that ‘freaking amazing’ Victory Roll. We saw so many amazing sights from the air; flying from Biggin Hill across Kent to Folkestone, then along the coast past Dover – a fantastic view of Dover Castle, Deal – another castle, Sandwich, Ramsgate, Broadstairs (I could see our house from the air 🙂 ), Margate and finally Whitstable, where we turned back inland.
The coastline is stunningly beautiful and I thrilled at the views. I could even see Calais in the distance!!!
We flew over Leeds Castle which looks as amazing from the air as on the ground, past Canterbury; the cathedral standing out like a beacon, and as we approached the Medway I could see Rochester Cathedral and Castle in the distance. One thing that did surprise me was how close the River Thames is to the River Medway!!! In the far distance I could distinctly see Canary Wharf and the City of London! amazing.
Don the pilot and me
The whole flight was absolutely thrilling and if there were a 100 star rating, I would give it 100 stars. Don, the pilot, made the flight so special by pointing out landmarks….I felt safe and comfortable throughout the whole flight. I loved the victory roll and wish I had asked if we could do it again!!! LOL I was so trepidatious beforehand but oh my word….it was so much fun.
safe landing
After I reluctantly landed, and came back down to earth again, we were treated to a tour of the hangars – it was absolutely thrilling to see so many of these beautiful craft at close quarters, as well as many others.
hello! we’ve landed
victory!!!!
having fun
signing my certificate
Me, Simon and Cémanthe on a tour of the hangars
This truly was a unique experience, something I will never forget. The in-flight videos that were provided as part of the package were a fantastic bonus and so far we’ve watched them a number of times LOL It certainly brought back all the thrill of the flight for me. I’ve made a short compilation of photos and videos. Needless to say…I did cry LOL… it was either that or scream from sheer exhilaration.
What a superb image. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RAF, and in just 24 days, thanks to my incredible, amazing daughter, I’ll be flying in one of these gorgeous machines celebrating my 63rd birthday 😊😊😊 (altho I’d appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone how ‘old’ I am 😁). Talking of which, I’ve decided to switch the numbers around and make it 36!! 🤣🤣🤣 Age is but a number after all 🤔
image cut out from The Daily Express newspaper. I’ll have to keep this in my diary 🙂
So wow, Spitfires eh. Aren’t they just beautiful. My favourite flying machine ahead of the Red Arrows. I can’t wait now to fly over the White Cliffs of Dover, I’m going to be a tearful mess 🙄🙄 Hope the pilot can cope!! I’m reminded of the Battle of Britain Airshow last year at Headcorn. What a joy to watch these superb little craft flypast
The Supermarine Spitfire P FX seen at the Battle of Britain Airshow at Headcorn 08/07/2017
I remember seeing this advertised at the entrance and thinking how much I would love to have a flight….and now I will be…in just 24 days whoo hoo. Although the flight my daughter has paid for is well over 10 times more than the one advertised here, and I’ll be flying from Biggin Hill not Headcorn.
The Spitfire Flight Experience at Headcorn. Although I’ll be flying from Biggin Hill which is just awesome
I was a tad disappointed with the various news coverage and programmes celebrating the 100th anniversary, since none of them mentioned the esteemed South African Statesman Jan Smuts, who was after all responsible for the founding of the RAF. So I’m mentioning it here. Hats off to one of my heroes. You are remembered. If you’re interested to read more about the founding father of the RAF, here’s the link to the relevant article
I’ve often seen posts where people do a round up of the places they’ve been in any particular month or year, so I thought I’d do a first quarter round up of the places I’ve been since January 1st. I saw in the New Year in front of the telly at home with my daughter and future son-in-law LOL Although I used to love going into London to watch the New Year fireworks live, since they introduced the £10 admittance fee and having to queue for hours before getting in, I’ve decided….no more!
As part of the #walk1000 miles challenge for 2018, I’ve kept note of the km’s/miles covered on my various excursions, via mapmywalk. Some of the walks look like a drunken spider has been let loose! But what fun to look at the maps afterwards and see the places I walked through.
January 2018 – walked 41 miles
London’s New Year fireworks on the telly. Key to the Kingdom; Montgomery, Wales and Chirbury, Shropshire
February 2018 – walked 48 miles
Nottingham
March 2019 – walked 63 miles
Chester
a walk along the Chester Canal to Christleton, a Domesday Book Village
Quex Park and a tour of the towers
Fordham, Wicken, Soham
Ely
Exning; birthplace of St Etheldreda and home of Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni
Ely Cathedral
Oliver Cromwell’s House, Ely
And there it is; my first quarter round up of places I’ve been in January, February and March of 2018, and 152 miles from 01/01/18-31/03/2018 – I’m slacking and need to get out more if I want to reach my 1000 mile target. I had thought I’d stretch myself this year and aim for 2018 miles (LOL – yeah right) but most of the jobs I’ve had so far haven’t been conducive to much time for walking. I haven’t kept track of every step I’ve taken, and only count #bootson walks where I specifically set off to ‘have a walk’. My pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury in August/September will add at least 133 miles to the total, but even so…..
I wonder what April, May and June will bring. I know that most of May will be spent at home, what with my daughter’s impending wedding and everything involved with that, as well as which I’ll be flying in a Spitfire from Biggin Hill for my birthday later on this month….watch this space 🙂 I wonder if I can add ‘flying’ to my miles hahaha. I’m also planning a walk from Broadstairs to Folkestone later this month and a trip ‘up noooth’ for 3 days which will add a substantial mileage as I explore the city, however I shall have to motivate myself to get out more inbetween times.
I’ve been wanting to make the jump from vegetarian to vegan for quite some time now but due to laziness (food enjoyment) and convenience, as well as the complications of cooking 2 separate meals every day when I’m working, and all the issues many of my clients have just with me being vegetarian never mind vegan, I haven’t quite made the jump, although I have cut out a lot of processed food stuff and focussed on buying organic foods etc. On Tuesday the week before last, after arriving at my next assignment, I got horribly horribly ill during the night and spent virtually the whole of the next day in bed, virtually comotose and incapable of getting up, never mind actually working. Fortunately the situation on the day meant I could just stay in bed, but by the next day it was decided I should leave, which I did. Ironically it was the foil wrapped baked potato I had for lunch at the client that made me ill.
After getting so ill, I just couldn’t bear to eat anything with dairy or anything processed so I went out and bought myself a whole pile of fresh vegetables to make a thick soup.
This gave me the nudge that I needed to reassess my dietary habits. So, inspired by people on instagram with whom I’ve been connected for some time now, as well as the profiles @fieldsoffreedom and @minovalleyfarmsanctuary who’ve really opened my eyes (soul) to the reality of my contribution to the suffering of factory farmed animals and intensive dairy farming, I’ve finally crossed the rubicon. So, the vegan recipe magazine my beloved daughter gave me at Christmas, has now been dusted off ready to be examined,
and a huge pot of vegetable soup, which I absolutely love anyway, simmered on the stove (it smelt delicious). I know the journey is going to have its twists and turns, challenges (walking the Camino) and temptations (afternoon tea – which y’all know I love 🤨🤨🤨), but after all the above, linked to having just watched the documentary, Before the Flood, for me, it’s now become a must rather than a desire. Even if my little contribution goes unnoticed in the wider scheme of things, I want my legacy, even a tiny one, to be something that will make a difference for future generations. So I hereby declare that I am now on the path and starting the journey to becoming 100% vegan. 😀😀😀
I’m not sure where this journey will take me going forward, but I do hope that I can make the conversion easier by reminding myself of the reasons why I want to do this….especially when temptation knocks at my door. Wish me luck.
02/04/2018 Update. I was really heartened to read this article in the Guardian this morning. I guess this means that people can no longer poo poo veganism as a ‘trend’ for weirdos and hippy types. Not that I mind being classified as a weirdo if it means that I no longer subscribe to cruelty to animals (think intensive farming and slaughter houses) and by becoming vegan I can contribute to the reduction in climate change (albeit a very very tiny reduction from just me), and contribute towards the eventual health of the planet. Now if only more people would get on board, imagine the difference we could make; our legacy for future generations. Hope you enjoy the article.
SISU: a Finnish concept for special strength and persistant determination-- an almost magical quality to be full of courage, tenacity, resolve, willpower and an indomitable spirit.
Because I am a traveller I can look down on the birds and up at the fishes. I collect moments and can venture back in time to lost worlds. I seize life and simultaneously escape it at will. Because I am a traveller I envy no man at home.
