Today was earmarked for a long drive into the Kentish countryside to the farthest corner of England called The Isle of Sheppey and then on to Rochester. Roz, my friend, had kindly agreed to drive me there and back—a huge boon as public transport to and fro is a long drawn-out, annoying, time-consuming and energy-utilizing matter!
Still on Bombay time, I am now awaking in London at about 6.00 am. Roz and I had enough time for a quick cereal and coffee breakfast before we got out of the house (as planned) at 8.15 am, ready to beat traffic. However, it is the getting out of Greater London that is more challenging than anything else. Roz is an expert at the wheel and a dab hand at negotiating her way around the periphery of the city, for most of which she does not need a map. We did not have SatNav and she had to trust her instincts as we went through Dulwich and then out towards the east. It was a beautiful day and I was so thrilled that we had blue, almost unclouded skies for our drive. We ought to have been on the M2 right from the start, but somehow we were on the A20 for the longest while. As long as we were headed in the right direction, of course, we were not worried.
About 90 minutes later, we saw signs for Sheerness and I realized that I did not have Cheryl’s address. We tried to reach her, but she did not pick up her mobile or her land line. I had last been to her place maybe in 2016—quite a long while back. I remembered her address vaguely and also the lay of the land. I did remember that she lived in the town of Minster, close to the waterfront and a pub called The Playa. Anyway, we were soon going over the beautiful Isle of Sheppey Bridge and then following signs to Minster. It was all fine until we reached the very last bit (as I had only a vague memory that she lived on Southsea Avenue), but by then Cheryl called back and gave us directions. In two hours from our starting minute, we were at the door of her home ‘Catalan’ and saying hello to her and her husband, David.
A Lovely Visit with my Relatives:The next two hours flew by swiftly as Cheryl looked after us well and we were able to catch up with her and David. The gardeners were in to do the mowing of the lawn and I was, fascinated, as one of them used a really small mower and took more than an hour to finish a small square of back garden. Meanwhile, their pond was being stripped and re-filled. Cheryl served us sausage rolls and tiny Scotch eggs with hot chocolate and coffee and we had eclairs for dessert. I admire the fact that although her husband is unwell and takes up a lot of her time, she managed to put together these eats and hot drinks and was able to give us a good round-up of the past couple of years since his diagnosis. After I gave them the gifts I had carried from Bonnie, her sister and my gift of a Murano glass necklace, Cheryl signed some checks she wanted me to take back for her and we said our goodbyes.
Off to Rochester:It was about 12.30 pm when we left the island and decided to stop en route at the city of Rochester that is famous for its Cathedral, Castle and High Street. We arrived there in about 40 minutes and found parking in a public car park. The town was buzzing with a lot of tourist energy as it was a really lovely day.
Exploring Rochester—Cathedral, Castle and High Street:The High Street was festooned with bunting and looked very jolly indeed. We joined the groups headed towards the Cathedral as I slunk in and out of the thrift shops looking for bone china mugs. I did find a DVD but not much else. Anyways, as we had arrived at the walls of the Cathedral, Roz suggested we go in and pay a visit. It is truly a grand edifice (like all Gothic Cathedrals are) and as we entered the space, we were amazed at the various features of it: there is a medieval painting still on one wall, wonderful carved granite altar, simply amazing Victorian Celtic tile work on the floor and a small section of Medieval tile that is still in place. A place of Christian worship has stood on this site since 900 AD and it was simply amazing to take in the nave and sanctuary, the choir stalls, the beautiful painted organ pipes and the Fenland Black Oak Project. The last is a single trunk of a massive Fenland Oak tree that had fallen in one piece. Master carvers then worked on using the entire trunk to create a long table which is now in one side extension of the Cathedral. We also looked around at a series of quilted panels that told the story of Creation. We also then stopped to say a little prayer in one of the side chapels before it was time for us to leave.
Next item on the agenda was the Norman Castle, which actually adjoins the Cathedral. Thin is the oldest castle in the UK as it was built within a couple of years of the Norman Conquest of 1066. It has a section that is still standing in its entirely and a large Close and Keep. Furthermore, the ramparts and walls of the Castle overlook the Medway river which looked decidedly cleaner today than I remembered it, years ago, when it was a murky yellow. All of these aspects made our exploration of the town very enjoyable indeed and we took a few photographs.
Lunch at The Cheese Room:By this time, Roz was feeling peckish and we deiced to stop for lunch on the High Street. We passed by the King’s Arms pub where, many years ago, when both of us were living in London, my friend Stephanie and I had driven to Rochester on a Sunday and enjoyed their huge Sunday Roast lunch (for 6.95 pounds, if I remember correctly). However, this time round, the pub seemed rather empty and we chose The Cheese Room, a little restaurant with an outdoors eating area. We ordered toasties—mine was a Reuben with Gruyere Cheese and salted beef, a lot of mustard and a delicious tomato-apple-plum chutney that was served with it. I also had a bottle of cider while Roz had a ginger beer (as she was driving). It was fun to enjoy our huge lunches while watching the world go by—many families, children in strollers, etc.
After about an hour, I paid the bill and we left to find our car and move out of the city.
Visiting Dulwich Picture Gallery:It had been our aim to make it to the Dulwich Picture Gallery in Dulwich, on the outskirts of London, our next port of call. But traffic, our inability to find a direct route to it and other snarls caused us to arrive just after its closing at 5.00pm. We were looking at visiting the special exhibition on Berthe Morrisot, but we had to content ourselves with strolling around the garden to take in the interesting sculpture dotted around as well as the exterior of the building itself. This is one of the architectural jewels of Sir John Soane, to whom I am very partial as an architect. I have seen a lot of his work, over the years (the Bank of England, the Church of St. John at Bethnal Green, etc. not to mention his own house that is a museum in Holborn, London) and I am always intrigued by the four Classical urns that top this building. Anyway, after a nice chat about all sorts of things and a leisurely stroll, Roz and I made our way back to the car.
Shopping in Clapham:All that was left was for us to do some food shopping for a few things I wanted to take back with me—Badedas Shower Gel, Rimmel nail polish, Battenburg Cake from Waitrose, etc. Roz was very kind and patient as she found parking and did a bit of food shopping herself. It was not long before we stashed all our shopping in the trunk of her car and made our way back to her home in Battersea.
Drinks at The Asparagus Pub and Dinner at Home:Both of us were dying for a nice cup of tea by the time we reached Roz’s place and tea we had. Roz suggested that since the evening was still young, we go out to the pub for a drink. First, we stopped briefly at Jack and Beyond, the place that has gained fame for offering the Bottomless Cake Afternoon Tea—sadly, I did not make time for it on this trip—maybe next time! We wanted to go to her regular pub, but found that it was closed. Finally, we ended up at The Asparagus where we both settled down with a large gin and tonic and more chatter until it was time to leave.
Back home at Roz’s, she put together, rather swiftly and expertly, an improvised salad dinner based on ingredients in her fridge: we had rocket, a lovely ripe avocado, red radishes and topped the whole with prawn cocktail (from M and S out of a package). It was all rather delicious and it made for a very nice meal as we watched a Christmas special episode of Grantchester. Indeed, it was a lovely evening and a fitting end to an eventful but very enjoyable day.
Until tomorrow…cheerio.
No comments:
Post a Comment