They offer some really great, albeit simple advice: I particularly like these 3.
#5. People always say, ’’Make sure you get a job doing what you love!’’ But that isn’t the best advice. The right job is the job you love some days, can tolerate most days, and still pays the bills. Almost nobody has a job they love every day. – my comment on this is such; doing a job you love is one of the hooks developed by the personal development arena to sell their products. Because people hear this and believe it, they become dissatisfied with what they are doing and buy in to the message given out by people like Tony Robbins, Christopher Howard, Roger Hamilton and many many others. They then go on to buy the products that these people and others like them are selling, believing that their lives will change for the better if they find ‘a job they love’. In some instances this can be true, but even with a job you love, there are downsides and off days.
#14. Don’t take anyone else’s advice as gospel. You can ask for advice from someone you respect, then take your situation into consideration and make your own decision. Essentially, take your own advice is my advice… – I can add to this…..and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is…trust your gut instincts. My daughter has a very heightened sense of instinct. The only time she makes a mistake is when she has ignored her own beliefs and instincts and goes on the advice of other people. We are all different, we have different experiences and when we give advice it’s based on our model of the world, our values and beliefs. Advice, no matter how well meaning, is not the be all and end all. Seek advice by all means, but think about how that advice will work for you. Sort through it all and take from it what feels right or suitable for your situation. My daughter often asks me for advice (I treasure that she does) and I am very careful about what I say in reply because my experiences of the world have been and are different to hers. My Mother always said “think about what it is you need advice on before you go to sleep at night. In the morning, what is right for you will be what you first think about” whenever I’ve ignored my instincts is when I’ve gotten into trouble…
#18. Pay your bills and stay the hell out of debt. If I could have paid myself all the money I’ve paid out in interest over the years, I’d be retired already. – of all the points on the list, this is the one that resonates with me the most. And again I can add this: don’t fall for the lie the Personal Development community sells you on…e.g. ‘OPM’…Other People’s Money….e.g. use other people’s money; like bank loans or credit cards – they do this to ensure that you buy their product believing that you’ll succeed after using/doing what they say, that after doing their course/their way you would be able to pay it back because you’ve done their course. Don’t believe it, it’s a lie. If you need to borrow money from a bank or use a credit card to pay for a personal development course, then don’t buy it. The temptation to spend the money believing what they say is too great.
A few life lessons from someone who has been there and done that and burned her fingers….
Fortunately I have actually learned something in the process, albeit later rather than sooner. 🤪🤪👵🏻
When we first moved to the coast in 2016, travelling from London to Broadstairs on the train, past all the stations enroute, I remember being intrigued by the places behind the names, and excited about the possibility of exploring them all….and that was only those north of my destination. I subsequently discovered many more, south of Broadstairs.
sunrise over Viking Bay, Broadstairs
I have since then been to all of the seaside towns, either by train or when out walking the coastline, as well as to many of the more inland places. They are all awash with centuries of history, and many of these villages, towns and the City of Canterbury, are mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book. It is just phenomenal and I am constantly in thrall to the many layers uncovered during my research.
Faversham, along with Broadstairs, Canterbury, Sandwich and Dover are my favourite places to go….castles, Saints, Normans, Vikings, abbeys, a cathedral, ancient churches, historic houses, medieval houses, famous people and royal visits and tales of smugglers – who could resist!!
a network of smugglers tunnels wind their way below ground in Broadstairs
I first met Faversham on my Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales walk in 2017 (as mentioned in a previous blog), and although the memories are of blistered feet and muddy shoes, I still have fond feelings for the place 🤣🤣
The result of my foolish escapade!!
So since I mentioned it briefly yesterday, I thought I should expand on that and tell you more about this ever so fabulous and famous town, a town that missed out on being a city thanks to a small detail….it doesn’t have a cathedral (or a castle for that matter). Oh the semantics…
Faversham; Old English origin, meaning “the metal-worker’s village” lies next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. There has been a settlement at Faversham since pre-Roman times, next to the ancient sea port on Faversham Creek, and was inhabited by the Saxons.
One of Henry VIII’s boats perchance??
Fefresham was held in royal demesne in 811, and is further cited in a charter granted by Coenwulf, the King of Mercia. Coenwulf described the town as ‘the King’s little town of Fefresham’, while it was recorded in the Domesday Book as Favreshant.
Mentioned as Favreshant in the 1086 Domesday Book, Faversham was noted as : King’s land, with 2 salthouses, a mill and a market; a market town and small port.
Faversham was used as a summer residence by the Kings and Queens of Kent, and has many other royal connections; Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154 and was buried in Faversham Abbey. However, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538, most of the abbey was demolished, and the remains of Stephen were rumoured to have been thrown into Faversham Creek along with his consort and son who were buried with him. Subsequent excavations revealed empty tombs when they were opened.
Abbey Street was constructed around 1201 in order to provide an appropriate approach to the abbey from the town, and still houses timber framed buildings; described as “the finest medieval street in southeast England”.
Medieval buildings in Abbey Street
A royal visit by Queen Elizabeth I in 1573
Location of the Guildhall during Elizabeth I’s reignCurrent Guildhall – built as a market hall in 1574 by the people of the town and nearby parishes, converted into the Guildhall in 1605
Faversham was established as a link arm to the Confederation of Cinque Ports as the (Limb of Dover).
The Shippe Inn
Other famous people linked to Faversham (besides me, that is 🤣🤣🤣😉)
Richard Arden, a 16th century mayor, was murdered by his wife and her lover. Nice 🤪🤪🤪
There are some fantastic buildings surrounding the market place
So many beautiful old buildings
Faversham also lies on the old Saxon Shore Way route between Gravesend on the river Thames near City of London and Hastings on England’s south east coast and known for the ‘Battle of Hastings’ which is when William the Conqueror defeated King Harald in 1066. William the Conqueror is responsible for the ‘Great Survey’ of England; the Domesday Book completed in 1086.
The Saxon Shore Way, a long-distance footpath of 163 miles in England, starts at Gravesend and traces the coast of SE-England as it was in Roman times, as far as Hastings in East Sussex. There are a couple of places where the route runs inland; around what was the Isle of Thanet – once separate from mainland England by the River Wantsum, and again on the south coast past Folkestone.
That’s us, the island on the right 😃😃
Some 5,000 years ago Thanet was separated from mainland Britain by 600 metres of sea – The Wantsum Channel, it is now connected again since the river/channel silted up some time ago.
When the English Channel was formed by the sea breaking through, an island of chalk was left on the east side of the county – now known as the Isle of Thanet.
The Wantsum Channel today
The SSW follows the creek inland from The Swale and into Faversham and then back out again from the opposite bank and once again follows The Swale and into the Thames river at Gravesend. Since I’ve already walked so many sections of the SSW on my various walks, it makes sense for me to actually do the whole route…one day LOL I mean it’s not like I don’t have about 100 other walks to do and I have LOADS of time on my hands ….as if 🤣🤣🤣
Faversham is located on the main road between the City of London and Dover and therefore became an important stop over for travellers between the Port of London and the Port of Dover. As a result of this inns were of paramount importance and today you can see and stay at one at least one such…The Sun Inn. Seriously one of my favourite ‘places I stayed’ on my many walks. It had everything I needed after arriving drenched and in pain. A massive double bed, a huge bath and fluffy white towels. Perfect.
The Sun Inn, Faversham – best room and bath everThe Sun Inn, Faversham – Day 3 Rochester to Faversham
Faversham truly is awash with history and I could write up so much more, but this is already quite a long post, so for now I’ll just add one more photo
historic buildings of Faversham
Okay, make it two photos LOL – the architecture is so varied that if you’re a fan of architecture you could spend the whole day walking around and still find more to see
architecture in Faversham
I’m sure to visit Faversham again when I start the next section of my insane intention of walking the entire English Coast and of course the Saxon Shore Way….now that my interest has been well and truly piqued. I’ll tell you more about it then…meanwhile…
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read about my adventures, I really do appreciate your time and support. Have a fab day/afternoon/evening wherever you may be in the world. 🌍🌎🌏
In case you’re interested: more about my Canterbury Tales Walk from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral (p.s. please don’t feel obliged to read any of them, it’s just in case you’re interested).
Hah!!! Another postcard just popped into my mailbox 😁😁 I updated the app after today’s walk and brief exploration of Faversham and as I pressed ‘post’ I waited with anticipation and a few seconds later – boom, a notification popped up….you’ve received another postcard 🙃🙃👏👏👏🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
I’m not sure what I enjoy most…the walking, the postcards and accompanying information, that I’ve also passed the 60% milestone on the Alps to Ocean virtual challenge which means another tree planted, or the medals when I finish 😃😃
60% done and dusted
To be honest, I think I enjoy it all.
Here’s the latest postcard and the information that came with it…from where I am – virtually. 😉
Otematata- sounds a bit like Akunamatata..
Defined as “a populated area less than a town”, Otematata is more of a holiday town nowadays when it’s small population of around 180 explodes to 5,000 during the summer season. With easy access to both Lake Benmore, downstream Lake Aviemore and nearby hiking trails (known as tramping in NZ), holiday makers swarm to the area for camping, water skiing, boating, fishing, swimming and cycling among other activities.
Otematata sprung up in 1958 as a base for construction workers of the Benmore and Aviemore Dams. Within a year the population grew to 450 and at its peak it was as high as 4,000 residents. Built by the Ministry of Works the town had all the necessary facilities and services such as schools, clubs, pub, cinema and mall. The 1,500 strong workforce of engineers, builders, electricians, concreters and truckies spent seven years building the dam. Once the dam was finished, as it often happens with these kind of projects, the town was slowly dismantled. The houses that were trucked into town were years later trucked out and moved to Twizel for the next project. Benmore Dam is the largest earth-filled dam in NZ and the largest of eight in the Waitaki hydro scheme. As the second largest hydro station in the country, Benmore generates sufficient electricity to cover nearly 300,000 NZ homes.
Leaving Otematata, I travelled north on a sealed pathway alongside the Waitaki River until I reached the massive Benmore Dam and stood atop it with a bird’s eye view of the lake to the north and the river to the south. When the lake is over capacity, the floodgates open to release the water down a spillway and to prevent erosion a lip was inserted at the end to deflect the water. The spillway can handle ten times the normal river flow thereby allowing it to cope with severe flooding.
I skirted around the shore on a narrow sealed road to Deep Stream Track on Lake Aviemore for a walk along a flooded canyon. The deep green water was quite inviting for a swim but I settled for a picnic under a shaded tree enjoying the tranquility of this location and the reflection of the hills on the water.
A little further I crossed the Aviemore Dam back onto the State Highway and was relieved to be travelling on an off-road path beside the main road all the way to Waitaki Dam. Aviemore Dam was built in 1968 and the construction was on uneven ground because the Waitangi Fault runs beneath it. Although at the time of construction the fault was considered inactive, in the 2000s the fault was upgraded to dormant and as such the dam was reinforced against earthquakes and potential landslides. Because of the fault the dam is a mixed structure being part solid rock topped with concrete on the north side and earth-fill where the fault line runs beneath on the south side.
The Waitaki Dam is steeped in NZ history. As the smallest in the Waitaki hydro scheme, it is also the oldest having been built in 1935. Being the first dam to be built on the South Island, it was also the last to use pick and shovel. These archaic tools were retained because politicians wanted to reduce the unemployment rate during the Depression Era.
The building of the Waitaki Dam inadvertently played a major role in the birth of the social welfare system. In 1928, the Waitaki Hydro Medical Association together with the Waitaki Hospital Board developed a scheme to deduct monthly fees from wages in order to provide medical and ambulance services to the workers. When two politicians, one a doctor and the other a reverend, took office in 1935, they based the social welfare scheme on the one developed by the dam project.
From here it was a 5mi (8km) journey into Kurow. I heard the Waitaki Valley, which begins in Omarama, is a young winery region with a flair for developing good pinot noir and pinot gris. I’ll be sure to sample some after a hearty meal. I’m thinking fish and chips at the nearest pub.
The fish and chips sounds yummy, I think I’ll have some of that, thank you 😄😄😄
Where I really was is in Faversham. Had a brief visit to the optometrist with my client, which gave me 15 minutes for a quick whizz around. I’m familiar with Faversham, it was my last stop before Canterbury on my Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales camino in 2017, at which time I staggered into The Sun Inn my feet blistered beyond agony and absolutely drenched from the pouring rain – a drowned rat….and more recently I plodded into town covered in mud after getting stuck crossing what looked like solid ground, but wasn’t while walking a section of the Saxon Shore Way between Whitstable and Faversham 🤪🤪 I nearly lost my shoes in the morass.
“And beyond that he is, in my view, the most horrible human being who has ever sat in the Oval Office. In addition to being the worst president, he’s a terrible person. What a combination. I hope we’ve learned this lesson. This ought to remind all Americans what happens when you make a mistake with your vote.”
And thank the dear lord he’s on his way…..hopefully never to he seen again
Two years ago today, at exactly 12:46 this precious little cherub came into our lives, and in an instant my baby became a Mummy, and I became a Granny. 🥰🥰🥰
Just a wee scrapSkin time with Granny Special times 👵🏻💙👶🏻
Its been an amazing journey ever since – he lights up my life, bringing so much love, joy and laughter. From a tiny wee scrap, he’s now a super hero who builds snowmen and keeps me fit on the beach.
Spiderman!!!Building his first snowman A photoshoot on the beach by createdwithlightphotography
Wishing my beautiful, funny, crazy, adventurous, smart and joyful grandson a very happy 2nd birthday, you are most precious to me 🎂🎁🎊🎉2️⃣
For a swing!! 😃😃 on my walk today I passed a beautiful area thick with trees. And in amongst those trees I spied a swing.
Nothing fancy, just an old tyre wrapped around with twine and hanging from a sturdy branch of a tall tree.
I simply couldn’t walk by and not have a go….
So I did. 5 minutes of bliss. All I could hear was the whisper of the breeze in the tree tops and the twitter of birds as I swung back and forth, round and round. I’d like to say with my hair flowing in the breeze, like in the advertisements you see on TV, but since I chopped it all off a few days ago, there’s not much left to flow…😁😁
Sadly my legs were a bit too long for the height of the swing so I had to sit at a very odd, uncomfortable angle to keep them off the ground.
But oh the joy. I’m going to walk the same route again tomorrow. Can’t imagine why 🤭🤭😉
Before I left I thanked the tree for providing a few minutes of joy, and gave it a pat on the trunk. I’m glad it’s branch didn’t break 🌳
Its been a funny old week with grey overcast days, a rainy day not fit for ducks, and of course snow!! 😁😁❄ and today’s gorgeous sunshine.
Despite the weird weather I have managed to get out on a few walks and extended my horizons by going off in different directions….the problem of course is that the roads are so long, I have to walk for ages to reach an intersection, and there’s no such thing as “gosh I’m tired, let me head back” because the distances are so great there is no quick way to get back – you just have to keep traipsing along.
Different directions
As for the scenery, beyond the few scattered hamlets, it’s mostly wet, muddy, grey/brown farm fields with a few copses of trees dotting the landscape. But I have enjoyed stretching my legs and hearing nothing but birdsong and the baaing of sheep, encountering minimal traffic as I go…..on Friday I walked for 70 minutes before encountering a car, and that was well timed (not really) – I was 2 thirds of the way around a huge puddle of the water that covered the road from one side to the other, making my way gingerly along the verges, hanging onto barbed wire fencing and precariously positioned wooden posts, when I heard the sound of an approaching car. 😱😱😱 wtf, you’re kidding me!!!
two-thirds of the way around on the r/h side just before the tree…I heard a car
With utter dismay I turned towards the sound and prayed that is wasn’t some young buck who thought it would be fun to drive through at speed and drench the old lady 👵🏻 hanging on to the fence for dear life. Thankfully it was another little old lady 👵🏻 and she drove sedately through the puddle leaving small waves in her wake, and me dry!! I thanked her as she drove by! 😁😁😁
Another place that looked enticing was Belmont House and it played host to my visit on Tuesday. A good 2.2 miles from my current location, it took me 35 minutes to get there, which shaved 7 minutes off google’s eta. If I don’t dilly dally too much, its amazing the places I can go.
Belmont House and Gardens located in the Throwley area of Faversham on the rolling North Downs of Kent. The 18th century house was designed by Samuel Wyatt in the neo-classical style, built in 1769 by Edward Wilks – storekeeper at the nearby Faversham Powder Mill, and enjoys a stunning view over the estate and the downs. The estate is made up of house, gardens, cricket pitch, orchards, farm and woodlands…over 3,000 acres. Belmont has an extensive history and the Lords Harris served as soldiers and colonial governors. The house is distinguished for the collection of clocks created by the 5th Lord Harris. Needless to say I didn’t get to see any of these, except for the clock tower, and the house is covid-19 closed. blergh. Maybe I will return at some stage to this booking and perhaps the house will be open then.
3 o’clock and all is well…😉
Visit Belmont House
The long driveway
A secretive woodland
The Orangery
Inner courtyard gardens
Vegetable and fruit garden
Pet cemetery
The mandalay
espaliers
Sheep in the field
A useless fence
Old water pump
Meanwhile, my walks have taken me as far as I can go and some days I’ve gotten back just within my allotted break time of 2 hours. Of course if I had more time…..who knows where I could go!!
I’d love to walk to Ospringe, but that’s just a tad too far for 2 hours – I still have to get back
It wouldn’t however be across the fields along the footpaths…since not only do the farmers rudely put up electrified fencing as close to the path as possible, making it difficult to access, but atm the paths are just gloopy sticky muddy horrors. I know, because I foolishly walked along not one, but 3 paths last week – on the sameday😝😝. My shoes were sluggish with sticky mud.
Gloopy footpaths & electric fences
We experienced some icy cold weather that caused the ponds and puddles to freeze over…
Ice at least half inch thick
But oh the views!!!!
And this always makes me smile
😃😃😃
Today I woke to a fabulous sunrise and blue skies, that developed into a beautiful morning.
So beautiful in fact that I asked my client if I could beg an extra hour and go for a walk before the weather turned.
Country roads…All the way to the sea…Fields of green
And a good thing I did too, by 2pm the clouds had blown in and once again it was grey….but we had a lovely sunset
Grey skies
And blow me down if once again I didn’t get caught out, no, make that twice!! No cars at all for well over an hour in all directions, yet just before I reached the flooded corner a car came whizzing down the road from behind me and sent waves of water flying through the air. Well, that’s done I thought, I should be safe now….hah! Once again, as I was about halfway round along comes another car, from the opposite direction. I scurried into the field through a gap in the fence and waved them on…waited for the water to settle and hurried the rest of the way round before car number 3 came by. None did 🤪🤪
This puddle and I have history 🤨🤨🤨
And so endeth week 2 in Throwley. I think I have pretty much exhausted the area and shared plenty images of just about everything you could hope to see, so for the next week I shall concentrate on bringing my Pilgrim’s Way posts up to date, as well as the walks along the English coast. I will of course still do as many walks as I can.
I’ve accumulated 38kms this week and had 2 non walking days. Not too bad.
I wish I could share this story a million times, so that a million people could see it, perhaps share it to a million other people, so that a million people could stop polluting and dumping their trash.
With my frequent lengthy walks, and long distance walking, I see trash along the sides of the roads, in the hedges, the fields, and bizarrely even in trees. Its disgusting.
As he says, ultimately those people who dump their trash along the roads and elsewhere, are hurting themselves.
Fly-tipping at its worst
Edit: if you want to see what Curtis is up to, he’s on Instagram under creekrunner242 What a hero, and he turns the trash into art 👏👏👏
After a brief walk this morning, to stretch my legs and get some fresh air after being indoors yesterday due to icy roads after the snow, I updated my kms to the Conqueror Challenge app and voila, another postcard arrived into my mailbox 😁😁😁🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️ I get really excited when these cards arrive…its fun to see where I’ve been travelling virtually while walking in reality.
So stage two:
Having left the alps and peaks behind, the town of Omarama marked the halfway point of my journey. Although a small rural town, mainly a service centre for locals and nearby residents, Omarama had a few surprises up its sleeve.
Disney’s 2020 movie release of Mulan was entirely shot in New Zealand with scenes filmed at the Clay Cliffs just outside of Omarama.
In 2009, NZ pilot Terry Delore set a new world record in his 87ft (26.5m) wingspan glider. Taking off from Omarama, Terry travelled 1,491mi (2,400km) up and down NZ for 15 hours reaching speeds of up to 93mph (160kph) before landing back in town. Omarama has strong gliding conditions making it a popular destination for gliding pilots. Omarama hosted the 1995 and 2007 World Gliding Championships of which Kiwis took first place in the 1995 open category and third place in 2007.
For the weary soul like myself, a Hot Tub soak the night before to rejuvenate my muscles and unwind was just what I needed. The Hot Tub was located outside in a private setting within a tussock and rock landscape. The tub was filled with fresh mountain water without any chemicals added. The business reuses the water for irrigation. A submersible firebox allowed me to adjust the water’s temperature. As I settled in, I watched the Milky Way appear and spill across the night sky with its millions of stars.
Eastward bound, I left Omarama refreshed and ready to tackle the next half of the journey. The trip was relatively easy and short when compared to previous days. The first half of the trail was off-road running parallel to the State Highway on the right. Crossing at Chain Hills to the left of the highway I began my descent alongside Lake Benmore, the largest artificial lake in NZ. Lake Benmore was created in the 1960s as part of the Benmore Dam construction. The lake is split into two arms. The largest is fed by three rivers, Tekapo, Pukaki and Twizel plus the Ohau canal with Waitaki River flowing right through the lake, whereas the smaller arm is fed by Ahuriri River.
It is this smaller arm that I travelled along to Pumpkin Point, a grassy beach area, for a break and a splash in the lake, then onto Sailors Cutting where the off-road trail terminates and I join the highway for the rest of today’s trip. Not the most relaxing part of the journey as I braved the high-speed highway with an upward climb to Otematata Saddle. The views of Lake Aviemore and the valley beyond was a lovely compensation until I continued on the busy highway downhill all the way into Otematata.
Hmmm. The more I’m reading about this, the more I’m thinking I should add this route to the itinerary for my pending trip to Australia in a few years time. I’ve included a trip to NZ but only to visit the main attractions as well as a friend and her daughter (if she’s still living there at the time and not somewhere else in the world, as she is wont to do 😃😃). The route is approx 290kms and would take about 12-14 days to complete. 🤔🤔🤔
Where I actually walked this morning Where I ‘virtually’ walked
If you’d like to join these challenges, here is my link https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474 – I don’t get any money from anyone joining, but you get a discount and I get a discount on any future challenges. However, I’ve already signed up for 15 challenges (8 completed in 2020), so I think I need to put the brakes on for this year 🙃🙃😆
