Okay so it’s not actually Friday but it sounds good 😁😁 Frosty Tuesday doesn’t quite sound the same.
But…..look at this!! I thought this leaf looked like an origami creation.
Frosty origami
It’s a beautiful blue sky day in the Mendip Hills and I’m hoping that the fog doesn’t come in before I go on my break at 2.45pm….but I’m not holding my breath.
If you have a magnifying glass, you’ll be able to see the deer 🦌🦌
Yesterday also started off as a blue sky day but by the time I went on my break at 12.30pm….this is what I had to contend with.
Foggy days in the Mendip Hills
Mind you I don’t mind foggy days, they have their own beauty, but I would love to see some more clear skies.
Since I’m no longer active on Facebook or Twitter I guess I just have to post a comment here.
I’ve been watching Strictly Come Dancing from its inception in 2004. I haven’t always watched from the first week, mostly because of work, but I’ve usually picked it up and watched as many episodes as possible as the weeks have gone on.
I’ve had my favourites and I’ve voted, voted, voted and voted again, and been disappointed when my favourite couple have left the show, unless they’ve gone through to the final, in which case I’ve cheered loudly. 😃😃👏👏👏
But this is the first time in all these years that I’ve cried at the departure of a couple….JJ and Amy are out of the competition. 😪😪
Could you find a more lovely couple anywhere!? It would be difficult.
JJ is that rare breed; a true gentleman. And Amy is just the loveliest young lady.
He’s been a joy to watch as he’s grown and developed into a stunning dancer, with his crowning glory; dancing the Charleston to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Perfect and just fab.U.lous!!!!
Last night I voted more for them than I’ve ever voted for any other couple. But sadly it wasn’t enough. My heart dropped with dismay when the red light fell 😔
The only good thing about them being in the dance-off was that we could watch that joyful dance one more time. 💗💗🕺💃
But sadly they were not saved. I love Jamie and Karen too and its really difficult at this stage of the competition because the couples have all developed so much and are all fabulous….like thousands of other SCD fans, I’d like to see them all go through to the final.
And so we say goodbye to JJ and Amy, I shall miss your beautiful presence next week…..you were my favourites.
I’ve had some amazing walks the last few years since moving to the east coast. The scenery along the Thanet coastline is really beautiful, especially at sunrise on a clear day, and then sunset. You can catch a gorgeous sunrise from Broadstairs or Ramsgate, and if it’s a good day, an equally gorgeous sunset from Pegwell Bay or Margate. I’ve been known to rush over to Margate to catch the sunset or a quick walk to the cliffs above Pegwell Bay.
Sunrise in Broadstairs Sunset over Pegwell Bay
I’ve always loved walking. As a young girl, in my 20s’ when I lived in Hillbrow Johannesburg, I used to spend the whole of Sundays just walking around the suburbs for hours on end. I used to walk to work every day, up the hill and down the other side….right up until I was 8 months pregnant, and then my boss wouldn’t allow me to walk anymore and insisted one of the staff take me home by car and collect me the next day.
I lost my walking after my daughter was born and my husband bought me a car. By then it wasn’t that safe to walk alone anyway and I got lazy.
When I arrived in the UK, my love of walking was reignited. I lived in Dublin, Rep. Of Ireland for 6 months and my sister, brother-in-law and I used to walk everywhere, especially on weekends when we’d head out to Dún Laoghaire or Glendalough and the Wicklow mountains. In fact we travelled to so many places, I’ve quite forgotten all but the most memorable. I do remember though being able to walk home from Dublin to Monkstown late at night and never feel unsafe….and my love walking, freedom really, was reborn.
I remember one weekend when we walked across country from Waterford city to PassageEast in the County of Waterford, took the ferry across the River Barrow to Ballyhack Lower in County Wexford, then walked to Arthurstown and onto Duncannon…and in reverse the next day. One of the many fun excursions from my 6 months there.
A walk across country in Rep. Of Ireland
On most of my overseas trips since, I’ve invariably planned a 10 day stay and walked….everywhere, and included a day trip to another destination. When I visited Venice I literally walked around all the accessible islands and usually started at 8am and walked till late at night exploring every nook and cranny. Actually, after Ireland, Venice was my very first trip to Europe and albeit terrified, I loved every minute.
I’ve since walked 80%+ of the streets in the City of London….much of my free time was spent exploring every court, lane and street, and I walked a fair amount of the City of Westminster too. When we still lived in Richmond, I often walked along the Thames riverbank, either downstream to Kew Gardens or upstream to Kingston and even Hampton Court. Even in the snow 😉
When we moved to Broadstairs we used to walk along the beach to Ramsgate. I always thought it was quite far, but its actually only just over 3kms. Now that I frequently walk in excess of 20kms and occasionally as much as 35kms, it seems absurd that I thought 3kms was far 😁😁
During my last stay, I walked along the beach from Ramsgate to Stone Bay and back, and one morning I enjoyed a sunrise walk to Viking Bay…of course I stopped off at The Old Bake House and bought a take-away coffee and my favourite pastry; an almond croissant then sat on a bench on the promenade to enjoy my treat.
Breakfast from The Old Bake House in Broadstairs
Its such a stunning section of the coast and offers much of interest to see. Stretch your legs and walk to Margate… fantastic route, especially along the beach.
No hardship walking in this environment
A few weeks ago I decided to walk to Sandwich (for the 3rd time) in order to increase my mileage for the Conqueror 2020 Challenge. Somewhere along the way I hatched the insane idea of walking the whole of the English coastline….I know…bring on the strait jacket. I blame it on the moon 🤭🤭🤭 I’ve walked as far as Dover so far. Of course Covid-19 has held back my horizons, but I’m hoping to get out more frequently in 2021.
Crossing the White Cliffs of Dover
I love walking and one of the benefits of my job is that I get to travel all over England, often times to places I’d never heard of…and then I walk…
Old disused railway line in Lewes
But my walking got a real sense of seriousness when I started training for the Portuguese Camino in 2017, and started following the #walk1000miles challenge in 2016. That really got me going. I struggled at first to get into walking daily, bought my first pair of walking poles (still have them 😄), a decent pair of walking shoes (asics) and I’ve never looked back, now I find it difficult to not get out for a walk on a daily basis and get quite tetchy if my walking is interrupted ….😉
Oh my goddess I’ve found a new long distance walk to do!! 😃😃😃 I was doing some research on distances between towns for my ongoing quest to walk the whole England coast over the next 5 years (I blame it on the moon) and found the whole route for the Saxon Shore Way.
I’ve touched on the route during some of my previous excursions, but I didn’t realise just how long it was and how far it extended. Sigh..you just know I’m going to have to walk it 😂😂😂
The 160 mile / 257 km route starts in Gravesend on the banks of the River Thames in North Kent and ends in the colourful seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex. The route goes inland somewhere near Reculver and bypasses Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate and again from Folkestone to Rye/Camber but the rest of the route offers some of the finest coastal walking in England.
The reason the route bypasses Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate is due to the fact that they’re all on what was, and is still referred to as the Isle of Thanet, which used to be separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel up until 1550, by which time the river had silted up and was no longer navigable. And of course the Saxons were here from mid 5th century, so the route they created would have followed the then mainland coast.
According to wikipedia: The River Wantsum is a tributary of the River Stour, in Kent, England. Formerly, the River Wantsum and the River Stour together formed the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland of Kent. Now the River Wantsum is little more than a drainage ditch starting at Reculver, and ending where it joins the Stour.
I’ve walked small sections of the Saxon Shore Way when I followed Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales route to Canterbury via Sittingbourne and Faversham, again when I followed St Augustine’s Way from Ramsgate to Canterbury and again more recently when I walked from Sandwich to Dover.
Saxon Shore Way, Sandwich
I’m gonna have to stop working so I can do all these walks 🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🤭🤭
The header image is of Gravesend on the Thames from when I walked Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral…my very first long-distance walks, along which I learned some really good lessons – like to never walk in wet socks 🤪🤪👣🧦👣🧦
274kms for November 😁😁😁 48 kms more than October. Getting closer to my target of 2020km, but the days are rapidly declining …with only 29 days left this year and 317.9kms to go….and as they frequently remind me…I have to up my game. 😉
#walk1000miles
But I have achieved my original goal of 1600kms/1000 miles. Hoorah 👏👏🚶🏻♀️
Places I’ve walked in November:
Sunrise walk Ramsgate to Broadstairs Lots of Ramsgate beach excursions Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay for sunset Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay / Sandwich Bay Nature Reserve Temple – LondonTemple – LondonShepton Mallet- Somerset Shepton Mallet- SomersetShepton Mallet- Somerset
As for December….my kms will have to be a final push of 317.9kms to reach my target….so, I’m guessing the week between Christmas and Old Year’s Eve when I’m off work, will see lots of sunrise walks and full day marching along the east coast of England 😂😂😂🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
During one of my brief stays this month, I took the boobee to the beach. He had loads of fun and Granny got to do some nimble hops, skips and jumps across the rocks as he bounded along looking for puddles. All very well for him with his wellies, but I really didn’t want to get my shoes wet, so I had to do some fancy footwork to keep up with him and not wet my shoes. All went well, he kept his balance, running nimbly across the rocks like a wee goat, and then he decided to return to his earlier puddle that had lots of water and made lovely splashes….and then just as he was walking away….he reversed and sat down!!!! In the puddle 🤪🤪🤪🤪 OMG I laughed so much. He’s a minx.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I don’t think he was expecting it to be cold…His Peppa Pig wellies He loves to collect things….a bit like his Granny 😍😍
He does this thing lately where he throws himself backwards and onto his bottom…lovely game…except in puddles. Fortunately we had a change of clothes (except spare socks and shoes) in his backpack and after he’d run around and splashed in more puddles, I carted him off the beach under my arm to the sidewalk where I managed to change his clothes while holding him up in the air….there was nowhere to sit, and coz he didn’t have spare shoes I couldn’t stand him on the ground. I phoned his parents after that to rescue us….he’s a right character. And although I’m quite fit, keeping up with a nearly 2 year old is a different ballgame…
I do love being a Granny and would love to have more time with him…
Lockdown and the government tiers certainly doesn’t allow for much by way of exploring, except in your local vicinity. If you’re lucky enough to live in a countryside area, close to the sea, or near a river, even if its familiar its usually different and can still be enjoyed every day.
Hands and Molecules – a familiar and favourite sculpture on the clifftop – makes a good frame for the moonI adore this house. Located near the King George VI Memorial Park on the Dumpton Gap side, I used to have house envy till I realised how close to the cliff edge it is 🤪🤪
I live (sort of*) near the sea and even though it’s the same, every day along the coast is different. I’ve found myself with time on my hands due to losing a 6 week assignment so made the most of the opportunity to spend time with my grandson and to catch up on my walking targets for 2020.
Sunrise 23.11.20 @ 7.15amSunrise 23.11.20 @ 7.26amRamsgate Harbour Into the light….Sunrise 25.11.20 @ 9.26amSunset 24.11.20Sunset 23.11.20My favourite sunset to date…23.11.20 across Pegwell Bay Sunset from the cliffs above Pegwell Bay near Cliffsend One of my favourite village signboards – Cliffsend has seen Viking raiders, St Augustine’s arrival and WW2 action
I’ve seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets and had much fun with the kid. He’s developing into a very determined little boy and like most kids his age, he has a strong will. He’s also growing rapidly and requires his Granny to carry him when he gets tired….but Granny is not a bodybuilder and has her limits 😁😁
My favourite swing…he loves it tooFinding a fairy’s front door 🧚♂️🧚♀️He’s going to be a displacement officer when he grows up 😉😁 loves to move stuff Empathy for a dead shark Just a hop, skip and jump on the beach at Margate
I’ve mostly walked locally and managed a walk to Broadstairs and to the Sandwich side of the Pegwell Bay nature reserve.
Looking across the saltmarsh mudflats to Ramsgate The saltmarsh mudflats, a fascinating environment
The mudflats are home to an incredible number of birdlife that visit here during the changing seasons
The reserve has an amazing history and played an important role in WW2.
On my way back from the nature reserve I walked along the beach beneath the cliffs; devastated to see the volume of plastic trash lining the high tide level and he number of dogshit bags piled up. It’ll take a team of 20-30 people to clear that up…it stretched from where I’m standing right along the cliffs; heartbreaking.
We’ve had a couple of family outings and made a special trip for the boobee to see the Christmas lights in Margate
Snowman!! Penguin!! Santa!! His vocabulary is expanding daily 🥰🥰
Ramsgate Harbour offers so many photographic opportunities, you could spend all day there
I’ve managed to increase my kms by 74 this week and passed my original target of 1600kms. I do however still have 375km to walk to reach my 2020 target of 2020kms. Looking forward to seeing if I’ve exceeded my October total 🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
I’m determined to reach my target
So yeah, I may be walking familiar routes, but every day it looks different.
* I sort of live in Ramsgate but because work all over the country I don’t actually have a home and liveineither a guest house or b&b between assignments. One day…I hope to have a home of my own.
Christmas in the northern hemisphere falls in the perfect season.
The long dark nights are brightened by the hundreds of colourful lights that drape over balconies, hang from the streets lamps and decorate the boats in the harbour.
Every year we look forward to this season and once decorated the boats are a feast of colours.
A few of the boats are already decorated and it looks so pretty.
Gorgeous moon tonight
In transit this afternoon I whizzed through St Pancras between trains and stopped to take a pic of this year’s tree.
A pink fondant tree
I’ve been disappointed with the trees the last few years, and still remember the best one ever from some years ago…the Disney tree…floor to ceiling with soft fluffy toys….delightful. best ever.
I’m not really a fan of circular walks and prefer to end somewhere I didn’t start. But since I’m walking during my break, I have no choice but to return from whence I started.
Yesterday afternoon could be described as a blue sky day, and since it was my penultimate day in the city I made the most of the good weather and went for a ramble….from Temple to the Millennium Bridge, crossing to Bankside and walking to Tower Bridge, back over the Thames as the sun was setting and ultimately back to Fleet street and Temple.
I saw many of my favourite sights, and covered 7.86 kms in total.
Although I haven’t noticed much change in the volume of traffic along Embankment, the reduction in the city was very noticeable with many streets almost deserted. It was really weird walking past hundreds of shops and pubs….lights off and doors locked, and not manypeopleaboutat all. A bit like it would be after an apocalypse….
Very weird. This is the city of Sundays when everyone is at home and you could meander the streets and lanes and rarely see a soul.
Of course I took lots of photos…I hope you enjoy them
Has the chewing gum man been here?
If you cross Millennium Bridge look down and you’ll see a number of tiny little works of art. These are mostly the work of the ‘chewing gum man’. He creates art out of gum tossed on the streets by neanderthals. Although that’s actually insulting Neanderthals. Ben Wilson (click here for a profile) is famous in London for creating miniature artworks from gum stuck on the streets. His artwork is not limited to Millennium Bridge and if you keep your eyes peeled you’ll find these creative pieces in other corners of the city. I met him once at one of his exhibitions, a very interesting man. Here’s a more recent article about Ben Wilson you may enjoy reading https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studiomoe/ben-wilson-the-chewing-gum-man-the-millennium-bridge-gum
One of my favourite views downstream of the ThamesWhen you cross Millennium Bridge from north to south, be sure to stop on the south side and look back…brilliant view of St Paul’s CathedralJust off the corner of a side street on Bankside you’ll find The Ferrymans Seat – harking back to when you had to pay the ferryman to row you across the riverThe Globe Theatre- albeit not the original, Globe theatre is linked to William Shakespeare and pre-covid this is where you would come to experience what theatres were like in the 16th century. Not far from here and behind the first row of buildings you’ll find the remains of the Rose Theatre, where Shakespeare did perform his plays.In the foreground is the arch of Southwark Bridge. At this point you can see four bridges crossing the Thames: Southwark, Cannon Street, London Bridge and in the distance, Tower Bridge – often mistakenly called ‘London Bridge’.Beneath the arch of Southwark Bridge are scenes of Frost Fairs on the river from the days when it froze over in winter – specifically Frost Fairs were held in 1683-34, 1716, 1739-40, and 1814. The river is noe narrower and deeper and flows faster; and no longer freezes over.A mural depicting William Shakespeare on the wall near The Clink Prison. I wonder what he would make of London today.A fragment the Great Hall and Rose Window of Winchester Palace in Southwark. Once the palace of the Bishops of Winchester. The prostitutes who plied their trade in this area under the auspices of the Bishops were known as the ‘Winchester Geese’ A short walk from here is a piece of ground where they were apparently buried.Southwark Cathedral circa 1905 – a place of Christian worship for more than 1,000 years it was originally an Augustinian priory built between 1106 and 1897. In 2017 I walked from the cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral following Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales Minerva and The Shard. This delightful sculpture can be found on the river side of the cathedral. The Navigators; one of my favourite sculptures in London located in Hays GalleriaHMS Belfast moored on the Thames since 1971 on Southwark side of the river; the most significant surviving WWII Royal Navy warship. Since her launch over 82 years ago, she fired some of the first shots at the D-Day landings, served in the Arctic Convoys, and in the Korean War.The magnificent White Tower glows in the light of the setting sunToad Hall aka the London Mayor’s Office – many years ago a play; Wind in the Willows, was staged in the open air theater next to the building. It was nicknamed Toad Hall and the name has stuck ever since, and occasionally we have (had) a real larger than life toad working there…#notLondonBridge – Tower Bridge stands guard over The Pool of London – a bastion between the the lower reaches of the Thames and the City of London Looking upstream. One of the many many barges that traverse the waterways on a daily basis; one of hundreds of various craft that ply the river ….The Tower of London viewed from Tower HillThe Tower of London- 6 years ago the moat was covered with ceramic poppies to commemorate the start of the First World War. I was one of the many lucky people who got to plant a few.Remnants of the original Roman City walls located at the end of the pedestrian underpass from Tower Hill stationAll Hallows by the Tower Church – oldest church in London. In the crypt you can see the crows nest from Shackleton’s ship, Endurance. Samuel Pepys stood in the platform of the tower and watched London burning in 1666A poignant memorial located in front of the church The Monument commemorates the area where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. Nearby is a small plaque on a building showing the original location of the bakers shop where the fire was meant to have started. If you ever decide to climb to the viewing platform…there are a lot of steps!! But you get a certificate for your efforts Another of my favourite sculptures – The Cordwainer. Located in the ‘Ward of Cordwainer’, which in medieval times was the centre of shoe-making in the City of London. Only the finest leather from Cordoba in Spain was used, which gave rise to the name of the craftsmen and the WardThe Royal Exchange – London’s first purpose built trading centre. The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas GreshamA peek at St Paul’s Cathedral My absolute favourite building in London – St Paul’s Cathedral still stands proud amongst all the new. Designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London razed the original to the ground. A tiny grave in the crypt of the cathedral is the resting place of this famous man. His epitaph: si monumentum requiris, circumspice”—if you are searching for his monument, look around. In all Wren designed 53 of London’s churches as well as other secular buildings. St Paul’s Cathedral featured in the famous film Mary Poppins. St Brides Church aka the ‘wedding cake’ church. Urban legend has it that a baker was looking out the window of his shop one day looking for inspiration for a wedding cake he was creating…hence the popular design of the layered wedding cake. It’s named for the saint St Bride and is also known as the Journalists Church due to its proximity to Fleet Street, once home to the newspaper trade.Back whence I started. The spot where I’m standing is actually in the City of Westminster and the City of London Griffin marks the boundary between the two cities. When I step past the sculpture I’m then in the City of London.
I hope you’ve enjoyed your trip around London and some snippets of history.
By the time my walk ended, the sun was setting below the horizon. Across the river is the OXO Tower and the Sea Containers building. Not sure what the two new towers are, but I wish they weren’t there…downstream you can see The Shard, its highest point lit up in blue.Looking upstream towards the London Eye from the same location at the same time. You can see a sliver of the moon just to the right of the tall building on the leftMy walk 7.86kms via mapmywalk
And finally, London by night. Taken at 10pm last night.
The Sea Containers building lit up with a rainbow The Colours of London – still my favourite city in the whole world
Not Just a Granny 
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