Kent Weekend part 2 and other things

As promised here is the second part of my Kent weekend even if it was weeks ago, plus a few other items.

The weather was glorious whilst I was in Kent and on Saturday we went to Rye in the morning, and after a coffee we went on another tour of this lovely, and historic hilltop town, with its cobbled streets.  Well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.

No enhancements, this was the colour of the sky!! 

 

What we were doing at the same time was 'geocaching' which is a brilliant way of getting children out walking and keeping their interest.  You require a GPS phone and an app and then find the cache nearest to you.  I think we found two in Rye.

Our next stop for geocaching was in Biddenden and we found one near the village and then walked into their Millennium Field where the children raced on ahead looking for the first cache

 When we found the second in the field we also discovered this wonderful sundial -

Each square on the plinth is a month, which you stand on

 

Yes, it was 4.00 in the afternoon, standing on July!

 

"Walk in the sun now and always" for December/January

On Sunday we took a picnic and headed to Fairlight church.  We had our picnic on the Downs with the church on one side and the lifeboat lookout on the other

and in the distance Camber Sands

and then climbed the tower.

What I was not expecting was this -

The Carillon

but I did have a go and played a reasonable rendition of Amazing Grace using the music that you can see behind the wires.  The children also had a go and we did feel sorry for people living nearby who had to put up with the awful noise of the church bells, badly played, at weekends. We were actually playing the church bells because we passed them on our way to the top of the tower.

Looking North

Looking South with the English Channel in the background

What a wonderful and hot weekend.

A few days later I went by train to York with three friends.  We spent the morning walking round the wonderful streets. 

 

Love the overhanging upper floors

 

Georgian facades

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked the old city walls

York Minster in the background

 

 

The front façade

After a short tour of the Minster, the Chapter House and Crypt we headed for Betty's where we had to queue for delicious 'Afternoon Tea' and fell into conversation with two Chinese girls who had no idea what to do with the tea strainer!!  We advised them how to cope with the jam and cream on a scone and discovered that the Chinese think that the English only talk about the weather and always carry an umbrella.  We didn't have an umbrella between the four of us!!  We had a great outing and lots of talking, but not about the weather.

 

I must go back to York for a longer visit - too much to see and do in a day.

 

Craft has rather been on the back burner during these summer months as I have been working on the vegetable garden in Cambridge. I am not sure whether I mentioned that during the Spring my son decided to turn the 'veg patch' into raised beds

In the foreground bed, potatoes mounded up, with carrots and beetroot covered

He has planted sunflowers around the edges of the beds

and this one is about 7 foot high with an enormous head.  We have been harvesting lots of vegetables, with more to come.

I did manage to complete the July Mini Mania, 'New York Beauty', but it was hard work.  It even had hand sewing in it, that I loathe doing in my patchwork.  I quite openly admit that I am cheating for August's mini but no more on that until the end of the month!

July - New York Beauty's nod to the Hungry Caterpillar!