Section Three: Walking England

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there, [Well, it's May now]
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows
Hark! where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower, -
Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

◄Just quickly: Here's Barbara and I in Papeete -before they sprayed us in LAX! Barbara wants me to show the 'after' shots, but I'll wait until a little bit further into this communique first...otherwise I might lose you all! I think she looks like Sally Field myself -or, more accurately, Sally Field looks a bit like Barbara.




Yesterday, Monday 5 May, we walked back to the Car Boot sale we had visited on Sunday with J&L. I mention it again to illustrate the powerful compulsion to attend these convocations that comes upon us -at very frequent intervals. Barbara found some more great bargains which we will take home with us and maybe use to help pay for our trip. Here are some pics of these phenomenons.

◄That's Barbara almost in the middle of the picture with her back to us in the pink top with strap over her right shoulder and in front of the lady in the black jacket.

I should mention that these pics are taken with my trusty Treo 700wx -which Telecom NZ is unable to let me roam with. Sucks to Telecom! I will be migrating back to Vody when I get home. Barbara's little Vody phone roams perfectly with no fuss at all. So, texts will reach us on: +64 21 0270 7477 (021 027 07477). You can also Skype us using: johnbenc. If you have a camera then we can see and hear both ways. Otherwise, please leave us a message in the 'Comment' section at the bottom of each post. We love you all heaps'n'heaps...

▲Barbara pouring over a table.












We spent about four hours at this sale, bought coffee for 70p a cup and headed home. I'm hoping all this walking will reduce me somewhat.

The next exciting adventure was a power cut -twice. The second lasted several hours. The first stopped the telly towards the end of Midsomer Murders just when John Nettles was getting to the bottom of it all.

The weather has been just beautiful. Today, Tuesday 6 May a very warm 24! We took our final sightseeing walk round West Malling. We will be venturing further afield from now on. I hope to get to Canterbury at some point and visit the old home in Womenswold, just off the Dover road south east of Canterbury. We have heard there that Rye and another town whose name I just forget, but associated with the Woods, are full of charity and antique shops.

◄Barbara outside the church.






While walking back to the village (West Malling) we were invited into a small, ancient, Baptist Church for coffee and cake, would you believe. Two delightful ladies made us most welcome, Janet and Jill. We chatted for some time, and were given the full history of the little church from the early 1830s to the present. We will return for a Sunday service.
◄John at the Boot Sale. Serious business...

◄The Water Gate outside the Abbey at West Malling.

◄St Leonard's Tower, West Malling. This is a Norman tower dating from 1027 CE. (CE is the new designation for AD -stands for Common Era).


◄Looking up at the dizzy height of the Norman tower/keep. It still stands at very close to the full original height.

◄The view from the back of the tower across the Kentish countryside. I'm not sure we can lay exclusive claim to the 'clean green' image. Kent is hard to beat.


◄Inside The Old Clock Shop in West Malling. That barometer on the wall is over ₤1,000!


▲Village pump in West Malling.

▲Walking England▼

▲Urban Kent
▲Jonathan and Paige in their garden.

◄There you are, as promised. Barbara looking very sorry for herself, after being in Maidstone Hospital. The allergy took several days to go down. There are worse photos, but this will have to do. She is dreading going home and being sprayed at L.A. and then again before landing in Auckland.

▲Our very comfortable quarters at J&Ls. Ths sun pours in all day long.