Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • LDWA 100 – Training Walk 7 (Flower of Suffolk Anytime Challenge)

    LDWA 100 – Training Walk 7 (Flower of Suffolk Anytime Challenge)

    This was our seventh walk in preparation for the 2021 LDWA 100.

    WALK NUMBER: 7 (Flower of Suffolk)

    DISTANCE COVERED: 27.8 miles

    NUMBER OF NATHAN’S FRIENDS WE “ACCIDENTALLY” BUMP INTO: 0 (but we weren’t in Norfolk)

    SUFFICIENT BEER CONSUMED: Yes (enough on Saturday to last us into Sunday)

    PUBS VISITED: 1

    WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, rain

    ATTACKED BY ANIMALS: No

    NUMBER OF SNAKES SEEN: 0 (although we did try)

    And so for some background…. This was the seventh training walk for the LDWA 100 walk that Nathan and I are planning, although we had Liam with us as well on this one. It’s the Flower of Suffolk anytime challenge, an LDWA event that takes place in normal times on the first Sunday in October every year. I enjoy this as I sit with my feet up thinking about how far everyone else is walking, whilst I’m eating chocolate and jelly babies. It’s because some of us can’t take part in the event itself because we have to marshal, it’s a sacrifice that I just have to make.

    But, since this bloody health situation means that we can’t hold the actual event, we have instead put on the walk as an anytime challenge. Thanks to the wonderful Peter, Chelle, Hilary and others involved in ensuring that this could take place. I will also complain at this point about Nathan, who promised me a quick drink on Saturday lunch-time, which ended up being about nine hours of drinking. Which reminds me, I must post about a certain beer I liked at the Artichoke, but more on that another time.

    So, Liam drives us to Dunwich, ready to take part in the walk. We stopped en route so Nathan could have a little walk about the road to prepare himself for the day. The walk itself starts by the ruins of Greyfriars Monastery, which is in the photo above. I admit to being a history geek (I know, I need to get out more) and Dunwich has no shortage of that.

    I went overboard with photos and took 180 of them. This was, I admit, bloody ridiculous. But they’re in time order (no jumping about the day, I have been very careful with that) in this post, showing the variety of landscapes and terrains we meandered through. We chose the 26 mile route rather than the 18 mile route, as, to be honest, we’re brave. Nathan was also in charge of navigation, since this is his first challenge event and we couldn’t be bothered. Annoyingly, he was actually quite good at that. I say we couldn’t be bothered, Liam probably wanted to, so what I mean here is that I couldn’t be bothered.

    I had the brightness on my phone turned low to save the battery, meaning I forgot about my shadow being in some photos.

    Dipping down to the sea.

    The beach.

    The beady eyed readers from LDWA N&S might notice here that we weren’t meant to be on the beach at this point. It was a minor navigational blunder of no-one’s fault and it was nice to have a meander by the beach.

    Liam looking for snakes. I was ready to take a photo of one of the area’s 60-feet long adders jumping out. We saw one mouse despite looking under several, that was the limit of the excitement.

    Moist.

    We had a little bit of a problem here, although this photo doesn’t do justice to the issue. The water came up to around Liam’s knees in the section before and for those who can see my Facebook page I posted the video of Nathan and Liam crossing a treacherous bit. It was like the mud run again, which we should have actually been on today if it hadn’t of been cancelled. Anyway, Nathan made that video adult rated by swearing as he went across……

    The rain stopped and started, but this did mean that we saw a fair few rainbows. We had a lunch stop here as it was after 12:00 and Nathan had to tip all of the water out of his shoe caused by the aforementioned issue.

    This is near Sizewell power station.

    Stormy skies.

    A field.

    A rather lovely cow. It’s amazing how close I’m prepared to get to a cow when there’s a fence between it and me. I’m scared of these huge animals usually, they always seem ready to charge whenever I look at them.

    Different terrain….

    Can anyone see the flaw with the pub’s QR code? It could have been worse, they could have used a Good Pub Guide flyer I suppose.

    This is usually where the LDWA checkpoint is, at the Eel’s Foot Inn. Unfortunately, Liam had forgotten his mask and it was pouring down with rain, so we decided against stopping here. Nathan wasn’t thrilled, but Liam’s incompetence was fortunate as we probably didn’t really have time to stop here. This is around nine miles into the walk as well, so it’s a bit early on to get too settled. Although given half a chance, we probably would have got settled here quite quickly.

    Rainbow and farm machinery.

    Boardwalk and I’m pleased to say that none of us went sliding off them.

    An annoyingly placed tree. Nathan was the only one wearing shorts, but he mostly got away with that with only a few minor nettle issues throughout the day. And he hardly complained.

    Mud. No-one fell in the mud, it was quite an elegant performance from all of us to be honest.

    More mud, but this time surrounded by some nice trees.

    Reeds.

    Some kind of mushroom thing. It looked delicious, but I have a rule of not eating anything from foliage or shrubs on a walk, with the exception of blackberries. I can eat several bushes full of those. I did get a few blackberries on this walk, but just a small number and I suspect they’ll be the last that I encounter this year.

    We battle on. Incidentally, Nathan isn’t bored and looking at his phone to entertain himself, he was navigating.

    The open skies of East Anglia….

    Water.

    I very much liked this photo (I’m good at self-congratulation) and it’s my new header photo.

    Water.

    Sea. This time it was on the GPX route we were meant to be on.

    This was quite a sad sight. It’s Walberswick Village Hall and this is usually where the Flower of Suffolk starts and ends. The anytime challenge starts at Dunwich (well, it starts anywhere really, but that’s where we recommend), but for most people on the actual event, reaching here in the afternoon (or evening) means you get a lovely hot meal, chocolate, cake, biscuits, jelly babies and maybe a banana if I haven’t managed to get them sent off to checkpoints away from me.

    We popped to the Anchor next door, but it was only open to those who had pre-booked. This was moderately confusing, as we would have sat outside, so it was unclear why we couldn’t go in, but I don’t know the layout and perhaps that was impossible. The pub claims to have a world class beer menu and I initially dismissed that, but looking at their on-line menu, it’s much better than I expected (not sure on world class, but it’s well above average). Anyway, if a pub is doing brilliantly and is packed to capacity in these troubled times, that’s marvellous, although it gave us a dilemma as we wanted a drink.

    Luckily, the Bell Inn was open and ready to seat us. This resolved the drink problem.

    The beer was Nathan’s, Liam had a coffee (we didn’t comment) and I limited myself to a Coke which I hoped was sufficiently sugary. And the bacon fries and scampi fries were mine. Well, obviously.

    The observant will note that it was starting to get dark by the time we left the pub. This wasn’t ideal.

    The final few miles of the walk….

    Looking back towards Southwold.

    And looking forwards to the car, only about three miles left at this point.

    Just what I didn’t want to see. I made sure to stay as far away from the heather as possible and we sent Liam to the front, in case a group of snakes teamed up to launch a joint assault. I know there’s limited scientific evidence for this, but I’m very aware of how sneaky snakes can be.

    We didn’t see any snakes….

    I didn’t have a head torch. I don’t really plan ahead. But we all had mobile phones with torches on which don’t exactly light the area up, but they cast sufficient light on the ground to ensure we didn’t stand on a snake.

    A tree. In the nearly dark Suffolk countryside.

    A mill. Although apparently it’s not a mill and is something to do with drainage. It’s not something that worries me either way, but it’s important to be accurate and the route description has been very careful with that.

    I had hoped that this photo would turn out better than it did, but it’s of St. James’s church in Dunwich.

    And there we are, all done!

    I made Liam stop at McDonald’s at the way home. I needed a decadent treat. The others were getting their evening meals of meatballs (for Nathan) and roast something or other (for Liam) and I pretended to be jealous. Secretly, I was quite happy with this and 12 hours of sleep when arriving home.

    Anyway, that’s another 27.8 miles (we walked a bit further than the actual distance of the Flower of Suffolk) out of the way and it was a most lovely day. Towards the end of the walk we decided not to do any more long distance walks as they were too tiring, but we had changed our minds by the end of the drive back to Norwich. I just never learn.

  • Spike Brewing – Brave Advertising

    Spike Brewing – Brave Advertising

    Quite brave and punch advertising this, “your liver will fail before our equipment does”. I’m not sure that advertising like this would be allowed in the UK, but it doesn’t much matter, as this is a US company from Milwaukee who produce stainless steel home brew equipment. Memorable advertising though, I quite like it.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (John Exeter)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (John Exeter)

    I was moderately fascinated by this section of the graveyard at St. Laurence’s Church near Hawkhurst as it had graves in situ from the early eighteenth century. This one commemorates John Exeter, of a birth date I can’t be sure, but he was married at this church to Elisabeth Stace on 12 February 1714.

    The marriage record survives (clicking on the image will make it bigger) and it’s perhaps just a little magical to be able to see the handwriting of the vicar who performed that service over 300 years ago. Both John and Elisabeth lived in the parish, so this was very much a local affair.

    John Exeter died on 28 January 1744 and was buried on 2 February 1744. Unfortunately, I can’t find out anything more about John, it’s so far back to be able to work much out, but at least his gravestone has survived and remains in decent condition.

  • British Airways – Last Day of the 747

    British Airways – Last Day of the 747

    Tomorrow (Thursday 8 October 2020) is the last time that BA’s 747s will take-off from Heathrow Airport in London. Aircraft G-CIVB and G-CIVY will depart the airport and mark the end of this glorious fleet of aircraft, which I was delighted to be able to fly in numerous times over the last decade.

    I like BA’s attention to detail here, they’ve published the statistics of the two aircraft.

    British Airways 747 G-CIVB

    Date it entered service : February 15, 1994

    Retirement date : September 08, 2020

    Last passenger flight was April 6, 2020 from Miami to Heathrow

    Current livery: Negus

    Previous livery: Landor and was named ‘City of Litchfield’

    Operated 13,398 flights, flown for 118,445 hours and flown 59 million miles

    British Airways 747 G-CIVY

    Date it entered service : September 29, 1998

    Retirement date : September 08, 2020

    March 20, 2020 last passenger flight from Chicago to Heathrow

    April 5, 2020 last freighter flight from Dallas to Heathrow

    Current livery : Chatham Dockyard

    Operated 11,034 flights, flown for 90,161 hours and flown 45 million miles

     

    The luxury cabin as was, although it reminds me somewhat of a funeral arrangement, but there we go.

    And the delights of economy back in the day, although they would have allowed smoking then which would have annoyed me greatly. BA are going to live stream the departure of the aircraft and I like how they’re making an effort at a time where there are many other things that are competing for attention.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Thomas Exeter)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Thomas Exeter)

    I’m slightly puzzled how this grave has remained in such good condition, or at least the top section of it, give that it’s nearly 300 years old. It marks the burial of Thomas Exeter of the town, who died on 12 April 1727 at the age of 43. The burial records survive and note that he was buried on Monday 17 April 1727.

    Thomas was married to Elizabeth, who is also marked on the same gravestone and she died on 10 January 1734 and was buried on 16 January 1734. It’s so far in the past that I can’t find anything else, but this is a remarkable survival.

  • Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Grave and Tree)

    Kent – Hawkhurst – St. Laurence’s Church (Grave and Tree)

    Located in St. Laurence’s Church in The Moor, Hawkhurst, is what I considered to be this rather intriguing grave which was starting to be consumed slowly, but surely, by a tree.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 193

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 193

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Loll

    This is a more upbeat (he often talks about all manner of negative and offensive terms) definition from Grose which is “mother’s loll; a favourite child, the mother’s darling”. I have no idea why the word would come to mean this, it’s from the word ‘lollen’, or to act in a lazy manner. I would have said that this has fallen out of usage, but I have heard children being referred to in this manner, so somehow this word has lingered on….

  • Warsaw – Caffè Dell’Amore

    Warsaw – Caffè Dell’Amore

    Looking for a little cafe in Warsaw last week, this one was well-reviewed and is located between the central railway station and the Old Town.

    The fridges in the cafe with the cakes looking rather sparse, although they were reasonably priced.

    It’s not perhaps the most sophisticated of interiors, but it’s clean and organised with an Italian feel to the whole arrangement.

    The latte really was rather lovely, a richness of taste and at the appropriate temperature, ie, one which isn’t so hot it burns the mouth. The meringue was light and probably far too sugary for my health, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The environment was comfortable and relaxed, although not particularly busy. It’s larger than it looks from the front, as there are some seats at the rear, as well as the outside seating.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 192

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 192

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Lobscouse

    This word is defined by Grose as “a dish much eaten at sea, composed of salt beef, biscuit and onion, well peppered, and stewed together”. It has a greater importance though in etymological terms because it became a word used to describe those who ate this lamb or beef stew, who were mainly sailors. The shortened version of the word, which is ‘scouse’ became used to describe the workers at the docks in Liverpool and later became used as a nickname for all Liverpudlians.

    And the evolution of the two words over time.

  • London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Warsaw Uprising Graves)

    London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Warsaw Uprising Graves)

    Returning to my little theme of the wonderful on-line photo collection of the Imperial War Museum….

    © IWM HU 105736

    This is quite a raw photo, showing a little girl in what was likely late 1944 and she’s passing by a number of graves. There were hundreds of these plots of graves in Warsaw as people didn’t know what to do with the number of dead. It was only after the end of the Second World War that they were mostly exhumed and moved to the Warsaw Insurgents Cemetery.