# Colourful Kent. (UK)



## BlondeAverageReader




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## escorial

garden of britian  I've read


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Not any more!*



escorial said:


> garden of britian  I've read



We have lost the title after 400 years to North Yorkshire.

The proud title of Garden of England has slipped from the grasp of Kent after more than 400 years, according to a survey which condemns the county as overrun with railways, traffic jams and chavs.

Disgusted l am.


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## escorial

Isn't Yorkshire gods own country an now garden of England..chavs mess everything up....is there any banksys in kent...400 was a good innings


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Isn't Yorkshire gods own country an now garden of England..chavs mess everything up....is there any banksys in kent...400 was a good innings


Dover has a Banksy Brexit themed art work apparently.


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## JustRob

I've always assumed that the term "garden" referred to the type of things grown here rather than anything, in the sense of market gardening I suppose. The fact that the fields near us are actually the campus of an agricultural and horticultural college and Kent also has the key research centre for fruit trees suggests that a northern county could not genuinely take the title from us until global warming has scorched us into desert and Yorkshire has a climate that regularly supports two crops a year. We were told by a Yorkshire farmer that there is a distinct latitude north of  which farmers must raise livestock rather than grow crops because of this factor. Of course Kent is fast becoming a better wine growing region than France because of this climate change and now produces the best wine-that-we-aren't-actually-allowed-to-call-champagne-but-is in the world according to champagne-and-other-wines-like-it-that-aren't-allowed-to-be-called-that competitions. That means that Kent is still remarkably versatile in what it can produce and it is this variety that earns it the title "garden of England", not the acreage. Even with livestock it still has the land that can support the most sheep per acre, so pure acreage isn't a relevant criterion anyway.


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## H.Brown

BlondeAverageReader said:


> We have lost the title after 400 years to North Yorkshire.
> 
> The proud title of Garden of England has slipped from the grasp of Kent after more than 400 years, according to a survey which condemns the county as overrun with railways, traffic jams and chavs.
> 
> Disgusted l am.



Woop Woop north yorkshire for t'win. 

In all fairness yorkshire is a bit backwards, but pretty views.


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## BlondeAverageReader

Rowan tree doing its Autumnal thing!


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## escorial

Any pics of kent chavs...


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Any pics of kent chavs...


I do nature, not horror!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Dark evenings on the way*

British summer time went out in a blaze of glory yesterday, back to GMT (clocks went back 1 hour)


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## escorial

Your sky gives suburbia a dramatic look..


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## dither

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Dover has a Banksy Brexit themed art work apparently.




Is that the thing with the dirty vans?
Have you seen those pics?
Amazing.


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## dither

BlondeAverageReader said:


> British summer time went out in a blaze of glory yesterday, back to GMT (clocks went back 1 hour)View attachment 19952



And on a serious note;

I've got to get a decent camera.


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## BlondeAverageReader

dither said:


> Is that the thing with the dirty vans?
> Have you seen those pics?
> Amazing.



No, the one in Dover is of a workman chipping one of the stars off a painting of the EU flag.
The SWAT van was amazing, don't know how much it went for at auction, but the estimate was £300,000


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## BlondeAverageReader

dither said:


> And on a serious note;
> 
> I've got to get a decent camera.



Yes you have, the sooner the better. You obviously haven't worked out how useful they are to hide behind, aim a camera in any direction and people will go out of their way to avoid ruining your shot. Take walks to all the places you wouldn't normally frequent and aim that camera at whatever you see. Hide in plain sight, simples!


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## SilverMoon

> Originally Posted by *escorial*
> 
> 
> Any pics of kent chavs...






> Originally Posted by *BlondeAverageReader* I do nature, not horror!


 LOL, LOL! OK. What is kent chavs? I think it would be OK to post given that it's Halloween.


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## BlondeAverageReader

SilverMoon said:


> LOL, LOL! OK. What is kent chavs? I think it would be OK to post given that it's Halloween.



Chav's are a UK version of US white trailer trash or rednecks.


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## escorial

They use to be council house chavs but now their housing association or renting chavs...they young ones use to breed like rabbits like the monarchy who live of the state to...


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## JustRob

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Chav's are a UK version of US white trailer trash or rednecks.



I didn't know just how well acquainted you are with transpondian culture darling. (Others please note that we have a licence which permits us such terms of affection in public.) 

Hey, did I just create a new word "transpondian"? No damnit, it's already in Wiktionary. Just how much does it take to be original around here? That's the trouble with great minds, that we all think alike. That says something about original writers though then, doesn't it?


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## Kevin

And here I thought there was going to be yet another colorful side to Clark ( besides his alter: red, white,and blue; rainbow caped?).


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Hadlow's picturesque May's Folly and church window*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Today's walk*


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## escorial

red


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> red



Yes apologies, other colours are available, but none in stock this morning.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Oh l did take one that wasn't red, it's just boring.*


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## -xXx-

doesn't fit in my _boring_ folder.
i put it in my _interesting-positive-negative-space, organics_ folder.
it might turn into a poem,
or micro
later.
you live in lots-of-awesome, methinks.

_*warning: not to be taken literally*_


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## escorial

Kent's flag is red with a white horse....


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Kent's charity fund raising White Horses*



escorial said:


> Kent's flag is red with a white horse....



Plain white horse statues were given to artists in this area to decorate as they pleased, they were put in various places around the town for the summer. Then auctioned off for charity at the end of the season.
This one was on the Castle lawn.



Tonbridge Castle.


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## escorial

Similar thing here a while back..loads of small lambananas placed around...the original is the best statue in Liverpool city...I reck


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Similar thing here a while back..loads of small lambananas placed around...the original is the best statue in Liverpool city...I reck
> View attachment 20140


This looked very odd, but having Googled it and read the history it made sense. There were pictures of the smaller ones painted in bright colours too, well worth a look.


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Kent's flag is red with a white horse....



You forgot to mention it's rampant!


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## escorial

What's a ram'pnt


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> What's a ram'pnt



Ewe don't want to know.


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## JustRob

escorial said:


> View attachment 20140



At that angle it looks like it's scent marking the building. People walking by may wonder why the wall smells strongly of bananas.


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## escorial

Walls have ears an now noses...if only these walls could talk...Berlin Wall..Texas wall...walls ice cream is my fav


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## Kevin

Banana skunk. I used to make similar art- smoosh, one hand, squeeze into shape;  stand up. My materials : clay, mud from the yard, silly putty (though it was too saggy); toilet papier-mâché and water from the school louvre ( which often as not worked as my pollack throw up and stuck to the ceiling). Who knew? I could've been on displays. "Ah-teest".


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## escorial

Look forward to more pics....maybe summit more urban...


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Look forward to more pics....maybe summit more urban...



Oh Sur, me bein but a poor country gel livin in rural splendour, l don't have no urban local like.


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## escorial

Be careful if you go into the built up areas..chavs everywhere...


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Be careful if you go into the built up areas..chavs everywhere...



Chavs no problem. 'Yummy Mummies' roam our streets in packs pushing all terrain 4x4 baby buggies. Just like when they drive their 'Chelsea Tractors' the rest of the population are supposed to jump out of the way.


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## escorial

Is kent stuck in the 80's....


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> Is kent stuck in the 80's....


Hardly, only tractors around here in the 80's were John Deere. Don't think they came with child seats.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*A walk in the woods*

A reminder of the 1987 'great storm' trees left to their own devices now look like this.




A new house on the edge of the woods of a kind jokingly referred to as 'having room for a pony'



General woody views











Then we have the paradise lost monent, some moron drove down this pretty lane.



And dumped this in the woodland car park! Unbelievable.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Old and new urban scenes around our town.*


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## -xXx-

i have mixed feelings about architectural fusion.
i _want_ to like it, but many times i feel that selecting
one style or the other would improve the aesthetic.
that reaction is largely to fused building styles,
not so much to independent site features.
i hope you relish your surroundings,
there is much beauty there.


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## BlondeAverageReader

-xXx- said:


> i have mixed feelings about architectural fusion.
> i _want_ to like it, but many times i feel that selecting
> one style or the other would improve the aesthetic.
> that reaction is largely to fused building styles,
> not so much to independent site features.
> i hope you relish your surroundings,
> there is much beauty there.


I can see how you might find our buildings mix of age and style a bit of a rag-bag, l do too. Our town is like this because since Saxon times it has been an important crossing point on the River Medway, hence the Norman Castle. Every new generation added the 'latest style' of building, so here we sit in an amazing, beautiful and in parts downright ugly place. I just love it.


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## dither

Love the bottom pic Blondeaverage. The sculpture.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Sculpture is the map of the river in our town*



dither said:


> Love the bottom pic Blondeaverage. The sculpture.



This was commissioned for year 2000 celebrations. We live at the end of the navigable part of the Medway, the silver parts are the various streams the river splits into after it runs past the Castle.
The stained glass is the parkland and sports fields.
This is a clearer picture, darn street lamp was in the way!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*A few more historical Kentish sites*

Statue of Peace



Ryarsh Church



St Leonards Tower
Said to have been built by Gundulf Bishop of Rochester 1077 - 1108



Water mill
Sadly since we last walked past the wheel has stopped turning.


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## escorial

You have a centre point in most of your pics..I like the way you don't try and enhance your image...the dumped coach was a blast....


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Frosty Morning has broken*


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## JustRob

Note the absence of snowy pictures despite reports of widespread snowfall across Britain at the moment. Here in the river valley we appear to have our own weather and have only seen a few flakes of snow falling with none laying. In contrast a delivery man who called yesterday told me that a few miles away there was thick snow and traffic was only managing 20mph on the local trunk road. We always watch the local weather forecasts on TV but they seldom apply to us. We are apparently living in an inverse Narnia where we only encounter snow when we leave it.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Pink Vapour Trails*

Opened the curtains to candy floss pink plane trails this morning.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Chilly Today in Kent*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Wet Kent*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Culinary Colour only today*

Well you don't expect me to go out taking photos after eating this!


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## sas

Love those vegetables!!! Went to restaurant overlooking Gulf of Mexico bay, last nite.  Ate by torchlight. Had mussels and large side of vegetables, which came wonderfully hot and not overdone. A rarity on both counts. I was ecstatic.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Foxy Warning*

Red sky this morning, foxy warning, rain coming from the west.


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## -xXx-

soooo much to like in this image.
i'm starting with a celebration
of the color changes in the
tree silhouette(s).

suppose youses would consider
becoming an american state?
it would sure simplify travel
paperwork...


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## BlondeAverageReader

-xXx- said:


> soooo much to like in this image.
> i'm starting with a celebration
> of the color changes in the
> tree silhouette(s).
> 
> suppose youses would consider
> becoming an american state?
> it would sure simplify travel
> paperwork...



[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]Pleased you liked my sunrise, it rather delayed breakfast as l was running round the garden with a chair and my iPad. Hope the neighbours weren't watching as l jumped on and off the chair trying to get the weather vane in the centre. At the time l didn't notice the colours shading through the tree, it came out better than l expected.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT=.SF UI Text][FONT=.SFUIText]I think we're in enough of a 'state' over here already, so keep doing the paperwork.[/FONT][/FONT]


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## -xXx-

BlondeAverageReader said:


> I think we're in enough of a 'state' over here already, so keep doing the paperwork.



_*stares at pen*
*daydreams of glass riverfront spaces*_


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## BlondeAverageReader

*First sign of spring*

The sun shone on Kent today and the Crocus responded.


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## escorial

went to a new exhibit today at the open eye gallery of a guy who clicked away for years of journey to an from work in the 70's n 80's.....reckon you have the same feel in your work...


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> went to a new exhibit today at the open eye gallery of a guy who clicked away for years of journey to an from work in the 70's n 80's.....reckon you have the same feel in your work...



Obviously he got out a lot more than l do, didn't leave the garden for the last 3 photos l posted!


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## escorial

you sleep in the garden,,,,cool


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## BlondeAverageReader

escorial said:


> you sleep in the garden,,,,cool



That heated greenhouse has its uses.


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## escorial

people in glass houses dont need a thermostat..hot stuff


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Tonbridge School. 16th century*


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## -xXx-

beautiful!
and educational.
wiki says this is a public school.
there is one tuition for day students and
one for boarding students.
it was associated with one of London's
livery companies after the death of the
founding governor.
there are 12 schools within it's association,
which extends beyond Kent.
The King's School, Canterbury is also in Kent.

i'm gonna be staring at these a lot.
especially the second one.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Especially for you xXx*

Shame the car got in the picture, but this is the main road into our town.
Back in the 50s and 60s the boys who attended Tonbridge School were the most appalling snobs, treated the town folk like dirt, and we in return hated the straw boater wearing posh twits.
Now they learn about community service, help out charities and are really quite nice


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## -xXx-

what beautiful surroundings to experience
current dynamics within!
i love transformational endings like that!

it can be hard to teach respectful, reflective,
wise leadership in social fabrics
that favor title/position/authorization, etc.
_not that i would have any current reasons
clarify my expectations in leadershi*._

do they garden yet?


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Wet and miserable*

When you're wet and miserable personal space is important.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*No snow, but lots of Snowdrops*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Another soggy day in paradise!*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Medieval Ightham Mote*

Went for a rather muddy walk to 14c Ightham mote. Described as one of the oldest and loveliest medieval manor houses to survive in England (by the National Trust guide book) A footpath running along the side of it gives all the photo opportunities you could want for free!


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## -xXx-

this set should be a writing prompt.
fab!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Strange Creatures and Invading Species*

The keepers of the gate.



Always read the label or you might regret buying that ‘cute little bamboo plant’


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Colour in the snow*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Tail end of the Beast from the East*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*The Beast is Back*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Tunbridge Wells, iron rich springs in and around The Pantiles area made it famous*

My advice, don’t drink the water, school ink tasted far nicer.




As for the Bath, well it is a bit too public these days!



Polar Dance. On show in The Pantiles.



Originaly the Fish Market.



Who doesn’t want a shop with a Minstrels Gallery?



If you can’t move the rocks, build the house into them.


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## HCole2576

Thank you for posting all the photos. It is always nice to see something new and get an education.


HCole2576


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## BlondeAverageReader

*My Local Rocks are not Colourful*

Sandstone, big but not beautiful.
Even after l turned the colour full on!


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## SilverMoon

I know I'm late to your amazing thread with photos which have my artist's eye rolling! Thanks for letting me visit Kent!

And this is amazing! Just want to print out dozen copies and turn it into a dress - I'd wear all year looong!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Suddenly everything is bursting into bloom.*

There is a wonderful smell of coconut from this double Gorse.


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## Firemajic

Your photographs are fabulous! Such a dreamy place to live, I am envious... and I have heard of Gorse, but I never knew it smelled like coconuts...how exotic....


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Akebia Quinata*



Also called the Chocolate Vine.


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## Underd0g

I just found this. You have a wonderful thread here!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Quick grab a shovel*


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## H.Brown

Lovely picture of a rainbow, your capture of colours is always amazing, I'm going to have to go take some pictures myself when I get a sunny day that I'm not working.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*A Trip to see the Bluebells*

Walking under the multi coloured canopy.



Trying to to avoid the more hazardous routes/roots.



To see the Bluebells


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## BlondeAverageReader

*The Jane Austen connection*

This Medieval house was once the home of Thomas Austen (an apothecary) Jane Austen’s great uncle.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Woodland Lakes*

Once used for farming fish in the days when meat was not allowed to be eaten on Fridays.
Now slowly disappearing as they fill up with leaves and aquatic plants.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Flying Tonight*


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## TuesdayEve

Rainbow! So cool.... is that you in the basket?


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## BlondeAverageReader

TuesdayEve said:


> Rainbow! So cool.... is that you in the basket?



This appeared above our garden as l was washing up, not that unusual here but this one was fairly low.
l admit to being a basket case but you wouldn’t get me up in one of those!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Kent, still remarkably green and pleasant.*



I want this house, its got room for a pony or two.



Ok, not everyone living in the woods is normal!
Perhaps they think he will keep people on the footpath, errr wrong, had to leave it to take his picture.


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## TuesdayEve

Picture postcard beautiful. I’d like to live there too.
Do those ponies belong to that household?
Scary tiger from afar.... or at least a double take.


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## BlondeAverageReader

TuesdayEve said:


> Picture postcard beautiful. I’d like to live there too.
> Do those ponies belong to that household?
> Scary tiger from afar.... or at least a double take.



I’m sure the ponies belong to that house as there’s a large open paddock all the way to the back of it. Wish l could get a good picture of it but the trees are too dense. Poor ponies were hiding under the trees trying to escape the flies.

That tiger (now sadly disintegrating) was really impressive when it was new, it’s life size! Must have given a lot of walkers a surprise ‘double take’ moment.


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## JustRob

I've just been organising our holidays for next year, but it isn't easy to find anywhere that we'd rather be than here in Kent. It only takes us a few days away from home to realise that we'd rather be back here. I think my angel has illustrated the reason why very well in this thread. She has proved that no matter how advanced the camera is ultimately it's the photographer's eye that takes the picture.

Well done angel! You have certainly lived up to the reputation that I gave you here in WF before you joined, but I never doubted that you would. Nice pictures by the way.

And now apparently I need to get out of bed and do some housework while she is busy in the garden. Would anyone like to see some photos of a vacuum cleaner?


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## BlondeAverageReader

*First signs of Autumn*

Roses are getting hippie.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Fruit and flowers*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Reflections*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Silver Birch, now turned to gold.*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Mad Chicken light and graceful seedheads.*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*I Spied-Er Photo Opportunity.*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Rosy Dawn*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Dungeness Nuclear Power and Fishing Boats.*

Dungeness A & B Power Stations and
old disused Lighthouse, now too far inland. 

Waiting for high tide.

Just waiting.

Boardwalk to nowhere.


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## Olly Buckle

I don't know how far you are from Bedgebury, but there is a lot of beautiful colour there at this time of year. They call it the National Pinetum, but there are lots of other things, like small maples, planted between the pines. The other time it is good is when the waterlilies are in bloom on the lake, big areas of them in various colours.


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## BlondeAverageReader

We are about 17 miles away and have visited Bedgebury several times, including an exciting winters day of Huskies pulling  wheeled carts through the woodland section at breakneck speed.
For Autumn colour we find Sheffield Park is a favourite, the reflections in the lakes take some beating.


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## JustRob

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Boardwalk to nowhere.
> View attachment 22855



I particularly like this picture. The combination of perspective and the featureless horizon gives the impression of far more land than actually exists. Dungeness has been described as Kent's only desert although it is actually shingle rather than sand.

P.S.
Bedgebury doesn't appeal to me so much as it has wood ants in abundance. I dislike ants.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Fungi on the march*

Now come on, you on the left, we agreed on a straight line!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Final Glow, before they go.*


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## Olly Buckle

JustRob said:


> Dungeness has been described as Kent's only desert although it is actually shingle rather than sand.
> .



I found someone else describing it that way recently, I don't think that sand is a prerequisite of desert, more the inability to support life, there are ice deserts. Mind you there always seems to be plenty of life there if you look. Though the plants are of the tough variety, capable of withstanding wind and salt I have seen plenty of birds and insects as well.


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## TuesdayEve

The boardwalk= infinity....is captivating almost
hypnotic or.....a shot from the Twilight Zone.

The red leaves are so beautiful in Fall no matter
where you are. We’ve had a lot of rain lately and
except for the Red Oak all the red leaves and most
of all the others have fallen. Yesterday I had a yellow 
and green carpet of Maple and Silver Maple leaves
in my yard. It was beautiful. Low 30’s now, 
Winter is coming.


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## TuesdayEve

Just now a carpet of snow


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Birchlight.*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*The end of another short day*


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## -xXx-

can you see the comet there?
too much diffusion phenom here


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## BlondeAverageReader

-xXx- said:


> can you see the comet there?
> too much diffusion phenom here


Too early here, have to wait for Orion to get up. Comet should be slightly above and to the right of his right foot, sky is clear but it’s already freezing. Geminids meteor shower due to peak tonight here too. Somehow don’t think l will be hanging around on the lawn (as we do for the summer meteors) getting frozen in the wee small hours!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*The odd couple*

A Collared Dove & Wood Pigeon.


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## Olly Buckle

Are they looking at my greens? Where is my catapult, grrrr….


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## Underd0g

Aww... I took a similar pic.


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## BlondeAverageReader

Olly Buckle said:


> Are they looking at my greens? Where is my catapult, grrrr….



Worry not Olly, these two plus all their many friends are usually in my garden eating peanuts and seed.
The small birds have been replaced in recent years by Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws, so different from my childhood when they lived on farm land and feared people. Haven’t seen a Thrush in years in this garden, have you got any?


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## Gumby

Underd0g said:


> View attachment 23129Aww... I took a similar pic.




Those definitely look like what we call here a Buzzard Hawk. Which is just a fancy name for a buzzard, I think.


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## Olly Buckle

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Worry not Olly, these two plus all their many friends are usually in my garden eating peanuts and seed.
> The small birds have been replaced in recent years by Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws, so different from my childhood when they lived on farm land and feared people. Haven’t seen a Thrush in years in this garden, have you got any?



To the bird table there are tits, coal, great, blue and sometimes a small flock of long-tailed; the robin, a nuthatch, and a small charm of goldfinches, barred woodpecker, wood pigeon, collared doves, and the local flock of jackdaws, starlings and sometimes a crow or seagull will swoop in, but they don't stop. blackbirds tend to stay on the grass underneath and go for what gets knocked off. I rarely see thrushes, once a grey heron landed on the aviary at the bottom of the garden.  Ducks, geese and swans fly over from time to time.  That seems quite a few when I list them all.


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## Guard Dog

Gumby said:


> Those definitely look like what we call here a Buzzard Hawk. Which is just a fancy name for a buzzard, I think.



Gumby, what you're describing are likely Black Buzzards. We have so many of 'em here that people are talking about taking them off the protected list, so they can be thinned out some.
( Personally, I think that's a bad idea, since rotting carcasses might possibly start piling up on the roads without 'em. )

Those in the pic look like vultures to me, btw.

G.D.


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## Olly Buckle

We see buzzards circling high sometimes, a good clue is when our owl goes crouched and studies the sky.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Country Park ramble*

Willow has seen better days 



Strange headgear was the order of the day for canoeing club members.




Meet the cygnets, proud parent leads the way.



No zoom lens required for these two.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Knole Park*

Knole is a vast mainly Jacobean private house built between 1455-1608 surrounded by a 1,000 acre deer park enclosed since 1406.
The deer are still enjoying this glorious parkland oblivious of the golfers and many visitors.







Don’t laugh, you’d need a lightening conductor too if you were stuck up here!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Caught in winters icy grip*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Rush Hour*


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## Olly Buckle

No wonder kids get things like asthma, have you any idea how many thousands of gallons of horrible, paraffin like, fuel those things burn up there to drift down on us? Someone reckoned if all the passengers in a jumbo jet got in their individual cars and drove to their destination they would use about the same amount of fuel, at least it would be relatively clean petrol. Next time you see a vapour trail think of around three hundred tractors flying over.


Rant over. It is a lovely picture.


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## -xXx-

_*calculates methane produced by veg*e*tarian/vegans*
"Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are all produced in the gut and contribute 74% of the volume of flatus in normal subjects.[20] Methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus containing adequate amounts of these can be ignited.[21] Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane." ref wiki 
*writes poooooooooooo-em*
_
;D


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Bluewater Shopping & Leisure Centre*

A repurposed Blue Circle chalk quarry, celebrates its 20th Birthday in a few days.
Even with 13,000 parking spaces there is still space for lakes and a nature trail, at this time of year few people ventured out so we had a peaceful stroll.






Its a clock


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## -xXx-

but where are the long shadows?
but where is the wiki link?
but why am i looking at e-pix
instead of running to make
my appointment on time?
wait. what?!


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## BlondeAverageReader

*An Oast of different styles*

Lost count of the number of oast houses we passed on a 4 mile ramble this morning, all now surplus to requirement but very popular with developers.





So if you fancy a challenge this one is still waiting.
Any takers?


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Marc Chagall was here. All Saints Church Tudeley Kent*

He filled a small local church with colourful windows, the only one in this country to have his work.
Asked by the Lord of the Manor to design a window as a memorial for Sarah his daughter who died in a sailing accident aged 21, he designed this.



Chagall fell on love with the church and offered to replace all the other windows, 12 in all, the final ones were installed the year he died 1985, at the age of 98.

All Saints Church 






These are only half of them.

Lots of information online, the family home was Somerhill (now a school) their name D’Avigdor-Goldsmid.


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## Underd0g

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Lost count of the number of oast houses we passed on a 4 mile ramble this morning, all now surplus to requirement but very popular with developers



What's the deal with all the threes?
Is having three towers an oast thing?


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## BlondeAverageReader

Underd0g said:


> What's the deal with all the threes?
> I having three towers an oast thing?



Other numbers are available but three is convenient as it takes a long time to load, dry and then unload and bag up the hops. They are also the best size for converting to houses.


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## -xXx-

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Lost count of the number of oast houses we passed on a 4 mile ramble this morning, all now surplus to requirement but very popular with developers.
> <snip>
> So if you fancy a challenge this one is still waiting.
> Any takers?
> 
> View attachment 23466



can't keep up with currency exhange these days.
how much would this one cost,
in say,
pickle chips?
_*stares at jar*_


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## BlondeAverageReader

-xXx- said:


> can't keep up with currency exhange these days.
> how much would this one cost,
> in say,
> pickle chips?
> _*stares at jar*_



That one isn’t for sale as far as l could see, just boarded up to keep it secure and weatherproof.
They are getting scarce now very seldom do we pass an unconverted oast, even google couldn’t find me one.
Found a single roundel conversation 2 bed for £500,000 and a 4 bed for £1.15 m, hope those chips of yours are solid gold.
I have fond memories of the hop gardens on the farm l played on as a kid, love the smell too, there are still hops growing in the hedgerows on the farm 50 odd years since the gardens were grubbed out.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Spring Greens*


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## BlondeAverageReader

*The first Bluebells*


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## Underd0g

BlondeAverageReader said:


> View attachment 23577



Our Springtime weeds are better than your Springtime weeds...


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## BlondeAverageReader

Ok, l know everything in Texas is bigger! we’ve all seen your hats.
Those Lupins are gorgeous, our garden ones are still dozing till summer arrives. When we holiday’d in Iceland there were large swathes of multi coloured Lupins growing wild in very inhospitable looking conditions, really surprised me how tough they were.
I’m looking forward to walking through woods completely carpeted with Bluebells in a week or two, smelling sweetly on a warm day, unforgettable.


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## Underd0g

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Ok, l know everything in Texas is bigger! we’ve all seen your hats.
> Those Lupins are gorgeous, our garden ones are still dozing till summer arrives. When we holiday’d in Iceland there were large swathes of multi coloured Lupins growing wild in very inhospitable looking conditions, really surprised me how tough they were.
> I’m looking forward to walking through woods completely carpeted with Bluebells in a week or two, smelling sweetly on a warm day, unforgettable.



Yeah we have a lot of pride in Texas about size (shut up Alaska) but I can genuinely say that I've never heard a bluebonnet called a lupine.
I guess you are technically correct but it just confirms that's why us 'Muricans have such a hard time understanding your "English".
If you ever find yourself in Texas and get strange looks for calling them that, just tell them that I gave you a pass.


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## BlondeAverageReader

Underd0g said:


> Yeah we have a lot of pride in Texas about size (shut up Alaska) but I can genuinely say that I've never heard a bluebonnet called a lupine.
> I guess you are technically correct but it just confirms that's why us 'Muricans have such a hard time understanding your "English".
> If you ever find yourself in Texas and get strange looks for calling them that, just tell them that I gave you a pass.



The problem isn’t English, that’s their Latin name.
[h=3]Description[/h]Lupinus texensis, the Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine. There you go your own personal State flower.

This is our Bluebell ....: Hyacinthoides non-scripta ....simply put a small type of Hyacinth.


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## Underd0g

BlondeAverageReader said:


> The problem isn’t English, that’s their Latin name.
> *Description*
> 
> Lupinus texensis, the Texas bluebonnet or Texas lupine. There you go your own personal State flower.
> 
> This is our Bluebell ....: Hyacinthoides non-scripta ....simply put a small type of Hyacinth.




I hate to give Texans the reputation of always correcting those from England,
but here, if you say "This is our Bluebell", this is what we are going to think:


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## BlondeAverageReader

Ice cream, why am l not surprised, no doubt in tooooooooo many varieties to count.
Thinking about it, it does make some sense, as Bluebell,  Buttercup and Daisy were names frequently given to cows in the past.
Years ago we had Bluebell Metal Polish, l have no idea how the makers came up with that!
This English Rose like the English Bluebell would find the climate in Texas unsuitable.


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## Underd0g

BlondeAverageReader said:


> Ice cream, why am l not surprised, no doubt in tooooooooo many varieties to count.
> Thinking about it, it does make some sense, as Bluebell,  Buttercup and Daisy were names frequently given to cows in the past.
> Years ago we had Bluebell Metal Polish, l have no idea how the makers came up with that!
> This English Rose like the English Bluebell would find the climate in Texas unsuitable.



I think we all find the climate in Texas unsuitable. We are leaving my favorite season, Summer III,... Winter to you guys.
I think I have The UK on the brain. Here is a picture of a cow I took last month. He lives next door... I'm kinda rural.
NO Photoshop I promise. How many Texans that you know would recognize the map of Southern England?


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## Olly Buckle

Underd0g said:


> How many Texans that you know would recognize the map of Southern England?
> 
> 
> View attachment 23587



UM... That is a map of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain includes Scotland and Wales, as well as Northern England. Eire, the Republic of Ireland, is shown in white.


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## midnightpoet

Yes, Olly I am a Texan who knows that, not sure about Underdog.


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## Underd0g

midnightpoet said:


> Yes, Olly I am a Texan who knows that, not sure about Underdog.



Nope, did not know that. But I acted like I did and took my chances. I blame the cow. Terrible geography teacher.


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## BlondeAverageReader

I think it’s the white blaze on the little chaps head we should be looking at, South of England, Wales and possibly Northern Ireland?
He’s gorgeous.


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## Olly Buckle

Underd0g said:


> Nope, did not know that. But I acted like I did and took my chances. I blame the cow. Terrible geography teacher.



It is a feature of cows, and that one looks very young and inexperienced as well. Be doubly careful with cows on mathematics. I must admit my American geography is hazy too, I might be familiar with the names of a few cities but outside New York and Chicago I would have trouble placing them on a map, I could probably get Washington approximately right, LA and San Francisco are both in California, somewhere on the coast, and Salt Lake City is either in Utah or Arizona. That narrows them down to an area several times the size of England I guess


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## Underd0g

Olly Buckle said:


> It is a feature of cows, and that one looks very young and inexperienced as well. Be doubly careful with cows on mathematics. I must admit my American geography is hazy too, I might be familiar with the names of a few cities but outside New York and Chicago I would have trouble placing them on a map, I could probably get Washington approximately right, LA and San Francisco are both in California, somewhere on the coast, and Salt Lake City is either in Utah or Arizona. That narrows them down to an area several times the size of England I guess



I am your typical arrogant uneducated American. 
I think it's why I like this thread so much. Since I am untraveled, I enjoy the feel here.
It's like I know The Blonde Average Reader and she accepts me for who I am.


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## Kevin

Olly Buckle said:


> UM... That is a map of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Great Britain includes Scotland and Wales, as well as Northern England. Eire, the Republic of Ireland, is shown in white.


 I was wondering where Hogwarts  is ( I know it's not real, but the castle set) and Downton Abbey? The Shire? I love hobbits. We're going someday. Can't wait to see Robon Hood, ladies pushing prams, midwives on bicycles, schoolboys in uniforms: short pants and high socks; those beanie hats. And I'm going to have an actual mash and...and, and... a banger! Hope they're good! Probably spicy ( with a name like that).


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## BlondeAverageReader

Underd0g said:


> I am your typical arrogant uneducated American.
> I think it's why I like this thread so much. Since I am untraveled, I enjoy the feel here.
> It's like I know The Blonde Average Reader and she accepts me for who I am.



It’s not about who, what or where you come from but how you treat the people you’re in contact with.
l’ve never crossed the pond so anything l can see pictures of or read about from members in America is fascinating, l try to return the favour by explaining my side of the pond. We may be small compared to the US but at least we don’t have to drive far to find interesting sights, hopefully with an English Tea Shop selling Cream Teas. :triumphant:


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## Olly Buckle

Kevin said:


> I was wondering where Hogwarts  is ( I know it's not real, but the castle set) and Downton Abbey? The Shire? I love hobbits. We're going someday. Can't wait to see Robon Hood, ladies pushing prams, midwives on bicycles, schoolboys in uniforms: short pants and high socks; those beanie hats. And I'm going to have an actual mash and...and, and... a banger! Hope they're good! Probably spicy ( with a name like that).



They use all sorts of places for those film sets and mix them up, you have probably seen Bodiam Castle about a mile down the road from us in at least one film
https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bodiam+castle&FORM=HDRSC2

I have never noticed Robin Hood, prams are almost a rarity nowadays and midwives turn up in Mitsubishis. I used to wear a uniform like that, and to be fair there are a few schools that still have them, but they are mostly fee paying. Beanie hats are everywhere. 'Bangers' have improved since the days when they put so much water in sausages they would explode when fried, hence 'bangers', but there are plenty of places serving good traditional food, we went to a local pub today, http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/36/65/2366557_5650bc28.jpg, 
and I had shepherd's pie.

It may not all be like it is in the films, but there are still lots of beautiful places.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Keeping it in the family*




This plaque is on Ferox Hall Tonbridge his parents home where he had his laboratory.
[FONT=&Verdana][FONT=&Verdana]He invented a method to extract silver from ore without the need for mercury.
Some sources claim his daughter was the first woman to create a photograph. [/FONT][/FONT]


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Rambling around Leigh & Penshurst*

View attachment 23620
Penshurst Place



Penshurst Church......reached through this passage



Houses come in all shapes and styles



This is my all time favourite, a gatehouse in Leigh.
It will soon be partly covered in Wisteria.


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## Underd0g

"My Flesh Also Shall... ?"


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## BlondeAverageReader

Underd0g said:


> "My Flesh Also Shall... ?"



rest in hope.


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## BlondeAverageReader

*Wet & Dry*


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## Bard_Daniel

LOVE the first picture. Wow!


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## BlondeAverageReader




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## BlondeAverageReader

*No, don’t laugh it’s heading your way.*


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