Cherie's Place

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Kent & Chichester Day Five

After breakfast we made our way to Arundel in order to visit the castle. The lady who sold us our tickets helped us choose the most economical way to purchase tickets given that we were able to claim discounts. She advised us to visit the gardens first and then make our way to the shop where we should upgrade our tickets to include the castle interior. The rose and walled gardens, with their fountains, were spectacular and at their best.

We also visited the Fitzalan Chapel which is the Eastern end of a church building. This is divided by glass from the Southern end which is home to the Parish Church. This is one of very few churches that is currently divided in this way, Catholic in one half and Anglican in the other.

After upgrading our ticket we had lunch. Our next port of call was the castle keep which is the oldest part of the castle. As we got higher up the castle keep this caused me a problem due to the narrowness of the spiral staircase. I was struggling to balance whilst holding my bag and camera out of the way. Eventually I made it and the views were worth the struggle.

Before we descended via another spiral staircase Mr C put my bag in his rucksack. Ironically this staircase was wider that the staircase on the way up.

The rooms in the castle were full of interesting treasures and history and the rooms guides ready to impart additional information and answer questions. The library which had at one time been the long gallery was spectacular.

Before leaving the castle we had another drink in the cafe and I purchased guide books about the castle and chapel. As I was making the purchase the lady who served me was pleased that I was buying ‘The Arundel Church with the Fitzalan Chapel’ guide because she was featured in a couple of the photographs. I asked her to point the photo out to me; it is one of her singing in the Church Choir which led to us having a conversation about choral singing.

Whilst leaving the castle we met the lady who had sold us our entry ticket earlier in the day. She remembered us and asked if we had enjoyed our day and whether we were staying in the area. She asked what other things we planned to visit before offering some suggestions of her own to add to our list. She told us about a lake with walks just beyond the castle and also a Wildlife and Wetlands Trust (WWT) reserve .

We had a short amount of time to spare so we went to investigate. We weren’t in the mood for the lake so we went to investigate the WWT reserve when Mr C rather rashly paid to go in even though we only intended on spending half an hour there.

The visit was very enjoyable and we saw many species of ducks and geese, several of which Mr C had not seen before. Unfortunately I had left my hat in the car so needed to seek out shady places to cool off whilst enjoying the lake views.

For our evening meal we dined al fresco in Purchases Restaurant which had a continental feel to it. Once again the food was delicious. After the meal Mr C took me into Wetherspoons for a nightcap before returning to the B&B. The noisy atmosphere was quite a contrast to the lovely ambience of the restaurant and there was a miscommunication on what wine was available. It was another venue to strike off our list of return visits

Tags: Arundel, Arundel Castle, Chapel, Chichester, Church, Fitzalen Chapel, No. 4, Purchases Restaurant, Vacation, Wildlife and Wetlands Trust

8 Comments CherryPie on Jul 11th 2018

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Kent & Chichester – Day Four

After a satisfying breakfast we visited the Bishop’s Palace Gardens which are next door to No. 4 Canon Lane. The gardens are beautiful and free to enter. After touring the gardens we drove to the Weald & Downland Living museum, arriving just as it was opening for the day.

The museum is home to rescued rural buildings which are set in a 40 acre wooded landscape. We found the museum to be excellent and spent almost 4 hours there. Lunch was taken overlooking the pool, watching dragonflies flitting around. We had an informal talk about the watermill by one of the guides. The mill and machinery were working and the guide, sporting a finger bandage, sheepishly told us how he had managed to place his finger in a part of the machinery where it shouldn’t have been.

Walking the distances around the landscape had racked up my daily step count and I was well on my way to reaching a personal best of 20,000 steps in a day, so, when we returned to Chichester, I accompanied Mr C in the quest to find suitable restaurants for the rest of the week. This is something he normally does on his own.

After all that walking we stopped for a refreshing drink in Wetherspoon’s before we returned to the B&B to relax and freshen up before dining in the Giggling Squid. The food and service in this restaurant, which serves Thai cuisine, was excellent. After our meal, we had a drink in the Boar’s Head before returning to the B&B for the night.

Tags: No. 4 Canon Lane, The Bishop's Palace Gardens, The Giggling Squid, The Weald & Downland Living Museum, There's Always One

12 Comments CherryPie on Jul 10th 2018

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Kent & Chichester – Day Three

Mr C and I were up bright and early and before almost everyone else. We sat reading in the room that has been named The Library until everyone else was up and about. After a late breakfast of scotch pancakes, bacon, sausage and maple syrup, we said our goodbyes and set off towards Chichester. Taking a leisurely drive, we stopped off in Rye for a cup of tea.

It was quite a jaunt from the car park to the town and when we arrived Mr C walked past all the tea shops to see if he could find one overlooking the water. He failed in his search and so settled for one that I was uncertain about. I didn’t say anything because after the long walk I was ready for a refreshing cold drink. We sat and waited for someone to come and take our order. We were still waiting 10 minutes later, as were several other people. Mr C asked if I thought we should leave to which I agreed.

I directed him to another tea shop which had caught my eye as we walked past. This was a far better choice and we were served immediately. The food looked delicious but we had only just had breakfast so we didn’t indulge.

Once back at the car we continued on our journey towards Chichester, detouring along the coast in order to find a suitable seafront place for lunch. We spotted a nice tea shop in Eastbourne and decided to stop there. However, we had a change of plan when Mr C suggested having fish for lunch. I looked at the menu and thought the idea was fun. Mr C chose battered fish whilst I elected to have fish bites with sea salt, herbs and tartar sauce. The man who served us said, semi jokingly, not to let the seagulls get it.

We made our way to the seafront and sat on a bench next to the gardens which were seagull free. I was just finishing my last piece of fish when I felt a tug on the piece of fish I was holding causing me to exclaim! I found myself eye to eye with a seagull that had swooped down silently with precision from behind me. As my hold on the tasty morsel was greater than his, he let go and sat a couple of feet away from me eyeing me up. I removed the end of the fish that he had grabbed and finished the rest as several of his mates lined up with him eying me up. Mr C threw the remaining morsel of fish in their direction causing the seagulls to dive for it.

Following this adventure we took a walk along the promenade where Mr C indulged in a Mr Whippy ice cream before we took a stroll along the pier. Whilst we were on the pier I noticed other seagulls trying to grab ice creams from unsuspecting people (unsuccessfully) by using the same silent dive-from-behind technique.

After returning to our car we continued along the coast road through Brighton, which was disappointing because a lot of the buildings were covered in scaffolding. The drive was taking a little longer than we liked so we headed inland to speed up the journey. Just as we were arriving near Chichester we received a call from the B&B wondering where we were as the paperwork they had been given advised that we would be arriving at 3pm when in fact we had notified that we would be arriving between 4-5pm.

The B&B is tucked away behind the Cathedral and it took a couple of circuits of Chichester to find it. On arrival we checked in and were shown to our room which was a delight with armchairs in the bay window overlooking the garden. Unfortunately the Cathedral was under wraps because of roof restorations. After we had unpacked and freshened up, we headed into town to find a suitable place to dine. It being Sunday many dining places weren’t open, limiting our options.

As we were considering a menu that was mostly burgers and steak, a man offered a couple of suggestions; Carluccios and Brasserie Blanc. He then gave us directions on how to get to them. We opted for Brasserie Blanc due to its varied menu options. After we had finished dining it was too soon to return to the B&B so we stopped off at a pub. At 10.30 the barman called last orders and promptly turned the lights on and the music off. It is a good job we hadn’t taken him up on his call for last orders, we wouldn’t have enjoyed it!! Instead of returning the glasses to the bar as we would normally do we left them on the table and decided not to return on another night.

Tags: Brasserie Blanc, Chichester, Eastbourne, No. 4 Canon Lane, Rye, Seagull, Vacation

16 Comments CherryPie on Jul 9th 2018

Filed under Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Cherie’s Place – Thought for the Week

If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.

St. Clement of Alexandria

Tags: Cherie's Place Thought, Flight, Hope, Robin, Vacation

13 Comments CherryPie on Jul 8th 2018

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Kent & Chichester – Day Two

Everyone was up bright and early. After a breakfast of buttered toast it was time t0 make preparations for the housewarming party that was taking place that evening. Initially, we weren’t needed for any of the preparations so we took a short walk to the nearby Parish Church of St. Mary Willesborough.

The church looked delightful from the outside but on entering it looked a little cold and clinical because the pews had been removed and the area around the altar seemed a little bit cluttered. The people of the church were welcoming and when Mr C stopped for a cup of tea and tea cake in the teashop he got chatting to the lady who served him. He asked about the pews being removed and was told that this was to enable ‘Messy Church‘ to take place on a Saturday. They found that this increased community engagement that encouraged more people to attend church services on a Sunday leading to the reintroduction of Sunday School.

Upon our return to the house, party preparations were in full flow and we were put on bunting duty which was not as easy as it sounds. We were attaching bunting to a fence whilst standing on a fairly busy road. Thankfully we completed the task without any problems although one car tooted at us. We were then sent to the local Co-Op to pick up bottles of soft drinks. As there had been no talk of lunch, whilst we were there I bought a salmon salad snack which I ate in the car before we returned to the house. A short while after we returned we were advised that lunch was served; this turned out to be bread, cheese and ham.

Shortly afterwards this the first of the party guests arrived. We enjoyed meeting and chatting with many of the guests. One of them, in many ways, reminded me of a friend of mine. The younger guests enjoyed splashing around in the swimming pool until the buffet was served during which time the pool was closed. After the younger guests had left the pool was reopened for the students and older children to enjoy whilst the adults chilled out with a glass of wine or two.

Tags: Family, Friends, Kent, Parish Church of St. Mary Willesborough., Vacation

8 Comments CherryPie on Jul 7th 2018

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

Kent & Chichester – Day One

We set off a little later than planned for the first stage of our holiday where we were staying with family in Kent for a housewarming party before moving on to Chichester.

Despite the late start we were still in time to stop for lunch at Little Amsterdam, Banbury. Suitably refreshed we carried on with our journey which was slow and tedious due to congestion on the motorway around London.

We eventually arrived at our destination. We were given a tour of the house before a well earned aperitif before dinner.

Tags: Banbury, House Warming, Kent, Little Amsterdam Cafe, Vacation

16 Comments CherryPie on Jul 5th 2018

Filed under Anecdotes, Holidays, Kent & Chichester 2018

A Room With a View

I have now successfully completed my 50 day walking challenge where I aimed to walk at least 10,000 per day. There were only two days when I couldn’t achieve this. I had factored those days in and had steps in the bank to cover the shortfall. The two days were when I was travelling down south for a family gathering before we embarked on our travels in Chichester for a week.