tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post3077879594669353221..comments2024-03-13T07:34:24.149+00:00Comments on The Age of Uncertainty: Saturday in KentSteerforthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-19859362615579917612010-04-04T07:18:15.577+00:002010-04-04T07:18:15.577+00:00Yes, it's still at an angle. A sad sight.Yes, it's still at an angle. A sad sight.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-11685193130744607592010-04-03T22:08:24.608+00:002010-04-03T22:08:24.608+00:00My one abiding memory of Sheppy is arriving at the...My one abiding memory of Sheppy is arriving at the city centre to be confronted with a sign bearing three words : "DHSS", "Prison" and "Beach". <br /><br />Is the weather vane on the Sheerness tower still crooked? It was listing at a 45 degree angle last time I saw it.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05874971733723914974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-34350650444931401972010-03-11T05:08:08.299+00:002010-03-11T05:08:08.299+00:00What an interesting post. I enjoyed living vicario...What an interesting post. I enjoyed living vicariously through your day of exploration. The remains of Sheerness looked fascinating. I work in Historic Preservation on large abandoned government installations so I know the charm and sadness they can embody.Thomas Hogglestockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14284352537015457974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-12279860811885139852010-03-10T13:22:24.087+00:002010-03-10T13:22:24.087+00:00I'm not sure that you're correct that it i...I'm not sure that you're correct that it is the only part of the mainland to be invaded since 1066. I'm fairly sure that there were a number of short lived invasions of English coastal towns (such as Rye) during the 100 years war. I shall look up Barbara Tuchman when I get home this evening.Resolute Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543167556221747469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-55889541361175483382010-03-09T22:09:59.591+00:002010-03-09T22:09:59.591+00:00Brian - I'm not an expert on this, but I think...Brian - I'm not an expert on this, but I think the licensed sex shop is a hangover from pre-internet days, when Britain's obscenity laws meant that access to pornography could be limited to specific outlets. It's an odd idea, I know.<br /><br />Alienne - I'll try the Little Gem - I walked past it and was very tempted to go in. <br /><br />I've never seen "Half a Sixpence", but I'll make a point of watching it next time it's on.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting. I know that the blog gets a certain number of hits per day, but I never know how many of these are from readers, rather than someone in Lithuania searching for an image of Bonnie Tyler. <br /><br />Laura, you're right and in its own way, the Isle of Sheppey felt more like the other side of the world than Chile ever did.<br /><br />Rob - Thanks for pointing me to Roy's blog - I really liked it.<br /><br />Caroline - I know what you mean. I remember a drive from Rotterdam to Hoek van Holland and was amazed at the amount of industry. I wanted to see some historic towns, but the people I was staying with wanted to show me oil refineries and the delta works.<br /><br />Brett - Thanks for your kind words. I would love to write something that was good enough to be published - I just hope that practice makes perfect.<br /><br />Hannah - Yes, I'm always reminded of Dickens when I'm in certain parts of Kent - and not the Dickens that the tourist boards would like to promote.Steerforthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07627936539372313828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-64099002500617909702010-03-09T09:09:44.003+00:002010-03-09T09:09:44.003+00:00A great and very funny post - thank you very much....A great and very funny post - thank you very much. I know what you mean by the dark side of Kent - I always think of this when I read Charles Dickens and it is still there today - despite the "garden of England" ideas churned out by the tourist authority. Sounds like you found plenty to do anyway - <br /><br />thanks indeed for sharing<br /><br />HannahHannah Stonehamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11139146341592918233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-61064220663650757812010-03-09T05:52:04.631+00:002010-03-09T05:52:04.631+00:00A marvelous and funny post. I love the M. R. Jame...A marvelous and funny post. I love the M. R. James moment in the graveyard, the zombies of Sheerness, and the lewd arrow on the sex shop sign.<br /><br />I've read about those Kentish oasthouses in several novels with scenes of the hop harvest.<br /><br />Regarding your "tower" link, yes, Hodgson's "The House on the Borderland" is well known in the U.S. among fans of the Cthulhu Mythos.<br /><br />You have a talent for travel writing, Steerforth. I bet you could get published.Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09389916070547430075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-50873703374212071802010-03-08T22:36:09.488+00:002010-03-08T22:36:09.488+00:00Believe me, we Dutch have our very own horrible pl...Believe me, we Dutch have our very own horrible places. Proof of that is, that I actually go to Kent to spend holidays there.Carolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731571448327467140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-57490728733779896182010-03-08T22:07:40.319+00:002010-03-08T22:07:40.319+00:00Lovely pictures, and fascinating to see these unre...Lovely pictures, and fascinating to see these unregarded corners. You might like <a href="http://walkinghometo50.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">the blog</a> of my colleague Roy Bayfield, which is about his walks around similarly obscure places. He's currently having a little hiatus whilst waiting for his heart to be bypassed.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11647405720597546140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-43035643935965326482010-03-08T21:58:14.931+00:002010-03-08T21:58:14.931+00:00Well you still seem to manage to have just as many...Well you still seem to manage to have just as many adventures trekking round Kent for a day as Chile for a week.<br /><br />Wonderful pictures. How sad re the Isle of Sheppey. Sounds like the sex shop is the last entertainment they have left.<br /><br />I imagine the freight depot guards were too ashamed of its sheer awfulness to permit photographs. I do hope so.The Poet Laura-eatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07779308486569849157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-54867974090992500522010-03-08T21:40:23.596+00:002010-03-08T21:40:23.596+00:00I have been lurking for some time, just reading yo...I have been lurking for some time, just reading your posts but I had to comment on this one! <br /><br />I have spent a lot of time in Aylesford in the past - that is the bridge Tommy Steele is singing on at the beginning of Half a Sixpence. If you go there again try the Little Gem in the main street - it is supposed to be one of the oldest, as well as smallest pubs in England. Just mind your head on the Minstrels' Gallery. It was so nice to see the picture of Kits Coty - I pass close to it everytime I go to visit my mother and everytime I think I must stop and see it again. I will now. And Sheerness!! All the bleak days I spent there as a child came flooding back - we always used to look for the wreck of the ship (can't remember the name) carrying gelignite that went down in the estuary in the war - you can see one end of it sticking out of the water. I have only driven through Faversham but must stop there too, it looks lovely.<br /><br />I followed the link to your previous post which was also fascinating - I am a native of the Medway towns though I now live in Tunbridge Wells so I knew everything you were talking about (including Grain and Hadlow).<br /><br />Thanks for the memories.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32570460.post-79818676626947906352010-03-08T21:13:36.764+00:002010-03-08T21:13:36.764+00:00Forgive my ignorance, but a licensed sex shop? Rea...Forgive my ignorance, but a <i>licensed</i> sex shop? Really? I dare not ask what sort of process is involved.<br /><br />With Pierre Trudeau's "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation" and all that, I suddenly feel like I'm living in some sort of sexual playground.Brian Busbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04120341319506205062noreply@blogger.com