I Am Only Making One Post Today,

for two reasons,

 firstly there are lots of photographs and it takes time to upload and write about them, and secondly Richard is fitting the carpet upstairs this morning, so I will be giving him a helping hand, so on onto our day, it all started out well, train to Bromley South,

 but arriving there we found out that there were no trains going directly to Rochester due to maintenance on the tracks, we had to take a train to Sawnley and then to Rochester,

 so rather later than we hoped for we passed,

 the Russian submarine moored in the River Medway,

 and we finally arrived at Rochester,

 and straight away we were seeing people in period dress,

 the street closed to traffic,

 we started our walk, 

 this weekend is Dickens weekend, many of the locals dress up as characters from his books,

 the trick is guessing which character in which book the costumes refer to, 

 without the help of the town cryer, 

 we had not eaten breakfast,

 so a quick look at some of the food stalls,

 but first,

 some of the local school children, 

 were putting on a display, 

 of dance,

 Ta-Dah! 

 beside the castle wall other performers looked on,

we continued past the cathedral,

 to the craft fair,  

 there were two rows of tents, 

 starting with the Olde Tea Shoppe,

 in we went,

 well a quick pose first,

 tents lined both sides of the square,

 and thankfully for both days of the weekend it did not rain,

 as the name implies,

 there were lots of stalls,

 selling locally made goods,

 from clothes,

 to sweets,

 this one bucking the trend by selling imported goods,

 this stall looked interesting, selling soilless plant kits,

 we made our way back along the other side of the square,

 looking at the shops there, 

 outside of the craft fair we came across these three people, from the home of the brave and the land of the free, Scotland,

 a look back at the cathedral through a huge tree outside of it,

 by now things had grown considerably busier, 

 looking in the window I saw these planters which looked so different, what great mini greenhouses they are,

 we passed the florists,

 with the balloon girl,

 bell ringers practicing on a miniature series of bells,

 passing the monument,

 we came across the prize giving for the best costumes,

 and some of the outfits were stunning, 

 the steampunks receiving some attention from I guess a tourist,

 a few more couples walked by,

 and now it was time for breakfast/lunch,

 Diana told me that since my crown had fallen out again not to smile,

 so I tried not to,  

 Diana choose a chicken pattanna, a chicken and ham roll for myself,

 and this is where we had just been eating, the Garden House, a family run business which will hopefully do well, the food and prices were excellent,

 walking along the High Street, I noticed a sign above a pathway,

 it speaks for itself, 

 it was a glorious day,

with so many taking the time and trouble,

 to turn out in fabulous dresses,

 and costumes,

 a smile for the camera, 

 from the happy couple,

 who stop by,

 and have a chat with these three ladies, 

 another lady out for an afternoon stroll, 

 as is this one,

 past the flower shop,

 and a nice play on words for this Thai restaurant,

 we meet again,

 as some ladies take a rest,

 at the start of the High Street,

 the Scottish band assemble,

 to lead the parade, 

 so the characters from Dickens,

 make their way,

 to the start of the street,

 any guesses as to who this character is?

 a very nice bustle,

 here a gentleman,

 snake oil seller,

 tries to interest me in his wares,

 and when that did not work he tried the lady standing in front of Diana,

 no sale there, so moving on he tried Diana! 

 I think his sales patter needed a bit of fine tuning, 2 for the price of 3 was never going to catch on!

more characters,

 walked by,

 you can hire costumes for the event, 

 but I am guessing,

 a lot of these are the result of many hours work at home,

 I am not too sure what this extra tall figure is supposed to represent,

 the drums and pipers,

 start to assemble,

 with Fagin looking on, 

 last minute instructions,

 another one I know, Scrooge,

 and another lovely dress,

 all is ready,

 except,

 Dave, who cowers at the ribbing the band give him,

 well someone has to lead them,

 a few practise rolls,

 on the drums,

 and it is time for the off,

 so here goes,

 for a short tune,

 and I have to say they sounded remarkably good,

 this was just a warm up,

 to get everyone in position,

 there were a few latecomers alerted by the first tune,

 in the distance the two balloonist we saw at Chatham docks on our last visit to the Medway towns,

 the band,

 formed a square,

 then baton, (is that the correct word for it?), raised,

 and the parade begins,

and here is the video that Diana made of it,

 following the band,

 all of the characters,

 that Charles Dickens, 

 through his writing made so famous,

 as you might expect it was a great day out,

 for all concerned,

 but there was one here who did not have a costume,

 or even a coat!

 I have no idea,

 who this tall gentleman is supposed to represent,

 but I do know a fireman when I see one,

 then the ladies,

 of the night called by, 

 all very happy, 

 next the steam punks,

 with their unique,

 take on fashion,

 all of the cast was there,

 including the snake oil seller,

 at the rear some of the school children,

 and a knight, 

 or two,

 accompanying some of the other characters, 

with children, 

 as we watched the procession fade into the distance,

 a huge booming voice behind me said, 'hello Stan and Diana', it was Alan,

 so looking for the nearest pub we popped in for a beer and a chat,

 after saying our goodbyes we were on our way,

 passing East Gate, 

 with it's red letter box,

 and legend,

 we passed a part of the outer wall,

 as we made our way back to the station,

 looking back to the castle,

 we were soon heading to Rainham,

 where Steve kindly picked us up from the staton, as he had invited us for a meal at his home, we decided as it was so nice to sit in his immaculate garden,

 I was immediately taken by these,

 celosia, some looking like coral,

 and some looking like spikes,

 a quick look at the man shed,

 and a pose by Diana,

 Steve has spent so much time planning and developing his garden,

 it looks nice from every angle,

 and the water features are so nice,

 to look at and listen to,

 and here we are,

 Steve had prepared a delicious prawn cocktail,

 Diana was eyeing the strawberries! 

 and another real treat, baked salmon, 

 and here we both are, 'Cheers!',

  on to desserts, absolutely stunning, the diet definitely starts tomorrow! after thanking Steve for all of his efforts at making such a wonderful meal, we said our goodbyes and he kindly dropped us off at the station, 

 where our problems begin, the first train being late did not connect with the second train so we had a 25 minute wait at Swanley, and exactly the same at Bromley,

so it took hours for us to get home, as soon as we relaxed it was a quick nightcap, we reflected on what a nice day it had been, and the thought that Steve had put into making such a lovely meal for us all, and with that we were off to bed.