Monday,

started out windy to say the least, 

the pub outside our hotel window, built in 1853!

all set for the next day of our short holiday,

and it was windy! we had this morning enquired about a boat trip to the Maunsell Sea Forts, but we were told that it was so windy all trips had been cancelled, so that was that!

on to plan 'B', 

along the harbour, for our breakfast this mourning, 

I have always liked the idea of loving on a boat, just like this one, well maybe a little larger, say 20 -25 tons or so, a 50 footer, 

I was tempted with the cockle and whelk stall, but the thought of a English fry up won!

we had hoped that the Cervia was open, 

but alas it was closed, 

on towards our breakfast, at the Royal Victoria,

I mentioned it was windy, Diana's hair was going everywhere!

in we went, 

we snagged a table, 

with a view of one of the harbour arms, and the sea,

our breakfasts arrived, 

so eyes down and tuck in, 

and then it started to rain, 

and as you can see at the end of this short video it really chucked it down!

and then it hailed, huge chunks of ice were being washed down the concrete, 

looking out of the other window more was on its way, we waited along time for the rain to stop, Diana mentioned it did not seem that cold outside, but there it is, the bill for our breakfast with unlimited tea, coffee and chocolate came to £17.80, 

as we made a move to go outside, at the side window I noticed this, 

a huge pile of unwanted ice cubes! so that was where the hail was coming from, the cubes were being brought past us by the wind and rain! D'Oh! 

we started walking towards the tunnels we had not visited on out last visit here,

the skies were starting to clear,

and here we were, at the Ramsgate Tunnels,

well I just had too!

naturally we had just missed the 12.00 tour and did not really want to wait for the 2.00 tour, 

but there were still a number of exhibits to look at, 

so in we went, 

there were a number of stalls laid out, 

and a rather nice railway layout, 

of how the tunnel would have appeared before WW II, 

during the war the railways we were not used, 

and rather like the underground tunnels in London,

civilians used the tunnels to shelter from bombs dropped during conflict, 

the area before the tunnel tour started was large, with many relics from the day,

this huge piece of equipment striking fear into the hearts of thousand, and saving the lives of hundreds, this air raid siren was almost as tall as I was, it is a Type 1474 or Gents 1474, also known as the Type A.R.P, it is one of the most well-known Gents' sirens. The Type 1474 is a medium sized dual rotor siren that closely matches Carter and Castle Castings sirens in sound. The Type 1474 was available in 10/12-port dual tone only as standard, driven by a dual sided 4 hp AC motor running at 50 Hz, single or three phase. The Type 1474 is unique and distinctive in appearance, using conical shaped stators. The reason for this is unknown, but it is possibly an attempt to direct some of the sound towards the intakes. The Type 1474 was available with optional coding dampers similar to those used by the Klaxon CS8 and Federal 3T22, which would allow it to create a pulse or hi-lo signal. These dampers would be included with extended, pointed intakes, and the solenoid mechanism was located underneath each intake, 

and here is a similar one in action, this is a Castle Castings air raid siren running on 3 Phase, sounding pretty similar to the 1474, 

one of the towns more well know inhabitants, 

we carried on exploring the tunnel,

stopping every now and then,

to look at the displays, this one for kids of the time, 

air raid wardens duties and communications,

and of course the woman's volunteer services,

I remember as a kid so many families had these, and over the years threw them all out, gas masks thankfully never needed by the civilian population,

more civil defence items, 

and as Diana commented here, this all looks like Dad's Army!

we reached the end and retraced our steps on the other side of the tunnel,

a park bench, 

that survived the bombings, 

sleeping arraignments were pretty basic,

and to the left a reminder of how bad things could get, 

it was a interesting look around, 

as we started our walk back to the station, 

looking back at the tunnel entrance,

and the gayly painted staircase up the cliff face,

the skies were clearing quite fast, 

the wind really helping, 

as we neared town the profile of the seafood stall looking like the wheelhouse of a ship,

we passed the shops and pubs opposite the harbour, 

nice blue skies,

and fluffy white clouds over the town,

as we made our way past the yachts, 

I spied this one, of all of the boats moored here, 

this is the one I would like the most, 

we arrived at the station, 

then a bit of drama, as Diana managed to lock herself in the ladies restroom, I had to open the door from the outside, 

on the train, 

and we were soon homeward bound, 

passing fields, 

of almost impossibly yellow rape seed plants, 

over the Rochester bridge, 

the Russian submarine still moored in the River Medway,

arriving in Beckenham we walked into the park,

the wisteria on Foxgrove Lodge, 

now really starting to flower, 

as were a number of other plants,

in the side garden,

cherry blossoms filled the air, 

the house next to the tennis courts had a slightly different wisteria growing on it, 

all of the flowers totally white, arriving home it was feet up for a coffee, and a nice surprise, 

there in the distance,

although there was no rain, a rainbow,

what a lovely note to end our short holiday on, after our evening meal we watched a couple of, for us, new Midsomer Murders, after which as Diana has a early start tomorrow, we were off to bed.