Long After Day 2

My regular readers might have noticed that 'Kent & Sussex Weekend - Day 1' was not immediately followed by the 'Day 2' you might have expected. We got back from our Sunday travels with more photographs than I could quickly process and there were many other things to keep me busy too. Thus passed Sunday evening, Monday and most of Tuesday. At the weekend we had completed a surprisingly coherent itinerary on which there was so much to see that compromises had to be made. Thus no emergency vehicles and only one Chinese restaurant featured in my day's work. Bright weather accompanied an early departure from Maidstone. Sutton Valence castle eluded me apparently because of discontinuous or poorly placed signage and we stopped first at Headcorn airfield. I have made a similar visit before and enjoyed myself on both occasions. The ground was waterlogged but it had not stopped operations in key areas and I stayed to watch the first jump of the day from G-OHPC which I more usually see on radar. At Tenterden, the Kent and East Sussex Railway had a running day but, unfortunately, it was a Thomas day. I steered well clear of the shoals of children and the £12.50 entrance fee which would have made for expensive photography on a day when I had no opportunity to travel and satisfied myself with lineside photography. I do not care for faces on locomotives but, even with such an adornment, the noisy arrival of 1638 'Duck' with a mixed goods was exciting. Sissinghurst offered an interesting Penny Farthing sculpture cum installation and we moved on to East Grinstead. The Spa Valley Railway was closed but the Smith & Western hotel is a reminder of the once routine external opulence of many station buildings.

The main objective of the day was the Bluebell Railway on which we visited Horsted Keynes and Sheffield Park stations. I enjoyed both very much. Only as we prepared to leave the southerly station did it start to spit with rain and on the way home it rained heavily. The future demands another similar circuit with different stops perhaps including castles and gardens. This weekend had taken us to four heritage railways so perhaps something more balanced towards Greg is called for.

Monday brought more bad weather and a shopping trip for Mum. There were few photographic opportunities but I mentally catalogued some more Chinese restaurants. The evening brought some unexpected tray related memories which I posted, with photographs, on Facebook and Flickr. The prospect of five days out of six as Watch Supervisor gave rise to some apprehension as I have less confidence in my ability than might sometimes appear to be the case. Tuesday, the first of the six, brought many and diverse tasks and plenty of decision making. There appeared to be little time between breakfast and lunch and then, almost seamlessly, I was in Sainsburys with Greg to shop and, in particular, to buy our preferred mineral water. Nights would not be the same without a glass by the bed and in fact, as I write, I am imagining that scene as I hope to get some decent sleep.