I made it!

Back in a few days.

All over, bar the shouting

Now that it's all over and flights are more or less back to normal, our local newspaper published  some interesting bits and pieces of information.

A quarter of a million people passed through the port of Dover during the crisis.  21,500 of these were foot passengers, about 10 times the normal number.
Capacity was increased on some ships.

Freight carriers increased staff so that they could take more passengers.

Carriers who don't normally take foot passengers ran coaches to carry them.
The increase in traffic was felt by trains, taxis and car hire firms as well as the ferry companies.

Of course, the problems didn't end at Dover for people who managed to return to the UK because so many of them then had to retrieve cars from wherever they had left them, Heathrow, Gatwick or further afield.

Addiction

The word "addiction" doesn't have to refer to a dependency on a chemical substance of whatever type, it can also refer to a compulsion to a behaviour such as gambling, or even computer use.  Hmm, yes, there's that too.

I thought I'd share with you my latest addiction.  It might do me good.  I have become addicted to picking up stones off that shingle beach. There are so many different sorts, you see.

 There are red stones.

There are speckled stones.

There are heart shaped stones (if you use your imagination)

There are stones with strange markings.

There are smooth stones which I try to build into Zen formations.

There are hag stones, stones with holes right through.  They are also known as witch stones, fairy stones, eye stones and holy stones.  They are supposed to be charms that protect against malevolent witchcraft.

There are more, believe me, there are many more: black ones, sparkly ones, knobbly ones.  I could go on.  I just have to hope it doesn't progress into full-blown beach-combing.

The cloud has lifted

The cloud has lifted, if not literally, at least in a manner of speaking, and the aeroplanes are reappearing in the sky.  That means it looks likely that our holiday in Prague will happen after all.

In the meantime, the ferries continue to play relay races.

It has been a busy few days on the water.  I should say busier - it's always busy.

Covered

The cannon at Walmer Castle, on the south east corner of England, point out over the sea, the English Channel, keeping the beach covered from invasion as they did in days gone by.  As you can see, when I took this picture in January, the ground was still partially covered in snow.  I love walking along that beach.

I particularly enjoy it just after high tide when the sea has covered the beach with all sorts of interesting things.  The shingle (pebbles) which covers the whole area is interesting in itself - so many different colours and shapes..

Nearby there is a building which used to be Royal marine barracks.  It has a distinctive clock tower covered by a cupola.  The sun sets behind the building and so presents a frequent photo-opportunity.

You may have heard that most of northern and western Europe is covered by a cloud of fine volcanic ash.  One of the only possible silver linings for this particular cloud is that it's likely to produce some spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  The picture above was taken last night.  Pleasant though it may be, it's no better than many I've already seen here.  My thoughts are more with those people in Iceland who have far greater problems than a covering cloud of fine ash.

If you'd like to join in the PhotoHunt, find alternative interpretations of covered and other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find out more.

A Tudor Rose built in stone

If you walk past Deal Castle, you won't appreciate its shape and you may even not be very impressed, not if you're a fan of large and impressive castles.  Deal is a low and rather squat building, but ideal for its purpose. The low profile presented a very small target for the enemy and that is why it was built.

The walls of high medieval castles aren't well adapted to withstanding heavy fire so the castles built by Henry VIII to withstand the threat of invasion from Europe in 1538 were very different.  They had thick walls with a central round keep surrounded by semi-circular bastions.  Deal is a prime example, especially since later additions of warden's were destroyed during the Second World War.  That particular cloud had a silver lining because it restored the castle to its original state.

In the 18th century, the parapets were changed from the original more rounded appearance into the current shape, more like the crenellation usually imagined as a "typical" castle. There were cannon on top of the central keep, and on the lower bastions, giving three levels in all, with 145 gun ports.

In this picture you can see the slope of the paving, upwards away from the parapets.  This was to counteract the recoil from the cannon.

Inside there were further gun ports in vaulted chambers with vents to allow smoke to escape.

These were on ground floor level, with the kitchens and soldiers' room. Beneath this was the basement, or "rounds", a continuous circular passage with still further gun ports, an ammunition store, and at the centre a well.

The copper door to the ammunition store, to protect against sparks.

The well in the basement.  Hand pumps in various places drew water from this well.  A laundry was installed at a later date.

On the upper floor of the keep were rooms for officers.  These were refurbished during the 18th century.

An old fireplace in the officers' quarters.

The rooms are all odd shapes but it's really only outside that you can appreciate the shape of the whole castle.  Better still is an aerial view but this artist's view shows not only how the parapets have been altered and how the sea has retreated, but it also gives a very clear impression of the Tudor Rose shape.

Fresh fish and ferries

A fishing boat coming home at the end of a day successfully, judging by the number of seagulls following, while the ferries continue crossing from Dover to Dunkirk and back.

Sweet

There is almost nothing sweet in my house.  We do keep sugar for visitors in this old sugar container that must be 50+ years old.  It used to belong to my mother, one of a set of three.

But as you can see, we do offer an alternative form of sweetness.  And that is it, that is the sum total of sweet things at home, and it made me think I'd struggle for photos.  Not so.  I hadn't realised just how much time I seem to spend with my nose glued to the windows of shops selling sweet things.  The following shots are just the tip of a sweet iceberg.

A tea, sweet and ice cream shop

A cake shop

More sweets, marzipan

I seem to have, unconsciously, a sweet tooth.

Sorry for the late posting.  Blogger has been refusing to upload my photos - again!

If you'd like to join in the PhotoHunt, demonstrate alternative interpretations of sweet, and find other other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find out more.

April fool

The custom of April Fools' Day appears to have been around a long time. I've been reading a French magazine from 1924 which traces its origins back to a pagan tradition or even earlier.  Presumably associating the day with trick and pranks dates from some common tradition but at some point the French separated out from many others when they adopted a fish as a symbol for the day, or rather for the fool, le Poisson d'Avril.

According to this particular article (and there are many different theories) the tradition dates back to the Hindu feast of Huli, celebrated in March to welcome spring.  More recently, in France in 1564, Charles IX declared that the new year should start on 1 January rather than at Easter.  Following this change people had to change their good wishes for a new year to a different time, but in the days when communications were poor, some continued to wish people well and give gifts on 1 April.  Whether this was intended as a joke or whether the joke was on them, it became a tradition to mark a person as a fool by sticking a paper fish on his back.  Why a fish?  Probably because the day falls during the zodiac sign of the fish, Pisces.

Another tradition, one that I hadn't heard of before reading this article, is concerned with the last three days of March.  These used to be called the "borrowed days".  They are often very stormy (so much for March going out like a lamb!) and in years gone by people used think that March had borrowed the days from April in order to extend its reign.  The very superstitious would neither lend nor borrow during these three days, not even the smallest object, because they were convinced that the borrower would use it against them like a charm.