It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool.

Last weekend, I was doing my usual cleaning jobs on change-over day, I spotted a new addition to the contents of the Apple Barn.

A fez had miraculously appeared from nowhere !

At first, I assumed that a guest must have left it there as a merry little jape, but then I realised that, of course, the Doctor had made one of his surprise visits !

Do any previous guests recall hearing a wheezing, groaning noise or a sound like the trumpeting of elephants ?

Do they have any recollection of catching a glimpse of a mysterious figure in a brown tweed jacket ?

Yo ho ho!...or does nobody actually say that? - Lydd Club Day

Last Saturday was Lydd Club Day. The Club Day started as a livestock market supported by local shopkeepers who paid into a ‘club’ to attract people to come into Lydd to spend their money. It was revived in 1948 and is an annual event held every year on the third Saturday in June.

Today it is a good excuse for fun with stalls, a funfair, floats, fancy dress competitions, a procession through town, and the crowning of the years new Club Day Queen.

We decided to have an Open Day at the cottage to coincide with Club Day - an opportunity for local children to get a look at the Tardis and Dalek.

We had visitors of all ages and they seemed to enjoy the sight of a Tardis in Lydd !

My favourite float was the pirate one - they certainly seemed to be into the role playing!

The pirate theme seems to relate to a one-off drunken idea that has turned itself into another annual event in Lydd. One that seems to have cemented itself into both the history and heart of the town.

Known simply as 'Pirate Friday', local residents gather on the 3rd Friday in June dressed in outrageous pirate gears; this is soon followed by copious amounts of rum being consumed and the shouting 'Yaaaaarrrrrh'. The source and evolution of the event is unfortunately unknown, with many people within Lydd and the surrounding area staking claim. However, despite the ongoing battle to decide who actually created Pirate Friday, the fact remains that it has now undoubtedly become an important day in Lydd's history.....Yaaaaaaarh

Broadsword calling Danny Boy

 

We went down to the cottage this weekend and went along to the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, near Folkstone.

This is a monument to aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain. It was initiated by the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, and opened by the Queen Mother on July 9 1993. It is formed of a large propellor shape, (seen from the air it forms quite a landmark) with the figure of a seated pilot carved by Harry Gray sitting at the centre . Also on the site are replicas of a Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire and the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall, on which appears the names of the almost 3000 fighter aircrew who flew in the Battle.

I spotted a 'Banister' in the list, but as my surname has 2 'n's I don't think it was a relation!

Of course, Doctor Who did it's own little tribute to the Battle of Britain pilots in, the Mark Gatiss penned, 'Victory of the Daleks'.

I only came for the dancing!

What d'you think then? 3

Mark and his family stayed at the Cottage last week and posted a very kind comment on my previous blog post.

Unfortunately, they discovered a very disturbing crack in the Apple Barn bedroom!

Mysteriously, however, this had completely disappeared by the time I came down to clean and change the linen!

Neighbours report seeing a man in a fez - possibly a phantom plasterer?

 

Look out of your eye, the corner of your eye . . .

 

Fabulous Cottage, but what's that crack in the wall . . ? 

Mum and Dad; not Daleks - just big kids really!

Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love

Elisabeth Sladen 1948-2011

I think that Colin Baker has best summed up my feelings on the sad news regarding the death of the actress Elisabeth Sladen. "Very sad to hear of the death of Lis Sladen. Great sympathy for her husband and daughter. She was far too young to be lost to them."

I know how hard it is when someone dies at such a relatively young age, my brother David being only 51 when he died.

He died only a year after my younger brother and so we, inevitably, had discussions about our own mortality and funerals, althoough we had no inkling of how little time he had left.

He said something like "I don't worry about myself, it is the ones left behind who I feel sorry for"

It is a cliche but true, that, although I think of my brother every day, the grief, the sense of disbelief, eventually do give way to the memories he left behind.

Setting up the Cottage was a way of processing the shock and I am glad that it is bringing enjoyment to so many people - especially the children.

Apart from her family and friends this must be a particularly difficult time for children who have grown to love Sarah Jane in her current adventures on CBBC.

“Change my dear… and it seems not a moment too soon!”

One thing that has surprised me, since starting to let the cottage, is the number of people who want to book it for just the weekend, or for just the mid-week, rather than a full week.

I suppose this reflects the how busy people are in modern times, or the fact that people would rather have a number of short breaks over the year than one big holiday.

Having the change-over day as a Saturday created quite a few logistical problems - most people want to start a weekend break on a Friday night. However, this then made it difficult to schedule in the people who wanted a full week.

I have, therefore, altered the change over day to Fridays - hopefully this will make bookings fit together a little more easily, and enable me to have the full weekend with my family!