Oh, to be British . . . Part I - SE/Seaside

Margate RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution, founded 1824) seen towing a sailboat back to Ramsgate harbour (5 August).

Overhead a WWII gray bomber plane flew close by, so fast I couldn't get a picture, but it was LOUD! And today (8/29) the stealth bombers sneaked past (well OK they were loud and looked like alien spaceships, what can I say about a loud stealth plane, but it sounds an oxymoron - LOL).

Back to sea, many ships ply our waters - huge cargo ships approach the Thames, along with black & orange pilot boats to guide the, work vessels, wind farm 'ferries', whilst 

the grey UK Board Force continues to patrol the seas as refugee boats are landing just south of us.

Outside our window, on land,

Broadstair's Folk Week music and craft festival (complete with Punch & Judy show on the beach & Morris Dancers - see August 2018 post) started on the 9 August. I cannot see the attraction of the Hooden Horses and Clarence the Dragon, iconic to the festival. Sadly Folk Week was plagued with first wind and then rain for much of the festival.




Darkness brings British TV;  this was featured on the UK TV show CountryFile recently - Crochetdermy®! British artist Shauna Richardson, who confesses she has ADHD, constructs crocheted realistic life-size animal sculptures, in part to dispel the image of crochet as a granny activity. The creatures are made over a form with crochet as the 'skin.' Apparently many viewers were unimpressed/perplexed according to press reports.

A crochet deer placed in a field attracted lots of live animal attention!

Shauna's commissions include The Lionheart Project - for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It took her two years to make three 25 foot lions and is the largest single person made crochet sculpture in the world. Apparently they were encased in a glass box and toured the UK - not something I ever saw. See her website here.

Crochetdermy® might be a step too far for mini me!!Crochetdermy® might be a step too far for mini me!!

measuring bowls

Getting more active despite a chipped ankle bone, mini me attended a bowls boot camp, and learnt obscure but fun things.

More fun was seeing Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution" staged in the very grand and appropriate setting of London County Hall (former seat of local London government).  The County Hall was opened in 1922 with the staging in the magnificent council chambers. Here's a little sneak look at what the council chambers look like.

We took a day visit with our neighbours to  400 year old Knole Country House & Deer Park with our neighbours - good fun and the house is being renovated, but it is a bit dark inside.

source: English Heritage

Another great day out was had with family in Deal-a lovely seaside town, complete with one of only a handful of old fashioned Victorian Time Balls, a pier and a small fishing fleet winched up a shingle beach each day (glad that isn't me doing the work!).

Of course there is also the 1540 Deal Castle, part of a chain of forts build by Henry VIII  to defend against Catholic Spanish and Holy Roman Empire invaders! It is built in an outline similar to a Tutor Rose.

To relieve the August uncertainties of Brexit, mini me enjoying watching the 1949 British comedy film Passport to Pimlico - an interesting parody that could apply today!

18 August Sunday Times front page

Sunday Times 25 August 2019

And back in warmer Florida (if not sunnier) climes, here's a bait ball of fish from wonderful wildlife photographer Doc Jon.