Mexican Weekend

 This weekend is Lullingstone's Mexican Weekend, a two day event covering all things cactus and succulent. 

It's ten quid to get in, (half price for BCSS members) and that gets you a look around the world garden as well. I've been to a few events there, and its always been good. But never really on my own.

The first thing was working out how to get there without a car, I don't drive, and if Lullingstone has a station or bus service (both answers are no and no although there is a viaduct that passes over near the grounds if trains are your thing.)

The good news is that there is a station close by, Eynsford, from which you can walk. Looking on the online map, it definitely seemed doable, and while I'm not the fittest, I will walk most places if in range.

The next easiest bit was the bus connections, seeing as its my bootsale route and that we would be going on a Saturday, they should be more frequent than the Sunday service. Plus 2 trips in an hour means its a flat £1.55 fare, each way. 

The train was the tricky bit, looking on South Eastern's network map it seemed we needed the Sevenoaks train, and that it ran from Blackfriars via Swanley. Want to know why we don't travel by train much, an off peak return fare is £4.10 and that is one stop from Swanley to Eynsford. 

Main trip planned out, it all went swimmingly, I managed to get both connections and failed only on the train front as it was in the station as I arrived and had 30 minute wait for the next train. Pro tip get there on the hour or half hour and you'll only wait a few minutes.

The next step was the walk down to Lullingstone, which was not so harsh as its right in the middle of where I wanted to go. Tried the route I'd plotted online the find the gate closed, so retraced my steps and went the other route which passed through the infamous ford there and along by the Roman ruins and the eagle centre.

Paid my way inside, and had a look at the stalls, the Haworthia society were selling bare rooted Haworthias for £10 upwards. Our secretary had a stall selling plants from our late treasurer. Alongside him, John Pilbeam had his stall selling his books. Hadn't seen him in ages, so it was nice to catch up.

New branch Rother valley had a bunch of good things for sale, including some seedlings and such so got a bunch of stuff including a Haageocereus and a few Mesembs.

There was a massive Begonia for sale which was cool and by the time I had finished the Auction was getting going so decided to look around the world garden. 

There was  a small kid in there picking up stone which reminded me as a kid. (Used to do that.) Had a look around the main garden and the most incredible scent was there. Do not know were it came from, my guess its the Salvia's as they were in full bloom. They had a Colletia which smelt of butterscotch, though as its a spiky boi, the challenge was getting close enough to tell, and a there was a mint which had a liquorice scent to it.

Had a look in the hot and spikey house, there was an Opuntia in bloom along with a few other nice things. Another Begonia, a Kleinia and a few other things such a Clerodendron from Kenya.

By that time I decided enough was enough and went home, this time via the country park and found the road I should have taken the first time. It's about a kilometer in distance to the station from Lullingstone castle that way and seems the shorter route.

Plectranthus

Not the Begonia for sale but still nice.

Horse.

Europa statue.

Opuntia possibly Engelmanni.

Six of one.

Or why this is America's 5/11.

This is a brief bit about the capital riots that happened back in January. Where a bunch of Qanon types did a guided tour of the capitols finest sites before nicking a lectern and AOC's shoes.

Of course some people died in this and such, which is bad, but no more than those that died in the George Floyd riots last summer, and with a lot less looting and burning. My main one take away from this is the little old lady standing there and the people in queues lining up.

The more I think about it, the more I get a whole Guy Fawkes vibe from it all. For those not British, Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who plotted to blow up parliament, but was caught and as of the order of the day executed. A holiday was set up where you would construct a bonfire, and set off fireworks. 

This morphed into a month long firework fest through the whole of October with a Guy made of old rags and you would ask money from passers by (i.e. a penny for the guy) before it got put on the bonfire to burn. No child has done this since the mid 90's sadly as Halloween has risen in importance since then.

If you think about it, it was a failed coup in the same vein, but with out the hanging and drawing as such. Maybe we could encourage Americans to embrace it the next year by going on guided tours and nicking lecterns.

Plane crash Holiday.

 Where were you when the planes hit the twin towers? It's twenty years ago that the planes hit and not that any one really wanted to know, I'll tell you exactly where I was, when I first heard.

It was about 3pm when I heard via work radio, that the twin towers had been hit. We had two way radios to keep in touch with and with a 3pm tea break, as we worked longer hours then, we were sitting down to a cuppa and some banter, the kind when you get a bunch of blokes together when we got a call through.

I've just heard the tail end of the news, a jet plane has just gone into the world trade center.

We of course switch on the radio and its a full bulletin of how a bunch of terrorists had committed a mass atrocity in the name of their fruity little religion.

Haunted Forts

 Another Hardy Boys book upload for you to enjoy. It's the UK version of The Haunted Fort, in which our chums head out Chet's uncle's place in Cedartown, in order to track down the legendary treasure of Fort Senandaga, a revolutionary war era fort on the lake.

It's not a bad tale either, Chet's uncle runs an art school and of course, Chet's hobby, this time is painting, which he has some flair for. There is a vague supernatural element as there is a lake monster (fake though) in the lake set up as an elaborate prank to harass local art critic Chanucey Gilman (rendered as Oilman in the file I had). 

The other players in this are an old English hermit living on one of the lake islands who claims that the redcoats are the last to leave the fort, whereas a Frenchman, Rene Follette claims that the French forces were the last to leave the fort. Add in Mr. Davenport, eccentric owner of the fort and art thief Alan Copler (rendered as copier in the text file I have.) and you have quite the good story.

The story itself centers around a clue in a picture painted by the mysterious prisoner painter, interred in the fort around the time of the revolutionary war of 1776. There is a clue to a fabulous treasure in one of the paintings, one of which is housed in the Bayport museum and is of course stolen by Copler, in the course of the adventure. 

You can read more here.