29 September 2013

Mushroom Magic

Hello lovelies!

How've you been? 

Today we went on an autumnal adventure to two gorgeous Kentish villages. Chiddingstone Village, our first stop, is actually owned almost entirely by the National Trust because it's so picturesque. We discovered upon arrival that Chiddingstone also has a very atmospheric churchyard and a castle (fancy!). 



How creepy-looking is this crypt door handle!?!

I was ecstatic to find out that the castle grounds were bursting with dozens of kinds of mushrooms! I lost count of how many varieties we spotted, so I was very grateful I had taken my camera with me to document our finds. 





Just in case you're getting bored of mushroom photos, here's one of a nice door:



Aaaaand back to mushrooms:



This one reminded me of a cappuccino

We saw teeny tiny ones the height of matchsticks:


And giant ones the size of dessert plates:




After scrabbling round on the floor photographing fungi, a coffee/hot chocolate break was practically essential. Our drinks were accompanied by a flutter of incredibly friendly feathery folk, as the café's courtyard filled up with robins, sparrows, and starlings looking for cake crumbs. As if I would ever drop cake crumbs.




Our second stop was a wander around Westerham, with a delicious lunch at Food for Thought, followed by a visit to Quebec House; the childhood home of General James Wolfe who was victor of the Battle of Quebec (1759). I'll be honest here; I ate A LOT of goats cheese for lunch. This caused me to enter a full-belly-coma and prevented me from finding the energy to read the historical information posters at the house. In summary, General Wolfe did some wars and he was (mostly) good at them. I think. 

The information I did managed to take in through the haze of cheese was:

1. The bust of General Wolfe displayed in the dining room isn't modelled on his actual face. The General died in battle and the sculptor who created the bust posthumously used the face of similar-looking servant as a model. I found this fact disproportionately hilarious, and my mirth only increased after Tom queried why one of the young servants closely resembled the master of the house! Wink wink, nudge nudge etc.

2. There's a painting on the first floor landing depicting the stairs at Quebec House. Hanging right next to the stairs. It was surreal.

3. Being informed by one of the seriously lovely NT volunteers that General Wolfe's soldiers only carried one spare shoe with them into battle. I (incorrectly) assumed that some soldiers had carried "right" shoes and some had carried "left", to divide the weight in case someone lost a pair. As it turns out, until the start of the 19th Century, SHOES WERE NOT MADE AS "RIGHT" AND "LEFT" FEET. Instead, both shoes were identical, and would be regularly swapped between feet to ensure an even wear. 

Mind. Blown.

What've you been up to recently? Seen any good mushrooms?

Katie xxx

P.S. I'm very excited to say I've hit 50,000 page views- so keep your eyes peeled for a celebratory giveaway!

7 comments:

  1. Congrats on the pageviews! Love the photography. Especially the door handle. I do hope you didn't eat any of those toadstools. Fairies live in them. xx

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    1. Thanks Emma Kate :) I was very restrained and didn't eat any of them. Probably because I'd eaten far too much chocolate cereal for breakfast :p
      xx
      P.S. I've got a pageviews competition up now too if you fancy winning a teapot! http://hooklineandsinkher2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/50000-page-views-giveaway.html

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  2. Brilliant Blog Katie. Inspirational as ever

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  3. Sorry Katie. Didn't mean to be Anonymous. Sadie

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    1. Hi Sadie! Lovely to hear from you :) Thank you for the kind words. I really hope you've had a great summer and Hove is treating you well! xxx

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  4. Hi!!! I think is have felt seriously sick until you saved me with doors and robins!!! X

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    1. I had no idea you hated mushrooms so much! Thank goodness for doors and robins, eh? :) xxx

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