Time for T means Tuesday And a bit of Tunnel Travelling!

WARNING! A long post! I haven't been joining in with T  for Tuesday just lately, so I'll start with a nice picture of a very naughty chocolate cake! As we were feeling a bit 'off' with the C bug, we stayed home until we were cleared but instead of traveling off to... Cornwall...as planed, we went to, Kent, where I was born. We still stayed in a 'Log Cabin' but it wasn't in a wood. It was very nice, although it was on a fast road... in fact, Kent has changed sooo much, I was a little disappointed. The Apple and Cherry Orchards I remember going on forever had all gone, in fact even the Farm had gone too! (nothing much to replace them, just overgrowness and rubble where the farm barns and cow sheds had been) And there seemed to be nothing but motorway after motorway after motorway. Definitely not the Garden Of England I remembered. Still, it was many decades ago! I recognised where we were, and told hubby John...''Turn left up here!" then left again, down a old single  track concrete 'road' where the row of bugalows were still there. They were 'tied' cottages back then, which meant, they went with the job... so if you lost your job, you lost your home too.  Most of the bungalows had lost their lovely front gardens, to be replaced with makeshift drives (or crushed rubble) for the new owners to be able to park their many cars  and 4x4's.  Nearly all of them had garages now. No one needs a log or coal shed these days...and I'm sure we also had an outside loo, (for when you were working in the garden) The back gardens were big too...lawns, vegetables gardens. Greenhouse, even a place to chop up your fire wood! 

No one answered the door where I lived and where my brother was born. So I took a quick picture. Then after introducing myself, I asked the lady now living where Mrs Cornford lived, if I could take a picture. (At least their drive had been bricked and the old metal crittall windows had been replaced with really nice ones and the front door now had a new porch. 

She didn't seem very happy, and said 'as long as you don't take pictures of my cars' Well, why would I? Her new wooden garage took up an area of what was once a tiny slice of the Cherry orchard. So we moved on.

 My first school (with one room that could be divided into two, (5 to 7 year olds) had gone too, and that was now part of the field that had always been there. Then on to my second school....(5 to 11 year olds) which was now a home for someone. The next stop was the sweet shop I remember going through double doors and buying blackjacks and fruit salads, 4 for an old penny, wasn't there, and had never been

 a sweet shop!  It was a pub! ('Yay' said John!)They were really lovely and the group of gentlemen sitting outside supping their beers when we arrived, told me where the long gone sweet shop used to be. 'You go round the corner here-go to the old tin shop and he'll tell you all about it' and he did! 

Lorries, parked on the motorway waiting to go into Dover. No P&O boats.

Later we passed lorries waiting on the motorway because there were no P&O boats sailing as they'd suddenly 'retired' all their workers.

Here's some of the P&O boats at Dover docks. I thought it would have been bigger than that.We stopped for a cupper and I saw this....

I think these will be springing up everywhere!

Then we were off visiting Castles. All of them were linked to  Henry The 8th. 

 Going through the gate....

Up on the roof... and then down in the tunnels that went under the Castle...

The tunnels went on....

                                                 and on.... 

 

 ...and on...

  and on

 

 and on...getting darker and darker! At every turn...they looked the same...

 Well, if you're still with me, thanks you stopping by! I know it's gone on and on... but this is last weeks and this weeks T For Tunnels, I mean Tuesday! Trundle over to Altered Book Lover and join in!