Canterbury

 I had a comfortable journey from Lisbon via Madrid to Heathrow, and then the tube to Saint Pancras and train to Canterbury. It was a great relief to be met by my nephew Robert. I had found that on the tube you cannot pay with cash. I did not have any credit cards because they had  all been frozen. I just had cash. I changed my euros into pounds at Heathrow Airport. When  I got to the tube station I called a help phone site and a young helper showed up. I told her my predicament and she said oh well I’ll just let you on the train but don’t tell anybody.  At the other end I went up to a an official and explained that I had a Trainline ticket to Canterbury, but that I had no cash. He just let me off so I had a free tube ride from Heathrow to Saint Pancras. I made the train with 10 minutes to spare.

It was a great relief to be on the farm and feel secure, surrounded by one’s relatives.

On the first day, we went to visit a pumpkin patch. Robert and Lil were very interested in the business behind developing this pumpkin patch. The farmer George is a great friend of  theirs. He has a large farm where he has arable, beef and sheep land but each year he creates a pumpkin patch on a couple of acres and invites the public to come and pick their own. It has developed over about five years and now has turned into a wonderful cash cow for the farm. Here are some pictures of the pumpkin patch and George the farmer dressed up in an inflatable dragon costume.