Guild of Friends Annual Outing, May 2007 - Part 2

Kentish Lady boat A short coach ride from Mereworth brought us to Maidstone. Here we embarked on the "Kentish Lady" for a boat trip on the River Medway. Unfortunately it had started raining which made it difficult to see out of the windows all the places mentioned in the skipper's commentary.

Half an hour later we arrived at our second destination, the Museum of Kent Life which is on the Cobtree Estate at Sandling. Fortunately the weather improved as this is an Open Air Museum. Ten buildings have been rescued from destruction and reconstructed at Cobtree. I particularly liked Sandling Farmhouse with its 1950s interior. As you enter the kitchen the mood is set by the radio which is playing the signature tune of "Housewife's Choice", a very popular programme of that era.

We couldn't forget we were in Hop Country. A large oast house shows how the hops are dried and there is a small hop field close by. A row of very small hoppers' huts let us see the cramped conditions that the hop pickers had to live in.

Visits to the blacksmith's forge, a chapel, a village hall, a small farmyard paddock with a few animals, various cottages of different ages (one with its own Anderson shelter) etc.etc.made for a very varied afternoon. Some of us went to the excellent tearooms for a cup of tea before boarding our coach for our return to Caterham.

I would like to thank everyone very much for the beautiful flower arrangement that was given to me on our return. It has been a pleasure to organize the Guild's outings over the past ten years.

The Guild of Friends of St. Lawrence's Church
From The Beacon, July 2007

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