My Love for England, UK in no particular order, part 1

I went to mourn the life of a beautiful soul that I have been fortunate enough for the past 19 years to call my friend.  Ines Rueckheim Dinn.  The service was moving and beautiful.  I will remain eternally grateful to her family for including me in this most private of moments.  While there we celebrated her life with a wake in a beautiful pub.  Here is my time in........

ASHFORD

In the 13th century Ashford was an agricultural market town and expanded into a livestock market. To date markets continue to be held. That's a long time to maintain a tradition and culture. Also during the time of Roman occupation iron ore was mined and transported there to be forged. Pottery was also produced in abundance, and then in the 19th century rail travel bolstered the economy.  During World War I the town was a target for aerial bombing due to its importance as a transportation hub.

In 2005 a poll ranked Ashford as the 4th best place to live in England.  A soup manufacturer and perfumery are two of the very diverse companies of employment. 

The town of Ashford is in the County of Kent.  It is approximately 61 miles southeast of central London.
My hotel was the Ashford International Hotel on Simone Weil Avenue.

The staff is amazingly friendly and helpful.  ok, wait I don't know why I just said that because every single person I met in England is friendly.

They have a spa, banquet facilities, produce weddings, alfresco dining, very large dining room inside and of course a pub.


As you can see the room is rather large for Europe's standards, quite comfortable also.

While here I was driven thru the countryside to the town of "Pluckley".  Which for those of you that are into the supernatural is the most haunted place in Britian.  I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the homes and the lush greenery everywhere.  I also noted there are no street lights anywhere, which could enhance the spookiness .  This distinction was awarded by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998.

The local squire, Sir Edward Dering in the 19th century proclaimed that round-arched windows would bring them good luck.  This led to every single window in the town changed to rounded top.

The Dering Arms Pub is one of two in the town, it was originally built as a hunting lodge for the Dering family who were squires.

 It is said that there are still several in house ghostly residents.  One being a lady in Victorian Garb that sits next to one of many fireplaces.

Here is where I was going to share some points about the pub from the pamphlet I snagged, now I have gone through my suitcase, purse, carry-on and every single piece of paper I brought home.  It's nowhere.  Nowhere.  So you can either take it that I lost it which is highly unlikely OR that the beautiful resident Victorian woman's spirit yanked it from my purse before I left.  I choose the latter.  Not because I love all that is dark and twisty, but simply because that is the only explanation since that is the only thing that didn't make it home with me !

Here is the proof that it was in my hands

Look here now it even had a map showing you exactly where it is.  I'm telling you she nabbed it.

                                                               I can tell you that the ambiance was all that you would imagine it to be.  From the uneven doorway entering, to the shading that was found in each and every corner of the rooms.  

The floors creaked, there were stuffed ducks in the deep window sills. Little cushions on the wooden long benches.  Baby Grand Piano in the dining room waiting to be played.  Bunches of dried flowers in all their glory.

Wood everywhere and out of level walls.  And yet even with these imperfections it is perfect.  I could feel all those souls that had gone before me, coming in for a pint after an afternoon of hunting.  Or the family traveling by and stopped for dinner. And the local men who would sit around the fireplaces for far too long telling stories of their past.         

                     And it is here that I enjoyed my first ever "proper" Pimm's.  There was a farmers son from Kent that purchased an oyster bar in London where he concocted a gin based drink containing a secret of herbs and liqueurs which he offered as an aid to digestion.  It was served in a small tankard known as "No. 1 Cup", hence Pimm's No. 1 was born.  It was 1851 when large scale production begun when local bars were requesting the amazingly delicious digestion aid.  Guinness purchased Pimms in 1986.  Several flavours have emerged over the years with bases of rum, vodka, scotch whiskey, rye whiskey.  I think they are up to a Pimms No. 6 cup to date.

Now it's off to London via train for 3 and 1/2 days of playing tourist.......