Three Posts Make a Thing

[faustus]

1

Despite SouthEastern, Saturday was a good day out in Gravesend, in which three hours turns out to be about right to wander around. I must investigate the Tilbury ferry and potential for Essex escapes.

Trivia: Gravesend has the oldest surviving metal pier in the world - although slapping a restaurant on top on it doesn't necessarily show it off at its best. Especially as it blocks the upriver view.

I took a photo of the view of the Heritage Quarter which appeared at first glance to be black and white, but for the splashes of yellow and blue. Very odd, and not manipulated in Photoshop.

Found the statue of Pocohontas.

I had a chat with the Julian Graves shop assistant, and came away content with the world - although she appears not to have given me the fifty per cent discount announced in the window. Bum.



2
Autumn is distinctly with us, and I had half an hour wandering around the campus on the hill (aka the European campus) looking for arboreal evidence of this. I was also trying to work out whether I found the bit where the railway used to be, but I'm not sure.

The labyrinth is causing some controversy, and no one is prepared to say how much it cost (at least two academics would be a good estimate). I had a wander around it, and am pondering whether my photo should go in my Mazes set, or whether I need to create on for Labyrinths.

Someone the other day predictably confused it with the movie, and curiously thinks precisely the same song that shows they cast the wrong period of David Bowie (post-Thin White Duke, pre-Tin Machine) is great. (Yanno, the one that rhymes who do/you do/voodoo. Puhlease.)

3
At the risk of (re)entering a a world of pain I ordered two Americanos in the Carbuncle café. On neither occasion was I offered milk. Apparently most efficient and human thing is to treat them like a robot going through a programme and not specify you don't want milk - black coffees being ordered provokes an offer of milk. Someone else will have to see what happens if you order a white Americano.

Comments

[brisingamen.livejournal.com]

Has my campus acquired a maze? Apart from the usual bureaucratic one?

And I can tell (or even show you) where one end of the tunnel is/was, but not sure about the Canterbury side. (Which reminds me ... Have you read The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas? Features a collapsing building on a campus with a railway tunnel under it. I feel sure it's totally a coincidence she's at my campus. Yes, I really, really want to believe that.

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

Not a maze. A labyrinth. I'd rather have a maze. Another view:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmbutler/2934819350/)

It's a seven circuit design in the medieval four fold style with topological symmetry.

http://www.haywood-landscapes.co.uk/labyrinth_mazes/university_of_kent_labyrinth.htm

It's learning enhancing bollocks, wouldn't you know

http://www.kent.ac.uk/uelt/ced/themes/labyrinth/index.html

Wouldn't you know - next week is Labyrinth Week!

http://www.kent.ac.uk/student/campus.html?id=labweek.txt

[brisingamen.livejournal.com]

My, they kept that quiet; I'd heard nothing about it at all. I think, though, I shall dodge Labyrinth Week and go see it quietly one morning before class.

By the way, I'm on campus tomorrow afternoon for Bibliographical Research Methods at 6 p.m. and will doubtless be endeavouring to order coffee beforehand.

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

It has had media coverage - although I stumbled not quite literally across it in late August, maybe early September.

I have a social at 6pm I need to be at; campus will have to wait until 9.20. This Templeman Monday thing is not working.

[korintomichi]

Americano? We refuse to order anything other than "black coffee", so I suppose we would end up with all sorts of milk based confusion at the Carbuncle. You could try the Twin Peaks approach: "black as midnight on a moonless night". The only thing that should be added to coffee is water and the only thing coffee should be added to is water.

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

Coffee is the stuff in the jug which may have been there all afternoon - though is usually drinkable. Americano is made fresh. Given I thought Americano was an espresso plus hot water I was confused why in Caffe Nerd I was being offered milk. Hence trying to help the server by specifying black. I should have learned not to try to make things easy.

[korintomichi]

That probably explains why we generally don't do coffee at cafes and opt for the beer option instead! It's all far too difficult.

[kayxh.livejournal.com]

Being a Gravesend girl I can say that the pier has always (well as long as I can remember) had a resturant on it. Haven't been to the town for years. Looking at your photos the Heritage Quarter seems to be the old High Street. It was the home of Gravesend's first wine bar - the Lazy Toad - back in the days when wine bars were cutting edge (and open later than the pub). Sad to see that the cinema has closed; but everyone goes to Bluewater nowadays.

Have you done the Medway towns on your excursions?

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

Maybe I misread an information sign, but I'm sure it talked about restoration - and I assumed that the quid per pro would be that it had to earn its keep. It looks newish - may be refurbished with laminate and sliding glass and electric doors. A sign in the town pier square announced a contract for renovation starting 2002, and it was either very sympathetic renovation or hasn't happened yet.

Actually a lot of buildings down that end have little restored plaques.

It is indeed the High Street, supposedly home to a farmer's market - which consisted on two stalls on the end of the market proper.

What do you count as Medway? - of Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham I've done Rochester (especially for Baggins's Bazaar (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/65/164534236_0e31d1a8ca_b.jpg)) and Chatham (the two are walkable), and I suspect I've done Rainham (a not bad bookshop or three there). I've stood twice on Strood station. Gillingham remains unchartered territory. I aim to go back to Rochester/Chatham, especially if I have a book buying list. But I ought to go to Penn first.

[kayxh.livejournal.com]

As I said haven't been to the town centre for years, so it's possible that the resturant on the pier has been rebuilt.

Rochester and Chatham are the two bits I was thinking of. Gillingham always used to be a bit of a dump. There's nice walks around the Hoo peninsula (doable from Strood station).

I've never found anything I've wanted to buy in Baggins Bazaar - perhaps I find the size too off-putting. There did use to be a good secondhand bookshop on the the road from Rochester to Chatham but that's been closed for many years now.

For days out there is also Maidstone (Oxfam bookshop) and Tunbridge Wells. Tunbridge Wells has a couple of good secondhand bookshops; but I'm not sure how doable it is from Canterbury.

What's in Penn?

[drasecretcampus.livejournal.com]

Tunbridge Wells is an hour and a quarter via Tonbridge. No further than Gravesend or Hsstings. I will be walking part of Hoo when I do that section of the Saxon Shore Way. I@ve bought little in BB - expensive.

In Penn is - or was - The Cottage Bookshop, a densely packed TATDIS with every thing under £1.50. Trick is to get there about eleven, noon they say, "Can I take that pile for you?", they close for lunch when you're not quite finished, you go to the Red Lion, return for an hour... Three foot was an average haul.