A Little Kentish Magic

Seeking out little moments of magic amidst the humdrum of every day life.

  • Festive Fun

    In the run up to Christmas, I normally make an effort to visit a different town every weekend, to see their lights and have a browse around the Christmas markets. Unfortunately this year, there were two weekends with severe storms which coincided with the special Christmas events in Tenterden and Rye, where I decided that Read more

  • Advent Countdown

    Over the years I seem to have accumulated more and more ways of counting down the Advent period, and it is now becoming quite an undertaking to keep on top of them all! However, they do bring me a lot of pleasure and I thought that I would share them here. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas Read more

  • Preparing For Christmas

    In our house, Stir Up Sunday is a hotly anticipated date in the run up to Christmas – the last Sunday before Advent and the day traditionally reserved for making Christmas puddings. The name comes from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, which includes the line “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 6: Dover to Deal

    My daughter and I completed this next part of the coast path on 31st October in gloriously warm sunshine. Although we have walked from Dover to St Margarets and back, and Deal to Kingsdown and back many times before, we have only done the middle section once, and it was the first time that we Read more

  • Pooh Sticks, Deer Parks And Autumn Vibes

    Autumn is the perfect time for getting out into the woods to admire the fabulous leaf colour, and a highlight this year was a visit to the Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, the inspiration behind Winnie the Pooh’s Hundred Acre Wood. We caught the bus from East Grinstead to the village of Hartfield on the Read more

  • A Birthday Jaunt To Devon

    I am a bit weird when it comes to my birthday. I hate a fuss being made and I hate people wishing me happy birthday so much that I actively avoid telling anyone when it is, so that with one or two exceptions, only my immediate family know the date, and we mark the occasion Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 5: Folkestone to Dover

    I haven’t just done Part 5 of my Kent Coast Walk, hot on the heels of a CFS flare up. We actually completed it on a very hot Sunday at the end of August, but I just haven’t had time to write it up and it is a very belated account. This is a section of Read more

  • My Chronic Fatigue Journey

    I am currently on sick leave again and am feeling quite down in the dumps. I have been struggling with my health since our week away, and the return to work this September has hit me harder than usual. A school classroom is not really the ideal working environment as the sensory overload is difficult Read more

  • St Francis And His Favourite Almond Biscuits

    Hot on the heels of Michaelmas comes the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi on 4th October. Apparently, before his conversion Francis loved a bit of frivolity and his nickname amongst his friends was Dominus because he was the King of Partying! After his conversion however, he devoted his life to one of simplicity Read more

  • Michaelmas

    Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on 29th September and is associated with the coming of Autumn and the shortening of days. St Michael was one of the three main Archangels, along with Gabriel and Raphael. He was the Archangel of justice, strength, and courage and was the main man, Read more