Wow, it has been nearly a month since I last posted anything... really doesn't seem that long! But then it does seem like only yesterday that it was the end of term and these coming two weeks were months away! "Time flys when you're having fun" the saying goes!
Over the past two Sundays I have been doing a good impression of a travelling preacher... I've managed to travel from the very north (Newcastle upon Tyne) to almost the very south (Maidstone, well Bearsted to be more accurate). And I discovered that it was the church in the south that laughed at my jokes... not sure whether that proves southerners have a better sense of humour or that because I'm a southerner I only know how to tell jokes other southerners find funny!
Anyway... moving on...
Doing this bit of travelling around has meant that I have spent a little bit of time out and about in the places I have been visiting. Maidstone sits just at the bottom of the North Downs, a chalky band of hills that spans the county of Kent and is an important habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Though I have spent many a holiday in and around these hills my knowledge is very limited, but luckierly for me I have an Aunt and Uncle who know the hills like the backs of their hands and know where all the good spots are for seeing rare insects, flowers etc. So after a hard morning in the pulpit on Sunday, we headed for the hills on not a bear hunt, but a butterfly hunt.
And what butterflies we found: Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers, Common Blues, Chalkhill Blues, a Small Tortiseshell, a Silver-spotted Skipper and Andonis Blues.
However, the thing that will stay with me from our walk is how when the sun came out from behind the clouds the hillside became alive. Everything would be still, butterflies hidden from sight, very little movement amongst the flowers, then the sun would come out and the butterflies would fly, then as the sun went once again behind a cloud, all would again become calm. It was like a musical swell being repeated over and over again... Amazing!
