Aug 1 to Aug 2: Dartford, Canterbury, and Windsor Castle

We decided to visit Canterbury, where University of Kent is situated. We took a drive through the university campus before going to city center. Soon after, parking our cars, Beng my son, decided that he needed to check his emails, especially to see if there is any development from his job applications. Nee took him to the house, where she stays, which has broadband service, while we continued our walkabout visiting shops and Canterbury Cathedral, The Church of England's spiritual home.



I could understand why the charity shops like Oxfam, Salvation Army, Heart Foundation, Cancer Research, and so on, are popular. The shops are well laid out just like other retail shops and well stocked with unwanted items donated by people. It is a haven for those like SP who look for collectibles like commemorative mugs and plates, nice porcelain and chinaware. The type of goods generally reflects the relative incomes of the residents. Nee was more interested in the wide selection of books for as low as 50p.

Emily, Paula’s niece from US, did not like the idea of us buying from the charity shops. In her opinion, we are depriving the poor and unfortunate of items to buy. I beg to differ, as the reason for the shops’ existence was to attract people to buy, regardless of background. The truly poor and unfortunate would have been offered those items which are being sorted at the back of shops. Anyway, being a retiree, those are the shops in UK in terms of price, which attracted me.

I could see the donors who contributed the items, the volunteers who manned the shops, the customers who provided the revenue and the profits going to the needy, in a chain, each group contributing one way or the other. Try discriminating the buyers and the system will collapse. The rich would not be interested in used goods.

Emily, just 14, seemed mature for her age but likely to have been pampered being only child, having a doting aunt like Paula and a godmother like Clem. She is more into designer clothes. Anyway, I was quite impressed she could prepare a delicious lasagna and a pasta dish for dinner for all of us, under the supervision of Clem and her sister, Rose.

The next day, Clem, Rose and Emily opted to go shopping at Bluewater, biggest shopping complex in Europe, while Alex took us and Nee to revisit Windsor Castle, summer palace of Queen Elizabeth II. A certain flag was not flying which meant she was not in.


On the way, I noticed Slough is only 6 miles away and I was tempted to ask Alex to tour the town so that I could try and look for my ex-colleaque, Aftab Ahmed. But it seems too much to ask for after what Alex has done for us. Moreover, on the way back, Alex was supposed to fetch Paula from Maidstone to Dartford to collect her newly bought Renault Scenic. Emily said it is a grandmother’s car and Paula was quick to tell her she has to walk home.

We had to queue to buy the tickets, after which the usual security checks with scanners before we are allowed in. Nee who had been before, waited with Alex for us outside the compound. We were each given an audio set and a guide as we go along. To get into the Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the queue was expected to be 45 minutes as indicated. No wonder a visit usually takes at least 2 to 3 hours. Next to the Dolls’ House, is a section called the State Apartments, where the queen used to entertain foreign heads of state, which was most impressive, with the huge collections of exquisite oil paintings, furniture, chinaware and porcelain. It is amazing how they maintain their collections of everything.

I saw a group picture of Commonwealth Heads of State taken in 1987 and our Prime Minister then was Tun Hussein Onn. There were pictures of young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret and I could not help wondering how different their destinies were. One, prim and proper in carrying out her duties as Queen of Britain, the other lived a carefree life, littered with scandals.



The St. George’s Chapel, where some of the former kings and queens were buried, gave a strong sense of close family ties, which the royal family had and continue to this day. There is a facility for any visitor who wish to include a name for prayers. The one I had in mind is not a Christian so it is inappropriate I suppose… wrong channel of transmission for want of a better description.

While in Windsor Castle, Nee had called me twice, not so much to hurry us but to inform us where to wait for them after we have done with. When it was time to leave, Nee said she went into one charity shop only. I asked why after about 3 hours waiting for us and she replied that their lunch itself took more than an hour! SP and I bought some salads and sandwiches and we ate them by the lake near an amusement park.



On our way to Paula’s in Maidstone, we stopped by a river to take some pictures.