Maidstone Model Engineering Society, Mote Park

The first opportunity this year to see the engines running in Mote Park. This has been a regular, if somewhat repetitive, feature of my blips over the years. Operating on Sunday afternoons and bank holidays the society continues to provide people, young and old, the experience of riding behind a steam locomotive, allbeit a small one!

If you marvel at the big engines on the mainline, you marvel even more at the power of these small locomotives as well as the skill and ingenuity of the people who make, maintain and operate them. Some engines, such as this one shown, are based on real locomotive types others are figments of fertile imaginations, all are inspirational.

Earlier we'd been to the allotment to do some much needed watering as some of the spuds were looking decidedly weary. I'd given them a good soak at the end of the week that had perked them up again but a further application was needed to complete the job. Susan collected another haul of strawberries and also a bag of elderflowers with which we'll make this year's batch of elderflower champagne which is now sitting in a bucket in the garage steeping and hopefully beginning to ferment.

The afternoon was taken up walking into town mainly to get a new SIM for Susan's phone, then it was home in time to talk to Chris, from San Diego and Matt, from much closer who both called to wish me a happy Father's Day. Very nice to hear from them.

The Father's Day evening meal was a steak dinner followed by jelly and icecream (with strawberries set in the jelly) The steak was very tender and overall the meal was just as good, if not better than you'd get out.