On The Waterfront (With A Kentish Lady)

We got out for a longer early run this morning - it must have been over a mile which is beginning to take on marathon like proportions for us these days!
After recovering from our 'mammoth' exertions of course that meant we thought we should head out for a pint. Our original choice was The Black Horse at Thurnham nestled in the foothills of the North Downs but when we got there it was completely rammed so we turned around, went back to Bearsted Green and then through Leeds village to The Plough at Langley, which turned out to be a good deal quieter and we were able to ensconce ourselves next to a lovely warm radiator as we supped our pints.
We then took the route back through town and stopped off at the Archbishop's Palace for a walk through the grounds and along the river path. Again it was bitingly cold but the fog and mist of yesterday had lifted and it was a lovely bright winter's day.
Today's image is a look back along the river towards one of Maidstone's road bridges with the Kentish Lady, which offers boat cruises along the Upper River Medway and is currently moored up for the autumn and winter, centre stage. I got down a bit lower to take this shot so it is a bit of an optical illusion - she appears much larger than she does in reality (my apologies to such a fine lady!) and that she is sitting right in the middle of the river when she is actually tethered much nearer to the riverbank - and I even managed to fit in the massive carbuncle of the Travelodge in the background and a snoozing swan in the foreground! So maybe not quite the tale of an ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggling to stand up to corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, that you might have been led to expect from today's title!
When we got back we watched the really rather wonderful Blur documentary "To The End" - I can't say I've ever been an avid Blur fan but it really did give you an insight into the relationships and dynamics within a band, both when starting out and when hugely successful, and the joy and pressure it brings whilst also conveying the band's belief in the transcendent power of the music itself.