The Search For Enlightenment

Despite the mixed weather, today has been a really nice mix of family and fun. It all started with a visit to The Chiefs Trading Post in Oldland Common for a birthday breakfast with Charlotte. Sadly she couldn’t bring the boys with her because Jake and Zach are both suffering from the Slap Cheek virus, so it was a fairly quiet affair.

Following copious amounts of Tea Cake and coffee, we took a stroll around the place, which is ostensibly a garden centre, but punctuated with huge numbers of an eclectic mix of statues. We managed to avoid buying anything on a whim, though we did procure a couple of nice plants, including a particularly beautiful pelargonium for Bumble.

Leaving with a plethora of kisses and cuddles, B and I decided to take a diversion through Bitton, with a visit to the Avon Steam Railway. The visit was well worth the trip, and as the rain held off, we were treated to the sight, sounds and smells of a nice tank engine in full steam. That smell is so evocative, bringing back memories of past times spent with my paternal grandfather, down at the shunting yards in Margate.

Memories are such sweet things when they conjure up images of pleasant times past. I always find it strange that the passage of time deprives us of our most recent recollections whilst enhancing and enriching our older memories. Whilst not all memories are of pleasant times, it is wonderful that we can relive times gone by through the simple experience of a long forgotten scent or smell.