Ightham Moat, Kent

When Deborah was in Rome with Aunty Jaime, she got a sketch done for Garry's birthday but it was based on a photo of us at Denning's 21st birthday (ie. 8 years ago). Boy, how much have we aged over the years?! Garry definitely had more hair back then. Aunty Jaime thought Garry looked too "pretty" in the photo so she sketched in some eyebags on Garry's face to make him look more "distinguished".

Sat (8 Sept 07) - We went with Uncle David, Aunty Jaime and Anne-Marie to Ightham Moat, a fourteenth century moated manor house dating back to 1320. It is totally secluded and is located in a deep wooded valley about seven miles east of Sevenoaks in Kent. The house is completely surrounded by a moat, is built of local ragstone and oak and retains its medieval appearance.


This is actually made up of four photos "stitched" together by Garry. If you look carefully, you can actually see the stitched lines in this picture.

Garry trying to show us the crooked window on the roof. Must have been a sign for us, when we got back to Perth two weeks after visiting Ightham Moat, Garry spotted a crooked window in our half built house. Hopefully the builder fixes it soon!

Courtyard

Aunty Jaime, Uncle David, Deborah, Anne-Marie and me

Anne-Marie and I finished a quiz on the manor, hoping to win some lollies but despite our hard work, we didn't get any.


The courtyard contains the only Grade 1 listed dog kennel in the whole of the UK (and big enough to fit all three of us).


We went up the tower to get an aerial view of the surroundings.

View from the tower

Ightham Moat gardens




Apple tree

Apple plucked fresh from the tree

Mistletoe moment - who is giving Deb a kiss?

We decided to have a running race seeing there was so much lawn at the manor. Uncle David and Aunty Jaime were also in the race. Garry surprisingly came first in the race.

Poor Deb never made it to the end. We weren't sure if she had tripped over her own foot or just over a blade of grass!

Garry and his giant tree


Deb & Anne-Marie having a race up the hill.

Garry hungry for pears

Garry picking fresh rocket in Aunty Jaime's garden

Aunty Jaime (and her apprentice, Garry) cooked up a feast for dinner. Their stuffed peppers were yummy. But Deb, you missed out on Aunty Jaime's fried chook - cooked with her secret recipe! They were yummier than KFC!