Oyster Festival at Whitstable

Whitstable's annual Oyster Festival opened last weekend with the Landing of the Oysters  and their blessing by the  Rev Simon Tillotson from St Peters Church, the seafarers church in Whitstable, which recocnizes St. James of Compostela, the patron saint of Oystermen.

Many thousands of people come to the festival which has a week long programme of events. Festival website here

The tide was in for the landing of the oysters and I was struck by how close the various boats were to the shore. I also had a sense of how lovely it must be  for all the children and youngsters in boats enjoying themselves.

After the blessing of the oysters the cart and clergy and dignitaries joined the parade through the town.  Some great paper mache heads and fish and the two giant figures along with a wonderful steam punkish  metal crustacean vehicle.

Along the harbour were hundreds of stalls, most with food and drink for all the crowds. There were the longest ques at the oyster stalls, which seems right as it was an oyster festival. 

It was very busy  and very hot, I needed to cool off in the small areas of shade  every so often.
But I enjoyed the atmosphere, the parade and seeing the landing of the oysters.

The Paralympic games

 Ruth and I went to the Paralympics last week, we managed to get tickets to the Stadium to see some of the Athletics.

 I was impressed by the stadium, we were near the top this time, but the views were still good and the acoustics worked very well. I was fascinated by some details like the little radio controlled cars that took the discus back from the field. Apparently one of the coveted jobs for the Games Maker volunteers.

The long jump was the opposite side of the arena to us, but I was trying for the action shots.

The radio controlled cars take the discus back.

I spent some time trying to get a photograph of the shot putters actually throwing the put.

 We were also above the podium for the medal ceremonies and it was great to share in some of the joy and pride the athletes felt with their medals.

Outside the stadium the crowds were enjoying the good weather and the English garden was full of visitors.
I enjoyed looking out for all the variations of flags being worn or held by people as we walked around. The atmosphere was very positive and friendly again. It has been one of the hallmarks of the games that everyone has remarked on and has given London a new image I think abroad.

I liked having lots of people around all the tube stations and in town offering help even if I didn't need it.

Crowds walk around the English Garden near the Stadium.

At the Olympics

The Olympic games has ended and I'm only just catching up with my own visit to the games.I was up very early on the 30th July for the handball session that I'd managed to get tickets for, after many days and hours on the internet.  Ruth and I walked to the Eaton Manor gate, which unlike Stratford had nobody waiting to go in and only us in the queue at the security gate!

I think there had been some serious over estimate at how many people would use this entrance to the Olympic Park, though for us it was great, we just sailed in. Some of the iconic structures like the velodrome stood out with out the crowds in front of them.

It was good to come into the park from the opposite end to Stratford as we had a very different view of the site. We spent some time exploring the natural areas around the river, all planted with trees, wild flowers and grasses.

The large screen was set in the marsh in front of the river looking a bit surreal with a few ducks and a moorhen  swimming on the water. Just across the way we sat and watched housemartins skimming over the water for insects.

By the time we got to the Copper Box, the venue for the handball, the park was filled with crowds of people. I'd never watched handball before and enjoyed the fast paced matches where goals were scored every minute or so.

We walked to the Stratford gate to go back home, around the Orbit Tower, which is not my favourite structure, and I think looks out of place in the park.

 The atmosphere inside the park as most people have remarked on, was very good natured and friendly, lots of people decorated with flags and excited children everywhere.

We have tickets for the Paralympics and I'm hoping to explore the park a bit more and find some more of the art works on the site as well as enjoying the games.