The equinox has occurred, signaling the beginning of the end of the year and the start of the buildup to Christmas. The day before the equinox was the shortest day, meaning light will now start to win over darkness. The author and his wife Jools were both off work for the day, but Jools had to work half a day before attending a company-paid lunch at an upscale place in Folkestone with her colleagues. The author dropped her off in Hythe before embarking on his own plans for the day.
His plan was to go on a church crawl in the far west of Kent, but since Kent is not a big county, it still took some time to get to the extreme west from his home. He took the main roads until the junction before the M26 starts, then turned onto a twisting road that led to Tonbridge, a once-sleepy village that became a busy one due to the arrival of railways. He continued on the road to Penshurt, where the village was built around the outskirts of Penshurst Place, the home of the Sidney family since Tudor times.
The author visited the church in Penshurt, where the memorials and tombs of the great and good are found. It features colorful roof beams and heraldic shields, as well as a 15th-century font that has been brightly painted, unfortunately. He then drove to Speldhurst, but there was no place to park near the church, so he only did a slow drive-by and deduced that it was locked. He continued to Groombridge, where there is a small chapel with fabulous glass. He had been there before but wanted to redo his shots. It was raining hard by then, and as dark as twilight. He missed the church on his first pass and went to the mini-roundabout only to discover that it and the other church in the village were in Sussex. He then drove straight to Tunbridge Wells, where he revisited another church.
He parked his car in a high-up parking house near the stairs down, ready to leave the town easily once he was done. He went down to the church, where a service was underway, and he sat at the back to observe and pray. About eight elderly parishioners received communion. He was there to take photos of the ceiling and other details he failed to record on his last visit. He was questioned by a warden as to why he was doing this, and he replied that he enjoys it. He then left and began the slog back up to his car, keeping his promise to a young man selling the Big Issue earlier to come back and buy a copy. He gave the young man five pounds and didn’t take a copy, causing the young man to nearly burst into tears.
The author had 90 minutes to kill before picking Jools up again, so he stopped at Stop 24 services for a coffee and something to eat. He scrolled through Twitter, but nothing had changed. He then picked up Jools and drove back home.