two for the price of one is exactly what you get when you go to see scotney castle. the old medieval moated castle, built by roger ashburnham sits on an island and dates way back to 1378 and the new castle, more english country house, designed by anthony salvin and built between 1835 and 1843. the two castles are nestled in picturesque gardens in the valley of the river bewl in lamberhurst kent. it is full of rhododendrons, azaleas and kalmia in the spring time and wisteria and roses in the summer.

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we trotted along to 20 fenchurch street or more affectionately called “the walkie-talkie” because it basically looks like one. it is currently the 5th tallest building in the city of london and in 2015 it was awarded carbuncle cup for being the worst new building in the UK in the previous 12 months. a bit harsh you may think, but in fairness it’s not pretty.

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many many moons ago as far back as 1997, back in the olden days as ronnie might say, a book was released that literally changed the world, harry potter and the and the philosopher’s stone. at the time i was travelling into london from sunny essex and reading was a must to get through the chore of the daily commute. essentially it was a children’s book, but it attracted a wide adult readership too, and soon harry potter was a world-wide literature phenomenon.

now i’m sure i don’t have to tell you about the story but just incase you haven’t heard harry is a wizard. the books tell the journey of harry and his friends hermione granger and ron weasley, through their years as students at the hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry.

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after taking nanny minnie her shopping today, i quickly popped over to a shop on columbia road to investigate a potential shopping opportunity!

however i became quite distracted by the doors, particularly their knockers! you see i have mostly visited columbia road on a sunday when the flower market is in full bloom, and it is heaving. you don’t get to really see the doors, let alone their knockers 🙂

so pretty and so very different from one another. i hope you enjoy as much as i did.

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