Author: Sue Duckworth
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For The Love Of Kentish Apples!
“Kent, Sir – everybody knows Kent – apples, cherries, hops and women” says the famous quote by Charles Dickens. October is Harvest time in Kent and apples are one of our most important crops. We still grow thousands of acres of apples in the ‘Garden of England’ today. Apples first appeared in the Bible, when…
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Love on Saint Valentine’s Day
Known as the patron saint of lovers, epileptics, and beekeepers, Saint Valentine still plays an important role in our lives today. Since the Middle Ages, St Valentine’s Day has been known as the date when birds start to pair and mate! This is due to the ‘Fools Spring’ in the middle of the month, when…
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Saint Clement’s Day
23rd November is known as Saint Clement’s Day but in the Middle Ages was also considered to be the beginning of Winter. Saint Clement was the fourth Christian Pope who lived from 53 to 117 AD. After being banished to the Crimea, he converted heathens to Christianity and built 75 churches. Emperor Trajan then had…
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St George
The 23rd April is known as St George’s Day with St George being the most revered saint in the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches. George is the patron saint of England and of twelve other countries too! In AD 303, George was a tribune and a member of the Emperor Diocletian’s personal guard. Diocletian had…
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St Gregory the Great
Our next Saint is St Gregory whose death we commemorate on 12th March each year. The Second Vatican Council revised the General Roman Calendar in 1969, moving his Feast Day to 3rd September, which was the day of his consecration in 590AD, as of course 12th March falls during Lent. Pope Gregory 1, also known…
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Saint Andrew
Welcome to this first in a series of posts about Saints – today we are looking at the Patron Saint of Scotland – Saint Andrew, shown above on the right panel in stained glass at the Church of St Mary, Hillborough, Kent. We don’t know much about Andrew – just that he was born in…
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Summer 2021
Looking forward to the warmer months ahead – Kent is the place to come for luscious cherries and crisp apples. We have some of the best Vineyards in this part of England – all down to our downs, chalk and warmer climate. Welcome to Kent – known as the ‘Garden of England’ where you can…