Down and Around to Kent

Tuesday July 27th
Another travelling day today so after coffee they packed me up and set off in the direction of Sevenoaks in Kent. The weather forecast was dreadful so Mary was expecting another day of slow driving and lots of spray but it stayed fine. It was motorway travel all the way and the Tom Tom gave clear directions and apart for a lunch stop, it was all very straightforward. The m25 seemed to go on forever,but Mary said it was all very familiar if a tad boring.

They arrived at the Day’s at about 4pm to find no one home. Mary managed to back me right down to the bottom of the drive so that all the other cars could come in after me. Parking on the road is impossible. They left me and went for a walk over Knole Park which is just across the road. It was too late in the day to actually go into the house and they have been in twice before. It is National Trust and was the home of the Sackville Family. There were a lots of young deer in the park.

In the evening it was time for a catch up and planning for the next two days. Sue has some good places planned for visits locally.

Now from the Brit PC file: Mary read this in the paper the other day.

Punch’s Stick gives way to Feather Duster
A Punch and Judy man has been ordered to tone down his act after organisers said the traditional show could be deemed offensive. Daniel Liversidge, 36, has been told his forthcoming Mr Marvels Punch and Judy performance at the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth cannot include any scenes with Punch hitting Judy with a stick. Mr Liversidge, who has been performing his act for 21 years said: “You have to move with the times. At the end of the day I am a children’s entertainer and my job is to keep children happy. Mr Punch is still a rascal and still has a variety of weapons in his arsenal but they are more appropriate, like a feather duster or a tickling stick.”
Mr Liveridge has also tweaked his script to give the 200 year old story a more modern tone and carry messages to the audience. Punch argues with Judy over his love for football and her shopping habits, while children are encouraged to call for the police when Punch is naughty. Paul Mahy, the commercial manager at the Spinnaker Tower said: “We have agreed that many of the aspects of the traditional script had to be omitted. For example, Judy was originally put through a mangle, obviously we cannot do this any more".


( I take it this means that every Xbox game, video game, DS Nintendo, TV show, movie will need to be banned as well as they contain way more violence than poor old Punch and Judy. )