A day out to Margate

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Yesterday, blessed as it was with glorious sunshine, could hardly have been a better day to make a visit to Margate. The train journey from Ebbsfleet is only an hour and ten minutes, thanks to the high speed track as far as Ashford.

As you can imagine, priests changing parishes have a multitude of things to talk about. There are important strategic things like evangelisation, the make-up of the congregation, the school, the hospital and the finances. Then there are the more personal matters which anyone would need to know about when moving from one place to another - it occurred to me the other day that I'm going to miss my excellent dentist at Blackfen! Obviously the conversation is confidential, but suffice it to say that I was greatly cheered by my visit.

You can see the sanctuary of St Austin and St Gregory's above. (The stained glass in the east window was donated by the singer John McCormack.) Here is a view towards the rear of the Church:

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On the south side, the niche contains this altar to St Joseph:

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One of the highlights of the Church is the Lady chapel:

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Here is a photo of the floor tiles:

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On such a beautiful day, it would have been a pity not to take a walk down to the seaside, so on the way back to the Station, I made my way through the old town, past the Turner Contemporary gallery and along the Harbour Arm.

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