Royalty and bliss

This morning I was up at 05:30 to get on the road early to get to the establishment early. As it was we had torrential rain and it took more than 90 minutes to drive 32 miles; albeit 32 miles in one of the busier bits of the country. Satnav clearly knew where the problems were because it took me a route I've not tried before and one I'd probably not find again without electronic assistance.

I finally got to the site and went through the usual checks to get in and was met by my host. I was then offered a cup of tea. I cannot tell you how welcome this is; often I don't get a brew until lunchtime and sometimes not even then! The mug I was given was from "An evening of bliss with Pastor Chris" and it promised that the event would last from 6 pm until dawn. I must admit that a bloke who can promise bliss for that long must be worth checking out and when I mentioned this I was told that there was music and dancers too. It must be the best end of 10 hours so, to be honest, if I'd managed that long I'd want fireworks, the Red Arrows and a standing ovation. This was at the Excel in 2008 and I see that now he is only doing a "Night of Bliss" - I guess that age catches up with all of us.

After the visit - which was great - it was time to head home and I saw the impact of the earlier rain. The main road from Dartford to the M25 (Bob Dunn Way, A206) was shut and clearly flooded. This led to a diversion through the centre of Dartford and from there I stuck with the A226 rather than jumping on the motorway. This brought me to Gravesend where I knew I'd find a blip.

This is Royal Terrace Pier which is owned by the Port of London Authority (PLA) and they have a big office here that houses port control; it looks after shipping on the Thames downstream of Erith. The boats at the end of the pier are used for doing whatever it is that they might do. On the opposite bank the chimneys are part of Tilbury B power station which used to burn coal and was then being converted to burn biomass but the conversion stopped last year. The power station is mothballed just now.

The pier is on Royal Pier Road which was given the "Royal" tag in 1863 after Princess Alexandria landed here from Denmark to marry the Prince of Wales who later became Edward VII.

The image seems to work if you try it in the larger size.

So there you go - I hope I've delivered at least a little smile; I'll have to work up to the 12 hour bliss-fest.....

It's Friday. Enjoy it!