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‘Yup, that was me too.’
‘Amazing. Right, are you ready to go?’
Oddly, I’ve got so used to my scruffy jeans, work shirts and boots that I found it very difficult to decide what to wear today. Normally, it would have been a no-brainer and I’d have gone straight for a dress or a skirt with a strappy top and a pair of ballet pumps underneath, but that somehow felt too ‘date’ like, so I’ve gone for a pair of shorts, T-shirt and trainers. If we’re going to be walking around gardens, I figured they’d be more comfortable anyway. It’s another beautiful day, and I’m quite looking forward to a bit of sightseeing.
‘Where are we going?’ I ask him as we leave Ashford behind and head into the countryside.
‘We’re starting at Sissinghurst,’ he replies. ‘It’s one of the most famous gardens in Kent, created by Vita Sackville-West. It’s only about twenty minutes’ drive, but it was the first place I thought of when you said you liked gardens. Plus, there’s a whiff of scandal about it, and who doesn’t like a bit of intrigue, eh?’
‘What sort of scandal?’
‘I can’t remember the name of the bloke she married, but their first home together was a house called Long Barn near Sevenoaks, where she discovered her love for gardening and created her first garden. Then, some years later, they bought Sissinghurst and she really went for it. But it seems gardening wasn’t her only passion. She also had a number of affairs with both men and women, the most famous of which was her affair with Virginia Woolf. Have you heard of her?’
‘Yeah, she was a famous author.’
‘I’ll take your word for it. English Literature wasn’t really my favourite subject at school. Anyway, it seems our Vita was a bit of a girl. Or, at least, she liked a bit of a girl.’ He grins wolfishly.
‘And how do you know all this?’ I ask him.
‘Googled it last night after I booked the tickets.’
‘Tell me, what is it that men find so fascinating about lesbianism?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You were practically salivating about Vita just then. You never hear women talking about gay guys like that.’
‘Yeah, well.’ He blushes slightly and an awkward silence descends. I can see him trying to work out what to say and decide to take pity on him.
‘Relax, I’m just curious, that’s all. What’s that?’ I point to a house with a round, pointy tower at one end, topped with a wooden hood with a board sticking out of it.
‘That’s an Oast house. You’ll see them all over the place in Kent. They were used for drying hops back in the day, but now most of them have been converted into houses.’
‘How do they work?’
‘Oh, come on!’ he exclaims. ‘You need to give me notice before you ask questions like that, so I can look up the answers. All I know is that Kent was famous for its hops, among other things, and Oast houses were used for drying them.’
‘Kent, the Garden of England.’
‘Exactly, although you’d struggle to see why it’s called that, living in Ashford. That’s why it’s important to get out occasionally and see other parts of the county. Did you know Kent only has one city?’
‘I didn’t.’
‘Neither did I,’ he smiles. ‘Amazing what you can find online, isn’t it?’
‘Lesbians, mainly,’ I joke.
‘Oh, look, we’re here.’
Noah is right about one thing. This garden is spectacular and I take my time, drinking in the various ‘rooms’ as the guide book describes them. I can tell that this isn’t really his scene, but he’s very patient and follows me round without a word of complaint. He doesn’t even seem to mind when I get carried away and grab his hand a couple of times so I can drag him over to see a particular flower or display.
‘That was amazing, thank you,’ I tell him as we make our way back to his van.
‘There’s more to come,’ he assures me. ‘We’re heading for Tenterden next.’
‘What’s there?’
‘A vineyard, where we’re going to have lunch.’
