Recovering in Devon!
Suki and I arrived in Bovey about 4.30, dirty, dishevelled and tired. Jayne was delighted to see us earlier than expected, and showed me round the house improvements since last time - curtain poles all up and curtains up in my bedroom, new blind up in the bathroom etc. Then we had a cup of tea and I had a long awaited shower and good clean of my teeth. Got into my comfies and threw everything I had been wearing into the wash. We had a nice evening in watching tv with a glass or two of red wine and some pasta for supper.
Suki was exhausted and slept solidly for about 36 hours! It took both of us that long to recover! I got up early on Sunday to go to church and then to ringing. There were only 3 of us so we didn't ring. I heard later that 3 people turned up to ring for the 11 am service as it was the third Sunday. So 6 ringers around but no ringing! Bob was away which explained some of the confusion.
Lee and Emma came round about 11 to pick up the keys to our house on their way down to London. It was Emma's 30th birthday on the Monday and they had been looking forward to celebrating in London and staying with Linda - but she cancelled the invitation! So I offered our place. They were both over the moon.
Jayne and I went to Pink's Place for Sunday lunch - the last time Tina was doing it. We bought her some flowers and she offered everyone a glass of wine. Afterwards we went off to Trago - ostensibly to look at bedside units but of course we came back with lots of other stuff instead. We did find some curtains for the living room - which Jayne put up the next day. They were just right - nice material and looked great. I also bought Suki a nice soft harness which I thought would be better for her skin and also protect the bare bit from the sun - she didn't quite know what to make of it at first but got used to it after a couple of days and didn't shy away from it like she did the previous harness.
By Monday morning Suki and I were both feeling more normal and energetic again and we went for a lovely long walk on the moor, from the small car park and up round Black Hill. There were lots of new foals around.
Then we went to see Mary. It was very hot and sunny and the lounge was unbearably warm. I decided Mary and I should walk round the outside of the lounge to see me off - and then found we had to negotiate large piles of foliage and rubbish which had been cleared from the gutters and then a pile of sharp tools lying on the ground - all while being watched by everyone inside. Not my finest hour!! I sat in the garden all afternoon with the umbrella up to shade me from the hot sun and wrote up my blog of the Intrepid trip. I also practised some Kent max on Abel but not as much as I should - I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm. Jayne joined me in the garden when she got back from work. I went ringing in the evening - there were just 7 of us at the practice - and then came back for a glass of wine with Jayne.
Tuesday morning Jayne and I took Suki for a walk in Parke and then at lunchtime I went off to ring handbells at Tim's. Failed to ring a QP of 3x spliced Royal. In the evening we met up with Jackie for a meal at The Dolphin - excellent as usual. Jayne and Jackie had pavlova for dessert - and were rather taken aback by the portion size when it arrived. They made my lemon tart look quite dainty. Ralph gave us a lift home which was nice.
Wednesday Jayne and I went for a walk on the moor - Black Hill route again. It was another lovely hot sunny day and when we got back we decided to sit in the garden again for a few hours before I had to go off to ring handbells again - for Tim's birthday. In the evening we went for a short walk in plantation together with Suki and then got some fish and chips for supper.
The rest of the week was hot and sunny and we sat in the garden every afternoon in the shade of the umbrella. I finished my Wilbur Smith book and also completed another section of the cross stitch Shelties - just about half finished now. It often got a bit crowded on the sunbed however!
We had more lovely walks - including a long one on the moor and we also did the two hour walk in Bovey Valley Woods (from the lower Trendlebere car park). The old bridge has been opened up and can now be crossed - at one's own risk. Neither of us fancied crossing it, but it was nice to see it in its original state (albeit with a few extra strengtheners added). Afterwards we went to try out the cafe by Haytor which was yet again under new ownership and we were most impressed. We had a light lunch which turned out to be somewhat substantial!
On Sunday I went to ring at Lustleigh and although I didn't ring I made myself useful doing the calling from outside the circle! Bob was still away and no-one else could call. Austin gave me a lift and I walked back and met Jayne and Suki on the way. We went to the cafe in Parke and I had a wonderful cheese pastie and a coffee. We took home a cream tea for later - perfect end to a lovely week. And we even found time to put up the new clock in the kitchen!
Suki was exhausted and slept solidly for about 36 hours! It took both of us that long to recover! I got up early on Sunday to go to church and then to ringing. There were only 3 of us so we didn't ring. I heard later that 3 people turned up to ring for the 11 am service as it was the third Sunday. So 6 ringers around but no ringing! Bob was away which explained some of the confusion.
Lee and Emma came round about 11 to pick up the keys to our house on their way down to London. It was Emma's 30th birthday on the Monday and they had been looking forward to celebrating in London and staying with Linda - but she cancelled the invitation! So I offered our place. They were both over the moon.
Jayne and I went to Pink's Place for Sunday lunch - the last time Tina was doing it. We bought her some flowers and she offered everyone a glass of wine. Afterwards we went off to Trago - ostensibly to look at bedside units but of course we came back with lots of other stuff instead. We did find some curtains for the living room - which Jayne put up the next day. They were just right - nice material and looked great. I also bought Suki a nice soft harness which I thought would be better for her skin and also protect the bare bit from the sun - she didn't quite know what to make of it at first but got used to it after a couple of days and didn't shy away from it like she did the previous harness.
By Monday morning Suki and I were both feeling more normal and energetic again and we went for a lovely long walk on the moor, from the small car park and up round Black Hill. There were lots of new foals around.
Then we went to see Mary. It was very hot and sunny and the lounge was unbearably warm. I decided Mary and I should walk round the outside of the lounge to see me off - and then found we had to negotiate large piles of foliage and rubbish which had been cleared from the gutters and then a pile of sharp tools lying on the ground - all while being watched by everyone inside. Not my finest hour!! I sat in the garden all afternoon with the umbrella up to shade me from the hot sun and wrote up my blog of the Intrepid trip. I also practised some Kent max on Abel but not as much as I should - I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm. Jayne joined me in the garden when she got back from work. I went ringing in the evening - there were just 7 of us at the practice - and then came back for a glass of wine with Jayne.
Tuesday morning Jayne and I took Suki for a walk in Parke and then at lunchtime I went off to ring handbells at Tim's. Failed to ring a QP of 3x spliced Royal. In the evening we met up with Jackie for a meal at The Dolphin - excellent as usual. Jayne and Jackie had pavlova for dessert - and were rather taken aback by the portion size when it arrived. They made my lemon tart look quite dainty. Ralph gave us a lift home which was nice.
Wednesday Jayne and I went for a walk on the moor - Black Hill route again. It was another lovely hot sunny day and when we got back we decided to sit in the garden again for a few hours before I had to go off to ring handbells again - for Tim's birthday. In the evening we went for a short walk in plantation together with Suki and then got some fish and chips for supper.
The rest of the week was hot and sunny and we sat in the garden every afternoon in the shade of the umbrella. I finished my Wilbur Smith book and also completed another section of the cross stitch Shelties - just about half finished now. It often got a bit crowded on the sunbed however!
We had more lovely walks - including a long one on the moor and we also did the two hour walk in Bovey Valley Woods (from the lower Trendlebere car park). The old bridge has been opened up and can now be crossed - at one's own risk. Neither of us fancied crossing it, but it was nice to see it in its original state (albeit with a few extra strengtheners added). Afterwards we went to try out the cafe by Haytor which was yet again under new ownership and we were most impressed. We had a light lunch which turned out to be somewhat substantial!
On Sunday I went to ring at Lustleigh and although I didn't ring I made myself useful doing the calling from outside the circle! Bob was still away and no-one else could call. Austin gave me a lift and I walked back and met Jayne and Suki on the way. We went to the cafe in Parke and I had a wonderful cheese pastie and a coffee. We took home a cream tea for later - perfect end to a lovely week. And we even found time to put up the new clock in the kitchen!
