Devon - February visit
Thurs 13th
Set off at 10.30 and arrived about 2. Reasonable journey. Listened to fourth protocol by John le carre all the way. Lost huge chunk of tooth on fruit pastille. Tempted to doze after a cup of tea but snapped out of it and ironed the guest bedding whilst watching tipping point and pointless. Took nearly 2 hours! Also cleaned the fridge - huge improvement. Practiced on Abel for hour and a half in the evening before watching death in paradise with one glass of wine.
Fri 14th
Had a nice relaxed start. Went up on the moor. Very windy and wetter than I had anticipated. I should have worn my waterproof trousers and I should have taken my walking stick as it was slippery in places. Suki walked for a short while and then I carried her in the backpack along to the summit at the end of the ridge and then down to the tramway. She walked all the way back to the car from there and seemed quite happy. Quite a long walk for her. Went to Trago and got a bin and some new taps. Weather got worse later. Did some cross stitch and some practice on Abel.
Sat 15th - Storm Dennis
The expected storm had started when I woke up. I took Suki round the garden - far too wet and windy to take her for a walk. Put all my waterproofs on and walked to House of Marbles to meet Jackie for coffee. 30 mins each way. Got drenched - coat and waterproof trousers kept me dry underneath but boots began to leak after about 10 mins and my gloves became sodden although they stayed warm. Arrived just before Jackie and bought a couple of half price Christmas decorations. We chatted for about 2 hours and had a couple of coffees and then went round the shop. I bought a couple of half price soaps etc for Jayne. Walked back - getting drenched by a car going through a puddle but it didn't matter as I was dressed for it. I really enjoyed the walks despite the wind and rain. Peeled everything off when I got in and draped it over the radiators - spent the rest of the day in my comfies trousers. Watched films all afternoon and evening so that I could then delete them off the HDD, which had run out of space. The DVD bit had decided to play up and wouldn't work so I couldn't just record them to DVD. Seemed very decadent but it was a nice way to spend a stormy day.
Sun 16th
It was still stormy when I woke up - strong winds and torrential rain. Bovey was on the national news as being flooded, and there was certainly plenty of flooding around, including Mill Marsh Park, but I only saw one home flooded and that was the one in the High Street slightly below street level near the river. Hardly worthy of national attention I would have thought.
Mon 17th
Plumber came to fit new taps - struggled to get the old ones off. He managed to fix new ones at different angles and showing the washer underneath! I must get another plumber! Did some cleaning afterwards and had to wash the bath mat and towels he'd just chucked in the bath! Sun came out although also heavy showers. Nice rainbow. Took Suki to Parke - there was a sudden heavy shower but thereafter it was sunny and nice. I carried her to the end of railway track in the rucksack and then she walked back with me along by the river. There was lots of flooding, especially by the weir, and I had to pick my way through the trees as the path there was completely flooded. The path further on was roped off because of a fallen tree across it, but I climbed over the rope and clambered over the tree. Did some cross stitch while watching TV in the afternoon. Went ringing in the evening - lots of crashing around! Still very damp up there after water had been running down the walls during the storm. Went straight home afterwards for an early night.
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Tues 18th
More rain! Handbells with Tim at 9.30 am - back for a couple of hours then handbells at Moretonhampstead in the afternoon. Moreton changed to Tuesday afternoons so that people did not have to drive in the dark.
Handbells with Tim on Wednesday and back home on Thursday - the week always seems to go far too quickly.
Handbells - failed attempt of Swindon Royal at Lynn's. Successful peal of Double Dublin (surprisingly) and QP of 3xspliced Royal.
Flooding in Parke videos:
