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I am transferring this page to www.devondispatches.blogspot.com Hope you enjoy it. Sophie Digging the potatoes was a bad idea. First harvest from the veg patch – a lettuce and
some rocket. I will dare to dig the
first of my potatoes in the next few days. Caught a spider crab today at Gara - it was minus
two of its legs but pretty lively all the same. I was snorkelling around some rocks when I
spotted it sitting unsuspectingly on a ledge down below. So I dived down and grabbed it. Then of course came the question of what
to do with it, because they make good eating.
In the end I put it back – not before showing it off to the rest of
the party on the beach though. Exciting aquatic sightings. Yesterday I saw a two foot long salmon, and
then a large eel in the River Dart. I
was swimming in a big pool, wearing my goggles. When I first saw the salmon it was quite a
shock, the sheer size of it. It was
sitting at the bottom of the river not doing very much, looking grey and
ghostly. It then moved off. I saw it about four or five times. It
appeared to have some sort of disease – there was white fungus on its snout.
Then, just as I was about to get out, I saw the eel, which was about four
foot long, at the bottom of the river curled around a rock. Then, today at Thurlestone, I spotted a very exotic
looking fish while I was swimming around in the rocky area at the side of the
beach. It was beautiful – about a foot
long with bands of brown down its sides and turquoise spots – like something
you’d see in an aquarium. I haven’t
managed to ascertain what it is – possibly a tompot blenny or maybe a variety
of wrasse. Time to get an underwater camera! Went ‘canyoning’ (I believe this is the correct
term) down the River Plym from After days of cold mornings and rain, I finally got the
chance to get in the veg patch, where I found a few of my potatoes had come
up. I sowed perpetual spinach, salad
bowl lettuce, corn salad, and two Japanese leaf varieties –Komatsuna and
Yukina Tatsoi. The latter is a purple
one which looks interesting. I also sowed lots of snap peas – Zucolla – a
variety I had a lot of success with the year before last. Yesterday we virtually had a monsoon. The rain
thundered down with tremendous force.
And yet today – blue skies, intense sun. The weather is schizophrenic. Met up with friends and swam in the river
Dart at Hembury. We thought the river
would be far too dangerous, but it was such a big pool it was still quite
slow moving. Four of us went in. At last the gloom of February seemed to lift, the
sun came out and we hit the beach. We
walked along the cliffs from Bolberry
near Kingsbridge, down to Soar Mill Cove where we braved the icy waves with
our bodyboards. It felt fabulous. This weekend has felt like spring – early summer
even. The sun has been out non-stop.
On Saturday I worked in the veg patch and the birds were singing all
around me – it was just lovely. Then today we walked by the sea at
Teignmouth. The sun beat down and we
got quite hot. Went to the “Wondermentalist Cabaret” in
Totnes. This was organised by local
poet Matt Harvey, in the grand old surroundings of the ballroom of the Seven
Stars Hotel. Lots of poets, and a very funny man called Jerri Hart who played
a sort of kids’ guitar. During the
interval we went downstairs and found some karaoke in full swing….this proved
somewhat more compelling and we missed the second half of the poetry. Ah, the great divide – the middle classes
upstairs with the poems, the working classes downstairs on the microphones…. Hiked through gales to Crazy Well Pool on Started the year as I intend to carry on – swimming.
Gathered with friends at Bantham and we all got kitted up in as many layers
as possible before plunging into the surf.
I even improvised hand protection by wearing surgical gloves with
Marigolds on top, held together with elastic bands. I looked very silly but
it worked. December December generally passed off without comment or
incident. Apart from Christmas of
course. Err that’s it. Had a glorious walk by the Dart today. The river was
an absolute raging torrent – it was mostly white water, and there were quite
a few canoeists taking advantage of it.
The colours in the woods were amazing: gold and copper and yellow and
green and everything in between. We
came back with a respectable haul of hedgehog mushrooms – although it was
hard work finding them in the deep bed of leaves on the forest floor. It’s not a great mushrooming season – although I did
find some chanterelles today. While we
were out I met a fellow mushroomer – a rare sight, thankfully - who turned
out to be Austrian. We had a nice chat.
I don’t think I’ve ever met another Brit out ‘shrooming – it’s always
Germans, Austrians or Poles. I said my official goodbye to the summer today. The boys and I went down to Coastguards
Beach at Mothecombe and it was magical….like being on a desert island. No one else was there, the sun was setting
and the tide was in. I swam up the
estuary, and the water was as clear as a bell, warm, and very still. A weekend of frolics at the Ashburn River Festival,
celebrating the life of Ashburton’s river. There have been numerous events
including a lantern procession on the Friday night, a dance on the Saturday
night, and an outdoor play on the Sunday all about the Cutty Dyer river
sprite who, according to local legend, lives in the river Ashburn. What a brilliant day. I swam around Burgh Island – something I
have been wanting to do for ages. I
was with a group of friends – it’s about a mile and it took us about an hour.
Unfortunately our venture did not go unnoticed, and we ended up being
accompanied by the RNLI in a RIB, and also by a lifeguard on a
surfboard. Had a beautiful swim in a big pool at Spitchwick –
hadn’t tried swimming in this particular pool before and I will definitely go
again. It has a really deep channel in
the middle and the pool is a lot longer than most. Most exciting of all, I saw a massive eel,
and was able to watch it for some time.
It was quite a strange experience.
The eel had a ghostly presence because it moved quite slowly and
deliberately and its colour was a sort of cloudy brown – so it was very well
camouflaged. More mushrooming success – came back with a handsome
haul of hedgehogs after a trip to the woods with a friend. They do not usually appear until quite a
bit later in the season, but perhaps the weather has meant they’ve arrived
early. Found chanterelles!
And not just in my usual spot, but in a new place too – also, a few
hedgehogs. (We’re talking mushrooms
here). Can I dare to hope we might
have a good ‘shroom season? Took part in the Topsham to Turf swim across the Exe
estuary. It was organised by Mike the Ferryman, and everyone gathered in a
pub on the water’s edge beforehand, along with Morris dancers, a fiddler, and
general party atmosphere. It was a
hot, still evening and the water was incredibly warm – though naturally very
brackish and brown. There were lots of
boats accompanying us and, much to my surprise, I made it across. Up bright and early (for a Saturday) for a 9:30
rendezvous at Burgh Island. I was meeting two friends and we were intending
to swim round the island. Clad in our
wetsuits and flowery swimming hats we set off – but it was rather a gloomy
day and we got cold and didn’t make it all the way round – although we did
see spider crabs, various fish and jellyfish on the way. We have another date booked to try and do
it again. Alex’s birthday today so we had a party in the back
garden complete with drive-in movie – or rather, sit-down-on-the
damp-grass-movie. Alex rigged it up, courtesy of a borrowed digital projector
and screen, and we showed Grease.
Naturally, there was audience participation – increasingly uninhibited
as the evening wore on. Yesterday the sun came out for a WHOLE DAY!
Wow! The excitement was obviously too
much as it popped its head out for a moment today and then decided that was
enough, and disappeared again. Still,
a friend and I (but not the boys, it was far too cold), had a wonderful, invigorating swim in the
rain in a high Dartmoor pool, then came home and had a big lunch and watched
the Wimbledon. Lovely. Haven’t wanted to write anything for the last three
weeks as the weather has been so unremittingly wet and depressing. However things looked up this weekend with
a girls’ trip to Cornwall. We rolled
up at the Treyarnon Bay Youth Hostel amid threatening skies and howling winds
but nothing could dampen our enthusiasm – the beach and cliffs were just so
beautiful. The hostel is in an
unrivalled position on the clifftop.
We went bodyboarding twice, and also swam in a huge rock pool. What with the obligatory jolly romps in
the dorm a great time was had by all. A scorcher of a weekend. Spent Saturday afternoon at the beach at
Soar Mill Cove – there was an eerie sea mist which kept coming down and then
lifting. Swam in the sea and saw
several shoals of fish. On Sunday
spent most of the day doing boring household tasks – the only thing that kept
me going was the thought of a swim in the river at the end of the day. When it finally came it was the most
soothing thing imaginable. Went to a brilliant new play called Speed Death
of the Radiant Child, by Chris Goode, at the Drum Theatre in Plymouth. I
was gripped. It was thrilling. It’s
hard to say exactly what it was about, but it explored the idea of the body,
and what happens when we get wounded, both physically and metaphorically. This was linked in, bizarrely but credibly,
with the Windscale nuclear disaster, ideas of radiance, mental illness and
toxic contamination. Saturday 26th May I decided to throw caution to the winds today and
dig up one of my potato plants. Huge
excitement – a decent crop of potatoes underneath. They’ve only taken 9 weeks from sowing
which is incredible. It’s also particularly pleasing because my potatoes are
normally struck down by a disease called blackleg every year, and so far,
touch wood, they’ve been ok. Perhaps
the very dry and hot April, followed by the very wet May, has helped. Monday 21st May We had the first harvest of salad leaves from the
garden – rocket and something called
Komatsuna - a variety of Japanese mustard spinach which I haven’t grown
before but which is very tasty – bitter and slightly tangy. Sunday 13th May It has been raining all weekend, and today they
abandoned the Ten Tors hiking challenge because the river levels were getting
dangerously high. Nevertheless we went
out for a walk – just couldn’t stay inside all day. We saw all manner of fauna and flora: a
pair of Canada geese with seven goslings; swallows and swifts dive bombing
insects on a pond; a stoat, a jay; an orchid, and finally, and most
bizarrely, a variety of boletus mushroom.
As the earliest you normally see such mushrooms is late summer, I can
only imagine that the dry spell in April, followed by the huge amount of rain
we’ve had in May, resulted in the mushroom coming up. Saturday 12th May Danced the night away at “99% Phunky”, a club night
at the delightfully bohemian Barrel House in Totnes. Apart from being befriended by a heroin
addict who was permanently apologetic and off his head, the evening proceeded
uneventfully – apart from frantic boogying of course. Had a fabulous time being thumped by waves in
Thurlestone. The weather was
terrible. We’d been for a coastal walk
in which we’d been whipped by winds and rain, and the place was deserted. However the waves were pounding on the
shore – not exactly invitingly, but excitingly certainly, and we pulled on
our wetsuits and braved them, with our bodyboards. Whoosh!
Extremely invigorating, and also rather bruising. Spent the day slaving in the veg patch. A friend had kindly given me some lettuce
plants, so I put those in, then I dug over a couple of beds, and put in canes
and chicken wire for beans and peas, and then sowed some beans and peas. My chilli seeds (mentioned below) have come
up, and I potted them on, so I now have 17 chilli plants. It will be interesting to see how they do. The weather is like summer – constant hot
sunshine. Had a beautiful walk by the
river and saw lots of butterflies including brimstones, peacocks, orange tips
and two types of fritillary. There
were masses of violets in flower too.
Had the first proper river swim of the year, in the magical pool
mentioned in the previous entry. It
was bliss. Walking along the Dart today I found the most
magical swimming pool. It had a huge
natural rocky platform on one side, with an ancient metal ladder provided to
get down to it, which I guess was put up in the 30s or 50s. On the other side was a small island with a
little beach. Just amazingly idyllic. Walking towards the little river that runs by our
house, I heard some very loud and frantic quacking. It was a mother duck and her THIRTEEN
ducklings. She was at the top of a little
weir, and they were at the bottom, trying, fruitlessly, to get up. It was a hopeless task, they just kept
getting swept downstream. In the end
the mum gave up and joined them further down.
Apparently thirteen is an unusually large brood – wonder if they’ll
all survive. Sowed some chilli seeds today, spurred on by my
brother Matthew who grew them very successfully last year. We don’t have a greenhouse, so I am hoping
a special contraption invented by Matthew will work. It involves an old rectangular washing up
bowl with water in the bottom, into which I’m putting a tray supported on
stones, with my pots with the chilli seeds on top. Clingfilm then goes on top
of the bowl, and the idea is to create warm, humid conditions. We shall see if it works. What usually happens with this sort of
thing is that I am full of enthusiasm and optimism to start with and then I
lose interest and the whole project goes to pot. Got my spuds and broad beans in this weekend. It was
absolutely beautiful on Saturday. The
sun was out, and the birds were singing non-stop as I worked in the veg
patch. Then I saw a Common Blue
butterfly, obviously newly hatched, fluttering about. Surely that is very early? In the afternoon I took the boys to Ness
Beach at Shaldon. They love it because
you get to it through a smugglers tunnel – an amazing construction through
the cliff. The entrance to it looks
like the Hobbit’s hole. Finally got going in the veg patch today. Did quite a bit of digging and it all looks
a bit more respectable now, as opposed to an overgrown mess. I’m trying some organic fertiliser which is
made of chicken – er - waste, (it stinks to high heaven) which I hope will
lively things up a bit. I wondered
about putting my potatoes in but decided against it because of the cold
weather which was forecast. As I write
it is now hailing. The SHORTS came out this weekend! Shock horror! The sun shone and it was so beautiful. On Saturday we went on a walk at Hembury
Woods by the river and there were scores of dwarf daffodils and wood anemones
in flower. Then on Sunday we went to
the beach at Mothecombe and I went bodyboarding – fabulous strong surf and
the sea was astonishingly warm. At
one point I heard my name being called, and looked up and saw two friends
waving frantically from the top of the cliff.
The boys had written their names in the sand and they’d seen the
writing from on high. Ventured out for a walk with friends by the river in
driving rain and howling winds. The
Dart was a raging torrent – brown and foaming and really rather
terrifying. It was a relief to get
back home for roast beef, red wine, and quiet sozzledom beside the fire. My seed potatoes are starting to sprout nicely on my
windowsill. Roll on Spring. The thought of preparing the ground in the
veg patch is a little offputting at the moment though. I’m such a fairweather gardener. A gloriously sunny weekend which made the heart lift
after the gloom of the constant dull weather.
On Saturday I took the boys to Sidmouth because they wanted to look at
the wrecked ship, Napoli. It was an
awesome and rather sad sight, stranded out at sea. No sign of any beachcombers though. Sidmouth is VERY genteel – full of spic and
span Regency houses, and people walking small yappy dogs. The best thing was the food – we found an
amazing fish and chip place – this is their website: http://www.thewhitehorsecafe.co.uk/,
shortly followed by an incredible ice cream parlour called Ice Cream Paradise
– all the flavours under the sun, all named after Went on a wonderful windswept and occasionally sunny
walk at Bigbury-on-Sea today. The boys
made sandcastles for a while, and then we hung around for the sea tractor so
we could go across to Burgh Island. It
finally came across, but we were shocked to find it’s gone up to £1.50 each
way – so would have cost us a total of £12.
We decided to wade across instead as the tide was quite low….and had a
beautiful walk round the island. I was with a friend who swam round it in the
summer and she showed me her route – I definitely intend to do the same as
soon as weather permits. There are
some quite precipitous cliffs, but we lay down on the edge on our tummies and
looked down at the most amazing turquoise sea and geometric black and grey
rocks below. A rainbow then appeared. ] Bought some free range eggs from a cottage in
Ponsworthy, a mysteriously timeless and slightly shabby village in the middle of Dartmoor. They had strange wrinkled shells. I was
wondering if they’d perhaps been produced by some old and wrinkly hens, but
this is apparently not the case. I am
told by a reliable source that it is down to lack of grit in the diet. Had a real laugh today doing a spoof radio interview
with a spoof character called Moses Barrington who claims to be a regional TV
presenter from the 1970s. He’s
hilarious – big black wig, black moustache, brown suit and kipper tie - a bit
like a cross between Borat and Basil Fawlty. His alter ego – an aspiring
comedy writer and filmmaker called Michael Hutcherson – has produced a joke
publicity film for Torquay – “destination for 17 new visitors every year” –
which he’s put on YouTube, and which is attracting thousands of hits. The film, is naturally, presented by Moses,
and shows him variously demonstrating ‘where the meteorite struck’ (a hole on
the local golf course), talking about Torquay’s most famous resident, Agatha
Christie – “author of The Cat in the Hat, and John Grisham’s The
Firm” and claiming that the opening sequence of Friends was filmed
in a local fountain (er, which it wasn’t).
See the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1NWtLK8aI Gales and rains again – and we are STILL finding
hedgehog mushrooms. Collected about a
kilo of them today, this is unheard of…they’re usually over by the end of
November. Still, I read in the paper
today that 2006 has been the hottest year EVER. It has been so mild and wet that I s’pose
it really is not surprising that the mushrooms are continuing to grow. Wednesday 27th December. I felt like a walking cliché today. Well, I WAS a walking cliché. I found myself heading off to the sales
along with all the other sad Christmassed-out masses. I decided to check out
our new local shopping centre in Plymouth. It’s called Drake Circus and it
has had an unbelievable amount of hype.
Well, quelle disappointment. It’s just a small shopping mall which is
completely enclosed – rather old hat these days surely. And on the outside it has the most hideous
brown cladding – looks as though someone has stuck Caramac bars all over it. What a sense of satisfaction. Tonight I ran my first
ever ‘5K’ – in 32 minutes. That’s
apparently equivalent to a ‘ten minute mile’ – whatever that means. It’s interesting how the old competitive
instinct comes out in such a situation…. Rain, rain, and yet more rain, all this week it just
keeps on coming. Still, it seems to be
good for the ‘shrooms – we collected lots of big fat hedgehogs. Although they were somewhat soggy they
dried out a treat. I am currently in the middle of a ‘running
course’. It involves a bunch of women
of all shapes and sizes, most of whom are up for a right old laugh, meeting
at Buckfastleigh Town Hall every Tuesday evening and ‘running’ around the
town. What this actually means is
walking most of the time with the odd run in between. We have certainly attracted some ribald
comments, but there is strength in numbers. We are now up to seven minute
runs, so are gaining in endurance all the time. The crunch will come just before Christmas
when we attempt a ‘5K’ – as it’s known in the business. A day of frequent, hard showers. The boys helped me in the garden, clearing
masses of fig leaves from the lawn. In
the process Felix found a mushroom which turned out to be a wood blewitt –
there was a whole group of them.
Rather ironic as I’ve spent a good few years looking for them in woods
with no success – and then they turn up on my front lawn. And very tasty they are too. ‘Twas the night of the Ashburton Winter Carnival,
when floats come from all over Devon and process down the main street in a
blaze of flashing lights, thumping rhythms and sizzling sequins. Sellers always come out of the woodwork,
hawking some sort of gimmick – this year it was luminous bunny ears. Everyone loves it and the streets were
packed. As well as the floats there were individual carnival entries –
including a small child posing as a headless Mary, Queen of Scots. ‘Tis finally the season of the hedgehog
mushroom. Lucian and I went off in
unpromising weather for a walk in the woods by the river. It was very dark and damp under the trees but
then I spotted a line of hedgehogs twinkling along the ground like a string
of fairy lights (only rather bigger, thankfully). I have been waiting for them for several
months, so it’s good they’ve finally arrived.
I remember picking them all through November two years ago – they’re
great because they get going after all the others have fizzled out. A friend today showed me her true friendship – she
let me in on the location of a secret porcini patch she recently
discovered. It was absolutely
incredible. They were everywhere. There was one that was so massive it was
like a joke – a bit like Big Ears’ house in the Noddy stories. I have never
seen so many huge and perfect mushrooms all in one place. Naturally I am
sworn, under pain of death, not to reveal the location. I had a strong urge to feel the sea on my skin, so
the boys and I set off for the beach at Bantham. What a great time we had. Felix and I went
in the sea and mucked around on our boards; the water was remarkably warm, in
fact so warm I took my wetsuit off and had a swim. We then had a cowrie hunt
and found 87 shells. Lucian then came
across two poor woolly bear caterpillars who were crawling around rather
hopelessly on the rocks - they must have fallen off the top of the cliffs. My legs are suffering through over-use. Spent the morning playing tennis (on top of
a hangover), had a short break for lunch, then was sent off to local woods to
find mushrooms, before returning to take the boys for a 3 mile cycle ride.
Still, at least there was the X Factor to slump in front of when we got home
- I just LOVE all the tears and tantrums. Sunday 1st October Forgive me for continually reporting my mushroom
finds, but I’m afraid I am becoming just a tiny bit obsessed. My addiction has been fed by a great
birthday present – a special mushrooming knife from Italy, complete with
brush for cleaning, and centimetre scale for measuring your specimens. Today Felix found three beautiful penny
buns, which we had fried with butter and garlic, and yesterday we got a whole
basketful of chanterelles and millers, with one penny bun. It’s turning out to be a great year –
unlike last Autumn which was such a disappointment. Had a Mid Life Crisis party today, it being my
forty-somethingth birthday. We hired
Devon’s answer to a marquee – a beautiful yurt which we put in the back
garden. We then decorated it with a large mirror ball and fairly lights to
give it a suitably groovy vibe, and moderate the hippy overtones. From then on in it was boozing and dancing
and generally juvenile behaviour throughout the night. Gathered a respectable haul of bay bolete mushrooms
today. Although they’re delicious,
they turn rather slimy when cooked, so Alex made them into a sauce for some
partridge – yum! An Indian summer’s day with hot sun and very little
wind. We went down to the Dart for a swim
– the boys spent ages sliding down a mini waterfall while I lazed languidly
about. There was nobody there; it felt
calm and quiet after the clamour of the holiday season. Afterwards we went on a mushroom hunt, finding more
penny buns and all manner of their relations, in all shapes and colours. At one point I climbed down a steep bank to
the river to be greeted by a quite psychedelic display of them sprouting
everywhere out of moss-covered rocks. Back in Devon after a week at a clapped out old
Cornish holiday camp. It was a case of
turning up at Reception to find the R hanging by a thread, and Waynetta Slob
on duty inside. The accommodation was,
ahem, basic. But it didn’t matter as
the sun shone and we were near gorgeous beaches. Back home, I felt sad at the end of summer, but my
spirits were lifted by a very productive trip to the woods – we picked
rowanberries, blackberries, wood sorrel, and, best of all, penny bun
mushrooms. I daren’t hope that this
might be a good mushrooming season…. Huge excitement because today we found our first
mushrooms of the season – a bunch of chanterelles. Came across them quite by accident, we
weren’t looking at all. We had them fried
with Antonio Carluccio’s ‘little sauce’ which is in his Passion for Mushrooms
book – just with shallots, flour and a little milk….bliss. We are on holiday at home, so saw some sights of
Devon today. First up, Compton Castle, a fairytale tiny castle near Paignton
– a delight. Next, we went to
Shoalstone Pool in Brixham – it’s wonderful, one of those old tidal pools
built on the rocks. You have a grandstand position overlooking Tor Bay, and
can watch all the fishing vessels and sailing boats going to and fro. Entry
is free. What a fantastic facility. Then we drove to Kingswear and got the ferry to
Dartmouth. From there we drove down to
Beesands, a string of houses on a shingle beach. The first thing we saw was a line from which
were hanging several conger eels and a dogfish. They were being dried for bait for the
lobster and crab pots. We bought a
lobster from Britannia Shellfish who have a little shop in the village, with
tanks full of live crustacaea. We hear endlessly about the joys of local food, well
tonight our supper was all Devon produce, and not just that but home-produced
– grown or caught by ourselves.
Mackerel caught on a fishing trip from Salcombe yesterday, with
lettuce and potatoes from the garden. We found a great new stretch of the Dart – it has
TWO jacuzzis and a wonderful deep pool for swimming. My back is sore at the moment and so I just
sat in the bubbles and got pummelled. We also did some snorkelling. My brother Matthew is
down, and is great at both spotting and identifying wildlife. We normally
just see minnows and trout, but he also saw eels and bullheads, which he was
able to point out to me and the boys. I am just loving this amazing weather – hot hot hot.
My brother James has been down for the weekend – we have done lots of
swimming both in the river and the sea.
The latter was at Torquay, which I rarely frequent, but we were
invited to a beach party there. It was at a spectacular place called Redgate
Beach which is closed off to the public because of cliff falls. It is the most perfectly formed cove with
lovely calm, clear water and fine shingle and pebbles in myriad shades of
pink. At night if you swim there is
phosphorescence from the krill. We had a bit of excitement while waiting for James’
(delayed) train at Newton Abbot station.
There was a shrill whistle and then a steam train with “Torbay
Express” on its front came flying through.
We all automatically got up and waved – well, it would have been rude
not to. We had a gloriously silly dinner party in which
eight of us dressed up in black tie and had dinner on top of Dartmoor. Unfortunately lacking a butler to go ahead and
bury the champagne, Alex and I had the job of taking the table and chairs up
to Bonehill Rocks, which we laid with the full works – dazzling white cloth,
candlesticks, vase of flowers etc. It
all felt quite surreal but rather splendid at the same time, especially with
the views down to Widecombe and across to Hay Tor, and the sun setting behind
the Rocks. Bit of a disastrous end to the day. Dropped my keys down a drain in the centre
of Ashburton. Got into a big panic,
went and got a coat hanger from a friend who lives nearby, and, quite
amazingly, managed to fish them out. I
don’t know how I did it. Then when I
got home a saucepan fell on my head. Went for a hilarious girls’ weekend away in
Cornwall. We stayed the night in a
youth hostel near Fowey. I’m not
familiar with youth hostels, having only been once before, when I was
sixteen, and the only thing I remember about that was that the chap in charge
wore brown leather hot pants all the time. Anyway, in the Fowey hostel all the other people
there seemed to be either hormoned-up teenagers or sandal-clad pensioners…and
then there was us – a group of loud thirty and forty somethings. The best bit was, late on into the evening,
when a courageous male decided to approach our group with the immortal
chat-up line “have any of you had Caesarians?” Phew – another scorcher. Played tennis in the morning and had to
retire after an hour – I just couldn’t take the heat. Took the boys to the river at teatime and
we spent ages snorkelling. In the end
we all got rather chilled, as we were so absorbed in looking at fish we
stayed in rather too long. Had the most blissful river swim today on the
Dart. It was incredibly hot, and the
pool was very still. There were
countless brilliant blue dragonflies.
At one point a snake swam across my path – its head held high out of
the water. I can’t stand snakes, but, strangely, this one didn’t upset me,
and it hasn’t put me off going in again.
The whole thing was more like being in the jungle than in England. Summer has finally arrived – with a vengeance. An old friend is down with her two boys
for half term so we hit the beach at Bantham.
It was absolutely glorious, baking hot all day, and we all got
terribly sunburnt. Still, it was
hardly our fault, as we’d virtually got frostbite at the beach the day
before. It’s either all or nothing in
this blooming country. It has been pouring with rain all weekend. I put
some runner bean plants in yesterday and they now look completely
bedraggled. It was too depressing to
go out, and too depressing to stay in, so a friend and I decided to take the
children swimming in Exeter. We had to
queue to get in as the pool was full.
We then went to Pizza Hut for lunch – well what a revelation. I have been very snobby about it in the
past (more of a Pizza Express woman) but I take it all back. They had a brilliant buffet, with pizzas
issuing forth from the oven at a great rate, to which you helped yourself
along with nice salads. Very cheap,
and no waiting around – ideal. Had my first river dip of the year. Went to the River Dart at Spitchwick and
was encouraged in by my ten year old niece.
It was truly icy but after a few ‘lengths’ of the pool it was
surprisingly pleasant. There’s just
that tremendous sensual thrill of being in the dark river surrounded by the
acid green of the trees in new bud. Today a French market came to Ashburton. It was from Normandy and appeared to be
touring round the small market towns of South Devon. It was fun, because it brought the whole town
out. The produce on sale was – shall we say –
patchy. Some nice cheese and sausage,
but the bread was shocking. I bought a
buckwheat loaf, which I thought would be a bit different, but it was just old
pap, and stale old pap at that.
Particularly annoying given I can get stale old pap locally, at a
fraction of the price. The wild garlic is well and truly out. Went to our local wood where it grows in
profusion and – wow – did it honk! A
veritable assault on the nostrils as we approached. We picked lots and had them in a
salad. Saw masses of flowers in their
glory: bluebells, violets, primroses (now on the wane) and exotic pink
orchids. Danced my socks off tonight at the funkiest band
ever. They’re called Solar and they
were playing at the Barrel House in Totnes – a venue I’d never been to
before. It’s great – a café/bar upstairs, all very bohemian with lots of
drapes, faded velvet sofas, gilt mirrors and risqué old photos in the
loos. The band were just fab –
jazz/funk/soul – or should that be soul/funk/jazz?!) – playing all sorts of
stuff from Stevie Wonder to Jamiroquai.
Had the most blissful walk today on Dartmoor which
was like some archetypal Blue Peter nature trek. The sun was out, it was beautifully still,
and we walked in our T shirts. The birds sang, and we saw/heard the
following: a swallow, a minnow in a stream, a woodpecker hammering, lambs,
and finally the most perfect clump of primroses at their absolute peak,
vibrant yellow and smelling so sweet. Went off on a Fossil Hunting Expotition today at
Charmouth in Dorset. Met up with my
friend Sue and her son George and we all had a great time. There’s an information centre at the beach,
staffed by very enthusiastic helpers, who told us what to do. We watched a rather dodgily edited video
before heading off on our search. The
boys got most pleasure out of simply hammering the rocks and causing as much
destruction as possible. We then found
some beautiful ammonite impressions in black slate – Lucian was the only one
to find an actual ammonite – a small one covered in fools’ gold. Monday 17th April 2006 My potatoes have come up – so exciting. I just love the feeling that the vegetables
are growing. Put little lettuce plants
in today which I’ve bought – terrible cheating but who cares, I just want to
get ahead. I will sow some seed next weekend. In the afternoon we went to Soar Mill Cove and I
went body boarding again – the waves were pathetic but it was tremendous just
to be in the water. Unfortunately the
sun then went in, and a howling gale decided to blow, so we huddled around
our barbeque and ate sausages and sweetcorn. Easter Sunday – went to Mass and the church was full
which was nice. Felix was very grumpy
and fidgety though, as he hadn’t had enough sleep, having gone to bed very
late and then got up early to watch children’s TV. So, as of today, the holidays are subject
to the same rules as term-time – ie no breakfast telly on weekday mornings. It is, as they say, unsustainable. My brother James is down and in the afternoon we
went off to the beach at Bantham.
James and I went body boarding – fabulous fun, if a tad brisk. We then went cowrie hunting. My potatoes are in – what a relief. We finally had a sunny (though not dry)
day, so I managed to get them in the ground at last. I prepared the ground in other beds so I
can sow the broad beans and peas over the next week or so. Alex and I spent the night at a hotel in Chagford,
on the other side of Dartmoor. We had
a beautiful walk by the River Teign, and saw the open air pool which takes
water from the river. Roll on summer. Drinking at lunchtime is a Bad Idea. But I went ahead and did it today. Some friends came round, and, well, it just
seemed like the natural thing to do, given the grey skies and incessant
rain. Amazingly it cleared up after
lunch and we went for a reviving walk in a nearby wood and saw wild garlic
plants starting to emerge. It’s the middle of March, and this morning it was
snowing. Per-LEASE! I mean, COME ON! AND it means I can’t yet sow any lettuces or broad
beans or anything, which I have normally done by this time. This cold spell – or rather ice age – is
starting to get really rather tiresome. Came across a new ‘forest park’ today, rather by
accident. We went up to Haldon Forest
near Exeter, because Alex wanted to check out the new Centre for Contemporary
Art and the Natural World. Sadly it’s
little more than an overgrown shed at the moment, with not much art in it,
but the idea seems interesting. While
we were there we noticed a ‘play trail’, and then various bike trails, all
heavily signposted. It turns out that
this woodland is now called the ‘Haldon Forest Park’ and is described as a
‘wonderful playground for all the family’.
The children certainly enjoyed it – there are lots of climbing frames
and wooden sculptures and even huge wooden musical instruments, dotted along
the walk. I feel a little uneasy about
the ‘theming’ of the countryside though. A gloriously beautiful day with bright, bright
sunlight. Could spring finally be
approaching? The boys and I went to
the beach at Mothecombe and had our first bathe of the year. There were some great waves and I did some
bodyboarding. Not for long though –
the water was hellishly cold (if that’s not a contradiction in terms – which
of course it is). It was great to be
back in the sea again. The long dry spell has finally broken and the rain
has arrived. Went on a windy walk
along the coast path south of Shaldon – spectacular views of the sea and lots
of big ships. Very slippery, muddy paths – we came home covered in red gunge.
Had a great evening at a rather eccentric place in
Torquay called the Blue Walnut. It’s a
café with a tiny replica Nickleodeon cinema at the back which only seats 25
people. It specialises in showing old
films, and after a quick supper we saw the original King Kong – quite
fabulous. I don’t know how it compares
with the new version which of course is out now, but I imagine they are
somewhat different….. Went to see some old films of Ashburton and Dartmoor
in the Town Hall this afternoon. They
showed traditions which have died out – like the Ashburton furry dance – but
also those which are still going strong, like the annual ale tasting and bread
weighing. Particularly poignant was the
film of the last train to Ashburton before they shut the station in the early
70s. Bought seed potatoes today which is a very cheering
thing to do. It reminds me that Spring
is not too far off. I got some
Pompadour to share with my father, and some Rocket. The latter grow very quickly as their name
suggests – I hope this might mean we can avoid them getting a horrible
disease called Blackleg which unfortunately exists in our garden soil. January blues. It’s permanently dank and wet. Stayed inside for most of the day, apart
from a short yomp around Venford Reservoir in the wind and rain. The best
part about that was when Alex produced a surprise chocolate brownie to eat
when we were half way round. I saw my first ever kingfisher today. It was an
almost psychedelic experience, and did actually make me feel deliriously
happy. We were walking along the Dart and suddenly l saw this electric,
iridescent blue, blazing along the river, like a small guided missile. It seemed totally alien among the dark
greens and browns of its surroundings.
It was uplifting and exciting - a beacon of exotic brilliance in a
dark, winter world. |