Photo Gallery

I'm not sure if I'll be blogging after today, so I thought I'd share a few photos that didn't make it into the blog.

Best Improvised Sleep Mask:

Best Action Shot of J. being Rear-Ended:

Best Promotional Photo:

Best Modern Art Photo:

Best Fish and Chip Shop in the World:

Best Jewelry Store Guard Dog:

Best Tasteful Nude:

Scenes from Marathon Golf Day

Yes, I completed 36 holes of golf in one day.

Can you spot me? I am now an expert on timothy, crabgrass, buttercups, dandelions, rabbits, and all other things that you don't find in a boring place like a fairway.

One hole to go...

The reward.

Ilfracombe

In preparation for the golf marathon tomorrow (2 rounds of golf in one day), we drove to Saunton Golf Course, a club with, count 'em, two championship golf courses. It costs 40 pounds to golf one, but only 50 pounds to golf both. We like a good deal! I was going to send Don off to golf alone, but when I got out of the car and had a look at the course, I knew it was too good an opportunity to miss. I may not be able to do all 36 holes, so I'm taking my IPad with me. I've just started reading Game of Thrones, and I have all four books, so I won't be bored. If my bones aren't too weary after the first 18 holes, I'll try to muster up the energy to play the second course.

After scouting out the golf course, we hopped back in the car and headed for Ilfracombe, a seaside village. We parked near the top of the village, and spotted some tunnels that led down to the seaside. Apparently miners in the early 1800's created several tunnels thorough the cliffs so that bathers could get down to the "pools" below. There were originally two pools--one for men, one for women. The women's pool still exists. Here's a photo. Behind me you can see the tunnel through the cliff:

Another pastime for seaside visitors is "rock-pooling." This involves seaching for interesting rocks and shells in the pools of water that form when the tide goes out:

Our time in Bideford is nearing an end. Tomorrow is marathon golf day, and Friday is "clean the cottage" day. We leave early Saturday morning for Leyland.

I'll blog later tomorrow. You'll have to wait to see if I survived two rounds of golf.

I couldn't think of anything to blog about until...

Okay, so we golf, we eat, we watch t.v. Not very exciting, but VERY relaxing. But that doesn't leave much for me to blog about, does it? I could tell you that British t.v. consists of two genres: buying houses and hunting for antiques. (That's not strictly true: the history programs are really well done and I'm usually glued to the set.) Anyway, I've spent enough time telling you about t.v., food, and golf, so I was going to take a day off from blogging.
I went out to the shops (it's a beautiful day today, by the way) and who do you think I spotted walking amongst the crowd?

 Yes, it was a duck with a green bow tie!!!! I just HAD to get some more snaps:

The duck was out shopping with this dude who was collecting money for charity. I threw in a pound and snapped away. Apparently the duck was on the national news yesterday, but that could have been an advertising ploy. Who cares, the duck had star quality and I'd put him on the news!

Whew, that's enough excitement for today. I've convinced Don to golf all day on Thursday so I can do some souvenir shopping here; it didn't take much to convince him.

Olympic Torch Relay

Today was an exciting day for  Bideford. The Olympic Torch, on its way to London for the Olympics in July, passed through the village. The torch will travel 8000 miles in the U.K. and be carried by 8000 torch bearers. Here's a photo with me in front videotaping the runner on my IPod. I was hoping to upload the video to this blog, but Apple is not cooperating with me:

Well, in one week we fly home. Knowing how nostalgic we'll be in a week and a day, we decided to have another cream tea. This time I didn't eat BOTH scones. I "kid-napkined" it and hid it in my purse to be enjoyed later in the day:

Don and I have only four days left to golf, so I won't be suprised to see him do 36 holes in a day. He was out at 5:15 this morning when the sun was just coming up. I decided to stay home and sleep in:

We'll try to get in a few more day-trips and pub lunches before Saturday when we head to Leyland to visit relatives. So many pubs to visit, so little time...

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Calories

The perfect day: Golf at 5:30 a.m., nap from 10 a.m. to 12, and then Sunday Roast. Life is good. 

A trip to the big city

Today we decided to check out Exeter, the biggest city in Devon. I was particularly interested in visiting Exeter Cathedral, and it didn't disappoint.

Exeter was badly bombed during the Second World War. It was a miracle that the cathedral remained unscathed while the area around it was flattened. Today the rebuilt area is full of shops and pubs, but the city planners maintained the narrow cobblestone streets and medieval feel. Here are some shots. The second and third pictures show the memorial to John Graves Simcoe, a name familiar to Ontarians:

Tomorrow is Sunday, so that's "Sunday Roast" day at all the pubs in England. We've missed out so far, but tomorrow we intend to find a Sunday Roast and gorge ourselves. I guess I'll have to golf first to work up an appetite!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Exeter

Camelot

Good news! I've found the original "Camelot" castle!!
About an hour from Bideford is Tintagel, a small town with the ruins of a 6th century castle overlooking the Atlantic. After a pub lunch, we walked about a mile (uphill) to the heritage site:

I told you yesterday that I intended to find conclusive proof that this was indeed the original site of Camelot. Here's the proof:

I think that's an open and shut case.

Thoughts of home

Yesterday was a quiet day for us, so my thoughts turned to home. Emma had recently emailed with the news that she'd passed her "G" test and had a permanent driver's licence now. Congrats, sweetie! Kathleen regaled me with tales of the tours she's been giving in Ottawa to appreciative tourists. Don's brother Bob assured me that Buster the Beagle is having a great time in Napanee getting two walks a day and eating a healthy diet. I think this will be good for him. Here's a "before" picture:




Thinking of Buster, I went out and bought him a present I think he'll like:




It's a pheasant, by the way.

As I write this, we're driving to Tintagel, a destination suggested to me by my colleague Jane. The ancient castle there MAY be the original Camelot, but many locales in the U.K. lay claim to that distinction, so I'll be on the lookout for conclusive proof!



- Posted using BlogPress from my IPad

Location:Bideford

Mother's Day

Kathleen and Emma gave instructions that we stay home on Tuesday because my Mother's Day gift was going to be delivered. As instructed, I parked myself in front of the tv and around noon, the delivery arrived. Here's a picture of my present:

There are two bottles of wine, two types of cheese, strawberry jam, honey, and lots of scones. Thanks, girls, for a marvelous gift!

I decided to have my hair cut, Devon-style. My stylist had never been to Canada, but we did have one thing in common: she was heading to Universal Studios in Florida in September, and I had been there in February. I gave her all sorts of hints and tricks for getting on rides and beating the crowds. Getting your hair done is a lot cheaper in England--$24 as opposed to about $40 in my neighbourhood in Ottawa.

 We set off golfing today at 6. Here's an artistic shot for you:

Here's a photo Don took in St. Ives. That seagull was the size of a Smart Car. We didn't risk feeding him for fear he'd take off a couple fingers:

Well, I did 18 holes of golf plus another 18 on the par 3, so I'm pooped. Time to put up my feet and watch a little telly. I need to rest up for some shopping later on this afternoon.

Here's the thought for the day:

The brave, 'tis true, do never shun the light;

Just are their thoughts, and open are their tempers;

Freely without disguise they love or hate;

Still are they found in the fair face of day,

And Heaven and men are judges of their actions.

--Rowe

The end of England

Yesterday was too rainy for golf so we hopped in the car and headed toward Cornwall and the southern tip of the U.K. We'd visited the northern tip (John O'Groats) two years ago, so this was a trip we'd been planning for years.

Here's what the last bit of the United Kingdom looks like:

Before we reached Land's End, we visited St. Ives. This is a lovely seaside village in Cornwall. Because it was raining, we hopped into the first pub we found. Don had the catch of the day (plaice) and I had gammon and eggs.

After a quick visit to the harbor, we picked up a couple of Cornish pasties, scones and homemade jam for dinner. The pasties were HUGE!

The last stop of the day was Penzance. We didn't see any pirates, but the harbor was buzzing. In the distance we could see St. Michael's Mount, a castle/monastery/stronghold/prison offshore. You can only reach it by a causeway (when the tide is out) or boat (when the tide is in).

We arrived back home at 6 p.m. and tucked into our pasties. Tomorrow we're staying close to home. I may get out to the antique shops again...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Land's End

Poetry

In 1797, Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a vivid dream after having indulged in opium the night before. According to the history books, "Upon waking, he set about writing lines of poetry that came to him from the dream until he was interrupted by a person from Porlock. The poem could not be completed according to its original 200-300 line plan as the interruption caused him to forget the lines."

This famous poem is Kubla Khan. Here's the first verse:

In Xanadu did Kublai Khan
A stately Pleasure-Dome decree,
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

This is one of the most famous poems in the English language.

This intro to my blog is by way of telling you all that Don and I drove to Porlock to see the town where Coleridge's interrupter came from!

It was a very small, quaint, and pleasant village. We attended an antiques fair in the village hall followed by a coffee and a piece of Victorian sponge cake offered by the ladies of the town.

The scenery on our drive back to Bideford was incredible. We followed the North Devon coastline and the Bristol Channel. We could see Wales on the other side.

Here is the quotation for the day (from my Royal Birthday Book):

There are a thousand things in life
Which pass unheeded in a life of joy
As thine hath been: till breezy sorrow comes
To ruffle it: and daily duties paid
Hardly at first, at length will bring repose
To the sad mind that studies to perform them.
-Talfourd

Bargain Hunter, Part II

Correction to yesterday's post: I decided to spend 20 pounds ($32) instead of 10. Here are my treasures:

The Royal Birthday Book: This is published by "Alexander Gardner, publisher to the late Queen Victoria"; I think it dates from the 1930's. The second picture shows that every day of the year has a quotation from a famous poet; you are meant to write the name of the person whose birthday occurs on that date on the page beside. I bought it (for $6) so that I could add the quotation to the end of my blog on that particular day! It measures about 4 inches square.

Cake server: This is made in England and silver-plated. I loved the intricate design and serrated edges for cutting. I paid $13

Hummingbird pin: This is my favorite. I checked on the internet, and I think it's a knock-off of the Boucher hummingbird pin that sells for $200. I paid $13.

That was great fun! I found a mandolin I wanted, but it was about $120 and in need of repair; besides, I can only buy things I can fit in either a) my suitcase, or b) the golf bag. That means either small or long and thin. Maybe I'll find a cool umbrella or walking stick!

Today we're off for a drive through Exmoor National Park (with a stop at a pub somewhere along the way!). It's not Mother's Day in England, but I'm going to treat myself to a FANTASTIC meal and dessert anyway! Happy Mother's Day to my mom and Don's mom!