As I was going to St Ives.......

Finally getting back to my blog!
Visited St Ives this week for the first time - lovely place with winding little streets,lovely beaches and surfers galore! Weather was very good (for mid March) and we enjoyed looking out of our B&B window at the Porthmeor beach - fabulous view and fabulous B&B.

a long break!

Haven't kept up the blog for a while so I should start again in earnest now! Last weekend we went to see Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Royal Albert Hall. They were as great as ever and marvellous for three old geezers! Stills hasn't lost his guitar skills, Nash and Crosby sing harmonies just as good as the 70's. I don't normally like to go and see old rock stars - I prefer to remember them as they were. But this was a good weekend and it brought back lots of memories. The hotel was good too!

RIP Silvertonia

We read today of the demise of the Silvertonia blog. I'm very sad to see it go - I learned a lot from reading it and found it also very amusing at times. James writes really well and I hope he keeps up the good work at some point. I don't know how he found so many topics to comment on - I couldn't keep that up! Also it suffered from less and less people reading it - don't understand why. I guess just the general apathy that is apparent everywhere. People are only concerned about their own orbit - a pity, because they were galvanised against the traveller site by the blog, amongst other things. C'est la vie.

Wind turbine

As expected, Mid Devon have granted permission for the ghastly wind turbine. I hope, when they are deluged with other applications, the future turbines will be sited next door to their homes. I expect it ticked the "Green" box for the Council!

Angels and Demons

Last night we went to see the film "Angels and Demons" - having read the book I was prepared for silliness and I wasn't disappointed! It was very watchable though and Rome looks superb - would make me want to go there if I hadn't been. Tom Hanks was his usual "all-round American good guy" self and the special effects were very good. One good thing that struck me was that there were no credits at the beginning of the film (other than the two companies who financed it). I liked this - it went straight into the story and you weren't distracted by the names popping up. The Tivoli is a great old fashioned cinema but ufortunately there couldn't have been more than 25 people in there - a shame.

The birds and the bees!

Last week was all about the birds and bees! First we found a baby blackbird in the lane and couldn't find the nest to put him back in again. We had to leave in another part of the hedge, it was very sad....... Then the same day we discovered honey bees trying to start a nest behind the weatherboarding on our house. We stuffed newspaper in the hole and spoke to a beekeeper who said they were only scouts and would get fed up and go away. So after a few days we removed the paper .......big mistake! They came back of course so we had to stuff newspaper there again. Hope they've got the message this time. Then on Sunday we had the most wonderful view in our garden of a hen pheasant with her eleven chicks! They spent all morning running around the lawn and pecking at everything in sight - they were gorgeous - not sure how old they were as they were fully fledged, but tiny! Haven't seen them again since but we did feel privileged to see catch a glimpse of them.

Yurts ain't what they used to be!

When is a yurt not a yurt? When it's just an old tent with flower pots at the front door! Before voting on the blog, I think people should actually take a look at the proposed "travellers" site - they're already in residence! Where do they go to the loo? What do they do with their rubbish? (and recycling of course!) And I'd still like to know what Council Tax Band it will come under!

Same old same old!

Well 2009 has begun and I haven't updated the blog for some time - it's great to see the snowdrops in bloom everywhere and also the daffodils are coming into bud. The lambs are in the fields and everything's right with the world. Unless you're worried about your job, your mortgage, your pension..............

Merry Christmas!

'Tis the season to be jolly! (or so I'm told!)

Pubs ain't what they used to be!

On the subject of pubs - we attended a Silverton pub yesterday evening and if I were the landlord of that pub I would be very worried - only two tables in the restaurant were occupied and one in the bar. Five people were standing at the bar and two of them looked underage! The meal was reasonable but not enough to make anyone want to return. The welcome was adequate but no more than that and the place was freeeeeezing! I think we will be returning to our previous haunt in the future.

The wonder of Woolies?

So Woolies is no more........ Very sad to see this institution decline over the past few years. As a child in the 50's, I remember my local Woolies very fondly - old wooden creaky floors and the counter with lots of little compartments on it containing anything and everything! It was the only place that my brother and I could afford to do our Christmas shopping - 2/6 a week pocket money didn't go very far, even in those days! My poor Mum and Dad were given many a tatty ornament/ashtray from there: they never complained though! It was the only shop you could buy odds and ends like zips, cottons, elastic etc. I fear that other institutions may go the same way..........

A green and pleasant land?

No longer I fear - yes, someone is hoping to erect one of those nasty wind turbines on the hill near Chitterley Business Park- 50 m high apparently! I know it can't be seen from Silverton village but once someone "plants" one of these things in this area, they will spring up everywhere. They look like something out of War of the Worlds and frankly, give me the creeps. I know we need sustainable energy - blah, blah, blah but at what price? And it's not as though it will be benefitting somewhere essential like a hospital, it's just someone with more money than sense - he won't see it from his house, will he? I propose we get this in the local paper and try to do something about it. Will anyone join me? Will anyone dare to comment?

Winter reading

Does anyone know of any Book Groups in Silverton/Thorverton/Bickleigh? It would be good to have one in Silverton I think - perhaps we could meet in the Lamb?

The old folks at home

I made a trip this weekend to see the folks back in Essex. The main thing that strikes me when I return to the south east is the volume of traffic and people - how do they all fit into that tiny corner? And that's without visiting London! The M25 is the usual nightmare - just sheer weight of traffic slows everything down. People are also much ruder, mainly because they don't have time for common courtesies that are generally maintained here in Devon. I was also disappointed that the petrol was no cheaper at the pump than I had been paying here (it usually is). Prices varied from 106.9 down to 99.9 - in fact it was 107.9 on the M4. When will this be sorted out? It was certainly good to return to the peace and quiet of the Devon countryside - even though there is a lot of mud about!

winter draws on!

Yes, as noted in the excellent Silvertonia blog,it has become decidedly chilly this weekend. The logs and kindling have been hauled in by Tufty, the fire duly lit and the extra warm duvet put on the bed (that lot should ensure that the weather turns mild again!) It's not a pleasing prospect - the clocks going back this month and therefore getting up in the dark to go to work - yuk! And I heartily agree about the "C" word - it should be banned until December. Mind you, Tesco seem to be selling hot cross buns as well the chocolate Father Christmas - the world's gone mad I tell you!

Country pursuits

Another of my pastimes in the country is watching the herd of cows at Killerton that are driven home along the lane just before the railway bridge at Ellerhayes at about 3.45 most days. I feel sorry for them as they amble along with the farmer in an old van behind tooting at them to move! I often drive home from work that way and so I'm prepared for it- other people aren't and get quite upset - they could lose at least 5 minutes from their lives I suppose. As the poem says: What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.
Until next time........

Another day....another dollar!

One of the best things about living in the county of Glorious Devon (apart from cream teas!) is seeing the countryside change colour at this time of year. Along the road past Killerton the trees are starting to turn and on a sunny day are really a picture. This brings me neatly to one of my pet gripes - why is there so much litter along our roads? We regularly litter-pick our local lane but the litter soon creeps back. Where does it all come from? On a recent walk around Brampford Speke, beside the Exe, we even found beer cans! On Exmoor last week, near Porlock, the car park on the moor had litter all over it. I know that bins are not provided anymore but PLEASE TAKE YOUR LITTER HOME!!! If you are one of the many that do take your litter home, then please ignore this and litter-pick your area if you have time. Perhaps a litter-pick in Silverton would be a good idea? I'd certainly volunteer. Now, there's an offer!

Sorry for delay!

Yes, it's time I attended to my blog - I created it one rainy afternoon in August and promptly forgot all about it! That's one of the drawbacks of A Certain Age!
Another drawback is attending aerobics run by Michaela at the Community Hall and being absolutely exhausted afterwards - she works us very hard and us oldies have trouble keeping up but I'm sure my doctor will tell me it's worth all the effort.........
Talking of effort - I see Somerset are deep in the mire this morning at Taunton - 89 for 5! Aaaargh! Trescothick and Langer both out early on.......it doesn't do the blood pressure any good you know.
Well, my lunch break is over at work so I'll have to put my nose to the grindstone again....
If there are any other ladies (or men!) out there who are A Certain Age - then feel free to comment!
TL

Behold the Blog!

First day of my blog which will cover all the many and varied aspects of the advantages/disadvantages of being "a certain age". Maybe I'll never reveal what my particular age is but you'll soon work it out!