My weekly update has been delayed because even more gallivanting around. So much to blog about but also so much is fading away already and becoming memories like sand running through the fingers of my hand. So, while some things are still fairly fresh, here goes….
We got back from our last grand tour in time for the Quirky Museum being pulled apart for the new central heating project, more about that another time. Once the central heating work was a week-and-a-half in, Hannah came home and we were off! Off, that is, with Hannah as we drove to Chichester for Hannah’s induction day for her next job which starts in September.
While Hannah was in her induction session, Rachel and I zoomed off to see one of her school friends, just a few miles away. Now although it was prearranged, her friend was still working from home, so we were parked with her mother most of the time. Meeting one of Rachel’s school friends was quite a revelation considering they had both been to a private school where being frightfully well spoken young ladies was quite the thing. Rachel’s friend’s language was, shall we say, somewhat “colourful” and even made my eyebrow twitch.
After my eyebrow had finished twitching, we picked Hannah up and headed for Dartmoor to stay with our other daughter for the night. En route we dropped into see Hannah’s work place from last summer and, surprise surprise, some impromptu kayaking took place as the conditions were so perfect.
It was late when we got to Becky and David’s place. Again I felt like a rally driver going up the quarter mile rough track. The low slung, heavily loaded car occasionally scraped its way over the various bumps as we inched up to the edge of Dartmoor. That night I fell asleep instantly – and I mean instantly – normally I drift off quickly but that night – wow I was gone!
Next day we had a little sight seeing in the immediate area before heading to the north coast of Devon. We were staying with the Shotter family in a lovely farmhouse, just a mile or so inland from the rugged coastline as a kind of family reunion-come-holiday. With the pandemic we hadn’t seen much of each other for over a year.
There were twelve of us in total (the two overspillers were housed in a nearby glamping site). The holiday was loud and high energy! Within hours of arriving saw some of us clambering down the steep slopes and steps into the nearby bay , just in time for the sunset. A very special time as we skimmed stones of the placid water and rock pools gradually filled with water. Again I slept well in a huge bed in a huge bedroom with the window wide open (something so nice about fresh countryside air wafting into the bedroom).
Breakfast was a kind of “come and grab something once you’re awake” affair. Jamie and I had some nicely brewed coffee and talked about the joys of retirement. The boys loved cooking and every mealtime they threw themselves into cooking elaborate meaty meals. Luckily I wasn’t the only vegetarian; there were three of us and therefore we faired quite well. Our evening meals were great fun with us all around a table, either inside or outside, and it was nice for me to just lean back and see all the family chatter and laugh away. Good times. Good times to be savoured and treasured.
Our outings each day were invariably to a beach somewhere or other. You see Jamie, my opposite member in the Shotter clan, is heading for imminent retirement and has treated himself to a kayak kit and was wanting to try it out on the sea. He was very successful, it was good kit and he had some great fun paddling around various small bays and rocky outcrops. Others SUPped and swam in wetsuits. Too cold for me, so I clocked up a few miles on the lovely coastal footpath and topped up my suntan and as my shaggy windswept hair became a little more sun bleached and bedraggled.
We very nearly got lost a few times but we are so thankful for Satnavs. It seemed we were in a maze of single track roads with very tall hedges and banks either side. They twisted around, took us up and down short, steep hills and we easily became disorientated. After a while you simply lose all sense of direction and it was hard getting a sense of how far we had travelled. But we made it!
Astonishing as it might seem, one can become tired of the stunning scenery and beaches so you just need to step back in order to keep enjoying it. I was able to sneak into Bude early one morning and visit the Burton Art Gallery. The main exhibition was Face Value with contemporary British portraits – just up my street and brilliant for grounding me again. I reminded myself of the need to see and understand, not just casually glancing at things. Back at the house I managed to weave the question of art into discussions. Again I was a bit of an outsider with current affairs, history, mathematics and science being frequent topics and yet it was acknowledged how society needs art, imagination being expressed in different ways. Society’s school children need freedom to express themselves, to experiment, to allow their imaginations to romp around through art, music, drama and writing. In the high flying world we seem to be in, my arguments were clocked and nodded to as the exuberance continued.
And now, Rachel and I are back home. We have unpacked and I’ve hoovered the house from top to bottom. I need to touch up the paint here and there following the installation of new radiators and miles of pipes. As much as I yearn to be here for a while and re-group, I have a feeling we will be off on another jaunt soon!