Work & Travel

At the end of a busy working week we travelled to London for the weekend. The main reason was to attend our daughter Gemma's graduation on Monday evening, but we also wanted to see Pete;s brother Roy to celebrate his birthday from the previous weekend. We went out for a meal with Roy and his wife Dawn with Pete's other brother Paul and his wife Sue. Gemma was at a loose end and came too. We had a good evening - it's always good to get together with them.

On Sunday we went to Julie's brother Gary and his wife Jeanette's for dinner. Julie is making flowers for their daughter Mandy's wedding in the summer and Mandy and her partner Luke were there too. We had a lovely meal with them before returning to Julie's parent's house where we stay when we are in Essex.

The picture of the buzzard was a chance photographic opportunity when four of the birds were flying above our house.

Happy Birthday Roy

Today is Pete's brother Roy's 50th Birthday. Unfortunately we won't be able to get back to see him this weekend due to work commitments on Pete's parts and also we need to go back to Essex next week too. As we are going back then we will see Roy and Dawn then.

Wishing Roy a Very Happy Birthday.

Sunday Walk at Avon Mill

This week Pete;s was away from home for a few days and as the weather on Sunday was looking good we decided to go to Avon Mill to walk along the valley and see the snowdrops.

We parked in the car park of the Avon Mill garden centre and immediately saw snowdrops on the bank in front of the car. We walked along the river valley and never saw another snowdrop.

We did, however, see the cockerel perching precariously on a wire fence. It looks so impressive that Pete just had to take a picture of it.

The river was running quite fast so Pete decoded to take some slow shutter speed images of the water, the results of which you can see attached.

Unfortunately Julie felt unwell while we were out and for the next few days she felt ill and had to take a little time to get over it.

Happy Birthday Serena

Today is Pete's niece Serena's 21st Birthday. We saw her on Saturday at her party at her mum and dad's (Pete's brother Paul and his wife Sue) along with a lot of our close family.

Wishing Serena a Very Happy Birthday.

The Day the Snow Came

The snow came to Salcombe on the 6th of January and stayed for less than a day on the fields, but for a few days on the roads and footpaths. We had it generally easy compared to the rest of he country. We needed to travel up to London and had to leave it as late as possible to ensure the roads were ok.

We made it through ok, although the fields as far as the eye could see on both sides of the roads were covered with snow. It was really picturesque, but must have been treacherous off the main roads.

A Sign of Weather to Come

After the warmth of New Year's day and a clear night we awoke to a hard frost across the fields in front of our house.

We walked into town for the morning and it was noticeable how clear the harbour was of boats. In the summer (or from Easter) the harbour begins to fill to a point where there seems to be very little space left. it is this nautical deluge that brings Salcombe it's reputation as such a great summer location - long may it be so.

Hope Cove New Year's Day

On New Year's day we went to Hope Cove. The weather was glorious and when we sat in front of the Sunny Bay Hotel having lunch we could have easily sunbathed.

There were Morrismen performing when we arrived and they seemed to ipitimise what the New Year should have been about. People were playing on the beach and there were some intrepid individuals who decided to take to the water for a swim (with their wetsuits though).
It was a glorious start to the New Year.

Happy New Year

It has been exactly one year today that we moved to Salcombe and what a year it's been. If it hadn't been for work getting in the way it could have been a whole lot greater for us both. For Pete work has meant travel and for Julie it has conflicted with social activities. Our new friends and neighbours have been great and the opportunities to socialise have been plenty. There is a great community here, but if you walk through the town there is always someone that you know to stop and talk to.

We have missed family and friends back in Essex at times, but have taken as many trips back to see people and Christmas was the last opportunity. New Year was spend in Salcombe with friends and the coming weekend will see us at yet another social event.

Pete had a new camera for Christmas, so hopes to be able to better some of last years attempts. The old camera is still OK, but in need of a little TLC, which it can now be given. We can't guarantee better pictures or indeed pictures at all, as meeting the demand of a collection every week hasn't always been easy, however, we will try to post something when it matters. We may also change to posting on any day of the week too.

Enough for today, just leaves us to wish all our family, friends and readers the very best for the New Year - lets hope it's a good one for us all.