Something great, something not so great

You might have seen my blog a few back about the Christmas cards I make each year, and my moan about the work involved, well this morning I had a really lovely surprise from my good pal Cora in Holland. They are not so big on Christmas cards, the New Year festivities being far more important over there.
Cora and her partner Jos were very early guests at our B&B in the 1980's and they came back year after year and watched our girls grow from nippers to teenagers. We even had a trip to Holland to visit them. Then they had children, two boys Casper and Matthijs so we didn't see them when the boys were too small to travel. Jos and Cora do not have a car, public transport in the Netherlands being as good as it is....
But a couple of summers ago they all came over and stayed with us as friends not paying guests, and we met the boys for the first time.
I have been sending her my home made cards over the years, and when she was here, she asked me "why are they always trees ?" and I told her I used to do bells and other things, but when you are making 100 cards, then trees are the easiest to do. Well this morning's post brought the most lovely surprise. Cora must have kept the cards, as I received a large tree card with 6 of my own cards cut out and pasted on. I haven't seen them en masse before and they look really good on the backing tree.
BUT IF YOU ARE GOING TO CLICK ONTO THE PHOTO TO SEE THE CARD DO NOT WHATEVER YOU DO LOOK CLOSELY AT ME. !!!
Because horror of horrors, I am sporting at least 2 chins and all the weight that I gained over Christmas. Yuk !! How fat I look. Well tonight Rob and I have planned to stay in and enjoy our favourite home dinner of pork fillet in mushroom and pepper cream sauce. and I swear that tomorrow I am going to start on a sensible diet along no doubt with millions of others around the country ! And I am promising here and now to add my daily weight to each blog that I write up.
I think I am about 10 stone 12 pounds at the moment. Tomorrow I will get Rob to do the official weighing in, clothes off (me not him!) and he can read the scales; and the plan is to lose at least a stone within the next couple of months..... I shall feel a lot better in myself I know.... It's no good me doing all these food reviews if I am going to turn into a gurt big fattie is it now.... and I do so love going out for a meal.
SO PLEASE DO ME A FAVOUR Keep watching this space and e-mail me any encouragement you feel you can offer.... jill@dartmooraccommodation.co.uk it's lunchtime now, I won't splurge on my last day of eating, but I won't quite start the slimming regime just yet either .....
Cheerio for now ....all my best wishes for a Great New Year for us all ...
lots of love from Chunky xxxx

Doesn't Ben look cute...?

Just a quickie..... Ben will kill me for this, but I think it's my favourite picture from Christmas.

This is our dear son in law Father to toddler Nancy - love of our lives.

Nancy received hair grips from Santa as her fringe is getting long and Jennifer wants to train it off her face and hold it back.

Nancy doesn't like the feel of the grips in her hair and we were all sporting a hair grip in the hope that she would like to do similar....
Ben even wore two.
But silly boy, he became distracted by something on the telly when I had my camera in hand.

If you are a friend of Ben, please let him know just how lovely he looks wearing his Iggle Piggle hair slides......

Happy Christmas to you. Yes you - that person that is reading my blog !

What a crowded week.... Was it only 5 days ago that we were down at the Victoria Inn at Ashburton enjoying a curry night with pals? There meeting the young puppy Baxter seen here in the arms of Nick the friendly landlord. Everyone in the pub oohed and aahhed over him (the dog not the publican!)
I will be adding the details to my food review, but it will have to wait until after Christmas now.

This little swimmer is our cute little grand-daughter Nancy. We had her overnight on Thursday and as she is just like most other nearly 2 year olds, she had us jumping through hoops trying to keep her occupied for the 2 days. She's just at that stage when she can understand hide and seek and Rob and I must have looked just like the doting oldies that we are, dodging behind the settee, dobbing down behind the fridge, and standing behind the sitting room door with big fat grins on our faces loving every minute, waiting for the moment when we could shout out BOO and wrap her in our arms waiting each time for the instruction "More Gandad"
We took it in turns to keep her amused, whilst trying to catch up with the 101 other things that press in at this time of year. Not least, the making of the Christmas cards that I started to doing over 20 years ago.
We had the girls at home when it all started, and then it was a way of saving pennies. I swear each year that this will be the last time I do it, but somehow as Christmas approaches, I think of well - just this year then.

We went to a party at neighbours on Sunday and another neighbour asked me if I enjoy making them and I replied 'No' but that was when I had made over 50 of them throughout the day and was feeling a bit weary. Nowadays I have a strict rule about everything in the making being recycled, from the card to the envelopes that Rob slices up for me and refashions with the use of the guillotine and glue.
And when I see them all in a row waiting for me to add the messages, I do feel proud of all that effort and look forward to everyone passing comment. So really I should have said Yes.
Every year I say that I will start work on them earlier and it not be such a rush, but somehow it never works out..... Life gets in the way. Jennifer asks me to have Nancy - Yes oh yes. we need to go out with pals - yep count us in, the party invite drops onto the mat from a host that we know to be more liberal than most with his good vintage champagne, the Strictly Come Dancing run up and final take up a good chunk of my time along with the X factor and the beloved Joe Mc Eldrey - who wouldn't want him as a youngest son ? and as I type we still need to go out shopping for the final collection of fresh fruit and veg.
First thing this morning I made a mass of flapjack as everyone rates it. I wasn't wearing my glasses as I sprinkled the last layer of sesame seeds on the top though, and at the last minute I realised I had wrongly used some organic bulgar wheat instead...... oh well, I will have to have a sample some myself after lunch today before I wrap up a few bars in greaseproof paper and rustic looking string with home made labels for the one or two folks I give it to.....
Will let you know the result in the next blog.
If I don't manage to get back to the desk for a day or two, stirring the gibletty gravy or whatever, then all the best to you for the festive break.
AND Happy New Year to us one and all. xxxxx
p.s. I have been studying our Google statistics, and have been staggered to know how many people are regular readers of this blog. I had been thinking about stopping it, but Martin our part time techy chap pointed out to me how many of you there are - over 200. Which is very flattering. But why don't you add yourselves to the list of followers ? I should love to see more faces or anonymous shapes even in that column. Please feel free to pass comments.
I will try to keep it up to date more than I do. You know how it is don't you ?
It's a bit like when you are young and your Mum says to you, Go on, you'll like it when you get there, and actually you really enjoy yourself ..... It's just like that.

Cheerio for now though Jill

Gulliver and sandwiches at our local

Two things I love about the Sandy Park Inn at Chagford. One the smashing baby Gulliver, seen here with proud father Matt Lumsdaine, the landlord....

And the other thing being the totally yummy sandwiches that chef Ross produces.....

Whenever we have clients visit the house and it gets towards lunchtime nothing could be more refreshing than a stroll down to the pub for a plateful of full filling sandwiches, a bowl of chips between us and in Rob's case, a glassful of Otter bitter.
I have been updating the website for the Sandy Park http://www.sandyparkinn.co.uk/ and they will be holding an open mike evening just before Christmas. If the Halloween Party was anything to go by, it should be a blast !! If you see the baby you might get a bonus - one of his wonderful smiles.

Pink hair, re-cycled fashions and fun

I don't seem to have the knack of how to add pictures and keep them in line so - sorry folks.

If you didn't get along to the Jubilee Hall in Chagford last Friday then you missed a treat.

Proper Job our local re-cycle centre organised a fashion show using all garments that had been handed in to them.

If you have never been to visit Proper Job then you really should. It is packed with second hand goodies

from clothes, books, furniture, crockery, plumbing stuff and the like. I defy anyone not to find at least 2 things worth taking home.

Last time I was in there, I picked up a pair of shoes for Nancy, a tie which will be a Christmas present for one of our older pals and a work jumper for Rob.
Local girls became models for the night on Friday and a terrific job they did too including Alexis Bowater who appeared on the scene in a full length dark blue woollen coat, all very gloves and handbag, only to reveal something 'much more interesting' beneath it, when she reached the head of the catwalk !!

Visitors were invited to have a look through racks of good quality clothes before the fashion show took off, and at the end of the evening after the raffle and biscuit competition, we were invited to take a look at the swap rails. What a brilliant idea this is... you can bring along up to 3 garments worthy of exchanging and take home 3 that you prefer. Result !!.... I do wish I had taken something along myself to use as currency.
All the hard work of organising the event fell onto the shoulders of Angharad Barlow who brilliantly runs the clothes store at Proper Job. Last time I was in there, I picked up a pair of shoes for young Nancy, a tie for one of my older pals and a good working jumper for Rob.
Angharad asked me to go along and 'take a few pictures. Elizabeth was home for the weekend, so she took Rob's camera, and between us we ended up with over 900 shots.
Elizabeth had a pleasant surprise. She bumped into Chloe, one of the kids she used to babysit when she was a teenager.
That's my Elizabeth on the left sporting the pink hair, and these days Chloe is a married lady !

I wish you could have been there, it was great fun.

Taking photos of celebs

Remember I was telling your about celebs ? That nice Adam Hart-Davis and what a decent chap he was ?
Well on Friday last I was up at Castle Drogo at the behest of Colin the Editor, who is another of my greatest e-mail and telephone pals who, if we passed one another in the street would not recognise each other ....strange that isn't it ?
Anyway he asked me to go and take pictures at the Ice Bear Project and the best picture should be shown in tomorrow's edition of the Okehampton Times.
Here we have on the left Mark Coreth who sculpted the magnificent polar bear you can see, and is one of the most charismatic people I have met in a long time. Utterly charming and well mannered. He posed like a good un and was full of consideration that I managed to get all the shots that I wanted. I should have liked to have a longer time to point my camera at him, he was lovely. In the middle of the shot is Nick Baker off Animal Planet on the telly and next to him is Pen Hadow well known Arctic Explorer - very pleasant, not at all frosty (boom boom!)
I have know Nick since his early days on the box and he is as amiable off the box as he is on it.... Years ago in the years when he sported a pony tail, he bravely played the part of Robin Hood in our local panto and Elizabeth - daughter No. 2 was his gushing Maid Marian. I spent a few happy weeks through rehearsals nursing the hopes that they might really fall for one another and that we should have this well known face for a son-in-law. Well I am a Mother, and Mothers do have these quaint notions from time to time don't we ? Elizabeth is approaching 30 now and she is still single and needless to say she's only got to talk to a chap for over a minute and I am fondly considering whether or not the man in point is worthy as the father to my grandchildren.... not many fall into this category.
Anyway anyway, back to the celeb side of things .... over the years I have had the pleasure to meet a great many famous people for all sorts of reasons. When I was only 17, I was on easy chatting terms with Sir Martin Gilliat the then Private Secretary to HM the Queen Mother. I worked for David Nicholson the then jockey, later racehorse trainer, as a nanny to his 2 small sons and Sir Martin would regularly phone the house. Not knowing who he was, I chatted away for several weeks with him before someone enlightened me of his high office, and when I did get to know and became slightly nervous at my own brashness, he would have none of it, which taught me a valuable lesson in life, that good manners and fun are the same at every level. That job enabled me to meet lots of nice people in the horse racing world. All the top jockeys of the day - great fun.
One or two famous folk came into the Tourist Information shop I ran in Chagford from 1997 to 2000 and they all obliged me when I asked if I could photo them. In 2000 we were the wedding photographers at the wedding of Petra and Tim Schofield, brother of Philip. What a super family they all are. And Philip just could not have been more pleasant - to everyone - all day long. That super smile that beams out from the screen is so utterly genuine. What a treat for us to be part of that happy day.
Paul Daniels and Debbie Magee stayed at our house during our last year as a bed and breakfast in 2007 and they too turned out to be the most favourite of guests, Debbie especially so. She's as dainty and pretty off screen as she is on and hugely sensitive to everyone around her. So it's easy to see that celebrities are the same as you and me. We all put our knickers on one leg at a time as my Dad used to say. And in just the same way some are nice and some are not.
Not too long ago I was asked to take a shot of John Nettles when he was down this way making a programme, and he proved to be the opposite end of the scale. He was Mr. Grumpy from start to finish. He tried to make me feel uncomfortable and clumsy. And had to be coerced into changing rooms for much better lighting, in a kind of " Oh must I ? Surely you should be able to do the thing HERE " petulant fashion. I felt like smacking his sulky famous face.
So pity the poor press photographer who is asked to "Just go and take a pic of So and So, or Lady Almighty"
Most of the time it's a pleasure when we meet up with the Mark Coreth and Pen Hadows of this world.
But just occasionally it's not all sweetness and smiles ........

Adam Hart-Davis comes to Chagford

What a thoroughly nice bloke Adam Hart-Davis is.
I was asked by the Okehampton Times to go along to the opening of the Joliba charity shop to take a picture of him at the official opening.

He posed like a hero for me and chatted to everyone in the shop before buying a poncho and an armful of suitable gifts for Christmas, all made by Mali crafts people.

I have another couple of 'celebs' to take pictures of this evening... Watch this space !

Horn of Plenty food review

Just to let you know that the review for the Horn of Plenty is now in place on our food reviews page.

I'm just recovering from dental surgery yesterday and hope to lose the Bugs bunny look soon.

The Horn of Plenty

Click the picture to see just one of the lovely things we had to eat
yesterday at the Horn Of Plenty, near to Tavistock..

Food review to follow as soon as I can..... on www.dartmooraccommodation.co.uk/food/food_reviews_2009.html

along with plenty more pics.

Autumn weather damage at Furlong

Here is our beautiful lane on the 26th of October, in full autumn fabulocity and here it is after the weekend's
wet, wild and windy weather. We were supposed to be going out on Friday evening but the wind got nasty, and
the rain was lashing down, so we phoned to give our apologies at about the same time that this horse chestnut came down in our driveway......

We were married for 37 years on Wednesday. Remembrance Day.
And feeling still very much the worst for wear with my frozen shoulder we
drove into Exeter first thing to celebrate with double eye tests !!
But on the way out we met up with this beautiful little chancer, who would not leave us alone. He insisted on walking in front of the car as we drove off up the drive, so much so that we had to stop and shoo him away from impending death. Do click on the photo to see his fabulous plumage close up. The more I shooed him away, the more he came back. I think that our neighbours are possibly feeding him, or if not that, then he is making the most of the fallings from their bird table, them being very keen birdfeeders, so he has become a regular feature around these parts......
...which is a bit of a worry for us with that monster of a terrier of ours Miss Topsy Whopsy who thinks that she rules the roost, and that anything that moves away from her at speed is fair game. She killed a pheasant within a week of us owning her 5 years ago, since when has finished off squirrels, mice and the odd rabbit. The last rabbit she came back with, I handed to the chef at the Sandy Park Inn.
This dandy chap will have to watch his back.

THANK YOU X to everyone who has e-mailed get well wishes to me. I am well on the mend. The steroid injection seems to be doing the trick. At least I can dress myself again. This has been a rotten year health wise for me, and now Rob is sporting a red dot in the middle of his forehead where Dr. Wood last week removed a (fortunately benign) thing.... plus a livid red eye from a burst blood vessel. I told him that if only he would wear an eye patch and a turban, then knowone would even notice.....

Note Rob in tidy get up as befits the day.

All for now playmates. - (I just loved Arthur Askey when I was about 13 )

To anyone misguidedly logging on to read new posts, but I am allbut out of action at the moment with a frozen shoulder, which is 100% frustrating, because as usual I have more than most people have to say.
The minute I get past the stage of single hand typing and having to ask Rob to help me fasten my bra in the morning...... I shall try to make amends.
Until then sweet chum brigade, ......pass me that cushion on your way to peelin' the spuds willya ?
x

That Motor Bike ride ....

Finally - pictures of me riding pillion behind Martin, member of the DAM !
which is Devon Advanced Motorcyclists, who kindly offered to take me out on one of their jaunts over Dartmoor recently.
I loved every minute of the ride from Moretonhampstead, to Bovey, on up to Haytor and then Hound Tor to the Hounds of the Basketmeals van car park..... BRILLIANT !!! and then back down to Moreton.
I hadn't realised what a good vantage point the back of a large bike can offer.
All that fresh air and clear view to both sides is magical indeed. A thousand thanks to Betty Nott and Ken her husband for asking me out in the first place and thanks indeed to Martin for kindly offering me a seat. Betty once again for the loan of the leathers - how fortunate that she is more or less the same size and shape as I am!!


They are a great bunch of people. I took pictures of a charity bike ride they were part of earlier in the year.
I have offered them an invitation to a BBQ in the Spring by way of a thank you proper...

Elise and her Daddy - my latest album in the making...

I'm delighted to see that there is a new follower of my blogspot....

Welcome Jonathan......
The pictures of 'you know who' are great, and I spent over 3 hours uploading them into the album-making website this evening, and then over an hour turning them into what I hope will be an album that you will love.....

Elise is a little star. It was lovely having her as my fourth project in Norfolk.
Give her a kiss from me x
Click the picture to see it full size....

I will let you know when the album is in the post...

Throwleigh Village Pond gets a clearout.

Colin the Editor of the Okehampton Times asked me to go along and take a picture for the paper of the village pond at Throwleigh receiving some attention. Local folks had been encouraged to come and lend a hand as the water feed had silted up and vegetation had taken a firm hold.
Great fun all round. The group picture should be in this week's edition.

Motor bike ride on Dartmoor....

Pending.......

Brilliant ride as a pillion passenger, out over the Moor with members of Devon Advanced Motorcyclists on Saturday....
Rob took pictures....

Will get them off him soon

Don't miss my latest food review....the Sandy Park Inn at Chagford.

Just a very quick line to alert you to my latest food review, on Curry Night at the Sandy Park Inn at the bottom of our drive....

Photographic project number 3 whilst on holiday in Norfolk !!

One of the other projects that I took on whilst in Norfolk was to take photos of a 'works in progress' at a lovely big house that Elizabeth's builder Rosy is currently working on. It's a Georgian (I think) house which has a huge amount of restoration work taking place but it is obvious from the standard of word being carried out that the new owners are planning to turn it into a stunning home to live in.
One of the guys working on the old woodwork and replacing damaged skirting boards, bannisters, architraves etc is Matt who will hopefully be renovating Elizabeth's sash windows at the front of her new property.
Rob and I took over 80 photos to have ready to make a before and after file of work carried out.

Can't wait to see the finished job. It will be very interesting to see the pre versus the post views. Click the pictures to see full size. I did carry out one more assignment whilst we were in Norfolk, and it was perhaps the most enjoyable one.... more on that tomorrow.

See you then followers !!

At last a trip to Norfolk....

We wanted to nip up to Norfolk, not least because I needed to see Elizabeth's face. Mothers whose children live across the other side of the country or world will understand this feeling. It's a need to smell your child's neck that overwhelms you isn't it ?.... I hate the fact that she is a 6 (if you're lucky) hour drive away from us.

Builders are busy renovating her small newly acquired house and office project which should make her life much more manageable, and should result in us being able to stay with her during our infrequent visits there.
At present she is shoehorned into a small temporary bedroom with a mattress at floor level whilst she oversees work on the build which has cash injections from the Bank of Mum and Dad. 'Bless....!'

So for the first couple of nights we, Rob and I stayed at a local B&B belonging to a railway buff in Downham Market. Typical Elizabeth, she had done a deal with the chap so that we could stay there at half price in exchange for us taking pictures of the place for a new website that she is building him. As one night B&B would have cost £60 which is the exact minimum charge we make for a visit to take pictures on site (less the mileage to Norfolk of course!) this was completely the best for both of us..... I will add a link to the website when Elizabeth's happy gang in the office http://www.lingodesign.co.uk/ come up with the goods. The following 2 nights we spent in the divine home (just click on the picture of our bathroom) of Veronica de Lotbiniere who runs a company that introduces well to do foreign visitors to the lifestyle of the Upper Classes of England. Guests are invited to stay at her house on the Suffolk Norfolk border and to take in a colourful tour of this fair land staying at stately homes, sampling the lifestyle of the well to-do, with trips to Royal Ascot, Wimbledon and the like, with huntin, shootin and fishin as an options along with possible polo and point to point on offer in season. Veronica herself is the most lovely generous bubbly person, and I for one would enjoy a countrywide jolly with her as companion/overseer. Once again, Elizabeth asked us to take photos for use on a website, so I only offer you these 3 shots, but I suggest you click on them to see what a smashing home we were privileged to stay in. Lucky us.

Veronica is just putting finishing touches to fabulous bed and breakfast accommodation she is soon to have on offer for ordinary tourists; and as the National Trust's Oxburgh Hall is her direct next door neighbour, I think she will do very well indeed as the accommodation in a converted coach house is high quality and very special, a perfect romantic holiday location on the east coast. The minute pictures are ready to view on her website, I shall put up the link for everyone to see her lovely home.

We stayed at the Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge on the way home, but that will have to wait for another time...

What a brilliant job I've got

I am so lucky, I get to see lots of special things in my job as a photographer.
Mairi Hunt is a most talented sculptress and she needed some pictures of her work taken. Having organised a website for her recently http://www.neadon.co.uk/ for her self catering cottage in a most superb location on Dartmoor, she rang me to come and take pictures of her current work.....
And brilliant stuff it is too. Take a look at the detail of the fish in the otter's clutches. Wow.
I should be organising a website for all these wonderful pieces soon. Will alert you when to take a look.