3 totally different beds on offer.

It's been a most interesting day.... young Tom my technical genius, came with me on a few house visits. He's very much a package holiday type of guy, and dealing with my website at such close quarters, I thought it might be good for him to get to see one or two of the accommodation providers we show on my website.
So as we need to do some updating to the Bagtor Manor website, and I need some fresh photos for the Chagford Accommodation holiday leaflet that I produce, he came along today as chief camera case carrier.
Tom's point of view is .... why go on holiday if you can't guarantee the sunshine, or get out on the snow ? (and get piste). He thinks that every holiday worth taking begins and ends at the airport.

And to be honest he didn't quite know what to expect from today. But after seeing the impressive four poster bed in place at Bagtor, in a room where famous playwright John Ford was born in 1586, and then the totally contrasting contempory style at our next port of call, an up to

the minute self catering unit that sleeps 10 and has a pool, right here on the Moor, followed by a

quick nip into one of our local hostelries, The Globe in Chagford (above) to check out one of their rooms, I think I gave him something to think about. This was a wide variety of choices and just as I thought, he being young, the one he favoured was the modern holiday let.

I pointed out to him, that at this time of year a party of 10 could rent it for under £100 each for the week, and in fact as we came away a family party was arriving to do just that as a surprise birthday party for 2 very much older guests who like to swim. The couple arriving were under the illusion that their family had booked the place for them for the week as a generous gift, but what they didn't know was that just as soon as they had settled in, 8 more of the family would turn up with champagne and cake..... What a great idea. How lovely for them all to be together in this very well appointed holiday home. Plenty of room for them in the pool which comes complete with a swimming wave at the push of a switch.
Ok, the price for the barn in the Summer is two and a half thousand, but set against 10 people going abroad, this is still a good price to pay for a quality let.
Tom and I will be building a website for this 5 star self catering pad in the next couple of weeks.

I'll alert you when to take a look.... Both the barn and website will be worth looking at.

You've got to admit, I do have a pleasant job.

Cheers chums !

Granddaughter 2 bounces into the World.

Here she is Little Miss Elsie Harris, our Granddaughter number 2.
Looking every bit a carbon copy of her sister Nancy 3 years ago.
A quick birth. On Thursday evening Jennifer rang and asked if we could have nancy overnight as they were off to hospital and just as we were packing a bag for Nancy on our way out at 8, they came back home with instructions to 'come back in 12 hours'.

So off we went taking Nancy home with us.

At 6.40am, I answered the phone to Jennifer "Mum we're back from the hospital"
Yes Jaff, I know, we were there when you came home...."

"No Mum We're back WITH THE BABY It's a girl !!"
So we kept Nancy another night, and then went over to say hello to the latest member yesterday.

And of course she is gorgeous. Utterly scrummy. Miss Elsie Harris.

Ben's parents and sister Amy were there already, so it was a nice celebratory get together with champagne and cake. As you can see Ben's Mum Hilary is a nice type, she with the newborn on her knee. Amy is perfect fun loving Aunty material, but I'm not too sure about John, Ben's Dad.....

What do you think ?

Take a look below....

Obviously got his own way of celebrating ! Maybe he lead a sheltered childhood ? I don't know.

No doubt Jennifer will feel up to photos in a day or two.

Great news.... bulge gone...

Brilliant news this morning.... our second grandchild arrived just before 3 a.m.
We broke the news to Nancy Granddaughter number 1 when Tom arrived for work and filmed the event for posterity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyOrLUmZweM

Lunch at Gidleigh Park Hotel, lucky me.

Lucky me, the treat surprise lunch on Friday turned out to be at Gidleigh Park Hotel.


Where Lin and I had a smashing time. (massive thanks x)


I shall be writing up a food review as soon as, but Elizabeth (daughter no 2) arrived out of the blue on Friday morning very early, for 2 nights, so everything computer related was placed on hold.



I will alert you to the food review as soon as it is in place.


Wish I could have lunch at Gidleigh more often. This plateful of loveliness was Lin's bream starter.

Secret destination coming up

One of my good pals is taking me out for lunch "to a secret destination" today with instructions not to wear my wellies. Which is code speak for "do try to make an effort!"
Which is tricky right now because I put on far too much weight over the festive season, and you know what the weather has been like, and I've had a cold, and cough and too much time at the blessed computer ....blah blah blah....
Anyway getting to bed early last night and Rob in another bedroom because he now has my cough, I though I'd try on a couple of things in readiness for the occasion. Three hours later as Janice Long was signing off for the night at 2, found me in the middle of 3 clothing piles.
Charity shop, bin and sewing attention. and frankly not a great deal closer to a decision on what might make me look half tidy, and young, and trendy ....... with the inevitable result that when I took breakfast this morning, I had only a meagre amount of shreddies and half a dry Ryvita instead of a thick wedge of buttered toast, before taking Topsy off down the road in the rain for a 'good walk'. Ok ok I know it's all a bit last minute. Not even me thinks that in the space of 4 hours I can do anything to shift the excess, but its' a wake up call isn't it?
I have to be ready in under an hour, so I will run, yes run up the stairs now and take some care with my hair make-up in the vain hope that it draws the eye away from the crepey neck.
FAT CHANCE !
I shall take the camera of course. This may be a place that I can write a food review.
Let's hope the slimmer's salad is sitting under a nice fat fresh crab, and that they have cooked the mains in olive oil and I can see something not too fattening on the dessert menu...
What's that you say ? I should be sticking to just one course and drinking slimline tonic without a gin in it ?
Are you Mad ?
Get real.
HAVE YOU EVER MET ME ?
More later.

Maybe if I wear a scarf at my neck ?......

one of my photos on The Wedding Community website.

One of my photos is featured on The Wedding Community website today for a day.
It shows 2 young pageboys playing hide and seek at Powderham Castle.
The Castle lost it's licence for weddings because they would not accept gay weddings.
I am glad that Devon County Council revoked their licence.
Some of my closest friends are gay and they love each other more kindly than a lot of my straight married pals.
I should love to cover a gay wedding, so please let any likely engaged couples know....

Topsy tries the socks out

What a rotten week. First I get a cold and cough then Rob. Hack hack hack the 2 of us, interspersed with sneezes and then latterly painful sneezes.
I only know it's not the flu because I had no aching limbs.
One job that had been on the backburner was for me to take photos of socks for a local sock maker.

She makes some super bedsocks, and I had them arrayed on wellies and boots in the hallway where there is plenty of light.

As usual Topsy was somewhere close at hand. She follows me around for most of the day without making much fuss, and as I was coming to the final shots I glanced round to see her laid out on a pair of these socks for all the world using them as a pillow. Don't know that I won't ask for modelling fees too. Click the picture and try not to say aahh!