Snowy Dartmoor.

So todays blog is one that most of us in the UK have had more than enough of. This of course is this years snow, particularly the snow on Dartmoor. As i have a fair few readers (i hope still) from other countries like America, Canada and Australia, that its probably best to give them an idea of Devons Dartmoor. I often get my readers leaving comments like, its such a small country, yet you seem to have so much open space!!. Well Dartmoor is just one of these wide open spaces.The Moor itself is actually a raised Plateau of Granite. This covers an area of around 368 miles (1,400 Hectares) and in 1951 was designated Britains first "National Park". Around 1/2 (50%) is open Moorland, around 12% forest or Woodland. The Moor is probably known to a lot of People for either its very old Prison, which is situated in Princetown the highest town on the Moor at 1,300ft above sea level. Or the famous book "The Hound of the Baskervilles" written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which is all about the high moor. Human activity has been recorded on Dartmoor for around 4,000 years. The Tors or mounds of Granite were probably formed around
280 million years ago by molten Granite, (i wont go deeply into this as it is easily Googled).
The highest mountain peak on Dartmoor is "High Willhayes"which is around 620 metres (2,050 ft) high and is the highest mountain (loose term) south of the "Peak District".
On Tuesday last week Sue and i decided to see just how bad (or good) the snow was up there. It is around 15 miles (as the Crow flies) from us. We got a weather forecast of little or no snow so although some roads were still impassable some it said where open.
Here we go then, as we start off the larger roads were quite good. (This is a very long blog)
Do click on any picture to enlage it.
One of the first glimpses of the higher moor.
Below, lovely views down through the Valley.
This picture (below) is of a car park where we often stop for a cuppa, not today though the entrance was sheer Ice!!!.
Starting to climb, with a couple of Tors ahead.(below)All of Dartmoor has a speed limit of 40 MPH.
As we get higher, drifts of around 12" to 15" are evertwhere.
Below, As you can see some of the smaller roads to more remote villages were virtually impassable.
This couple were supposed to be visiting relatives about 3 miles down this road but after examining the road they decided not to bother.
The roads from here on up had a fresh snow fall of about 1"an hour before we got here.
Below, on reaching this point we managed to get a little off the road to have a Sandwhich and a brew, We did seriously wonder whether to carry on from here as it snowed a little and the temperature was -1F.
Just to add insult to injury, after deciding to carry on the Fog started to come down.
Another Fog picture. The other thing that also worried us was lack of traffic, around a car every 5 to 10 mins (minus 3F now and usually a 4x4 type vehicle.
Two Tors in the distance, bathed in the Snow below.
I cant find the other picture i have of this bridge but it has Sue standing in the middle to show its narrowness, now impassable, with several residents cars abandoned on the verge behind us.
Below, Bellever Forest with Virgin snow.
This pond was a real head scratcher (below) as it was high on the Moor where night time Temperatures had dropped to minus 8F yet it was still not frozen???
It had just stopped snowing again here.
This is one of the most photographed places on the Moor. Probably because its on one of the few larger roads that cross the Moor. Its the "Clapper"Bridge at Postbridge. "Clapper" bridges are ones consisting of rows of large Granite rocks made into columns with large Granite slabs laid on top to make the bridge.
Not many will have seen it like this though.
Here again (below), from a different angle though.


We were going to try to get across to Widecombe from here but on seeing this road decided not too.
This picture (below) is my favourite, its of the "Powdermills" Pottery a few miles from postbridge.
Finally this picture (below) shows people by the hundreds flocking to "Haytor" where the access roads were good and clear. They brought, Sledges, Ski's, Boards, anything including Tin trays to enjoy the slopes.
Please enlarge this to see them.

JOKE OF THE DAY.
At my age you ask these questions.

Will I Live to see 80?
Here's something to think about.
I recently picked a new primary care doctor..
After two visits and exhaustive Lab tests, he said I was doing 'fairly well' for my age.
(I just turned 64.)
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him,
'Do you think I'll live to be 80?'
He asked, 'Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?'
'Oh no not a lot,' I replied.. 'I'm not doing drugs, either!'
Then he asked, 'Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?
'I said, 'Not much...
My former doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!'
'Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?'
'No, I don't,' I said.
He asked, 'Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?'
'No,' I said.

He looked at me and said,... 'Then, why do you even give a shit?'

---

Boxing Day at Exmouth, Devon

Todays blog will again be boring for a few of you I'm afraid. Every year on Boxing day the Exeter Classic motor cycle club hold a meet at a cafe on Exmouth seafront. Also there is a local charity family run on the same day.We in the Honda CX-GL MCC also use this as a meet for our local SW members.
This picture below shows all our local club members.
Please do click on any picture to enlarge it and examine bike details.
Here below is the first of our members bikes, its a Honda Silver Wing 650cc and is one of the rarer 80s models.
Below an 80s Cx500 cc V Twin, belonging to another member.
This belongs to another local member, its an CX500C or Custom model.
This is the Bike of Pete who is the son of the bike owner in the last picture. He also owns a Hack CX which is his pride and joy.
This is an absolutely brilliantly prepared BSA twin, complete with lovely old style Panniers.
This beautiful Vincent HRD was here last year I'm sure.
This AJS twin with a sidecar arrived and the rider got off and came round opened up the chair, out got his missus with two Yorkshire Terriers in her arms. they had come around 10 miles from Pinhoe, Exeter.

A nice old BSA 650 Twin with a Watsonian sidecar fitted.
This is one of Sue's favorite bikes the Honda 750cc Nighthawk.
This is a Francis Barnett two stroke, another marque that uses the Villiers engine.
This is aBSA Barracuda i think, quite a tidy one too.
This was a lovely example of one of the only two strokes bikes i ever fancied. This is the Suzuki 750 three cylinder water cooled two stroke. I think they look and sound great.

This nice old Greeves was one of many British marques that used the Villiers two Stroke engines.
This BMW Rider along with a Triumph rider braved very cold conditions over a long distance to be here today.
The owner of this Triumph had come over 120 miles along with one other rider, rather them than me in Temperatures of around 2 - 3 f.

Joke of the day.

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias was on television with British TV host Anne Diamond when he used the Spanish word "manana" (manyana). Diamond asked him to explain what it meant. He said that the term means, "Maybe the job will be done tomor- row, maybe the next day, maybe the day after that. Perhaps next week, next month, next year who cares?" The host turned to Irishman Shay Brennan who was also on the show and asked him if there was an equivalent term in Irish. "No. In Ireland we don't have a word to describe that degree of urgency."

OUR LATEST MODE OF TRANSPORT.

This blog is about our latest mode of transport, a Car. It is a French Citroen C4 Grande Picasso VTR7+, it has a 1.6 Turbo Diesel engine producing 110 BHP. Its a big car (MPV) for a smallish engine surprisingly its not at all sluggish. The car model VTR7 stands for the interior and exterior spec, the 7 being for 7 seater, although the rear two seats are really child seats. It comes with Air conditioning and Cruise control as standard. The strangest feature of it is the LACK of a Handbrake!!!!, its fully Automatic.When you come to a stop hold the brake pedal down for 3 seconds and the Hand (parking) brake is automatically applied, coming off on pressing the Accelerator (Gas) pedal. For traffic hill starts, when you come to a stop the vehicle will not roll for 3 seconds to give you time to take your foot off the brake then onto the Accelerator pedal, odd to get used to.
Below Sue with the Car on the Car park, taken from Shaldon overlooking Teignmouth.
The same again.
It was just 2F in this car park today, thats very cold for a sunny Winters day here in South Devon.
Below, No i'm not really that tall !!!!. At the time Sue took this picture i had just stood up on the sill to see a fishing boat enter Teignmouth harbour.
Back to normal size now.
Its a very tall car, around 6ft 2" to the roof bars, Sue has to really stretch to get up into it, One of the features that we like is the huge boot, with all the seats folded down (into the floor) it becomes a Van, so it should be able to fit all the fishing and Camping gear in.
Below, finally a peep into the driving area,
The Brochure tells us that in mixed town and motorway journeys, Fuel consumption should be around 49 to 52 MPG which if thats the case we will be happy,I will let you know in a few thousand miles.
So before the Joke, I would like to wish anyone that reads this a very happy Christmas and a happy and prosperous 2010.

Joke of the day.

There have to be some Oirishmen who are not tarred with the same brush. This would appear to be one of the best

An Oirish Story. An Irishman goes to the Doctor with botty problems.... 'Dactor, it's me ahrse. I'd loik ya ta teyhk a look, if ya woot'. So the doctor gets him to drop his pants and takes a look. 'Incredible'he says, 'there is a £20 note lodged up here.' Tentatively he eases the twenty out of the man's bottom, and then a £10 pound note appears. 'This is amazing!'exclaims the Doctor. ''What do you want me to do?' 'Well fur gadness sake teyhk it out, man! 'shrieks the patient. The doctor pulls out the tenner and another twenty appears, and another and another and another, etc..... Finally the last note comes out and no more appear. 'Ah Dactor, tank ya koindly, dat's moch batter. Just out of interest, how moch was in dare den?' The Doctor counts the pile of cash and says '£1,990 exactly.' 'Ah, dat'd be roit then,'' says the Irishman < < > < < 'I knew I wasn't feeling two grand..'

Devon's Dartmoor in December.

I think before i start this blog i should apologise to any of my ex followers of this blog. I have just not been either to others blogs, or done new ones of my own, i just dont seem to have either the time or sometimes the inclination.
Last week we were very bored so into the car and off across Dartmoor we went.
This picture was taken from the roadside approaching HoundTor.
Apologies for poor pictures but very poor light levels didn't help.
Do click on any picture to enlarge it.

This picture below shows the next pit stop with Sue making the Tea in the back of the Car.This picture was taken part way up a large rocky outcrop which we intend climbing soon.


This picture below show taken from the same position only at a different angle.

One of high Dartmoors many narrow road bridges.
At this point the River doesn't look too high.


This picture (Below) is following the river downstream, levels quite high here.




This is normally a quiet stretch of water.



This last picture shows Buckland church just peeping through.



Joke of the day.

A middle-aged woman seemed very sheepish as she visited her gynecologist.

'Come now,' coaxed the doctor,

'you've been seeing me for years. There's nothing you can't tell me.'

'This one's kind of strange...'

'Let me be the judge of that, The doctor replied.

'Well,' she said, 'yesterday I went to the bathroom in the morning and heard a plink-plink-plink in the toilet and when I looked down, the water was full of pennies.'

'I see.'

'That afternoon I went to the bathroom again and, plink-plink-plink, there were some 2p's in the bowl.'
'That night,' she went on, 'I went again, Plink-plink-plink, and there were 5p's and this morning there were 10p's

You've got to tell me what's wrong with me!' she implored.

'I'm scared out of my wits!'

The gynaecologist put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
'There, there now, it's nothing to be scared about.

(Ready for this?)

(I'm warning you.....)

(Still not too late....delete now!)

'You're simply going through the change!

West Country Winds.

Todays post is about the Storm and high Winds that swept across South Devon last night and today. A few times every year the Rail line from London and the Midlands to Plymouth and Cornwall gets closed by these type of storms due to waves that reach 30 feet high and break up to 40 yards acrooss the lines and roads, also causing damage to them. The government have pumped millions in the last few years into trying to solve this problem with no real success.
This first picture is of The sea front here at Teignmouth, taken from our favourite sea front cafe.In this type of weather hundreds of people come to look at and run in and out of these waves. Here a wave has just broken over the sea wall on the left of the picture.
CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT.
This picture below shows how close the rail line (with waves breaking across it) is to the sea, just a 7 feet wide walkway between the line and sea here.
The Rail line follows the coast for several miles here, from Starcross to Teignmouth about 6 miles. Its a fantastic coastal train journey. This piece of coast (pictured) is at Holcombe midway between Teignmouth and Dawlish, here it goes through a small tunnel, but note how close the line is to the sea, but today its sheltered from the storm here.
This picture is looking down on Dawlish, note the station in the middle, the line runs the whole length of the sea front, with waves breaking at either end.
The sea wall here at Dawlish (like Teignmouth) has no guard rail between it and the sea over most of its length. Look at the waves breaking over it all along.
Got a little higher here to show Dawlish town, with Starcross and across the Exe to Exmouth in the back ground.
I thought i would add this picture of the same Teignmouth sea front in nice, calm weather.
This picture was taken on Boxing day this year and is of the sea front Cafe where we took the first two pictures on this blog.


Joke of the Day.
(Sorry about the colour).

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN GUILTY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS YOUR OWN AGE AND THINKING, SURELY I CAN'T LOOK THAT OLD.WELL.. YOU'LL LOVE THIS ONE. MY NAME IS ALICE SMITH AND I WAS SITTING IN THE WAITING ROOM FOR MY FIRST APPOINTMENT WITH A NEW DENTIST I NOTICED HIS DDS DIPLOMA, WHICH BORE HIS FULL NAME. SUDDENLY, I REMEMBERED A TALL, HANDSOME, DARK-HAIRED BOY, WITH THE SAME NAME, HAD BEEN IN MY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS SOME 30-ODD YEARS AGO. COULD HE BE THE SAME GUY THAT I HAD A SECRET CRUSH ON, WAY BACK THEN? UPON SEEING HIM, HOWEVER, I QUICKLY DI SCARDED ANY SUCH THOUGHT. THIS BALDING, GRAY-HAIRED MAN WITH THE DEEPLY LINED FACE WAS WAY TOO OLD TO HAVE BEEN MY CLASSMATE. AFTER HE EXAMINED MY TEETH, I ASKED HIM IF HE HAD ATTENDED FAIRVIEW HIGH SCHOOL. 'YES. YES, I DID. I'M A BULLDOG,' HE GLEAMED WITH PRIDE. 'WHEN DID YOU GRADUATE?' I ASKED. HE ANSWERED , 'IN 1973 . WHY DO YOU ASK?' 'YOU WERE IN MY CLASS!', I EXCLAIMED. HE LOOKED AT ME CLOSELY. THEN, THAT UGLY, OLD, BALD, WRINKLED, FAT ASS, GRAY-HAIRED, DECREPIT SON-OF-A-BITCH ASKED, 'WHAT DID YOU TEACH ???

Birds of Prey.

I think before i start this blog i should update you on the fact that Sue is now home, very sore but hopefully on the mend , thank you all for your kind words. In around 4 weeks she will be ready to be put back on the list for her "new Hip".
So to todays blog. This morning Sue was fed up sitting around so we went to look at the Christmas lights at "Fermoys" garden centre nr Iplepen, Devon, After a stroll around pushing Sue in a wheelchair, we decided to cross the road to go to the "Bird of Prey Sanctuary".
This is the Board that greets you on Entrance (entry is by donations)
PLEASE CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT.
The information board at the entrance.
One of our own British "Owls" the "Tawny".
The information board on our own "Worlds fastest bird of prey" the "Peregrine Falcon".
Here (below) is the "Escapee", this "Pergrine Falcon" managed to free himself from his tethering perch, he then flew around the site several times landing on top of his cage.It took several minutes to find his regular handler who then coaxed him down.
Here he is Safe and sound with his handler, isn't he striking?.
This is a female (below) "Peregrine" (i think), she was dwarfed by her neighbor tethered just 10 feet away which was the hugh Eagle.

One of our own here, a good old fashioned "Barn Owl".
Below I just cant remember what this Really strikingly coloured Hawk was called.
Its such a pity that your unable to get any closer to these lovely little "Harriers or Hawks" but there are fences some 12-14 feet back from the cages.
The information board for "Mozart" the "Eagle Qwl"this one is in his first year and still being "Flight trained".
Below, This is him a really big impressive "Owl" very like a snowy Owl in size. They had a "Snowy Owl" here but it was impossible to photograph him because his cage was directly into the sun.
This next "Owl" was a very large bird with a huge round face and striking plumage.
This one too, he refused to play ball and face me though!!!.
This one was quite a amall pretty owl with very striking colours.
This picture (below) is the information board to what for me is the most impressive bird here a "Eagle". This bird is massive and stands maybe 18" to 20" tall. When one of the smaller Hawks escaped staff were worried he would on return get with in striking distance of where this massive bird was tethered, had he have done so he would have been killed immediately.
Here then is "Galahad".
Isn't he beautiful?.
This small American Hawk (below)was brought in by a friend of the owner who said he thought the bird ready to be "Flown wild"so had we hung around we might have seen her fly, sadly we left before she did.
Joke of the day.

Harold is 95 and lives in a Senior Citizen Home. Every night after dinner, Harold goes to a secluded garden behind the Center to sit and ponder his accomplishments and long life. One evening, Mildred, age 87, wanders into the garden. They begin to chat and before they know it, several hours have passed. After a short lull in their conversation, Harold turns to Mildred and asks, 'Do you know what I miss most of all?' She asks, 'What?''Sex!!' he replies Mildred exclaims, 'Why you old fart. You couldn't get it up if I held a gun to your head!' 'I know,' Harold says, 'but it would be nice if a woman could just hold it for a while.' Well, I can oblige,' says Mildred, who unzips his trousers, removes his manhood and proceeds to hold it. Afterward, they agree to meet secretly each night in the garden where they would sit and talk and Mildred would hold Harold's manhood. Then one night Harold didn't show up at their usual meeting place. Alarmed, Mildred decided to find Harold and make sure he was O.K. She walked around the Senior Citizen Home where she found him sitting by the pool with Ethel, another female resident, who was holding Harold's manhood! Furious, Mildred yelled, 'You two-timing son of a bitch! What does Ethel have that I don't have?' Old Harold smiled happily and replied, 'Parkinson's.'

Sue an Update

Hi all,
Some of you have asked how Sue is coming on, so Yesterday she had an appointment in Barnstaple (75miles away) Hosp to check how healing is going on, its been 13 weeks since she broke the arm, so hopes were high but very soon dashed. There had been absolutely no healing what so ever, nothing.The only answer then was to go down the road they probably should have gone down all those weeks ago, which is Surgery and pinning.While we were there they decided to do the Pre Op checks and try to get her an emergency entrance, which after 3.5 hours of checks, X Rays, Vein scans they eventually managed it. Only trouble was she had to go in there and then ready for the Op at 9.00am today. So at nearly 6.00 pm last night i had to jump into the car and travel the 153 mile round journey to fetch her medication and night clothes and toiletries. When i returned at 930pm i had a cuppa and left to come home again (another 75 miles). This morning at 10 am she underwent the Operation which according to the Surgeon went well, although she was in Recovery for 2.5 hours as they couldn't get her blood pressure Up !!!.Left her at 8.00 pm tonight she was still very woosy and in a lot of pain, we just hope they can rectify her B P otherwise they wont let her home quickly. Fingers Crossed.
10 pm Saturday.
I have just left Sue at the hospital, all being well she will be out of hospital by lunch time tomorrow, hopefully all will heal quickly she can then get her Hip mended and be fully well at last.
Joke of the day.

Priest and a Nun were crossing the Sahara desert on a camel. On the Third day out, the camel suddenly dropped dead without warning. After dusting themselves off, the Priest and the Nun surveyed their situation. After a long period of silence, the Priest spoke. 'Well,Sister, this looks pretty grim.' 'I know, Father. In fact, I don't think it likely that we can survive more than a day or two.' 'I agree,' says the Father. 'Sister, since we are unlikely to make it out of here alive, would you do something for me?' 'Anything, Father.' 'I have never seen a woman's breasts and I was wondering if I might see yours'? 'Well, under the circumstances I don't see that it would do any harm.' The Nun opened her habit and the Priest enjoyed the sight of her shapely breasts, commenting frequently on their beauty. 'Sister, would you mind if I touched them?' She consented and he fondled them for several minutes. 'Father, could I ask something of you?' 'Yes, Sister?' 'I have never seen a man's thingy. Could I see yours?' 'I suppose that would be OK,' the Priest replied lifting his robe. 'Oh Father, may I touch it?' The priest consented and after a few minutes of fondling he was sporting a huge erection. 'Sister, you know that if I insert my thing in the right place, it can give life.' 'Is that true Father?' 'Yes, it is, Sister.' 'Oh Father, that's wonderful ... So stick it in the camel and let's get the hell out of here!'

Great Dorset Steam Fair, part 3.

Before i start this 3rd part of the GDSF i will update you on Sue's progress. Last week she attended the Fracture Clinic where they removed the plaster for X Rays to check how the fracture is healing. On removing the plaster the Head man (a woman) was not happy with the fact that it was still badly swollen, and bruised, plus there was a lot of very Red Scaley skin.After doing the X Ray they found that there had been very little Bone joining, so they should really put it back in plaster for another Month. After much deliberation she decided to Strap up (Tightly) the arm high across her Chest with a thick Bandage that was also around her neck holding it in place. She now has an appointment for the 4th November for further checks.
Here now are a few more pictures from this fabulous event.
Please do click on any picture to enlarge it.
These Steam engines were just having their Fires lit early one morning.
This was quite a small (below) one as the size of Sue alongside shows.
As i have already mentioned we attended the show the day before the show actually started and a lot of these pictures are from then.
As you can see by the crowds in the back ground this picture was taken on a "Show Day". This lovely little fully working and very capable Scaled down edition was driven around by a youngster of about 10. There were about 15 -16 of these in one section, they were all in absolutely gorgeous condition.

Just one of the dozens of these lovely engines.
This one is owned by Anderton & Rowland, this family still run a large modern fair all around the West Country.
Sue dwarfed by these giant engines.
This engine was being attended by all the family, husband, wife and son were all busy cleaning and preening.
Again a row of engines before they got "Fired" up.
This one was just so clean (even when running) you could have eaten your lunch off it.
These next three pictures are of a "Stanley" steam powered car. This car is Taxed and fully road worthy and used regularly.
I think this was my favourite Steam exhibit.
There were around a dozed fully working Steam cars here, all in beautiful condition.
So just one more boring post still to come on this fabulous fair until next year. Meanwhile i have added two short "You Tube" films to give you an idea of the nightime atmosphere here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0jVdoIT0Mo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5AfisDgSfI


Joke of the day.

Subject: BUSINESS REP

A BUSINESS REP A man, checks into an hotel on a business trip and was a bit lonely.
He thought, "I'll call one of those girls you see advertised in phone booths when you're calling for a cab."

He popped into a phone booth near the hotel and found an ad for a girl calling herself Erogonique, a lovely girl, bending over in the photo. He copied the phone number and returned to his hotel. When back in the room he figures, what the heck, give her a call.

"Hello," the woman says. God, she sounded sexy.

"Hi, I hear you give a great massage and I'd like you to come to my room and give me one. No, wait, I should be straight with you. I'm in town all alone and what I really want is s#x. I want it hard, I want it hot, and I want it now. Bring implements, toys,rubber, leather, whips, everything you've got in your bag of tricks. We'll go hot and heavy all night; tie me up, cover me in chocolate syrup and whipped cream, anything you want! Now, how does that sound?"

She says, "That sounds fantastic,
but you need to press 9 for an outside line."

Great Dorset Steam Fair, Haulage.

This then is the second part of my blogs on the wonderful Great Dorset Steam Fair. Last year i probably bored you all extolling the virtues of this event, so i decided this year to post loads of pictures to let you see just what you get on a visit here.As you know by now we stayed on site for best part of a week, Including a night watching "The Wurzels" (again). Every night the fair comes alive with live music at 5 different venues, also the sounds and smells of both the Steam funfair which mingle with the smells of food from dozens of different vendors. Each venue is basically a huge Beer marquee with a stage at one end, these sell Wines, Beers and Spirits, all at a fair price considering the live entertainment.
Perhaps i should mention here the main downsites to this event, it is the Toilets, there are hundreds of "Porta Loo's"dotted all around the Fair and to be honest the firm that the fair, hire these "Loo's" from do there best to keep them emptied. As far as clean though this they are definately NOT. The firm has a tanker going around emptying these 17 hrs a day but they do not clean them while emptying them. As you can imagine with a daily figure of around 40,000 to 50,000 people using them its virtually impossible. Toward the end of the day these "emptiers" do put a hose into each Loo, spraying Disinfected water everywhere which then takes hours to dry. By evening finding one with paper is like finding "Rocking Horse Poo" only harder.We, when going out (particularly at night) carried a small Rucksack each, these contained a Torch as its pitch dark inside them at night. A small mist sprayer loaded with Disinfectant, to clean. A Kitchen roll to dry and wipe, and a Toilet roll. We had disscussions about these Toilets with several people but never came up with a viable option, (but we will be back next year).
So back to the fair, here we have a series of Pictures of just a few of the hundreds of Lorries, Vans, Buses etc.















To end this blog i will say that my next one will be all about the Fair at night.

Joke of the Day.

Love making tips for real oldies.

1 Wear your glasses. Make sure your partner is actually in the bed.

2. Set timer for 3 minutes, in case you doze off in the middle

3. Set the mood with lighting. (Turn them ALL OFF!)

4. Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partner's name on your hand in case you can't remember.

6. Use extra polygrip so your teeth don't end up under the bed.

7. Have a good painkiller ready to ease the pain this will cause, in case you actually complete the act..

8. Make all the noise you want... The neighbors are deaf too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news!!

10. Don't even think about trying it twice..

(I wrote this in large type so you can read it)

Great Dorset Steam Fair 2009 (Size)

So here we are again at the GDSF, this year we decided that because last year we didn't get to see it all that we would stay for a few days. So we took the Raclet Quickstop Folding Camper and stayed a few days. This year the fair ran from Wednesday 2nd Sept until Sunday 6th.We decided to arrive on the Tuesday to set up Camp before the fair actually started, also bacause of Sue's injury it would mean that i had to do everything, this poses quite a few problems for me because bending over makes my breathing difficult and between the Skirts and the Awning there are 50 pegs to put in. After setting up on Tuesday we strolled down to the Fair Area where most things were already working. Beer tents (4) all had live music and had been open since the the Sunday before. Most side shows were also working and all the live music being played around the site was free. It should probably be said here that without seeing this massive show its impossible to comprehend its size and diversity. I believe the whole site actually covers over 630 Acres, has five huge car parks 5 caravaning/camping fields (where around 10,00 people stay), there are over 100 food outlets that sell a range from Pizza's, Jacket Spuds, Fish n Chips, Hot dogs,Burgers, Chinese, Indian and Salads and Sandwhiches of all shapes and sizes.Visitors for the week total over a quarter of a MILLION !!!.
I tried to get some pictures that cover the vastness but feel i didn't really achieve it, never mind here we go, these were taken on Tuesday before it got too busy. These first few show the camp over a nearly 360 degrees.
PLEASE CLICK ON THESE PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM AND HELP SEE THE DETAIL.
All the Units shown in the back ground are in 1 caravan park.
This is another Caravan Park.
Yes and another.
This is the field that the Travelers with their Steam Tractors and old Caravans were sited.

On the right of this Picture is the large Fire Station with 3 full sizes engines and a small multitracked vehicle. Also on site is a permanently manned Police Station, with up to 50 officers stationed in shifts for the week.


More blogs on this subject to follow.
Joke of the day.
Two little Boys.

Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter.
The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?"
"Eight," the boy replied.
The man continued, "do you know what these are used for?"
The boy replied, "not exactly, but they aren't for me. They're for him. He's my brother. He's four. We saw on TV that if you use these that you would be able to swim and ride a bike. Right now, he can't do either."

A Short Post.

Hi all,
Just arrived back from our stay at the annual Great Dorset Steam Fair, very enjoyable but very hard work for me as Sue was unable to help with anything, including erecting or packing away the tenting equipment etc. For those of you who have been asking after Sue's health, she is not in quite so much discomfort and we go for new X rays again Wednesday afternoon in Barnstaple, then if all is OK then they should replaster (for the last time) and it should then be the final 4 to 6 weeks.
Sue says thanks to all of you who have asked how she is.
I would love to be able to post pictures of the Steam Fair on here but every time i try the computer goes out of Firefox and i lose all the text, bloody nuisance but just cant afford to take PC to the Docs at the moment. Maybe Gavin my Grandson will have a look for me but you just cant tie these youngsters down for 10 mins.
So hope to be able to do a proper blog soon.
Joke of the day.

Grandpa

The Inland revenue decides to audit Grandpa, and summons him to there office.
The auditor was not surprised when Grandpa showed up with his attorney.
The auditor said, 'Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, Which you explain by saying that you win money gambling. I'm not sure the Revenue office finds that believable.'
I'm a great gambler, and I can prove it,' says Grandpa. 'How about a demonstration?'
The auditor thinks for a moment and said, 'Okay. Go ahead.'
Grandpa says, 'I'll bet you a thousand pounds that I can bite my own eye.'
The auditor thinks a moment and says, 'It's a bet.'
Grandpa removes his glass eye and bites it. The auditor's jaw drops.
Grandpa says, 'Now, I'll bet you two thousand pounds that I can bite my other eye.'
Now the auditor can tell Grandpa isn't blind, so he takes the bet.
Grandpa removes his dentures and bites his good eye.
The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Grandpa's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.
'Want to go double or nothing?' Grandpa asks 'I'll bet you six thousand pounds that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.'
The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this old guy could possibly manage that stunt, so he agrees again.
Grandpa stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on the other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the auditor's desk.
The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win.
But Grandpa's own attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.
'Are you okay?' the auditor asks.

'Not really,' says the attorney. 'This morning, when Grandpa told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty-five thousand pounds that he could come in here and p*ss all over your desk and that you'd be happy about it!'

So don't Mess with Old People!!

WHAT HAVE WE DONE???.

So here we are back blogging again after a very long lay off. I thought i had better share our latest family mishap with you my friends and readers.
Last Friday Sue and I went out on our Motorcycles for a great ride, going to Lynmouth for a cuppa then on across Exmoor toward Minehead, then Dulverton and back to the van around 65-70 miles. When we got back to the Caravan I rode my bike around to the back of the caravan (where we keep them) as usual, i arrived and was just putting my bike on the stand when i heard this real commotion and screaming behind me. I looked round to see Sue lying on the ground with her bike on top of her. I rushed accross to get the bike off her, by then our caravan neighbor had come around too, between us we pulled out Sue's trapped leg, while doing this i noticed Sue's Arm was sticking up at a very strange angle.I immediately got her into the car and rushed off to Barnstaple A & E dept, where 7 hours later she was admitted overnight with a very bad Spiral Fracture of the Arm between Elbow and Shoulder.They put on a partial plaster with a very heavy bottom to try to pull down the bone where it was overlapping the other. After a night in absolute agony and loads of Ora morph + no sleep at 3 pm they discharged (she insisted) her to go back Monday afternoon for either a full cast (if the heavy plaster had worked) or to be admitted to Hospital for an operation to wire or pin her arm.
So yesterday we went back to the Hospital fearing the worst as the pain had kept her awake all of both nights. When we arrived at the Fracture clinic the main man (Consultant specialist) was there. After a thorough and painful examination and several X Rays he gave Sue a choice, did she want them to try to manually pull the bones apart and push them back in place and hope they stayed while they plastered it (which he said was going to be very very painful so she needed more Ora Morph), or she could be admitted for the Operation which he said carried a fair risk of Nerve damage because of the position of the Fracture. So Sue decided for the painful but less risky option. I think she now wishes perhaps that she hadn't. The procedure was that a Male nurse held her Arm in place while this Consultant pulled down and manipulated the bone back to somewhere near where it should be, I could hear Sue's pain from the waiting room but eventually she came (in full plaster) very unsteadily and very white, in a wheelchair to be taken for another X Ray to see how it was. After this the Consultant showed us the before and after pictures and he was fairly pleased with them. We could clearly see the break about 4.5 inches long and vertical (before) with one bone overlapping the other, after there was a distinctly smaller gap between. So now we have to wait 10 days then back for more X Rays to check its still in place, if not then its the dreaded Operation I'm afraid.
Sue is still in a lot of pain and the Arm is getting Blacker and more Swollen daily,we were warned it probably would be.
So Fingers crossed everybody. Don't know what other shit can get thrown at us though!!!!!.
Sue pictured by a motorbike just to show she didnt blame the bike, she just put her foot out while rounding the Caravan (2 MPH) her foot slipped over she went, the full weight of her and the bike hit the corner of the van on her arm, the rest as they say is history.
You can see by this picture how drawn with lack of sleep she looks.
These next pictures show how Black and Swollen the arm is, it also shows the Cast and how its taped to her Chest to prevent movement.

Local (Devon) Classic Vehicle and Steam Rally.

We have just come back from Exeter R D & E Hospital visiting our Son Roy. Were pleased to say they have moved him out of the Intensive Care Unit. As far as the Pneumonia goes he is much much better and only needs a nasal Canula occasionally, they have removed all but two of his drips too (he had 7). The main problem though is there is still no feeling in the lower half of his body and of course Roy is starting to get very depressed about it. What can you say?...... the Drs are still saying they just dont know, so very worrying. Thank you all for your kind words and wishes.

So to occupy me for a while I have just put this blog together. Its about a Classic vehicle & Steam Rally at South Molton a fortnight ago. We managed to attend this on our Motorbikes too.
I'm afraid its not really one for you Ladies.
Below, Our friends Dave and Jean met us for the day, pictured here with Sue (left).
Please click on any picture to enlarge the detail.

A very nice 1940s-50s AJS, I'm not sure about the details though.
Below, a nice 1960s "Triumph" twin I'm not sure which model it is.
Below, This "Suzuki" a 1970s GT 750 watercooled triple was another real favourite of mine, I think I loved the fact it had 4 exhausts (even though it was a triple). It was one of the very few Two strokes that in my opinion sounded nice.
A nice example of a 1940s-50s "Triumph" twin.
Now then (below) what is it?, one of my criticisms of this show was the fact that not all the entries were listed in the programme.
Below, when I was very young the "Matchless" marque was the one for me, here is a nice 1950s model.
Below, A really lovely vintage "Scott"m'cycle here.
You certainly dont see many "James" still around but this was a good example (below).
I think this BSA was the 1970-80s 250cc Barracuda.
Below, This is a good example of a 1970s Honda 450cc, i think that this model was ahead of its time with a DOHC.
Below, one of the finest vintage machines on show this Early Douglas.

This bike is my all time favorite (below) a 1970s-80s Honda CBX 1,000 6 cylinder. I can but dream!!!!!.
Below, a fine 1980s Honda CX500 Custom, this bike uses the same engine as the one in my own bike.
A really nice model of the powerful Vincent HRD.
Below, another BSA, this was is in lovely condition too.
A lot more modern but still a classic this Yamaha 400cc (below).
Below, a fine example of a vintage BSA.
I really can't remember the make of this vintage bike but it says Triumph on one of the engine cases.
I did manage to take one car picture just to show it wasn't all bikes!!!!.
Below, Not quite sure what this set of Steam engines do but....they have loads of Plaques for shows visited.
This type of Steam powered engine, is used as a water pump there were several of these here,
This "John Deare" Tractor had only a single wheel at the front I had never seen one before and wasn't quite sure what the benefits might be.


Below, a little mini Tractor "done up" with decoration and hundreds of lights to amuse the kids.
This "John Deare" Tractor had double wheels at the front but ony inches apart (below), I had never seen one of these before either.
This picture shows an early Steam engine converted to a Logging Saw.
Couldn't resist putting our bikes in here too, after all they are now both classics.
Below, My 1979 Honda CX500Z, Lots of work done but lots more to do.
A closer picture of my "Zebedee", looking good.
This is Sue's "Baby", a 1981 Honda CM250T Custom.
This is Sue's baby again, (below), starting to get it looking right now.
For fairly obvious reasons there will be no Joke of the day.

Big Family Health problems.

Hi all, I'm afraid I havn't blogged very much lately, due to us volunteering to run the Honda CX-GL MCC SW (N Devon) Rally. As well as recently having our son admitted to the Hospital emergency unit, where a day later he had emergency Surgery to remove a large Cyst from his spine. Right after the operation he contracted Pneumonia and has been in the ICU unit ever since. On our visit today his breathing was much improved and staff were pleased with his progress. The biggest problem is since the operation Roy has lost all feeling from the Waist down, this is very worrying to all. Doctors are very non commital about the level of feeling that may (or not) return.
As soon as we know more I will post again.
Sue-Bob.

THE FINEST IN CORNWALL, POLPERRO.

So here we are again in the good old British Summer time. Holiday time is here again, so for those of you staying here in good old "Blighty" this season (recession and all that) I offer a couple of suggestions. A few of my favourite places to visit, in no particular order. A lot of these feature in previous blogs.
1. Obviously N Devon has to be high on the list, with lots of Campsites, Holiday Parks, Caravans available at sensible prices, if your flush endless B & Bs. Worth a look to stay are, Croyde Bay. Woolacombe, Hele Bay (nr Ilfracombe),Putsborough (Caravan), Watersmouth, Berrynarbor, Coobe Martin, as well as Linbridge (nr Lynmouth).
Anywhere on Exmoor (Fabulous)or Somerset in General.
N Devon going on into Cornwall, try around Clovelly area, one of my favourite places.
Here in S Devon around Dawlish and the Warren are great area's to stay and explore, also Teignmouth, Torquay (busy busy in season), Paignton, Brixham etc. Whatever or wherever you stay this side you must spend a couple of days exploring Dartmoor (off the beaten track) it is just so beautiful. Now, when down in Cornwall you have to see, on the one Coast Tintagel (home of King Arthurs Castle. On the opposite Coast the great busy Harbour at Looe and its neighbour the lovely, quaint Polperro. This blog is all about this little fishing village and its brightly painted narrow, almost traffic free streets. Here its still possible to stroll down to the quay (or old fish market) and if your lucky buy freshly caught fish, Crabs or Lobster straight from the boat!!!. The main area is virtually traffic free, you need a residents pass or have a pre made reservation to enter.A point here if walking is difficult this may not be the place for you, although Wheelchair access is good. All visitors must leave vehicles in the car park at the head of the village, then walk the 500 metres into th main village.The other option is to take this Horse and Trap the first part of the journey.
Do click on any picture to enlarge it.
This pretty Pub/Restaurant is right at the start of the walk, notice the Water wheel.
Pictured here one of several good Restaurants, also a few nice Cafe's too.
I also noticed (quite by chance of course) that there are at least three Pubs here, two are right on the Quay overlooking the Harbour.
Note the narrowness of these streets.
"No entry" hardly surprising really!!!!.
More of the same, in the village we noted 15 or more houses or cottages to rent, so if you fancy it, these places sleep 2 to 12 people.
Its easy to see why traffic is resticted inside the village, can you imagine the chaos if all were allowed in?.
Most of the cottages are very well kept, and nicely painted.
There was certainly some work put into this fishermans cottage.All the patterns/designs covering it are made with shells and pebbles.
Close up.
They must have taken ages to do but they are very effective.
All the cottages to the right here are for rent.
This is the other side of those previous cottages, with balconies overlooking the pretty harbour.
Another view of the Harbour.
This one was taken from the top of the sea defense gates.
This little stream runs right through the centre, alongside most of the properties.
This picture shows Sue on top of the defense gates, overlooking the outer harbour.

So to sum up a really lovely place, one of my top 5 must visit places in the West Country, so please visit and see. More here http://www.polperro.org/fishing.html
Joke of the day.

Job of a lifetime



TRUE STORY:(?)

Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car park for 150 cars and 8 coaches.

There also used to be a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5.

This parking attendant worked there for all of 25 years , then one day just didn't turn up for work...

"Ho hum", said Bristol Zoo Management - "better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant" ......

"Er no", said the Council, "that car park is your responsibility" ...

"Err no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?" .....

"Err NO!"

Sitting in his villa in Spain is a bloke who had been taking daily the car park fees amounting to an estimated £400 per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years...

(Footnote, nice work if you can get it).

Tranquility.

On a recent car ride we found this lovely little bit of Peace on earth.
Here then is the place to spend a few wonderful quiet days camping.This Site is here in the middle of Dartmoor, ideally sited for Walking/Hiking on Dartmoor.Warning, dont bring a big Caravan though, firstly due to the tiny Dartmoor roads and secondly because there is no electric hook ups and thirdly you will have difficulty finding a very large flat area, (as pictures will show). If you really want to get to grips with the real Dartmoor then look no further. The famous village of Widecombe is but a 5 minute car drive and the friendly Rugglestone Inn ? is a short walk away.The Elderly owners will not bother you at all during your stay, usually saying hello sometime after arrival (pitch where there is a gap) and saying good bye when you call in to leave and PAY, YES you are TRUSTED to pay on DEPARTURE, what a wonderful change.
This then is the Entrance board that greets you, notice prices per person, children's reductions according to age.

Here then are a few pictures of the site (over 3 fields).The owners house is in the background of this first picture, its on the other side of the road 40 yards away, NOT the house opposite !!!.

You notice the lovely little stream that runs through the whole site and keeps the kids happy for ages. If you camp close to the Stream you are sure of a warm welcome from the resident Ducks.

Toilet/Shower block is shown in the background and is uphill.

This next picture shows the second field (+toilet block) with a large flat area.

The next one is looking toward the entrance.

This picture shows just how steep parts of these fields really are.

This picture shows the main entrance area.

These are pictures of the lovely little stream that meanders through this site.

And this one of the last field.

Lastly, another stream picture.

There are basic showers, plenty of Hot water for washing and dishes etc.Lovely trusting owners.Beautiful surroundings with Buzzards wheeling overhead, Robins and Chaffinches popping in for crumbs and Skylarks high in the sky above.
There is a small shop on site in season, selling Bread, Eggs, Milk etc.
So then that is Cockingford, Basic...Yes.
Hilly....Yes.
No electric hook ups......Yes
Want to visit .....YES YES YES.
Telephone Tel: 01364 621258
Postcode TQ13 7TG
Joke of the Day.

Don't know if this is just a sick coincidence or if I'm getting paranoid, but....

2007 - Chinese year of the Chicken - Bird Flu Pandemic devastates parts of Asia

2008 - Chinese year of the Horse - Equine Influenza decimates Australian racing

2009 - Chinese year of the Pig - Swine Flu Pandemic kills hundreds of pigs/humans around the globe.

It gets worse........

Next year......
2010 - Chinese year of the Cock - what could possibly go wrong?

---

The Beauty of Dartmoor in pictures.

This then is a blog all about Devon's wonderful Dartmoor. These pictures were taken recently on a trip up to the Postbridge area, mostly around the Bellever Forest region.
Apologies about the amount of pictures here but we are just off back to the Caravan for a week, so this was a quickie.
Please do click on any picture to enlarge it.











Sue demonstrating just how narrow some of these road bridges are up here !!!!.





Thanks to all you who are still reading this blog, even though i don't blog as often as i should.
Joke of the day.
WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People--

Your last name stays put.

The garage is all yours.

Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack.

You can never be pregnant.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.

The world is your urinal.

You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.

You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

Same work, more pay.

Wrinkles add character.

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.

New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

You know stuff about tanks and engines. A ten-day vacation requires

only one suitcase.

You can open all your own jars.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

Your underwear is £8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

You never have strap problems in public.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original colour.

The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.

You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life.

One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one colour for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.

You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

No wonder men are happier.

As Promised.

Here then are a few photo's and comments from the few days spent at Cofton Country Caravan/Camping park, Dawlish. (This blog seems to be turning into a camp site reviewer, mmm not sure thats what I wanted it to be.) As a few of you may remember we spent a few days there last year, in fact in similar conditions, ie trying out tenting equipment close to home before venturing off into the unknown. Next week were of to Buxton in Derbyshire for the real McCoy, in the shape of our Annual CX-GL National Motorcycle Rally.
Cofton is a very large site with lots of amenities for all the family.These include a Bar/Restaurant, two swimming pools, Childrens Zoo, Donkey rides, three or four childrens play areas. A really well stocked shop and five Coarse fishing lakes, holding Carp to 20 lbs+ and Roach,Bream,Perch, Crucians, Ghost Carp too. These all fish very well.
Each area has its own Toilet/Shower block which have gentle music playing in them, each are cleaned twice daily. Every day the on Site Chip shop is open from 6 pm till 9pm.
This first picture shows the heated swimming pools with the shop/Bar area's.
This is a view with the well stocked shop on the left and Bar area in front, with loads of outdoor seating too.
This is one small part of the clean, warm feeling Bar/restaurant area.
The picture below is of one of the 5 fishing lakes on site. This is looking from the rear of our tent.
This area was called "Lakeside hard standings", thats the car and our"Raclet Quickstop" folding Camper on our Peg.
Inside the Camper, beds made up very invitingly!!!!.
This last picture (should be two) shows two more fields at the farthest point from the Reception/Bar/Pool area's. Caravan storage area in bottom left hand corner.
All in all a very good large family site, with something for all the family to do onsite, including a games room. Offsite the Towns of Dawlish,and its famous sister Dawlish Warren are just down the road. Teignmouth/Shaldon just 5 miles, Exeter 14 miles and Torquay around 12 miles away. The wonderful Dartmoor is again only 30 minutes (20ish miles) away. Only downside I can see is perhaps due to its size it will get very very busy during School holidays.
Joke of the Day.

An Englishman is having breakfast, in Paris , one morning (coffee, croissants, bread, butter and jam) when a Frenchman, chewing bubble-gum, sits down next to him. The Englishman ignores the Frenchman who, nevertheless, starts a conversation. Frenchman: 'You English folk eat the whole bread??' Englishman (in a bad mood): 'Of course.' Frenchman: (after blowing a huge bubble) 'We don't. In France , we only eat what's inside. The crusts we collect in a container, recycle it, transform them into croissants and sell them to England .' The Frenchman has a smirk on his face. The Englishman listens in silence. The Frenchman persists: 'Do you eat jam with the bread??' Englishman: 'Of Course.' Frenchman: (cracking his bubble-gum between his teeth and chuckling). 'We don't. In France we eat fresh fruit for breakfast, then we put all the peels, seeds, and leftovers in containers, recycle them, transform them into jam, and sell the jam to England.' After a moment of silence, The Englishman then asks: 'Do you have sex in France ?' Frenchman: 'Why of course we do', he says with a big smirk. Englishman: 'And what do you do with the condoms once you've used them?' Frenchman: 'We throw them away, of course' Englishman: 'We don't. In England , we put them in a container, recycle them, melt them down into bubble-gum, and sell them to France .'

Back at last !!!!.

Firstly I must apologise to anyone that is still following this blog, especially since its been so long since I posted last. I'm afraid sometimes I just don't seem to be able to get around to this blog, partly I think due to the fact that I have lost so many blogging friends recently, for all sorts of reasons. Now we hope summer is just around the corner, maybe I can get my head round blogging again.
This week our bikes were returned to us from our friends in the Midlands. Every Autumn our very good friend and savior Gary and his son Gazz take our bikes away and store them for us during the Winter. Not only that but while they have them they do any repairs and servicing, plus get them MOT'd too. All this for very little monetary reward, we are just so gratefull to them. Here (below) Gary right and Gazz are just taking the bikes from the trailer at Mill Pk, Sue's is this side.
Please do click on any picture to enlarge it.
Below our first ride out of 2009. Just a quickie down through Combe Martin, along the narrow, winding toll road that leads out past Woody bay and down into Valley of Rocks and Lynton. This is one of our favourite areas and one we often visit. This picture shows a view of the coast and down to valley of Rocks.
Sue (below) by the bikes overlooking Combe Martin beach.
This picture was taken the following day on a ride out onto Exmoor,this is one of our regular tea pit stops, Withypool. Notice the "Olde Petrol pumps" in the background, this used to be a garage.
Below, again taken from overlooking Woody Bay and this beautiful coast.
Joke of the Day.
One evening a Husband, thinking he was being funny, said to his wife, 'Perhaps we should start washing your clothes in 'Slim Fast'. Maybe it would take a few inches off of your butt!'

His wife was not amused, and decided that she simply couldn't let such a comment go unrewarded.. The next morning the husband took a pair of underwear out of his drawer. 'What the Hell is this?' he said to himself as a little 'dust' cloud appeared when he shook them out.

'April', he hollered into the bathroom, 'Why did you put Talcum Powder in my underwear?'

She replied with a snicker. 'It's not talcum powder; it's 'Miracle Grow'!!!!! !

A DAY IN SIDMOUTH, DEVON.

Last week Sue and I decided to go just along the coast to the seaside town of Sidmouth. The day we picked was a little dull with occasional sunny spells, at least it was in Teignmouth when we left. Sidmouth is a place I had been to many times during my Taxi driving days, especially as i had a regular "School run" there. Would you believe the local education authorities spend a fortune on sending children the 30 miles or so in a Taxi to school that far away. I used to pick up at least 5 sometimes 6 children and take them on a school run that went from Teignmouth, to Exeter (2), then Topsham, then Budleigh Salterton, then Exmouth and finally Sidmouth. That run three times a week !!!. Anyway I digress, so although I had been to Sidmouth lots of times not to look around the place. So the sea front area is quite nice with a big promenade. Perhaps i should say at this point that, it was to be fair, March when we visited, so, no deck chairs, crowds etc. My first view was of a pebbley beach (not keen) although I'm told there is sand lower down on the ebb tide. We parked up and walked a little way into the town, this appeared quite spread out though. So a quick cuppa in one of the few open Cafe's then a stroll along the Prom.
I must apologise here for the length of this blog but I'm fed up with trying to sort just 7 to 10 photos out of maybe 30, to put on here, so gone with all these this time.
Please click on any picture to enlarge it.
Below, as soon as we walked back to the sea front, down came the mist, hence not brilliant photo's. we took this looking along the prom to where we parked our car.
This picture , below, was taken looking along toward the nice end of the beach and cliff walk.
This one is looking along (at the next level) at the same house as the previous picture. This level is the same as the one you would arrive at if you parked in the car park along this end.
This was one (below) was taken looking back at the position the Second picture was taken from.
The view below is one at the entrance to the lovely sea front walled"Connaught gardens"
These Gardens are really pretty and well kept, i would think brilliant with summer flowers.The gardens themselves contain loads of lovely seating areas (some with sea views) and views of pretty flower beds. It reminds you of "olde worlde" Castle gardens with lots of little steps and rooms.
Below, one of those little sets of stairs and rooms.
Below, again a seating area, in summer some of these area's are used for plays and dancers such as "Morris Dancers".
Another litttle Arch and pretty pathway. In here you never know what will be around the next corner.
Below, yet another room and seating area, this one with "raised flower beds" and lawns.
The same area as in the previous picture, taken looking in the opposite direction.
This arch way is one of three entrances to the Courtyard in the previous picture.
Below is of the pretty little Cafe that is open virtually all year. This cafe/Restaurant is on two floors with views from up top right across the gardens, also views out onto "Jacobs Ladder" and beach.
Below, More views of the Cafe and walled gardens, here with just a peep out onto "Jacobs Ladder".
If you want to climb to the garden level you can do so via these real "olde worlde" fortess style steps leading from beach level. This picture so reminds me of a Castle or Keep.
Again below looking up at more steps to the "Connaught "walled gardens, notice the "Ice cream parlour"on the left.
This picture below is of the wooden "Jacobs Ladder" steps to the beach. This beach is around a mile long and is known locally as "Jacobs Ladder" beach. It is again very pebbley with sand showing at mid tide, these pebbles are actually protected by law and it is an offence to remove them. At mid to low water there are plenty of rock pools to keep everyone happy.Also here there are Disabled area's, deck chairs and a shop/ toilets.Also for much of the year this beach is Dog friendly.
This picture shows the walk along the bottom of the cliffs (below the gardens) to "Jacobs" beach.
This is a shelter on the previously mentioned wall, its cut back around 6 feet into the cliff and is decorated with shells and stones. A good shelter if the rains comes in quickly.
Oops below, this picture should have been put a couple back but crept in here.It shows the walk back to the main promanade from "Jacobs beach".
All in all a very nice day out. Would I visit again?, yes probably to see those gardens in full colour. To stay I think not, can imagine it being very busy in the Summer season. I can see the appeal it could have for families though, marks out of 10 probably 7 to 7.5.

Joke of the day.

Men should memorize it! Every woman knows that there are days in the month when all a man has to do is open his mouth and he takes his life in his hands! This is a handy guide that should be as common as a driver's license in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, co-worker or significant other! DANGEROUS SAFER SAFEST ULTRA SAFE What's for dinner? Can I help you with dinner? Where would you like to go for dinner? Here, have some wine. Are you wearing that? Wow, you sure look good in brown! WOW! Look at you! Here, have some wine What are you so worked up about? Could we be overreacting? Here's my paycheck. Here, have some wine.. Should you be eating that? You know, there are a lot of apples left. Can I get you a piece of chocolate with that? Here, have some wine. What did you DO all day? I hope you didn't over-do it today. I've always loved you in that robe! Here, have some wine Thirteen Things PMS Stands For: 1. Pass My Shotgun 2. Psychotic Mood Shift 3. Perpetual Munching Spree 4. Puffy Mid-Section 5. People Make me Sick 6. Provide Me with Sweets 7. Pardon My Sobbing 8. Pimples May Surface 9. Pass My Sweat pants 10. Pissy Mood Syndrome 11. Plainly; Men Suck 12. Pack My Stuff and my favorite one : 13. Potential Murder Suspect

---

Burrator Reservoir.

Last Sunday started off lovely and sunny so of course a car ride to Devon's Dartmoor was again on the cards. This time we decided to go up on a different route to our usual. We left Teignmouth through Newton Abbot on to the A38 Plymouth rd. Instead of turning off at our usual Buckfastleigh turn (famous for its Abbey and Monks) we went on to the Ivybridge turn, then across the moor. After visiting one or two Tors we ended up at Sheepstor which is very close to the Burator reservoir. After strolling the bottom of the Tor and making a cuppa, we decided to go to the reservoir, i hadn't been there for more than 12 years. This blog is a mainly a picture one, so the first is as we got out of the car on arrival.
This was taken looking down from the top of the Dam.
Below, these trees are right opposite the small car park, i love the texture of the Moss everywhere.
Again from the Dam wall, with Dartmoor hills behind.
Again these Trees (sorry) are just so lovely, below.
We jumped into the car and started off on the road that circles completely the Reservoir. Just a few hunded yards into the Journey is this very pretty Waterfall. Please click on any image to enlarge it.
A further half a mile on we found this clearing with a clear path one side and the ruins of this building on the other.
Below, this board (enlarge it) tells of the demise of "Longstone Manor"around the late 1800s when this Reservoir and Dam were started.
Below, whats left of the Manor house, a lot of the stone was removed but luckily some was saved in these remains. If these are not cared for soon it will be unrecognisable which would be a shame.
More of the remains, imagine if the house was rebuilt right here as close to the waters edge, what a desirable house that would be.
Below, A full circle, now almost back to where we came from. I have just checked these pictures after coming back to this post (it was saved) and discover 2 pictures missing, how on earth am i going to put those in?. Annoying thing was that one picture of the back of the Dam was in my opinion the best one !!! b***er b***er.
Oh well i knew i shouldn't have started a post so late, i always get problems.

Joke of the day.
Again folks i have decided to forgo the joke of the day as, I have just heard the sad news that one of my very good Australian blogging buddies has passed away.
So Gwen, all my love R I P.

A REAL QUICKY !!!!.

Todays blog is the first I have done for a few days now.Perhaps because I feel blogging stale, I'm really not sure.I do know that I dont look forward to posting like I did a while ago. It may be the lack of interesting things happening to blog about during the long Winter days, is the problem.I think you really have to be motivated into blogging, which at the moment I'm not. Also after over two years blogging I still have my trusty band of readers (bless them) but very little in the way of new readers or more to the fact, commentors. Maybe this should tell me something, just maybe my blog does not appeal to a wide enough set of readers. All this has put serious doubts in my mind about carrying on blogging, over the next week or two I will give it some serious thought.
So to todays blog. Over the last few weeks Sue and I have been struggling to get the Video part of our "Finepix" camera and also our phone to record us a couple of decent Video's. To no avail I'm afraid, although the "Finepix A700" is a great little camera for stills. So last week we were shopping when we saw this tiny little Video Camera being demonstrated, after watching we decided this could be just what we were looking for. I then went into another shop and saw this advertised for £75.00 BP. After a little haggling we came out with this camera , the Flip-Video-Ultra-Camcorder-60-Minutes in Black (look it up), with a USB connecting lead for £71.00 BP. I cannot praise it enough, its just so simple to use and has fair picture quality too. See for your selves below, The first Video was taken in our "Local" the Kings Arms, it was taken to test how it coped with low light levels, as you can see it did well!!!.
Although the group are no budding "Beatles" etc, they did provide some reasonable
entertainment.



Not thinking straight again, have put these the wrong way to how i planned them, Bu***r.This next Video is of our latest aquisition the "Raclet Quickstop" folding camper. I joined several takes together to make these shortish clips. To get the Camper erected to this level took Sue and I exactly 4 mins 20 seconds. It also has underskirts and beds plus a full Awning, (not fitted).

Finally this Video was taken as five seperate short clips then made into a Video (so were the others). This Camera has built into it a mode for editing the film and joining it into a full video. No memory cards etc, its internal memory gives 60 mins full Video time. This is first part of the town centre, then out onto the Sea front, showing the Pier, finally showing the award winning park and Childrens play area.

Joke of the day

A husband wrote the following letter for his wife and left it on the dining-room table:

To My Dear Wife,

You will surely understand that I have certain needs that you, being 54 years' old, can no longer satisfy.

I am very happy with you and I value you as a good wife. Therefore, after reading this letter, I hope that you will not wrongly interpret the fact that I will be spending the evening with my 18-year-old secretary at the Comfort Inn Hotel. Please don't be upset - I shall return home before midnight.

With love from Your loving husband.

When the man came home late that night, he found the following letter on the dining-room table:

To My Dear Husband,

I received your letter and thank you for your honesty.

I would like to remind you that you too are 54 years' old. As you know, I am a maths teacher at our local college and I have to inform you that while you're at the Comfort Inn, I will be at the Hotel Fiesta with Eric, one of my students. He is very virile and, like your secretary, he is 18 years' old. As you too have a good knowledge of maths, you will understand that we are in the same situation - although with one small difference: 18 goes into 54 a lot more times than 54 goes into 18.

So it'll be well after midnight before I get home.

With love from Your loving wife.

__________________________________________

Classic Motorcycle Show.

This blog today is all about the"Bristol & West Classic motorcycle show". This is held annually at the Show ground at Shepton Mallet. Each year we, the Honda "CX-GL MCC" have a stand here, to show off our old Honda V Twins built from the late 70s into the 80s, not only that but we usually manage to sign up a few new members. The very best of the Worlds Classic bikes are shown here. This picture below shows our stand with about 10 of these classic V twin bikes on show. On the centre table of our stand is a CX 500 engine cut in half to expose its complete insides.
Please do click on any picture to enlarge it.
This CX500 below belongs to one of the clubs area managers, he has been busy rebuilding this right up until the show, now its virtually complete. On our club banners we have the words "I used to have one of those".
Below we have a nice example of a Triumph 110.
This Ariel was a fabulous condition, I suppose I should point out that i could not find a programme anywhere for this years event, so I cant give year, model etc.
A fine example of a Norton here.
Below, a 1921 Triumph model H.
This outstanding 1958 500cc "Gold Star"won a best in class, as you see by the Rosette.
The really well kept, class winning "Royal Enfield"below, is taxed and regularly ridden.
You don't see many of these about any more,Italian bikes aren't known for their longevity. This class winning 100cc three cylinder "Laverda Jota"was in its day the fastest factory street bike, with a top speed of close to 140mph, that in around 1976 !!!. Nice clean lines too but a bit of a heavy animal apparently.
Below, this classic "Triumph Boneville" was one of the later ones as its a 750cc model.
A fine example of a "Royal Enfield Bullet" this is a 350cc model.
Below, if I remember correctly this fabulous pair of bikes were "Tritons", these comprised of the famous "Norton Featherbed"frame, with a "Triumph engine.These bikes gave the handling of the famous "norton" frame with the extra power of the "Triumph" engine.
A very early model of "Royal Enfield".
With 4 large halls full of Motorcycles, Parts, Club stands and accessories this is a really good day out for motorcycle enthuiasts all over, with plenty of food and Tea outlets too. Sue and I bought our Grandson a Crash Helmet, plus ourselves a few things that we needed.
Joke of the day.

Catch 22

A lawyer's dog running about unleashed, makes a b-lines for the local butcher shop and steals a roast off the counter. The butcher goes to the lawyer's office and asks, "if a dog, running unleashed, steals a piece of meat from my store, do I have a right to demand payment for the meat from the dog's owner?"
"Absolutely," the lawyer responded.
The butcher immediately shot back, "Good! You owe me £7.99 for the roast your dog stole from me this morning."
The lawyer, without a word, writes the butcher a check for £7.99. A few days later, the butcher, browsing through his mail, finds an envelope from the lawyer.
The contents reads "Consultation: £25.00."

Just a little now.

So then after a very bad winter (for us in Devon) the snow has just about gone down in Teignmouth, probably because of the Salt air. Up here on Dartmoor its a different story, there was still quite a bit left last Sunday 15th. Most of the main roads up here were clear so we thought the Snow that was left should make for some good photographs, so it proved. We left Teignmouth, through Newton Abott, on to Bovey Tracey then up on to Dartmoor itself. Most of these pictures were taken on the road from Bovey, Postbridge and through to Widecombe.
Altogether Sue took well over 100 pictures, the ones we picked to use here we were both very pleased with.This first shot was taken on the main road toward Two Bridges, and is a favorite of ours.
Please click on any picture to enlarge it.
Again (below) still on the main road. Still quite a lot of snow laying about as you can see.
This picture (below) was taken looking out from the back of "Haytor". We were so lucky with the Sun today.
Below, again from "Haytor"rocks.
It really doesn't matter when you come up here, there is always something beautiful and great to photograph.
More road side views, I think these Snow pictures are really nice, making every where look clean and tidy.
In the dips between Tors (where the Sun doesn't get) it is still quite deep.
This picture below is one (of two) of my favourite pictures on this blog.
We also took a Video whilst travelling along this piece of road but eventually left it out as I thought this long enough already.
Now this picture below is of the famous Dartmoor "Postbridge", this has been seen and photographed like this hundreds of times before.
But I bet not many of you have seen it like this before!!!.
So there you have it, some great pictures came out of the adversity of Snow. This is probably the last large amount we shall see this Winter.
Joke of the day.

Need a Push

A man is in bed with his wife when there is a rat-a-tat-tat on the door.
He rolls over and looks at his clock, and it's half past three in the morning.
"I'm not getting out of bed at this time," he thinks, and rolls over. Then, a louder knock follows.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" says his wife.
So he drags himself out of bed and goes downstairs. He opens the door and there is man standing at the door. It didn't take the homeowner long to realize the man was drunk.
"Hi there," slurs the stranger. "Can you give me a push?"
"No, get lost. It's half past three. I was in bed," says the man and slams the door. He goes back up to bed and tells his wife what happened and she says, "Dave, that wasn't very nice of you. Remember that night we broke down in the pouring rain on the way to pick the kids up from the baby sitter and you had to knock on that man's house to get us started again? What would have happened if he'd told us to get lost?"
"But the guy was drunk," says the husband.
"It doesn't matter," says the wife. "He needs our help and it would be the right thing to help him." So the husband gets out of bed again, gets dressed
and goes downstairs. He opens the door, and not being able to see the stranger anywhere he shouts, "Hey, do you still want a push?"
And he hears a voice cry out, "Yeah, please."
So, still being unable to see the stranger he shouts, "Where are you?"
And the stranger replies, "I'm over here, on your swing."

Walk to Hangmans Hill, Combe Martin.

This blog is all about a walk we did back in October. From Combe Martin I had always wanted to try to walk up above the village and the long steep hills past "Little Hangmans" then on up to "Gt Hangmans hill". "Little Hangman" is just under 800 ft high, rising to "Gt Hangmans" 1023ft.The actual cliff face on Gt Hangmans is 820ft high. I know a fair few able bodied people who havn't managed this, so I always knew it was going to be a struggle. We picked October because it is a little cooler then, the day we picked was very overcast too. The first picture was taken at "Sloley Farm high above "Berrynarbor"looking down on Combe Martin. Little Hangman is in the middle, Gt Hangman to the right.
Please click on any picture to enlarge it.
This picture below was taken on the main road from Ilfracombe to Combe Martin in the area of the Sandy Cove hotel.Those are the Hangman hills in the centre.
The picture below was taken just above the car park at the far side of Combe Martin harbour, just as we set out.I should probably say at this point that we knew it would be a long hard struggle for me, so we packed a sandwich and my portable Oxygen cylinder.
Below, the first hurdle over, the field corner of possibly the steepest part of the climb.
Another 100 feet or so higher, just before we took our first real rest. There is a look out shelter around here, but I'm afraid it has been let get into disrepair. This was a pity because the views from here should have been fabulous.
Below just left the shelter here, the walk starting to tell a bit by now.
Below,well over half way height wise but much less in walking distance, that is Little Hangman a long way ahead.
Over three quarters of the way now. I have to admit that from here on in I stopped every 100-150 yds.
Now just about at the summit of "Little Hangman", below I think that took about one and half hours. It is the distance walked as well as the steep climb that takes it out of you.
The very top of Little Hangman is where Sue took this picture from below, I walked down to give you some idea of the height. By now we both realised that I was just not going to manage the extra walk to Gt Hangman today.
Sue pictured here "On top of our World". It was just so high, wild, quiet and beautiful up here.I took a little oxygen we ate a sandwich then started the return journey.
Just before the peak of Little hangman, you have to fork off right if your going to "Gt Hangman"and follow the wall.This picture was taken from close to the summit of Little Hangman and shows how much farther we would have to have gone.
So after around a one hour forty minute climb I had to give best to the "biggy", I was (and still am) bitterly dissapointed but perhaps this year. The complete round trip took us over two and three quarter hours.
Joke of the day.
KINGS RANSOM
Once upon a time lived a beautiful Queen with large breasts. Scott the Dragon Slayer obsessed over the Queen for this reason. He knew that the penalty for his desire would be death should he try to touch them, but he had to try. One day Scott revealed his secret desire to his colleague, Horatio the Physician, the King's chief doctor.

Horatio thought about this and said that he could arrange for Scott to more than satisfy his desire, but it would cost him 1000 gold coins to arrange it. Without pause Scott readily agreed to the scheme.

The next day, Horatio made a batch of itching powder and poured a little bit into the Queen's bra while she bathed. Soon after she dressed, the itching commenced and grew intense. Upon being summoned to the Royal Chambers to address this incident, Horatio informed the King and Queen that only a special saliva, if applied for four hours, would cure this type of itch, and that tests had shown that only the saliva of Scott would work as the antidote to cure the itch.

The King, eager to help his Queen, quickly summoned Scott to their chambers. Horatio then slipped Scott the antidote for the itching powder, which he put into his mouth, and for the next four hours, Scott worked passionately on the Queen's large and magnificent breasts. The Queen's itching was eventually relieved, and Scott left satisfied and hailed as a hero.Upon returning to his chamber, Scott found Horatio demanding his payment of 1,000 gold coins. With his obsession now satisfied, Scott couldn't have cared less and, knowing that Horatio could never report this matter to the King, and with a laugh told him to get lost.The next day, Horatio slipped a massive dose of the same itching powder into the King's underwear. The King immediately summoned Scott.

The moral of the story...Pay your bills.

---

Water Water every where.

Today Sue and I were just so bored after being inside for days during the bad weather. After breakfast we decided to see if we could get out onto Dartmoor, from our front we can just see it and could see quite a lot of Snow still there. We set off out past Newton Abott, heading over drum bridges toward Bovey Tracey and Ashburton. What became clear very quickly was the amount of flooding there is around. When you consider how much snow fell high on the Moors, followed by heavy rain melting it, it isn't surprising it soon swelled Rivers and Streams causing problems.
This picture is just one of many we took on some of Dartmoors village roads. It shows that there is still a lot of snow up here. My next blog wil have some nice pictures of Snowy Dartmoor.
Please click on any picture to enlarge it.
The picture below is of what 10 days ago was a farmers yard and field. The "Lake" in the back ground in actual fact is just a grazing field for Horses swollen with flood water.

Below again normal fields, part of the same huge false lake in the above picture.
The local bird life soon find the abundant food in these type of waters, arriving in great numbers.

Below, again the same inland temporary lake, I think due to melting snow and a forecast of more rain it could even get bigger !!!.
As you can see, like its title Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink (a bit mucky).

This final picture was taken on the way down just outside of Ashburton, we had to go through several fords of flood water, this was just one of them.
At the end of all my blogs I always do a joke of the day. Today I decided that, after seeing all this water that as a mark of respect for the plight of the Australian people i would not do one. Lets hope they get just a little of our rain to help put out those terrible fires.

ALL IN ONE.

This blog is all about the weather here in Teignmouth. During the last 8 to 10 days we have had it all, a few really bright, sunny but Crisp days, like the ones in this photo, showing the sea front and the railway line Teignmouth to Exeter taken last week. I have almost the same view taken just last Sunday in force 7, gusting 8 gale.
Below, this picture was taken from my bedroom window lasr Friday morning, quite a change for us to get White frosts like this, perhaps 6 or 7 most years.
The picture below is the of the same view as the first picture.This one again taken during our recent Gales.
Below, Just a sprinkling of snow this evening (Monday) on my front garden.
The picture below is a view from my bedroom window looking toward the Sea front. Just enough Snow to show that Winter is here.

Below are a few video's. This first one was taken from the car on Teignmouth's Point car park.Just look at those waves washing across the park and cars !!!.

This Video shows the small (Rubber) inshore Lifeboat practising in the rough sea's, the people in the wet gear are also lifeboat crew, they have to practise in bad weather to make sure men and machine are up to the job.


Are these people (in cars) and a few more mad?. Certalinly not good for a car, all this Salt water!!!.

Joke of the day.

Granma

I was out walking with my 4-year-old granddaughter. She picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. "Why?" my granddaughter asked. "Because it's been on the ground; you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs," I replied. At this point, my granddaughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Grandma, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart." I was thinking quickly. "All Grandmas know this stuff. It's on the Grandma test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Grandma." We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. "Oh.....I get it!" she beamed, "So if you don't pass the test you have to be the Grandpa." "Exactly," I replied with a big smile on my face.

---

WE DO LIKE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE.

During the Winter months we find it much more difficult to find good items to make into a blog. As most of my readers know we get most of our interesting items during Summer whilst away in our Van in N Devon, where we travel around in both the Car and on our Motorcycles, as well as doing as much walking as our health allows. At home here in Teignmouth S Devon we also try to keep life as interesting as we can. Teignmouth is a Seaside Town as well as being on the banks of the River Teign. So the Coast is all around us.
Today started a bit overcast but cleared around 11 am, we had a little shopping to do so decided while the car was out we may as well use it for a Coastal drive. After 20 minutes in our Tesco at Newton Abott we were on the road. We took the Road from Newton through to Torquay, then aong the sea front to Paignton. We drove along Paignton sea front past the Pier and the Apollo theatre stopping at the western end at the quaint little Paignton harbour. This cosy little harbour is only tiny so is used by mainly local small Trawlers and Crabbers, also small private boats as well. Inshore Crabbing boats are usually only between 25 and 40 ft long and stay quite close to land. This Harbour was built in the 18th century and is very busy in summer.
Below looking over the Harbour toward the Sea front and the Pavillion and Pier.
Do Click on any Picture to enlarge it.
This is Paignton Harbour showing the sheltered little beach and Boats.
Below is the very small sheltered entrance, which is apparently difficult to navigate in rough seas.
After Paignton we set off toward Dartmouth,below looking back toward the Town and across the bay to Torquay.
Below. Just a couple of miles outside of Paignton we took a right turn toward Galmpton, then onto a tiny road heading for Greenway house and Passenger Ferry across the Dart.The picture below is one of the first glimpses of the Dart.
This picture was taken from the small Car Park/Jetty looking seaward. Dartmouth Castle is just around the corner.

A winter view across the Dart estuary, this part of the river is probably 700/800 yards across.
This picture below shows one of the greenway passenger ferry boats, these small 12 seaters are used in the quieter months, there are larger ones for Summer. From here Dart Cruises are available to sight see the River. The Craft for these hold up to around 50 people.
This is the site for Ferries/Cruises. http://www.greenwayferry.co.uk/ourboats.htm
These next pictures Sue took out of the window on our way back up hill to the main Rd.
For the Caravan/ Campers amongst you there is a very nice site here. We called in even though they were closed and received a warm welcome from staff.They allowed us to quickly view the site and gave us 2009 Brochures and price lists. I have to say here although a few of the pegs are a little sloping, its more than made up for by the stunning River views. Site here
http://www.galmptontouringpark.co.uk/
Joke of the day.
An old, blind cowboy wanders into an all-girl biker bar by mistake.. He
finds his way to a barstool and orders a beer. After sitting there for a
while, he yells to the waiter, 'Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?
The whole bar immediately falls absolutely silent. In a very deep, husky
voice, the woman next to him says,
'Before you tell that joke, Cowboy, I think it is only fair, given that you
are blind, that you should know five things:
1. The bartender is a blonde girl with a baseball bat.
2. The bouncer is a blonde girl.
3. I'm a 6-foot tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate.
4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weightlifter.
5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler.
'Now, think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?'
The blind cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters,
'No...not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times.'

OUR NEW TOY.

So here we are our New Toy, its a Raclet Quickstop Folding Camper. We had a Conway Corniche Trailer Tent before this, which was very good and big but was very hard work to put up/peg out. This is not as big but is just so easy to put up and down, even standing free , no pegging. We have been looking for a Folding Camper for quite some time now, even been to see 8 different Campers all over Devon/Cornwall/Somerset. Eventually we went to a large Caravan/Camping shop to look at a few used ones they had in stock.While we were there one of the Salesmen was putting up (in an undercover area) one of these for demonstration, he said it had been up outside while the weather had been dry. We stood in amazement as the whole unit went up in around 4 minutes. Sue, being a woman asked the price of this, he said they had 4 2007/8 models in stock that they had bought at the right price because of the new 2009 model was due in. These were being sold at approx £750 under retail price, also throwing in an awning, delivery, Number plate, Spare wheel,Curtains, and a Mains converter unit. Only trouble was, even after this it was still around £500 more than we wanted to pay. Oh well never mind we said, then he said if we wait three weeks or so(till the new models come in) we could have this ex demo one for the top price we had thought of paying. So obviously after looking around it (not a mark) and agreeing for us to check it before delivery we bought it.
The pictures below were taken from the Raclet brochure.
Please click on any picture to enlarge it.
These pictures speak for themselves.

When enlarged this picture below contains a frame with a diagram of the interal layout, two big double beds, storage spaces and a two ring cooker with Grille. With this and the erection speed it makes it ideal for our long weekend trips.
This row of four pictures show just how easy it is to erect with just one person. The last picture shows where the cooker is stored, it can be used in this position for a cuppa on route, or lifted into its spot inside the Camper.
This last set of pictures is the front cover of the Raclet Brochure. They are a French company so with the financial situation like it is 2009 models (with minor improvements) are set to be around £4,500.
So there you are, we believe we have done the right thing, (spent on our top limit) only time will tell, roll on April lets give it a try.
Joke of the day.

Japanese scientists have created a camera with a shutter speed so fast,
They can now photograph a woman with her mouth shut.

A boy asks his granny, 'Have you seen my pills, they were labelled
LSD?'
Granny replies, 'Fu *k the pills, have you seen the purple dragons
In the kitchen?!'

Little Billy asks his dad for a telly in his room. Dad reluctantly Agrees.
Next day Billy comes downstairs and asks,'Dad, what's love juice?'
Dad looks horrified and tells Billy all about sex.
Billy just sat there with his mouth open in amazement.
Dad says, 'So what were you watchin'?'
Billy says, 'Wimbledon.'

A woman standing nude in front of a mirror, says to her husband,'I look
Horrible, I feel fat & ugly, pay me a compliment.'
He replies, 'Your eyesight is perfect.'

Wife gets naked & asks hubby,'What turns you on more, my pretty face or
My sexy body?'
Hubby looks her up & down and replies,'Your sense of humour!'

An elderly couple was attending Mass.
About halfway through, the wife leans over and says to her husband,
'I just let out a silent fart; what do you think I should do?
He replies, 'Put a new battery in your hearing aid.'

DEVONS COAST.

One day early last week Sue and I decided because it was such a nice day that we just had to get out for a while. The night before we had a heavy frost but the sun had warmed the air a little. We jumped into the car and just drove with no idea where we were going. Off toward Newton Abott we headed then turned across Shaldon Bridge heading on the Coast Rd. The views along this road are in some places brilliant. We stopped at the Labrador Bay Car park, overlooking the sea and got an Ice Cream (naughty). Back in the car we headed toward Torquay, stopping here and there for pictures.
Below, this view from Torquay looking across Labrador and Babbacombe Bays. Teignmouth is dead in front with Exmouth in the distance.
This below is of two of the three rocks that rise up just off Torquays Coast, they are Leadstone,Thatcher and Orestone and are favourite haunts for small boats fishing around them.
Not quite sure which hotel this is but it must have fabulous views across the bay.
Below, again looking across the bay, with Oddicombe beach directly below us. Apologies for one or two of the pictures were taken into the Sun.
This view was taken from the tree lined walk toward the Babbacombe Theatre, it lies on the edge of Babbacombe downs and looks down on Oddicombe Beach.
This view is of Oddicombe Beach, the small square building in the fore is the Down landing platform for the Cliff railway. This Railway has a gradient in places of 1 in 3 and is around 1800 metres long, it has been running since around 1926.
This is a short video of the coast from the cliff top walk.


Joke of the Day.

Nun in the Bathroom

A nun, badly needing to use to the restroom, walked into a local Pub. The place was hopping with music and loud conversation and every once in a while the lights would turn off. Each time the lights would go out, the place would erupt into cheers.
However, when the revelers saw the nun, the room went dead silent. She walked up to the bartender, and asked, "May I please use the restroom?
The bartender replied, "OK, but I should warn you that there is a statue of a naked man in there wearing only a fig leaf." Well, in that case I'll just look the other way," said the nun. So, the bartender showed the nun to the back of the restaurant.
After a few minutes, she came back out, and the whole place stopped just long enough to give the nun a loud round of applause. She went to the bartender and said, "Sir, I don't understand. Why did they applaud for me just because I went to the restroom?"
"Well, now they know you're one of us," said the bartender, "Would you like a drink?" But, I still don't understand," said the puzzled nun.
"You see," laughed the bartender, "every time someone lifts the fig leaf on that statue, the lights throughout all go out. Now, how about that drink?"