The Life and Times of this Old Git

Name:
Location: Teignmouth, Devon, United Kingdom

I'm married with two grown up children and four grandchildren, My wife of 47 years is Sue and we are the same age. My two children are Pamela (blogging occasionly under Pam-bigbustybikerbaby.blogspot.com and Roy,who was recently Paralysed from the waist down due to an Absys on his Spine. My 4 grandchildren are (oldest first) Gavin, Hayley, Thomas,and Zoe. Sue and I are both retired and we're disabled too, her with a badly Arthritic back and spine, me with lung (COPD) and Heart problems.I have always loved Fishing (all sorts) Sue started fishing with me about 8 years ago, now she really enjoys it too. We both love m'cycles and m'cycling, Sue owns and rides her own bike which is a Custom 1981 250 Honda.I own a 1979 Honda CX500. We are both members of this motorcycle club ( view or join our club on http://www.cx-gl.org.uk/) or see my blog post Dec 2007 blog "Getting old, never", of course we're badly resticted now due to our illness, only riding in really good weather.Just over three years ago we lost our best friend and Baby Mojo the border Collie, Gone but never forgotten. Please feel free to use any of our photo's but do let me know you have used them, thank you.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

JOKE OF THE DAY 1

As promised ,to keep things varied todays blog is a joke, it goes like this,firstly do you feel that your boss does'nt believe you when you phone in sick for work?This story revolves round just that.An American man had an awful hard time from his wife because she wanted a kitten, to save himself a lot of grief he gave in.On one particular day he phoned in sick he had to tell a white lie,and just say he had a head injury to save himself being a laughing stock.All this because of the kitten, what happened was one morning he was taking a shower when his wife called up to him saying "honey the waste disposal's stopped working again"You know where the reset button is just press reset" he replied through the curtain ,"oh honey you know I hate this thing it frightens me" she says ,so in not the best of humour he gets out of the bath nude and goes downstairs and gets down on his knees under the sink,he's under there grumbling and moaning under his breath it was the last thing he remembered doing because without any warning, or respect for the position he was in It happened, no it was'nt the gnashing teeth of the unit drawing him in eating his arm with its sharp steel teeth,it was the new kitty who discovered the fascinating dangling objects she saw between his legs.He had'nt realised, but it had been hiding in corner of the kitchen and at the moment he was at his most vunerable she pounced on the toys he unwittingly offered and dug her needle sharp claws deep into them.At that moment he lost all bodily control and thought and rose up at a violent speed with the full weight of kitty still dangling from part of his masculine region,he flew violently up into the air just then his progress was rudely interupted by the sink and cabinet, which stopped his ascent dead.When he awoke several moments later both his wife and the paramedics were looking down at him and his totally naked body, they were both trying to hold back their giggles and sniggers( not very succesfully) after his wife had told them the story Some how he survived it all and went back to the office and work a few days later, Where both the Boss and his colleagues tried unsuccesfully to get an explanation for the lump and stitches on his head but all to no avail he just kept changeing the subject or avoiding an answer until finally one of them said "Whats the matter the Cat got your tongue".

A FEW MORE PICTURES 1.


A few more photo's of Dartmoor.





Monday, January 29, 2007

A DAY ON DARTMOOR.











Last week we had friends Bry/bren down to stay for a few days.(blog, A short break) we all enjoyed a great day up on Dartmoor, they had'nt been there since their children were small(25yrs ish ago)so it was a bit of memory lane for them. Here are a few photo's we took while up there. Including the famous Dartmoor prison.Blogger up to its tricks with photo's again.
Click on any picture to enlarge.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

As promised I'm trying to vary the content of my blogs now,so lets start with a great joke I had sent to me,I thought you might like to share,
An eco friendly couple sharing a shower,the husband being a gentleman lets his wife go first.
She has just got out and is drying herself, when the door bell goes,she wraps the bath towel around herself and runs to open the door,standing there is Bill their next door neighbour.He looks her up and down a couple of times then says,my god you are good looking if you will let that towel down and give me a twirl I will give you £600.00 pounds,the wife thinks a few seconds then lets the towel drop,does a spin then picks it up again and holds out her hand ,Bill duly hands over the money and leaves. The wife runs back to the bathroom opens the door ,As she does so the husband calls "who was that dear"she replies "only Bill from next door"" oh ok he says did he mention the £600 that he owes me".

Saturday, January 27, 2007

A FEW MORE PICTURES.



Here are a few more pictures of Teignmouth, the format is not what I wanted I spent 20 mins trying, but dear old blogger would only have it its own way. Never mind it does'nt detract to much from pics. Click on any picture to enlarge.Most are taken from in and around shaldon looking across. Pics by my wife Sue. Click any one to enlarge.


Thursday, January 25, 2007

A SHORT BREAK.


On monday last they came to stay,
Who on earth? I hear you say,
Those two who come from the Black Country,
They're down here to plague the Missus and me.

They live next door on our caravan site,
A drink or two he likes all right,
His story we've told on blogs before,
The one about his teeth for sure.

Now here in Teigmouth they've come to stay,
Come to shop and eat and play,
Today we went up on Dartmoor,
We'd already done the sea and shore.

Trago Mills is our super store,
Sells every thing and then some more,
Brenda spent a fortune there,
Spent her money plus Brians share.

A Chinese takeway we had that night,
Then off to pub as you new we might,
A bevy here a bevy there,
Course our Brian had his fair share.

A good few days we have really had,
Off home today it is quite sad,
But it wont be long until we're back in N Devon,
Back to the van and our little heaven.





Sunday, January 21, 2007

ACROSS THE ESTUARY.




These pictures are of Shaldons tunnels as they are today.
The Teignmouth/Shaldon area's have a history of smuggling through the ages, it probably goes back to 1600s and was still going until the mid 1840s. These tunnels in Shaldon are carved through the "ness"cliffs to the beach the other side.The tunnels were undoubtably used by smugglers at one time or another. Originally there was only one tunnel(a short piece of this remains but is blocked off)but due to a combination of man and rock falls this was closed and a new branch off this old one was dug after the war, the part of the first tunnel thats left is said to be only a fraction of the total length of the original one,that probably went inland to possibly a holding cave or even a house cellar, any smuggled goods would then be moved on at a safe time.The new section of tunnel is lit and to make the steep descent to the beach easier has two sections of steps. The "Ness" as it is known is a steep cliff rising up from the sea,this is illuminated most nights (until about midnight) and is very attractive. Above the tunnels entrance is a nice little wildlife zoo, opposite this is a 9 hole golf course with lovely panoramic views right round the bay. The village itself has lots of small streets some with fishermans cottages still with nets and pots undergoing repair,a few are thatched and are very pretty.The village has several pubs/cafes and a bowling green this attracts quite a crowd on nice summer days.The small passenger ferry that runs regularly(in good weather) across the river is also a worth a trip.
By the way my daughters blog is now up and running, find it on Pam-bigbustybikerbaby.blogspot.com.
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Friday, January 19, 2007

WHAT TIME OF YEAR IS IT ?











These Fuchsias and Roses are flowering quite happily in my garden,as these photos taken yesterday show.I'm sure nature does'nt know what time of year it is as its been so mild this winter.I'm sure some experts will blame Global warming?.All photos on blogs taken by my wife Sue.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

WINTER SUN.

Sunday14 Jan temp 14-15c(57-59f)

Today was such a lovely day,
Never mind January its more like May,
Not a cloud about the sky,
Just so lovely warm and dry.

We went for a stroll down by the sea,
Just the wife the dog and me,
Lots of others had the same idea,
Along the sea front past the pier.

If this is how global warming will be,
A little of this will sure do me,
Perhaps we wont need Lanzarote any more,
Stay at home on dear Devons Shore.

After a while our throats got dry,
This sea front cafe we soon did spy,
A cup of their finest we did take,
Scones,cream and a bit of cake.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

MORE TEIGNMOUTH.




Teignmouth is nestled a few miles from Torquay,on the edge of the"English Riviera"down here in South Devon.One of its many good points is its beach and pier.Lying in a valley,overlooked by Haldon and Dartmoor helps to give it a good climate,with rarely any snow and very little in the way of frosts.A quite high average rainfall does the gardens well( but not the rest of us).Across the river Teign lies the village of Shaldon,this is reached by road bridge or small passenger ferry across the Estuary.This small village is mainly about its boats,beaches and quaint little streets ,although it still boasts five pubs and a couple of cafe's.It has its own small endangered species zoo, also the smugglers tunnels which were hacked right through solid rock to a small secluded beach.The imposing cliff overlooking the river mouth is called" The Ness",this cliff is illuminated most evenings and is very pretty.The area also has three holiday parks, one overlooking the bay which cater for static caravans, tourers,mobile homes and tents.The next site is along the Teign estuary this one is static homes only,all for hire.The third is ninety% privatly owned units and is also on the banks of the Teign. Shaldon bridge(originaly built about1820-30) has become infamous for its whistling.The reason put forward for this was,when the bridge was rebuilt a few years ago they put railings on it,that,according to experts just happened to be the right(or wrong) spacing to make it whistle when the wind is in a certain direction,so there you are. Whistling bridge is in right hand picture, taken from hills above Shaldon,Right picture of part of Shaldon beach at low water.

Friday, January 12, 2007

TEIGNMOUTH in pictures.

1. Teignmouth sea front looking East.
2Looking up river at sunset,
3.Up the river to Shaldon again,at low water,
4.The Ness cliffs of Shaldon at sunset
5.Ness and harbour from W Teignmouth(high water)
Click on any picture to enlarge.






Tuesday, January 09, 2007

ALMOST NORMAL.

For those of you who watch this page,
All of you deserve a wage,
From now on in you wont be sure,
What i'm writing about anymore.

Some days this and some days that,
I'll flit about just like a bat,
It will depend on the way I feel,
Some is fiction some is real.

Tinmuff is my home domain,
Of sea of shore of hilly terrain,
It really has, got the lot,
And summers here can be quite hot.

The other side of lovely Devon,
Berrynarbor's our other heaven,
We spend a lot of time right here,
To find it, Ilfracombe's quite near.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

DEAR OLD TEIGNMOUTH

As you see by my profile we live in Teignmouth(we say tinmuff) in S Devon,which is a seaside/docks town.We live just 100 mtrs above the docks with beautiful views from the upper floors of the house.The beach is large and nice with a small privately owned Pier.At the Southerly end of the beach is the mouth of the Teign, it is quite narrow here so the currents are strong and at times dangerous.The docks are busy with cargo boats,they export fairly large amounts of Ball Clay to all over Europe.The docks also have holding sheds for items such as Chipboard,Wood, Animal feeds these are brought in stored then distributed on.Across from the docks lies a Harbour with a small fleet of trawlers, Yachts and fishing boats.A lot of this area dries out at low water and this area is called the "Salty"and ideal for children(and adults)to explore the pools left behind.The river still has a small run of Salmon and Sea Trout, you often see boats out "Shooting nets"for these during the season.Above the docks going upstream is Shaldon (most call it Sholden)Bridge, this bridge was once one of the longest bridges in Britain,built in 1827 and had 34 wooden arches totaling 1,671 ft ,with a swing area for large vessels to pass under, Over this is the small quaint village of Shaldon more of that another day.