A LONG TIME AGO.

On a cold, misty, drizzly September day back in 1972 Sue the kids and myself were driving around the North Devon coast, trying to find something to do. We were travelling up out of Woolacombe toward Morthoe when we heard this strange noise, we looked at one another trying to decide what it could be. At the first opportunity I pulled the car over to the side of the road stopped and listened. We sat quite a number of seconds still listening, nothing, we couldn't believe it, were we all hearing things ?, surely not. By now the mist had descended even further and visibility was probably 50 yards or so. I had just started off again when it went again, a deep booming reasonant, eerie noise that seemed to come out of the mist all around you. Again we stopped to listen, by now we all new we weren't hearing things but what on earth could it be?. Again it was having us at it, one, maybe two minutes went by, Hush nothing, not even birds singing, so again we started moving. By now we had climbed the steep hill up into Morthoe village, in the centre we met our first car of the journey, so I had to stop to allow the other car to squeeze past in the narrow street, looking up what did I see? the answer was there, right above me. Just as I was about to tell Sue to look up it went again, this time much closer, much noisier, almost recognisable, the kids in the back were by now possibly feeling a little nervous.The signpost just above our head pointing off to our left read "Bull Point Lighthouse"!!! a Foghorn !! of course, it was obvious once we new. Back in those days all Lighthouses were manned and every 2-3 or 4 minutes in foggy weather the horn sounded.We decided to investigate as none of us had ever seen a lighthouse for real.We parked the car and walked the half mile or so to the private road (for cars) that leads to the house itself. When we reached the narrow lane down, the noise by now was almost deafening, and very very eerie in such a heavy mist. (Have you ever noticed how quiet it goes in a heavy fog/mist), the walk down the gently sloping road was about half a mile but worth the effort.
A week or two later we returned on a warm and sunny day, it was completely unrecognisable from our first visit. The half mile or so walk down the tree lined lane (below) has some stunning coastal views. Around half way down the lane turns sharply left over a bridge, a footpath leads off right to Lee Bay and Bennetts Mouth, this walk is even more stunning but more than just a tad taxing, so avoid it unless your fairly fit. Carry on down the lane to the new lighthouse. This is not the original one that we first visited, that one was completely revamped in the late 70s due to subsidence, now it is fully automated and unmanned (before it had a permanent Keeper) on the day we revisited the keeper passed us in his car just as we arrived at the gate, he kindly offered to take us in and show us around.
Now I'm afraid the fog horn no longer sounds, due mainly to the noise and its political correctness I expect.
This is a view about half way down, looking toward Morte Point.Toward the left of this picture (click to enlarge) you can just make just out the footpath we took (nearly killed us) to come back.
Below Sue on the bridge I described earlier, looking down on Bennetts Mouth.If you are fit this walk past the Mouth to the little village of Lee is so scenic.
Below, This sign gives the address of the letting agent of the three ex lighthouse keepers cottages, these can all be rented. If you like to be away from it all, or enjoy nature watching or perhaps sea fishing these could be for you.
Below the entrance to the lighthouse properties, garages on the right,lighthouse just showing over the rooftops and the chimneys of the letting cottages are just about visible in the middle.
Below the New lighthouse.Letting cottages peeping out from below.
Below this picture shows the cottages closeness to the cliff edge, the whole garden and courtyard are fully enclosed for safety.
Below a rockfall this winter brought the cliff another 8 feet closer to the fence
As you probably guessed these photo's were taken on one of the few good days last week. We retraced our steps but this time from the lighthouse we cut across country and came out on North Morte camp site, this lovely site will be a future blog.

JOKE OF THE DAY.

A dog is truly a man's best friend. If you don't believe it, just try this experiment. Put your dog and your wife in the boot of the car for an hour. When you open the boot, who is really happy to see you!?

ILFRACOMBE AND MORE.

We are back home again to get my full Diabetes etc results from the tests taken last week.The picture below was taken right at the tail end of last week ends storms while away in N Devon, the wind at this stage had dropped to around 25 to 30 mph but as you can see the sea is stil choppy. If you scrolldown you will see a couple more pictures of the same area but taken just 5 days later.
Below, this picture is of a plaque to help explain and guide tourists around Ilfracombe. Click to enlarge, you may just be able to just about read bits of the text.
Above, this picture and the one below are of Ilfracombe Pier and boat Jetty, taken from the top of Lantern hill, just behind us is the famous "St Nicholas Chapel". This chapel was the place family members would wait and pray while waiting for the men folk to return back in the days of the local fishing fleet.
Below, this picture was taken to show the difference between breezy days like this and real windy days (above).
Below, Ilfracombe inner Harbour at low water.
Below, Just a quick image of the Harbour and surrounding country side, this is Watermouth Cove. The Castle is in the top right of the picture, our site is about 700-800 yds farther along.
Joke of the day.

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you £300 to drop that towel.' After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds of looking her up and down, Bob hands her £300 and leaves. The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?' 'It was only Bob, the next-door neighbor,' she replies. Great!' the husband says. 'Did he mention anything about the £300 he owes me?' TWO A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out.The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish.' Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.' Puff! She's gone. 'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life.' Puff! He's gone. 'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager. the manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.' Moral of the story : Always let your boss have the first say.

WELL WE'RE STILL HERE.

As you saw by my previous blog we came home to escape the impending storm. All over Britain the storm has raged, causing terrible damage and problems. In the Isle of Wight gusts reached 96 MPH and here in Devon at Brixham gusts of 82 MPH were recorded, this is a force 12+ on the Beaufort scale as high as it goes. Here in our little bit of the West country we've had our share of bad weather and floods, although compared to some we've been lucky.Here in Teignmouth a few of the houses on our river beach had water around knee height, causing loads of damage and stress. Below are a few pictures borrowed from news papers and videos from TV and other sources. Below I believe of Dawlish. So at the end of the day we have survived but has our Caravan and Awning, that question will be answered tomorrow.
This one of a Cornish seaside town.
Again Cornwall taken from South West News.
What about waves like this one, just a tad high even for the Surfers!!.


Storms pound South Devon
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1214019312/bctid1446800999

Joke of the day.

She was Soooooooo Blonde .
* She thought a quarterback was a refund.
* She thought General Motors was in the army.
* She thought Meow Mix was a CD for cats.
* She thought Boyz II Men was a day care center.
* At the bottom of an application where it says 'Sign here:' she wrote 'Sagittarius.'

She Was Soooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She took the ruler to bed to see how long she slept.
* She sent a fax with a stamp on it.
* Under 'education' on her job application, she put 'Hooked On Phonics.'

She was Sooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She tripped over a cordless phone.
* She spent 20 minutes looking at the orange juice can because it said 'Concentrate.'
* She told me to meet her at the corner of 'WALK' and 'DON'T WALK.'
* She tried to put M&M's in alphabetical order.

She was Soooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* She studied for a blood test.
* She sold the car for gas money.
* When she missed bus 44B she took bus 22A twice instead.
* When she went to the airport and saw a sign that said, 'Airport Left,'
she turned around and went home.

She Was Sooooooooooooooooooooo Blonde...
* When she heard that 90% of all crimes occur around the home, she moved.
* She thought if she spoke her mind, she'd be speechless.
* She thought that she could not use her AM radio in the evening.
* She had a shirt that said 'TGIF,' which she thought stood for
'This Goes In Front.'

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE:

She is sooooooooooooooooo Blonde...

She thinks Taco Bell is the Mexican phone company!
HOPE THIS DOESN'T UPSET ANY OF MY BLONDE FRIENDS.

HIDING FROM THE STORM.

Last Friday Sue and I left for a few days in our caravan in "Berynarbor, N Devon".Unbeknown to us then that the weather would turn against us. After Forecasts of Heavy rain and gusts of wind to 70 mph we thought home would be the right place to be to ride out the storm. I had to be home on Wednesday morning anyway to undergo my annual Diabetes checks.The weather men tell us the real worse should be over by Thursday so then that's the day planned for our return.
Now this blog is the one that should never have been so, its only a quick one.The first picture is of my garden as it was when we cleared it in November.
This one is how it was this afternoon when we arrived home, in our 4 day absence the best part of the spring bulbs had finally come out.
The small baskets of Primulas and Cyclamen were also coming into their own.
One of three planters full of Hyacinth's, these we keep around the front door and steps to enjoy the best of the beautiful smell.
More Primulas.
This close up picture of one of the four varieties of Daffodil and Narcissus we have in the garden.
As you can see most of the smaller planters are now out in flower.
One more Daffodil/Narcissus close up, (not quite in focus).
These types are Dwarf or minitures, also very heavily Scented.
Most of the varieties that we chose this year we did because of their scent, now we are just starting to appreciate it.

Joke of the day.
Two bored casino dealers are waiting at the craps table.
An attractive well built blonde from Dublin, Ireland arrived and bet twenty-thousand Pounds on a single roll on
She said, 'I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely nude'.
With that, she stripped from the neck down, rolled the dice and yelled, 'Come on, baby, Mama needs new clothes!'
As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down and squealed...'YES! YES! I'VE WON, I'VE WON!' She hugged each of the dealers and then picked up her winnings and her clothes and quickly departed.
The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded.
Finally, one of them asked, 'Well what the hell did she roll?'
The other answered, 'I don't know - I thought you were watching.'

ITS THAT DARTMOOR AGAIN.

This Blog follows on from the recent "Moor Dartmoor" post and contains this wonderfull picture (its my Screensaver picture) of a house in "Buckland in the Moor".
Please click to enlarge and do justice to this picture.
Above, "Buckland in the Moor"is one of the most picturesque places on "Dartmoor". this house is my favourite of all the houses that I've seen on the Moor. (I dread to think how much its worth).
above, this roadside bank is covered in "Snowdrops"and is right outside the above cottage.
Above, on the road exiting "Buckland" on the way to "Widdecombe"the higher part of this stream, is seen below.
Above, This lovely little stream babbles its way down and through the village of "Buckland".
Above, this lovely grassy bank is where we sat to eat our lunch.
Above, A good view from the road of a couple of small "Tors".
This Picture is of one of the many "Tors"up on Dartmoor, notice the people climbing around on the top.
Joke of the day.

There was this couple that had been married for 20 years. Every time
they made love the husband always insisted on shutting off the
Light.
Well, after 20 years the wife felt this was ridiculous. She figured she
would break him out of this crazy habit. So one night, while they were
in the middle of a wild, screaming, romantic session, she turned on the
lights. She looked down. And saw her husband was holding a
battery-operated leisure device... A vibrator! Soft, wonderful and
larger than a real one. She went completely ballistic. "You impotent ba..ard," She screamed at
him, "how could you be lying to me all of these years? You better
explain yourself!"
The husband looks her straight in the eyes and says calmly:
"I'll explain the toy . . . You explain the kids."

(This joke was borrowed from a friend of mine) .