The washing is on the drive…

It’s grey and cloudy now but earlier it looked brighter over towards  Cardigan Bay so I put the towels in to wash.  

Holly has pulled them all off the line and dragged them to the drive.  John told her ‘no’ when he pegged them out but he has gone out and this worries her. 

I have told her she’s a  bad girl and i think she has got the message but John said earlier he will have to make a clothes prop so the line is higher.  

I shan’t be going to see my friend Eddie in hospital for a while as he has the hospital bug c.diff and is in isolation. 

My  brother John has just had a similar eye problem to John’s detached retina last year, although brother John was very lucky.  He had a tear but it hadn’t spread so it was lasered immediately.  In fact he had had a lot of floaters, which was blood in the eye for three weeks and hoped they would go away.   When it got worse he went to the optician who sent him straight to the Royal Gwent who sent him on to the Heath Hospital in Cardiff.   I think they felt like their feet didn’t touch the ground.  Mary was given a contact number and told to go home.   I don’t think they appreciated the seriousness of the problem.  If John’s tear hadn’t detached and split down to the retina he would have had immediate lasering, but by the time we got to Singleton the damage was done. 

Anyway brother John is cheerful as ever although he won’t like not being able to drive or umpire at hockey. 

I must go and check what Miss Holly is up to.

Staverton

I’m writing this for Mark and Vivi as they are on their way to Devon for a holiday. They are going to north Devon but I’m hoping that they will be able to go over Dartmoor to Staverton which is between Buckfastleigh and Totnes, east of the A 384. 

This was the village where my grandparent’s and aunt lived from the 1940’s until 1976 when my aunt died.  When we were children we usede to go and stay with my mother’s sister in Totnes and go over to Staverton to see my Grandmother and my aunt (Dad’s family) 

They had a farm, in those days Jerseys and horses but when I last went in the late 1960’s my Aunt Bets just had the stud horses.  She had two stallions, one was called Colonel Bogey, he was a brother to a well known racehorse called Stalbridge Colonist. 

Their house was called Woodcote and I couldn’t give directions to find it.  All I can remember is that if you go in the churchyard there is a side gate with a track or lane that leads to Woodcote.  It’s not very far.  The stables were on the right hand  side from the church and the side of the house is on the left side of the road, with a gate at the side.  The whole area might be changed now. 

Their garden was quite large, overgrown at the bottom with the river Dart and the Dart Valley railway running along. 

In those days Bets lived there with a couple called Triggs, Blanche and Russell.  She was a real Ambrosia rice pudding farmers wife type, short and plump, with a pinny and her white hair coiled up. He was a real horseman managing the huge stallions. They went to all the shows and even up to the Horse of the Year at Wembley sometimes.

  John went somewhere with him in his Land rover and Russell’s driving in the narrow Devon lanes scared him. 

They’ve all been dead a long time.   In those days the place was owned by the Church Commissioners but it may well have been sold many years ago.

Stacy, Eva and Elizabeth (Bets) Lockington are buried in the churchyard.  I think they must have a grave stone, I remember going there with flowers, so I hope Mark and Vivi will. 

Anyway I hope they have a lovely holiday and they relax and  chill out.  I’ll have a look at the weather for Ilfracombe.

It’s grey and cloudy here, with sporadic flashes of blue, not cold.

What a grey day…

I’ve forgotten to change the setting so there will probably be mistakes in this that I cannot see.  John was going to paint the side of the bungalow today but it’s a bit damp.  Better day tomorrow.  Holly is running off with the large tubs of flowers.  The one with the dying marigolds by the back door.  She’s looking for something else all the time.

John has given her a game with a sock, throwing it,  and she brings it back and drops it.  She is much friendlier now.  He can pat her, I can sometimes.  Chris came yesterday and said she is much quieter and less nervous.

I went to see a friend in hospital on Sunday.  Eddie has had a stroke and it will be a while before he is strong enough to leave.

If ever there is a reason to give up smoking that is it.  John has been warned he is at greater risk and as I tell him – strokes don’t always kill but do leave you helpless for months.  He would not  want to be like Eddie, watching the clock, waiting for meal times and visitors.

We’ve just been looking at 99 Squadron website.  John’s father was in this in the war.  His plane his listed, it hit trees as it was trying to land in a field and burst  into flames.  All killed.  It’s very sad to see the lists of young men, planes lost or shot down.

At least they were fighting for Britain, not like now, getting killed and injured for Afghanistan.  What was the point of razing the camp at Calais when they are just going to move somewhere else, but always close enough to get to Britain.

busy…

Just wrote a nice long post, touched a key and lost it so will do another tomorrow.

Beautiful weather and

I’m trying to get a lot of writing work done, research sites preparatory to making a decision about accepting an American Agent for Southwell’s.  Also, enjoy this lovely weather we are having.  I want to do jobs outside as well. 

Yesterday morning early John said Holly was playing in the front yard, actually she was emptying the red tub of soil.  So that needs sweeping up.  She is getting out onto the road, then coming back down the drive, waiting by the hurdles to be let in.

But this morning she must have taught herself to come back the same way.  She sees Small squeeze between the hurdle and post and wants to see what he’s doing.  But he doesn’t want her boucing around when he’s busy hunting and poking his whiskers in other creature’s business.  He often comes in with cobwebs on his whiskers.

I think everyone has their winter forage in, hay, silage and haylage.

Fantastic weather

Just for a few days we are having the best of the weather.  It has been glorioius today, what we should have had all summer.  Lloyd has 60 acres of grass cut at various farms for hay, haylage or silage.

John is really annoyed with Marc who said he would cut and turn our bottom field.  Now he said last night that he can only cut it as he is doing hay at Glanrhyd.  There’s not much point in him just cutting it.

So, if Lloyd has time and the weather stays good we might get it cut, otherwise it would be less hassle to buy some from Ieuan. 

I’ve got a lot of different writing work on and I’ve actually made a list.  It would help if I didn’t sit and watch tv in the evening.

Holly is getting friendlier and more settled although it’s still vry early days.

I’m back

Have a new wireless router box that Raquel sorted out for me last night.  So am back in the land of the pc living. But it’s late so I’ll continue with this tomorrow.