Nearly Butterfly Time.

After a somewhat chilly start by mid morning it had warmed up and there was even a little blue in the sky. But by the time I got through the list of jobs I had written up for myself things had gone back to our normal overcast gloom though I did spend a little time sitting outside with a cup of tea and a book. Things had all changed at our local library which has been closed for a few weeks for refurbishment. No longer do you hand your books to a real person but instead you scan your books and your library card and press icons on a screen. I did my best to have a problem with the system but it was easy to use and I even renewed a book that was still at home. Somebody has made a lot of money out of this system and I wonder how many people lost their jobs. It's not as if there were ever any queues or crowds of irate customers. Do we really need to be automating everything and putting people out of work? Maybe I'm a Luddite as I'm not a fan of the automatic checking in system at my local doctors' surgery and wonder how long it will be before you are asked to input your symptoms before talking to a real person. Romas & Vicky showed me how to use the self-checkout at Tescos where you scan your own shopping and then pay the screen. I think that would mainly be useful when you are buying a few items as you have to leave the bags in place until the end.The computer knows the weight of every item you scan, to prevent you putting things in you haven't scanned but I can see that these do help ease the queues in the supermarket. I do like some technology in the right place, even silly things like having touch lamps which are great by the bed when you aren't really awake. I have the oldest phone possible because I only use it occasionally and with my 'old age' sight it is hard to see details on the screen without getting out my glasses. So an i-phone is not in my wish list. Also I object to my personal location being tracked and recorded 24/7. Why should there be a record of where I am at all times? (That's what happens if you have an i-phone.) I am now getting to grips with my Mp4 player after a helpful tutorial from Romas but most of the time I prefer to work with just natural sounds around me. I have thought about a Kindle or other reader but then I would have to pay for books while for the moment the library is still free. My 'desire' is something that hasn't been invented yet. This is a small, hedgehog sized, automatic solar charged mower that would stay permanently on a lawn, nibbling the grass in the same way rabbits do, compacting the cuttings and depositing them in a set place. Think of having a beautiful lawn without ever having to push a mower again. Perhaps I should patent that idea!

The brief flash of sun and warmth this morning brought out the butterflies searching for nectar on the newly opened sedums.

Now here are a few pictures from Vicky & Romas' (& Vytas') weekend at Loosely giving some of the flavour of a Sealed Knot muster. This was something we did for quite a few years when the boys were little. (Thanks to Vicky for the photos.)


There is generally a lot of hanging around at the beginning of a battle as the regiments are sent into position to provide as authentic as possible spectacle for the general public to watch.

I thought this photo showed the spirit of a good 'push' which is why I chose it but now I can identify Romas bang in the middle - black jacket, black breeches, hairy bare leg and dark green sock around his ankle. It is at about this point that people can get squashed or hurt in various ways and after 1 battle where I joined in with the pushes I much preferred to be a water carrier.

A rather sweet picture of Romas.

That's our friend Sam in the middle (yellow gloves) then Romas to his right with grey gloves and next to him Vytas with brown gloves.
I understand that the beer tent was most enjoyable!

Power Out.

We had 14 power cuts last night the final one keeping the power off for nearly an hour. This had me hunting out our torches and once I had phoned the power company (on the mobile as the land line was also out), we lit some candles. Very romantic but not good enough to read by. I do remember using Tilly (oil) lamps when I was younger but this only makes me appreciate our electric lights even more. Now back to my interrupted blog ....

This was my first chance to spend the day in quiet solitude so what do I do? Go and spend the day in town of course! I had to visit the bank, the post office and the library so I paid for an all day ticket at one of the car parks which is cheaper than 3 hours at the main car park and means that there is no pressure to rush back. I didn't spend all day shopping but at least I didn't get stressed by the length of the queue when I got to the Post Office and could take my time navigating around the groups of chatting (local) people. Indeed I myself stopped and chatted for ages to an old work colleague. Jobs done I strolled round the shops but didn't buy much, just some earrings that were in sale and a few other sale items. I think my brain filters out anything that is not on special offer or in sale as I rarely even look at the other goods. I then went to Tescos and stocked up on basics there but as I got into my car I realised that I had forgotten 1 item that I needed for Friday. Rather than head back into the busy shop I stopped off at The Co-op on the way home and yet again came out with 2 bags of extra items all off which were 50 -75% off. Mostly healthy things such as cherries, cottage cheese and blueberries but some ricotta cheese and fresh noodles also made their way into my bag. Along with the reduced bananas and strawberries that I had already bought I shall be having lots of healthy treats in the final few days of the 'summer' holiday. Many of the older lanes in Barnstaple have been demolished in various town improvement schemes starting with the building of the covered pannier market in 1855 but there is still a network of back alleys which in medieval times would have been standard streets just wide enough for a cart to pass along.


Barnstaple is not an exceptionally pretty historic town, although there are plenty of old buildings, but it is a large centre of commerce which reflects the current economic climate. The town centre is kept alive due to there not being any large shopping malls outside of town. All too often we see reports about towns that have lost their heart due to traders being priced out and shoppers heading out to the big malls. The major food chains do have big stores on the edge of town with a few extra shops by them such as chemists and DIY stores but for clothes and 'stuff' shopping then everyone heads into town. Along the busy pedestrianised High Street we have the Pannier Market which specialises in different things on each day and a small fairly smart indoor mall. There are more smaller specialist shops in the surrounding streets and a number of cafes, pubs and restaurants. For bargain hunters there are at least 10 charity shops. There are a number of boarded up shops especially on the outer streets which is a sign of a declining economy but it is not too bad yet. During the day, especially during the holidays, the High Street is always bustling and while I sometimes get fed up with so many people being in my way it would be very depressing to find empty streets lined with closed or struggling businesses.

Bank Holiday Monday.

The weather has been fairly good today. Chilly especially in the shade but enough bright sunshine to lift the spirits. I had another good session washing the carpet in the morning. I'm thinking that it would be good to paint the ceiling now that the walls are so sparkling white but as it is a textured ceiling and would have to be done with a brush it might be too big a job for me to do. We went to Morthoe for a walk in the afternoon. Being a sunny Bank Holiday afternoon the village was heaving with tourists enjoying an ice cream, a pint or a cream tea. All good for the local economy. Not so many people out walking on the cliff top but still much busier than usual. We reminisced longingly about our holiday as we saw Lundy in the distance.

As we made our way back towards the village there were various rescue vehicles near the highest point where we often see the coastguard helicopter crew practising their winching. We thought this was another such exercise but as we passed them we could hear from their radio chatter that they were having difficulty locating the position of an actual incident. Perhaps a worried tourist had only been able to describe their position as 'on the cliffs by Morthoe', which would cover a large area.
Back home I did a bit more carpet washing before retreating to the top of the garden to catch the sun and read my book. Lots of grasshoppers about but only one ragged butterfly on the sedums which are not quite open. Every now and again I could hear the woodpecker hammering on the big beech tree in the corner of the garden.

Mixed Weather.

I woke this morning to very heavy rain so that was a good excuse for a lie-in. My day has not been too indolent though as I spent several hours, (my hand gets painful after that), washing the sitting room carpet. As it is a thick wool carpet and a big room I know it is going to take at least a week to do. The afternoon has been quite sunny with a good wind so I got the mower out and cut some of the grass. We are soon approaching the time when it will be hard to find dry afternoons when the grass can be cut so any opportunity has to be seized. I picked up the windfalls from under the apple trees and have another batch of apple leather drying in the rayburn. At last I have found something that works well in the rayburn which has to be kept running 24/7 whether you are cooking anything or not.

All Gone.

The nest is empty! Romas and Vicky left this afternoon for a Sealed Knot muster in Surrey. Even Patch tried to smuggle himself out in a backpack. Despite the writing of lists and double checking of rooms I soon got a call informing me that Romas had left his passport behind (not that he needs it for Surrey), so I'll have to post that up to him. Then I found Vicky's library books and notes in the sitting room. That'll be another lot for the post office. Haven't found anything else yet though they did forget to take any of the apple leather with them so I might include that in the parcel too.
It has been such a pleasure to have them here for the summer. This is Romas' last year at uni so once, hopefully, he is working, holidays will be limited. We popped into town this morning to get a few things for their camping this weekend. They were lucky enough to get an airbed reduced to half price and when we went to the checkout it got reduced again by 50%. It is much cooler today and we have had some rain but the forecast is for better weather for the next few days. I do hope so as it is not fun camping when everything is wet all the time. At least the beer tent always provides a dry haven. Yesterday we had a look through some of my old SK photos to chuckle over cute pictures of Romas as a toddler in a dress and bonnet (usual wear for 17thC boys). This afternoon I've made a start on washing the sitting room carpet which is a long and tedious job.

Rain All Day.

The weather man was right this morning when he said that summer was over. The only variation in today's weather has been heavy rain or light rain. I've been more focused today and have alternated between cooking and tidying/decorating.

Romas has had a tasty curry cooking all day which we are about to eat for our supper. And that's all there is to say about today.


So here are a few more Lundy pictures.

Down at the Battery.

One of the 2 seals that came to hear us whistle at the North Lighthouse.

The landing jetty which was only built in 2000. When we went out in the Jessica Hettie (on the right hand side), we had to climb down a rusty old ladder at the end of the jetty.

Autumn Harvest.

We've have some brilliant sunshine today but just as I would get myself organised to go out the sky would go dark and down would come the rain. It's one of those days when I found it very difficult to get motivated. It is such a temptation to have a lie-in and then mooch around only doing a little basic tidying up. I'm still in holiday mode from Lundy and also we don't start school till next week. We did managed to take a car load of rubbish from the recent decorating stint, down to the dump and called in at Tescos on the way back. I also made a start on the bookshelves in the sitting room which needed washing before I paint the inside and then put the books back hopefully having culled out a few more. The garden got a little attention as I pulled weeds in the evening sun. Romas has been finishing some of the jobs I find so difficult to do and today he trimmed the hedge which involves a lot of awkward stretching. He then climbed up and picked apples from the top of the trees. Normally the apples get blown off before they have a chance to ripen but we had an early spring so they are looking good so far. He has also been making apple leather (sweetened apple puree dried to make a chewy fruit snack), as the warming oven seems to ideal for this job. This way even the windfalls won't go to waste. Currently we are enjoying tomatoes and cucumbers grown in the conservatory and sugar snap peas, potatoes and french beans from the garden.

More Lundy pictures.
The sea lies 400ft below this rock stack which is covered with a fantastical garden of lichens and other small plants.

Early morning sun on the west coast.

Sunset.

Special Delivery.

This morning I had the nice surprise of a delivery of a big bouquet of flowers from Vytas. What a thoughtful son, especially as I know that he is living on a very tight budget.
I prefer to see just a few flowers in a vase so now there are flowers all over the place for me to enjoy.

It has been much cooler today and we have had a number of heavy rain showers. I have got on with various bits of tidying up including the conservatory which had all Fred's mess in it. I ironed some sheets and then sorted out my big linen cupboard which looked like a bomb had gone off in it. For some reason I have 16 spare single duvet covers and I didn't dare count the number of pillow cases. I need to go through everything and see what can be relegated to the dust-sheet bag as most of the old dust-sheets did not survive the recent plastering and painting of the hall and sitting room.

I also backed up my photos as I had got out of the habit of a weekly back-up on to my external hard drive and I do take a lot of photos.

Nothing much else done today.

Potatoes But No Blackberries.

The swallow family whose hungry mouths I photographed only 15 days ago are able to fly now but still spend some time sitting on the ledge by their nest. Romas dug up my potato crop this evening. I only planted a short row for fun as the seed potatoes were going cheaply in Homebase. We will be eating some of them for our supper tonight.
I woke this morning with a headache which wasn't a good start to my birthday but at least I was able to spend the morning lying quietly in bed listening to the radio and the purring of 2 of the cats that were snuggled up on my bed. Romas and Vicky offered to take me out to lunch but I decided to stay quietly at home. They went into town and returned with a lovely chocolate cake, that's the first birthday cake I've had for many years so it was doubly appreciated.

It kept looking as if it was going to rain so I suggested that we walked up the hill and down to Princess Gate. There were very few blackberries in the hedgerows even though there are lots on the Tarka Trail. Being that much higher does makes a difference to the growing season. When we got to the end of the lane and started walking through the field when we noticed a herd of cows. 'No Problem' we thought but then to one side was a bull as well. Being of a cautious nature we decided to retreat and leave that walk for another time. Instead we went back up the road to Bowden Corner and back home across the fields catching a glimpse of the sun on Barnstaple Bay on the way.

Lundy, Part 2

Each morning, whatever the weather, I would stride out to the Old Lighthouse and climb the 147 steps to the top. On Wednesday morning I was climbing the stone stairs which for the first part are an open spiral clinging to the edge of the open lighthouse, thinking evocative thoughts of Barad'ur, when I began to hear noises. I hadn't seen anyone at the top of the lighthouse before I went in and it was all rather strange. When I finally climbed the steep and narrow steps that take you to the top I saw that a bird had flown in and was trapped at the apex of the roof. Then the bird flew down, bumped into the window and kept jumping up at the glass. I was able to catch the bird by throwing my coat over it and then I had to take it down where it flew away unharmed. (I'm still not sure what kind of bird it was, it was speckled like a thrush only smaller but bigger than a meadow pipet.) Then I went back up the lighthouse to take in the view so that was twice as many steps that day. Later on we went on a rockpool ramble with Sophie one of the wardens. Surpisingly there were only a couple of children but about 10 adults. We found lots of different kinds of crabs, some of which nipped, fish, shrimps, prawns and saw but failed to catch a little lobster. We also found a sea urchin, brittle star fish and a colony of sea squirts. This was all down in Devil's Kitchen by the jetty and there were a couple of seals arguing over a rock and some more in the water watching us.


Even when the weather wasn't so good it was worth battling the wind to see the strange rock formations on the west coast which overlook the Atlantic Ocean.

All the grassy slopes are home to many rabbits who can be seen out at any time of day. The puffins (when in residence) and the Manx shearwaters use empty burrows to nest in.

The track up from the jetty in Landing bay is the only place that vehicles can get to sea level. We would sit in our cottage watching the day visitors trudging up from the Oldenburg and then later making their way back down for the trip back to the mainland.

This is Rat Island by the jetty, on the far side is Devil's Kitchen where we explored the rock pools and then later had another adventure.

The weather was always changing, the only thing you could count on was the wind though the direction varied from day to day.

On one of my walks I came back through the heathland part of the island where the heather and the low growing gorse made a glowing patchwork quilt of colour. At times when we walked through the flowering heather we would really be able to smell the sweet scent of the heather, which not surprisingly smelt like heather honey. On Thursday we went for a guided walk around the south end of Lundy with Nicola, another warden. Only 1 other couple turned up but that was great as we were able to ask lots of questions and find out a great deal about the wildlife, shipwrecks and history of Lundy.

My family are always teasing me about my dislike of the 20+ giant wind turbines that now dominate the country side here and I wasn't too thrilled to be able, on clear evenings, to see the turbines with the naked eye from our cottage. Worse than that there are plans, which will probably go ahead, for the Atlantic Array. This will be a vast number of giant wind turbines, covering an area the size of the Isle of Wight, which will be in the sea directly between Lundy and Wales. Apart from the visual impact there is the possible affect on sea birds and they will also create a great deal of underwater noise which may well affect the seals and the basking sharks. The immediate area around Lundy is a maritime reserve of the highest level with a no-take zone. This has allowed the sea-life to start to return to pre-fishing levels.

Friday morning the sun was blazing like a searchlight through the bedroom window so by 7.00 I was up and on my way to the lighthouse. From there I decided to stride out once more to the northern point of the island. I meandered in and out of all the little coves on the west coast where herds of the goats and soay sheep were enjoying the sun. From the northernmost point I took the direct track back down the centre of the island and arrived back for breafast at 9.30 having walked about 8 miles.

Later that day I had one of my most exciting and terrifying experiences of my life - the snorkel safari. There were about 10 of us snorkeling in Devil's Kitchen with 2 wardens. It was open to anyone and I was one of a few who hadn't snorkeled before. However I deliberately did not disclose the fact that I am a poor swimmer and have never swum out of my depth in the sea. Having first had a safety talk about the equipment and the seals who are likely to swim nearby and even nibble your flippers or mouth your legs - gulp! we went into the water in pairs. At first I was entranced with the shoals of fish and the sea weed forests, until I realised that the gullys were very deep which was a bit worrying. I then realised that I couldn't see my 'buddy' whom I rather hoped would be looking after me and I had a few scary moments getting the water out of my snorkel. At that point I did not wish to see any seals swimming close by and was truly thankful that the only one I saw was far below me. Eventually Peter reappeared, after swimming after the wrong person, and for the rest of the time I spent more time keeping up with him rather than enjoying the underwater scenery. We were in the water for nearly an hour and for the amount of fear I went through I feel very brave. I would like to do it again but first I intend to get my own snorkel and fins and practice in shallow water so that I can cope confidently with water in my snorkel, swim along faster and learn to 'sit' in the water with my head out so that I can sort out any problems without splashing about.
On Saturday we had to have our luggage ready for collection by 9.00 and be out of the cottage by 9.30 so I only had time to go up to the top of the lighthouse. There was a sea mist over the island and the lighthouse was totally invisible at 87 paces. This is the reason why the lighthouse was abandoned soon after its contruction and the northern and southern lighthouses built closer to sea level.

We boarded the Oldenburg at 11.30 in strong winds and had an uneventful journey back to Ilfracombe. We saw quite a few shearwaters skimming the waves but not dolphins. And that was the end of a wonderful week. Now we shall have to start saving up for or next holiday there.

On Monday I took Romas, Vicky and Alex to Lee Bay, a local beach which has more rock pools than sand though there is a sandy lagoon which is great for children. We clambered over the rocks investigating the rock pools, trying not to slip on all the seaweed. We then scrambled round to the next bay where the beach is made up of flat slate pebbles and lots of pinkish rose-quartz pebbles. Returning home we sat outside and ate the cheesecakes etc that the youngsters had brought back from our favourite cake shop in town. Then it was time to say goodbye to Alex who was returning to Telford and to make sure he hadn't catnapped Patch who was his favourite of our cats.

Lundy, First Part.

We are finally back from a wonderful week on Lundy. Not only did we have a great week but we were met by Vicky, Romas and their friend Alex and driven home to find that the sitting room, which we had left looking like a construction site with dust sheets, dust, plaster chippings and mess everywhere after Fred's smoothing out of the walls, was now fully repainted, the furniture put back and the main mess cleared up. A lot of things need washing down and I fully intend to get rid of as much stuff as possible but the place looks civilised and so much better with smooth white walls. They have also taken up the old stair carpet which was threadbare, painted the skirting boards and laid the new carpet pieces which I bought very cheaply in the remnant warehouse. Today we have taken them for a giant Sunday dinner at the Station Inn carvery as a thank-you.

Now for our trip.......

We left on Saturday afternoon on the Oldenburg from Ilfracombe harbour. Most of the bags were put in the big wooden boxes (campers' stuff was put in the cargo nets), but there was still a certain amount of squashing down of bags which were thrown in on top of each other so I was glad I had decided to put all bottles, jars and squeezable containers in a bag which we carried on by hand. The sea was moderate, with a couple of rain showers during the 2 hour journey so we togged up in our waterproofs and stood in the open near the bow thus avoiding any possibility of getting sea-sick.
As we pulled into Landing Bay there were a few boats moored there including this brig. Sadly when they left a few days later they went out with a motor and not under sail which would have been great to see. Once docked there was the long walk up the hill, sans luggage thank goodness as this gets driven up, and we settled ourselves into Little St John's, our home for the week.

Although it looks like a converted shed from the outside, inside LSJ is beautifully decorated with period furniture, is spotlessly clean and has a well appointed kitchen with top quality utensils and crockery. The shower room was clean but tiny and as there is a general water shortage we were fairly thrifty with our water usage. The bedroom had twin beds facing away from the window but it didn't take long to move things around so that we had a double bed with views over the bay. Indeed the views were just the best you could hope for. We could see down Millcombe Valley to the Landing Bay and we could watch the rabbits and birds on the hillside in front or look down to the bay to watch the sea birds and the boats. I had many happy moments sitting on the front doorstep or on a handy wooden bench with a cup of tea in my hand enjoying the views and the wildlife.

We had varied weather, sometimes sunny and at other times overcast or even showery but we were able to spend most of our days outside walking the many paths in this peaceful setting.

On Sunday we walked along the east coast as the winds were blowing from the west. We were sheltered and it was beautifully sunny. This side of the island is the only place you can find any trees at all and the cliffs are gentler and covered with bushes. It is here that you are more likely to see the wild Sika deer but we didn't see any this time.

There are a couple of magically beautiful quarries on this coast including the VC Quarry where there is a bronze plaque dedicated to a son of the last owner of the island. Further along we heard and saw a peregrine falcon youngster atop a stone crag screeching for food.

Everywhere we looked there were beautiful views and wildlife all about. The island is only 3 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide so it is impossible to get lost but there is so much to see and do that even a week is not long enough. The special charm of the island is the peace and quiet, no roads, no cars (apart from the farm vehicles), no tv or radio ( we decided not to bring a radio), no Internet and little phone coverage. The tavern is open all day for shelter, food and company should you want it but phones and laptops are not allowed. We spent most of our evenings there, sometimes eating the excellent and reasonably priced food and always playing 1 or 2 games of Scrabble. Peter generally went up a bit earlier to bag a window seat and the better of the 2 Scrabble sets. (Next time we will bring our own set.) We usually chatted a little to other people but most people tended to stay in their own groups. The only downside to the tavern were what we now call 'the donkeys' due to their braying voices. These were generally climbers with upper class extremely loud voices who would regale each other, and indeed the whole place, with every detail of each handhold and belay of the day's climbs along with details of previous climbs and proposed future holidays. It got very annoying and I wish I could have overcome my British reserve to go over and ask them to moderate their voices. (There does seem to be a certain class of person who has no consideration for people around them and who often consider themselves better than everyone around.) For utter peace and quiet we would retire to our little cottage and read or watch the views. For the first few days I was engrossed in reading the log book in which previous visitors had written comments/diaries of their stays. Everyone loved the island, some were brief while other entries like my own, were full of detail. Some were very specialised with details of birds seen, climbs scaled or bell peals rung. The church has a unique set of 10 bells and is a popular destination for bell ringers. The staff told us that they did get fed up with continuous bell ringing from dawn till dusk for up to 3 weeks at a time so now any bell ringing has to stop at 6.00 or an hour before dusk, whichever is earlier.

On Monday we walked to The Battery, another first for Peter (last year his ankle was quite painful). The Battery is a stone building with 2 18lbs cannon which were fired out to sea every 10 minutes in times of fog. On one occasion they were fired continuously for 72 hours. Lundy lies at the entrance to the Bristol Channel and the sea around is littered with shipwrecks. Along with the buildings to house the equipment for the cannon there are also the ruins of 2 stone cottages and various outbuildings which housed the coastguards and their families. At one time there were 13 people living here at the bottom of this steep windswept cliff. The way down is by a solidly built set of steps protected by a low stone wall.

While lovely to visit on a summer's day with only moderate winds it would have been a harsh place to live in during the winter with sheer cliffs, force 10 winds and stormy seas battering at the walls.

On Monday afternoon we went on a small fishing boat for a trip around the island but the seas were so rough at both ends we could only go up to the North and South points before turning back along the east coast again. It was exciting in the rough water but it was only a small boat. It gave us a different view of the east coast and the boat's skipper told us about the wildlife and some of the wrecks. I was a little disappointed not to see any dolphins or basking sharks which were a possibility but no luck. It was already up on the notice board that the puffins and many of the sea birds had left the island so I didn't have to hang off cliffs looking for them.

As well as walking with Peter I took many walks by myself as I simply couldn't be confined indoors when there was such beautiful scenery. Every morning I climbed up to the top of the old light house for a view across the island.

On Tuesday it was more overcast and the wind was easterly. We walked the length of the island to the North Lighthouse (now fully automated), and from there we climbed down some steep steps to the tiny rock (in the centre of the picture) about 10ft by 20ft. This was where I had my seal encounter last year. This time there were fewer seals around but we managed to attract 2 seals who stayed watching us for a while. This used to be the alternate landing site when conditions were too rough in Landing Bay (the jetty and the road there are recent improvements). Boats would tie up to this rock and cargo would be winched up with a steel hawser. Very hazardous.

Peter's knee and ankle joints have improved so much since last year and he was able to walk down & up the 400 ft of steps without too much difficulty.

More of our Lundy adventures tomorrow.