Cold.

 It's been a sunny but chilly day today. 

As a friend is supposed to be coming around tomorrow to help us take things to the dump in his van I thought I'd better make a start on the shed. Tempting as it was to get straight into demolition I decided to work methodically and clear the inside first. Although the shed had been left technically empty by the last owners there were old kitchen cabinets, shelves and tool racks to dismantle. Also the walls look to have been papered when the shed was first built and I needed to remove the faded and tattered paper. Old paper like that makes me cringe but at least it wasn't wet which would have so much worse. The original wooden floor had mostly rotted away to crumbs and growing over and under it were the fattest and longest bindweed roots I have ever seen. I managed to get the worst of the mess into bin bags ready to go down to the dump. I can't wait until the whole thing is down and gone.

With a clear sky tonight's sunset was a magnificent horizontal fade from blue to yellow and orange.

Frosty.

Woke up early and refreshed this morning to see a hard frost outside. It was chilly outside but a brisk walk into town soon warmed me up. Our metal dish drainer had suddenly gone rusty and I had spotted some in TK Max that came with a drainer tray underneath, just right for our kitchen. I got that and bought the shelf fittings I wanted in Wilko's. I was even more impressed with Wilko's range of DIY stuff when I saw that they have a pick and mix section where you fill a large or small plastic bag with screws, nuts and bolts for the same price you can pay for a pre-packed half a dozen items in the big DIY places. My first stop on the High Street was to hand over a bag of microwave baking dishes to one of the charity shops. I'd put them aside but even when I put them in a shopping bag they still got left behind when I went into town last week. At least I remembered in the end. I also got myself a large fancy mug for my morning tea from Clinton's. I'd thought about getting it last week when it was half price and then today when I saw it was reduced by 70% I caved in.  

The postman brought my new yoga mat for my Pilates classes which starts next week. I'd ordered one before Christmas but recently they informed me they had run out of stock. I'd thought I would have to take my very old camping mat which was well used for many scout camps and has bits nibbled from the sides. It was quite confusing choosing a mat, they seem to range up to over £100, can't think why. I just went for the thickest one at a reasonable price and as there was a choice of colours I went for purple though I was tempted by the pink one.

I found this old picture of Barnstaple and Pilton in the 18thC when I was researching their history. Some of the main buildings and the two bridges are still here today.

Ladywell.

The first thing I saw this morning was a rainbow arching across the sky. We had bright blue skies for the morning which later became overcast. The temperature seems to be dropping so we may be in for another cold spell.  Right now I'm watching a beautiful skyscape in shades of blue and grey with a few orange highlights.

As I had worked out, or so I thought, how to fit the over-the-(kitchen cupboard) door rack I thought that would be a good job to do this morning. All I had to do was take out the shelf and cut a couple of inches from the back. That was when I found that instead of the usual flat plastic peg-things supporting the shelf this cupboard had metal fitting with a spike at the top that fitted into a hole in the shelf. This involved not only drilling new holes in the underside of the shelf but more holes in the walls of the cupboard too. With careful measuring I got it all done but for the number of baking trays I was able to place in the rack I'm not sure it was a worthwhile endeavour. However I think I've worked out a relatively easy way to put up some small shelves by the side of the top cupboards. It depends if I can get the right fittings. I also tried unsuccessfully to plane the top of our bedroom door in situ to accommodate the metal pieces from the clothes hanging thing. Some you win and some you don't.

By late afternoon I was ready to take myself off for a walk. The more I find out about the history of Pilton the more fascinated I get. Having read about the ancient Ladywell or Holy Well by the church I decided to go and have a look at it. 

Coming out of our estate across the road is Broadgate which I presume was a way in through the original wall.

From there I turned down this little alleyway. Through Pilton there is a network of lanes or alleys, some wide enough for a horse and cart while others only wide enough for pedestrians or pack animals. It is fascinating to think that these were the original thoroughfares of the old town.  

 Love the high chimneys with the church in the background.

Here I reached the modern road which swings around to the top of Pilton Street. Instead of following the road I walked along the lane on the left which brought me to the cobbled path leading to the front of the church.

 The sun came out for a while turning the stonework golden.

I walked around the  churchyard and found a locked gate leading down to the Ladywell.

It was only by walking around the outside of the churchyard wall that I was able to get to the well via a very narrow closed in lane. In the past the well was used for baptisms and healing. I don't think anyone would want to bring a baby there now.

 I returned by a different route along the network of lanes.

Through some of the gateways were tantalising glimpses along curved drives of grand old properties. An overhead view through Google maps shows that some of these houses have grounds almost as big as the whole of our estate.

Out For a Stroll.

The morning rain did not last too long leaving a dry and very windy day. When I hung some washing out on the line I made sure to use plenty of clothes pegs as I didn't fancy hunting down blown away clothing.The sun made a 10 minute appearance late in the afternoon but for the rest of the time it has been overcast. Peter's arthritis has moved to his foot  so he hasn't been able to do anything today. I got on with screwing hooks into the sturdy wooden door of the meter cupboard by the front door which also houses a selection of our DIY tools. Now all the saws and anything else that could be hung up are easy to find and not in places where the unwary can cut themselves. I also screwed what used to be a kitchen tool rack onto the back of one of the kitchen cupboard doors so we can hang up all our keys. Neither of those were big jobs but as long as something, however minor is done towards sorting the house I feel my day hasn't been wasted.

Having done most of my daily tasks I felt a bit stir crazy and decided to take my camera out for a walk around the block. Although the builders of our estate back in the 70's used a similar basic design for the houses there is still a lot of variation in terms of size and whether the garage is part of the house or in a block. Because the fields the estate was built on were hilly there never seem to be more than 3 or 4 houses in a straight line with different sized generous front gardens. Looking between the houses I could see roofs of buildings from earlier times. These were part of the ancient village of Bradiford which lay outside the walled town/settlement of Pilton.

I walked as far as the bridge over Bradiford Water which runs through the water meadows of Mannings Pit. 

 Standing on the bridge looking north towards the countryside.

Old village houses in Bradiford.

 From here I turned left, back up the hill towards Pilton.

I'm not sure if these walls are from the Benedictine Priory founded some time in the 12thC or if they originate from the time when Alfred the Great had a walled town built as a defence against Danish (Vikings) back in the 9thC.

Long Stone (below) is thought to be a prehistoric monument but it has been moved in and out of somebody's garden in the 19thC and re-sited in 1967. 

 My route home was again to the left, along the wall and left again.

Walking or driving I really appreciate the view over the fields as I approach our turning.

Coming home another neighbour introduced herself to me and we had a long chat. She's lived here for 30 years and unsurprisingly it turns out we have friends in common. This is a very friendly neighbourhood.

Stormy.

This was the satellite view of Storm Eleanor 23 hours ago. Contrary to predictions it hit the south-west as well. By evening yesterday the strong winds were whistling and gusting fiercely around the place. I had to go out last night to rescue the food caddy which was blowing about in the front garden. By morning the food caddy was at the bottom of the garden again and across the green a couple of wheelie bins had been blown over. (I should try and get into conversation with the older couples whose bins they are and let them know they can get the council to take them away if they are not being used.) The wind has continued all day long and many areas have been affected quite badly. Unlike at Dingles where the water and rayburn were not dependent on electricity and we had wood and a woodburner should we lose power here we would have no cooking or heating facilities though my nosy nature has found out that at least 2 nearby houses have woodburners.

Today we did one small DIY job, cutting a strip off the bottom of our bedroom door. The speckled black and grey carpet in the bedroom looks to be fairly new and the door was difficult to open fully over the carpet. For once we managed to work together without any major bickering. I think Peter is making more of an effort which in turn makes me a bit less assertive bossy. I would have tried to trim the top of the door as well as the metal over-door clothes hook thingy is scraping against the frame but went with Peter's view that it was unnecessary. 

I got my daily routine done by late afternoon as well as giving the Vax a thorough wipe down and washing the cloth dustbag again to get rid of any residual 'cat' smell. I've got an acute sense of smell which might be one reason why I'm forever opening windows to air out the place. Passive housing wouldn't do for me as it requires the house to be airtight to conserve heat.

The wind continues to whistle around our slightly draughty windows soon to be replaced with more efficient new windows. I've just paid the gas and electric bills for our first month here and even with the draughts and though we've had the central heating on a lot they came to less than half the cost of oil and electricity for Dingles. And that's before our new lower tariff fixed term contract kicks in.

Overcast.

After the last storm all has been quiet on the weather front, just overcast with frequent light drizzle. Storm Eleanor is on its way but it looks as if it will miss us down here in the south-west. I walked into town again today as a friend had sent us a card minus a stamp and I needed to go to the main sorting office to pay (£2!) for it. I'm really enjoying the walk into town because not only do I get to enjoy the olde village atmosphere but I feel virtuous at burning up some calories and not using the car. When we lived in the country we always greeted anyone we passed and often had a conversation but that isn't the way in town. I've decided that while I'm still in the 'village' of Pilton I will continue to greet everybody and will revert to the British habit of even avoiding eye contact with people I don't know once I've crossed the main road. Or I could buck the trend and smile at everyone but then I'll probably be classed as a batty old lady.

Once I'd collected my card I had my usual amble along the High Street where I resisted buying any more Christmas cards but bought 5 things for birthday presents and even a Christmas present. These will all have to remain top secret as the recipients may also be readers. I bought this half price tiny tree decoration for myself from one of those expensive gift shops. 

My afternoon was spent doing all the daily routines and some cleaning. The voice warm ups are a bit dire especially my poor attempts at lip trills (blowing raspberries in tune) but I shall persevere in the hope of some improvement.

I bought a small container in my favourite blue glass for this fuzzy succulent which I bought on sale in Tesco's the other day. By looking up 'fuzzy succulent' I was able to identify it as Kalenchoe tomentosa- chocolate soldier.

PS There were big display fireworks being set off last night back over the hills towards Marwood, a birthday or wedding perhaps ?

Happy New Year.

Wishing everyone health and happiness in the coming year. 

We so nearly made it to the Barnstaple fireworks and if it had been left to me then we would have walked down to watch the fireworks despite the weather. But then I'm in agreement with the saying 'There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.' That said the weather during the afternoon and evening was atrocious. Not just showers but sheets of rain slamming into the windows and hailstones clattering upon the roof plus some thunder and lightning all courtesy of Storm Dylan. The rain didn't stop until 11.00 by which time we were comfortably watching a Harry Potter film and snacking on cheese and crackers from the hampers we had been given. We did go and stand at the top of our garden and saw the larger town fireworks over the trees. Most of the neighbouring houses were dark but after the fireworks stopped there were cries of Happy New Year from a garden a few doors down and needless to say I responded in kind, (the glass of Baileys might have made me a bit more outgoing). Looking from the upstairs windows at the front of the house we saw more fireworks over Fremmington way and the end of the display at Bideford over 10 miles away.

My New Year's resolution is to get back to my daily routine of exercises and activities designed to maintain and improve, (mostly improve) my physical and mental health. There's so much good advice on-line, radio and TV to help make life better that it would be foolish not to follow it. To the floor exercises, exercise bike, piano and guitar practice I've added some singing warm ups. I will be singing in a local choir and apart from aging which affects all voices it's been a long time since I sang regularly. I've always enjoyed singing, it's in the blood of all Lithuanians. After a look through the singing videos I found one I liked that was for altos which suits me.

Today I stuck on a little hand carved stone on our front door frame pointing to the bell. The bell had to be put high up so that the metal in the door frame didn't interfere with the wireless signal and it's quite easy to miss the door bell especially in the dark. Because the inner porch door is also a heavy front door it's difficult to hear if somebody simply bangs on the door so I carved and painted a stone from the beach which I have stuck on with a builders' adhesive.

I also gave my tiny, crowded study a good tidy up. All the piles of papers have been sorted and filed, wrapping paper and ribbons put away in their box and my desk is satisfyingly clear of all the 'stuff' that had built up over Christmas. The paper filing extended to the last of the kitchen counters, so good to be able to find things without having to search through piles of random papers.