A Day Of Strong Winds.

We didn't seem to have too much rain in the night, mostly strong winds but the rain has been coming in waves today. There was some flooding on the road into town but we seem to have escaped the worst of it. I've been out to make sure that the dams across the road are still in place to divert any heavy flow of water from the road above. Of course there is always the slight worry that the very large beech tree in the corner of the garden will fall on the house. Peter is convinced that some of the branches are dead indicating that the core is rotting but I think it is more likely to be the topmost branches being affected by the prevailing winds. Let's hope I'm right.

The garden plants are flapping around in the gusting wind and the sound of the wind in the trees is just as if a train is roaring past.

I did have my eyelashes done this morning, not as spectacular results as I had secretly hoped for but they do look darker. As my eyelashes are short, fair and sparse anything is an improvement. Linas came into town with me, grumbling madly when I said I would be there for 2 whole hours! I treated myself to a lightweight but incredibly soft and fluffy hooded dressing gown in a plum/purple colour. It was so cosy when I put it on to show Peter that I wanted to keep it on all day. We also bought a new handle for the mattock as Linas had been struggling with a splintered stump for a handle and I could see why he was reluctant to use it. He is talking about creating a channel down the middle of the drive to take the water down without losing the actual track. We'll see if he gets on with that job. I didn't have time to do sufficient research about cameras to make it worthwhile going into the camera shop. Maybe next week.

I must apologise for my spiteful remark about the hunt but I know they are still going after foxes and the whole thing makes me mad. Well, now we can relax indoors, the heating is on, it's Strictly and Casualty tonight , favourite viewing for us and tomorrow we can lie in and listen to the wind.

Severe Weather Warning.

The radio was giving out weather warnings as I left work at 6.00 tonight. We are due the worst storm of the year and roads in Cornwall had already flooded with 2 ft of water. I've been out and reinforced the dams across the road (lovely son refused again saying we won't have much rain), but I'll definitely leave the raking to him. We've had 5 cms of rain in the last day. The severe weather warnings are featuring on the 10.00 news, 2 roofs have blown off in East Devon and the advice is not to go out in the storm which has winds predicted up to 80 mph. I hope it's not too bad tomorrow morning as I need to go into town.

Christmas is already appearing in the shops, there was the nastiest tinny muzak playing in the the supermarket this evening, yuk. I was looking through some old school music books and I found this lovely version of Twinkle , twinkle which I thought I would share. I'm a sucker for anything in a minor key. At school I still haven't choreographed the 2 dances my class are doing in the Christmas play though we have been trying out various moves. There isn't much scope as the stage is very small so it will be be mostly on the spot dancing rather than anything too complicated or lively. One dance is to a 'star' song and the other is to a 'rat' song. I like the children to be able to choose which dance they do but most of my class want to be rats so I'll have to do some diplomatic persuasion.

Good news from Vytas, he has passed his driving test. Maybe we'll see more of him now that he and Kate can share the long drive down from Leicester.

A Painted Lady.

This is the very edge of Barnstaple near the hospital. I object to paying to park in the hospital car park which used to be free and instead park in a nearby road 5 mins walk away.
On the other side of the road is open countryside, my way home lies over theses hills. It was a very successful visit to the physiotherapist. The poor man listened to the tangled web of my aches and pains and then said the same as my GP and the consultant, ie that it is not a shoulder problem but a neck problem. 3 months I had treatment with the previous guy and he never picked up on that! I have some exercises to do and another appointment next week.

After the hospital I popped over to Sainsburies where I was distracted by a Painted Lady butterfly fluttering around the aisles. I turned on my camera but it didn't settle anywhere. We've had some very heavy rain today though it wasn't that cold. I've been really tired today as following the old physio's advice I tried going to sleep without the painkillers. Not a good idea as my arm got so bad that I needed to wait until I could take a second dose of painkillers before I could sleep. Doing parent interviews on only a few hours of sleep was wearing, especially as the last parents didn't turn up even though we waited half an hour for them. Never mind, tomorrow is Friday.

Remembrance Day.

We walked the children up to Pilton Church today to have a look around the 14,00 year old building that is their parish church. It was interesting to hear that originally the main body of the building functioned more as a village hall/market place. That was the reason that such old churches have a screen to physically separate off the altar area.

Quite a few parents came along to supervise the children as we walked up the road. I got to walk at the front of the long line of children and wear a fetching day- glo jacket as the official traffic stopper.
In the church were memorials to those who died serving their country. While I personally am a pacifist this does not stop me from being saddened by the loss of so many lives. We were back at school in time for a Remembrance Assembly which finished with a 2 mins silence.
Peter took Elwen to the vets' today, £33 for 11 mins! It's definitely not fleas, the vet said it's either an allergy or ......... stress ! As she is the most aggressive of our cats (towards the others) we doubt it. The vet gave her a steroid injection which should deal with any allergy. The good news is that cats, unlike dogs, do not lick themselves raw. Bald, yes but they don't damage the skin. It was shocking to see how quickly poor old Zulu managed to lick himself raw when he had a skin problem.

Elwen Sneaks Out.

The sun made a few appearances today. It wasn't as cold first thing in the morning, no frost and if you were out in the sunshine it was positively warm. In the late afternoon the sun bathed the trees and the junior school playing field in a golden light.

Just visible over the trees are the spires of Pilton Church which we shall be visiting tomorrow morning. As long as it isn't raining it is a pleasant walk up Pilton High Street with only 2 small roads to cross. Even so the risk assessment runs to 2 pages.

7 of my class were away today and 1 is a confirmed case of swine flu. The classroom seemed empty with only 23 children. The children had a fun afternoon going around the school looking for lights in the environment. I was based in the 'dark room' where I had put up Christmas lights, fibre optics and a glowing egg and I read the children stories by the light of a torch. ( It wasn't really that dark but it helped build up the atmosphere.) Back at home Peter had fun and games trying to take Elwen to the vet. She's been licking the fur off her tummy and is looking rather bare. It's probably fleas but although I've used the flea drops regularly and have sprayed the carpets etc she continues to lick and the only time it got better was when I put a 'bucket' on her head. Peter made an appointment and 5 mins before he was due to leave she was sleeping in the kitchen, he went upstairs to put some shoes on and by the time he came downstairs she'd sneaked out of a window and didn't return for 2 hours, too late for the vets'. He'll put her in the carry cage a lot earlier tomorrow as she does need to be seen. That's almost as good as the time when I had to take her brother, Patch to the vet. I bundled him into the cage, drove down to the vets' and sat there thinking how small and pathetic he looked away from his home envionment. Only then did I realise I'd got Elwen who although being his twin is about half the size. Luckily there was just enough time for me to nip home and swap cats.

Monday & Sunday.

There was ICE on the car windscreen this morning. That's what happens when you have a picturesque stream winding around the house. The first frost of the year for us. Now I can start stressing about the possibility of ice on the road out of the valley in the mornings! At school 9 of my class were away, 2 did arrive later but the others mostly seem to have high temperatures with coughs. I've almost got rid of my cough, I don't think I had a temperature with it, but now my cold seems to be returning, ho hum. The first of the parents' evenings went well though I did have 3 no shows. I was home by 6.00 but Thursday will be the late one.

Knowing I don't get many photo opportunities in the week I saved some of my beach photos for today.

This slate- type rock weathers into architectural ruins, hence last week's flight of fancy.

We found a rock pool with some sea anemones some of which had their tentacles extended as they waited for food. (If you didn't see it, watch David Attenborough's latest nature film - Fishes, which was on BBC yesterday, some amazing new footage of things I'd never seen before.) When I was at uni I went on several marine ecology field trips, with my love of the sea they were the some of the best times I had at uni. My practical side did make me see that there would be limited job opportunities for marine ecologists and that being a teacher would be the the better career move.

Now I simply enjoy observing rock pool life.

Sea Horses.

The sun was shining this morning as we set off after a hearty breakfast, for our usual wave watching walk at Barricane Beach.
The tide was just going out leaving a clean washed beach for us to explore.

It was very windy so I decided that I would try and capture the 'sea horses' being blown from the tops of the waves. My camera was being especially unco-operative in focusing and driving me mad so I have finally decided to invest in a new camera, one that actually focuses when I try and zoom in on a shot. If I do some research this week my local camera shop will match any internet price and I can try out the cameras before making a final decision. Peter will be on hand to advise and give the benefit of his professional experience. (You have to give the men something to do and he was a professional photographer.)

I was happy with this shot but it was the only one of the close ups that was in focus.

For the rest I had to stick to longer shots.

I do like the way the sun is sparkling on the sea here.

Rather blurry but great sea-horses.

Better, but too far out.
Back home it was more school work followed by a lovely Chinese meal cooked by Linas and now it's off to watch House and get an early night before another week of work begins.