Valley Of The Rocks.

Today is a day for reflecting on the effect violence has on others.

"Love one another."

This should be the way we live our lives,

with compassion and understanding.

I will try ....

Looking Forward.

Today we went for a walk to The Valley Of The Rocks. Spectacular as usual, the weather was variable with sudden showers and a constant strong wind.

We are so lucky to be able to have such walks so close by and it didn't even matter that we got caught in the rain. There were not so many of the wild goats around but we saw some grazing on the nearly vertical cliffs.

Although we've been there quite a few times this was the first time we climbed up the Castle Rock which gave us great views along the valley. I love such wild landscape and it is easy to ignore the fact that the tiny town of Lynton is literally around the corner. My heart years for wilderness but this is a pretty good substitute.

Behind the great hill is picturesque Devon countryside bounded by the more rugged hilltops of Exmoor. Technically Exmoor covers a lot of farmland but to me a moor is moorland only.

After our walk we called in at The Station Inn for a carvery lunch. Even now that the holidays are over all the tables were booked and those who hadn't made reservations had to eat in the bar area which is just as nice but without the views from the big windows. We always book so that we can have a window seat.

During the sunny spells I keep thinking that I should be out working in the garden but then everything darkens and staying indoors seems a much better prospect. The storm warnings are still in force for tonight. BTW I looked on line last night and found exactly the same TV for 30% less from Dixons so it will be arriving next Saturday. Sadly because of its size I don't think we can even give away our old TV.

Strange Weather.

Peter and I went into town today to look at TVs. The TV in our bedroom is on its way out but we haven't yet been able to decide on one to fit in the same space. The problem is that I still watch a lot of TV sitting on the floor and with the new flat screens the picture darkens if you are looking from below. We're also thinking about changing the sitting room TV. The current one is big (by UK standards) and the picture is very good but because it is a CRT the whole thing is enormous. A neat flat screen would be really nice so we decided to compare the different sorts. I'm quite fussy about the sharpness of the picture and for the same price the plasma was better than the LED and the LCD screens. 3-D is too much of a gimmick for us to be bothered with it for the moment. We did find one we liked but as they weren't prepared to move on the price even if we bought a small TV as well we decided to wait for a while. We might even find a better deal on the Internet. While I went to the library Peter went to the phone shop (he needs new software to be able to get a signal from here), and we met up in The Reform, Peter's local pub so I thought I'd show what a typical British freehold (independent) pub looks like.
Although being at the bottom of Pilton High Street it is not our nearest pub Peter goes there to meet friends, play pool and most importantly drink the real ale that is brewed in the micro brewery at the back of the pub. Peter always has a barrel of Barum Original at home which is much nicer than anything that comes in tins.

There were a few people in the pub even in the afternoon but it gets crowded in the evenings especially when there is live music.
It had been unusually warm during the day though ominous grey clouds loomed. There are weather warnings for storms tomorrow night so when we got home I cleared the leaves out of the gutter at the back of the house and also put wood across the drive to divert water onto our neighbour's field.

Done.

At last! The sitting room carpet is finally done ...... I think. All thanks to my handy Vax. I bought it when we had an old dog that had the occasional accident but since the Dyson motor burnt out I've been using it for general hoovering as well. I bought a reusable cloth dust bag which is almost as convenient as the Dyson was. Previously I had hired carpet washers but I found them quite heavy to use as you are pushing the whole machine with all the water in it while with the Vax you only push the head across the carpet. It is very simple to change from dry to wet mode and with no fancy electronics and a strong motor it does its job well. A worthwhile investment all those years ago. We'll turn the heating on for the weekend to help dry the carpet and then according to the list I have just made there are only 9 more jobs to do in the sitting room until it is done and I can move to the next part of the house. I did find it quite stressful to have several rooms in chaos over the summer when we were having the plastering done and now plan to work my way through one room at a time. It seemed very odd not going in to work today and yesterday. Almost as if I was slacking. Although I have been busy with 'home' jobs my mind isn't constantly juggling 10 things at once. It just feels so relaxed.
The orchids look wonderful at the moment. I bought the white one for my classroom last year and I shall make a real effort to look after it and the other 3 that I have. (Peter bought me a little spotted one for my birthday last month.)

Today's weather was frequent gentle rain but very warm and we had a thunderstorm in the middle of the day. I thought the first rumbles were the postman arriving in his van (yes, like Postman Pat) and kept stopping my carpet washing to collect the letters but he wasn't there. Then I thought it was my neighbour revving up a tractor or the horsebox which he brings up to his outbuildings closest to us to work on or wash but then I realised it was thunder. Quickly into storm alert and unplug the phone, hub and the server to guard against any major surge caused by lightening strike. The storm passed quickly leaving only the rain and all our electrical equipment was safe once more.

Low Clouds.

This morning I carried on and just about completed sorting through all my boxes of school 'stuff'. I never know what age group I'm going to be teaching next so I have a tendency to keep lots of 'stuff' just in case. Now at least all my folders are in 2 boxes and only a few things left over that need to be found homes. I filled my car with bags for the dump (nearly all the old plasterboard has been got rid of bit by bit) and my plan was to drop in at Tescos for some essentials then go onto Morthoe for a walk. The weather had been a bit variable but warm and by the time I came out of Tescos the clouds were down to ground level and it was raining gently. As I was already halfway to Morthoe I thought I'd see what things were like there and indeed it was only a little wet. I wasn't really prepared for wet weather but I did have a light mac so I put that on and headed out. Going down from the well the clouds were suspiciously low and being blown in from the sea. As it was still quite warm I bravely carried on.

And then the clouds lifted and it was dry once more.

There are several of these flights of steps on this part of the coastline and I use them for gauging how fit I am. When we first started walking this year I would be puffing a bit by the time I got to the top of these ones but now I can usually manage a conversation while keeping up a steady pace. Needless to say Vytas and Romas always run up all the steps.



Another refurbished path, presumably by last week's working party.





But then the clouds started rolling in again. I got round as far as the mown (lighter) area and then decided to call it a day as I was rather wet. I spotted a seal in the gully at that point. They have their pups in October so I wonder if she is going to have her pup on the little beach at the bottom of the cliff. I shall keep a look out for her whenever we walk out that way.
While sorting things out in the kitchen I was watching daytime tv and was watching Homes Under The Hammer (a sale and refurbishment property program), when I recognised the street the presenter was standing on. It was my mum's old street which is made up of identical terraced houses. The property being featured was a 1 bedroomed flat and although it was the mirror image of my mum's house all the original features such as the banisters, were identical. It was most odd to see the outside of the house with the fancy wood and stonework of the front porch as it was my job to clean our windows and the porch. I lived in our house for 10 years so the program brought back many memories.

New Playtimes.

More wind and some rain today. The forecast is for the same all week. After a morning of sorting my school papers (9 boxes to be sorted through!), I had to be at work in time for a lunchtime staff meeting. Then it was time to teach my new Year 2 class. We did some singing and after that it was time for PE. We were told today that the afternoon playtime routine has been changed which was a bit of a surprise. Previously the Year 1 & 2 classes had their afternoon playtime together with 2 teachers being 'on duty' to look after the children and the other teachers getting a chance to clear up, have a cup of tea or go to the toilet. Now we are free to take our children out at any time (for 10 mins) so you could combine with another class but you are still required to stay outside with your children. I did raise the question of what happens if you are on your own and (as often happens) a child cuts themselves or bangs their head but was told to simply send for help. We'll see how that works. On the plus side I had nothing to do after school and was back home by 4.10. That seemed so strange as last year I would generally not even leave until 5.30.
Back home there was time for a quick walk around the garden before doing some housework. I did notice that the lavender bushes seem to have had a second flush of flowers. My teaching week has now finished so perhaps I will get a chance to spend some time outside in the garden.

Gales.

The autumn gales were here in force today. However there is nothing so soothing as lying all warm and cosy in bed listening to the wind roaring through the trees and watching the branches lashing wildly. This morning it was even sweeter as I knew that I didn't have to get up and rush off to work. I did make an early start and washed the penultimate section of the carpet before going to work in the afternoon. I shall use the rest of the week to sort my school papers and stuff so that next week we can move the desks and PC for the very final corner to be done.
This afternoon with the children was fine, no staff meeting (but there will be another one tomorrow) so I was home by 4.30.

It has been a very poor summer for butterflies. We've had less sun, lower temperatures and more rain than usual so not only have the butterflies been battered by the elements but their main food sources have been late in flowering. The swallows have mainly left for Africa though there were a few stragglers swooping along the back road tonight.

Windy Weather.

Autumn was definitely in the air today. For most of the time up here in the hills there has been a gale blowing but every now and again the clouds would be blown away and the bright sunshine created an illusion of summer. When I went to work in the afternoon it was so hot that the children were outside playing without their sweatshirts on. I got some more carpet washing done in the morning (I'm determined to keep a regular work schedule and not waste my mornings at home), and then in the afternoon I had a relaxed time with the Year 1 children (5 year olds). I don't have any help with any of my afternoons in class so I shall be working at a relaxed pace so that I can deal with any problems that arise. We had a staff meeting after school (Yes, I still have to go to those), and the new PE timetable means that I will be doing PE on each of my 3 afternoons. I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing though with my knee and my back I do have to be careful. Coming home it was still grey and windy. Everything is still very green but there were a lot of leaves and a few small branches on the road.
In the distance it was easy to see the clouds sitting on the tops of the Exmoor hills.

So it was back in the car and head for home. On my way down our drive I had the car window open and my camera at the ready to take a picture of the buzzard that has been in the fields. As I scanned across the field a buzzard flapped off across the road from where he had been sitting on a fence post by the next field. Will I never learn?