Friday 1 July 2011

I'm back!! ;-)



Hello...it's Meggy

I thought it was about time that I

made a return to blogland to say hello!

I am now 4 and a half months old!






Where did the time go?!






I can now make lots of noises!

I'm very interested in everything!!





I smile a lot! ;-)

Soon, I'll be sitting up properly.





Yesterday, I went out visiting!!

I saw my Grandma and my Great Grandma and even my Uncle Nich!!

I was not expecting to see so many people!

It was lovely!!

I think they like me lots! (and lots!)

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend!

Lots of love,

Meggy
xxx


Wednesday 29 June 2011

Bickington village, SouthDevon





This is the village where we once lived, over ten years ago!

Bickington...

not to be confused with Bickington in North Devon (as it often is)!




It's a pretty little village.

Below is the gateway through which I once used to drive every day .

Rock cottage...named because maybe it is built on a big lump of granite ...

or maybe because we could also see Haytor Rock from the bedroom windows.




It's a small village yet one steeped in history.





Below is the unusual lych gate at St Mary's church, Bickington.

On the south face of the grade two listed building, is a metal

plaque inscribed: "Mains water to Bickington 11th January 1962"

Not sure what they did before that!




And now to exceedingly, shabby things...




Shabby or what...around the back of the village hall!

Projects methinks!

Now then...




...here we have more shabbiness around the back of the hall!

Here is Amanda's cornucopia of shabbiness!




Bickington village fete.

As we arrived so did the sun...so plenty of demand for these...





I have to admit that we were so busy nattering that

I didn't take any more photos but there

were the usual 'teas' and a few other stalls

plus some lovely, 'musician' children entertaining the 'crowds'!

A typical English fete day.

And finally...






And this is the cottage where I once lived.
(this pic courtesy of Google street view)

One evening,when we had not been living there very long,

there was an accident down on the main Ashburton road.

Traffic was diverted through the village and a massive lorry became stuck

just by our wall as it could not negotiate the bend in the road.

It did little damage to the wall...but we noticed that this kind

of incident must've happened again as part of the wall has obviously

been knocked down and 'patched' as can be seen from the photo.

A great shame!

Anyway, it was lovely to revisit and reminisce!






Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

;-)

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Ashburton!



It's Ashburton and carnival time has come!




After visiting Seale Hayne, we found ourselves here, on Saturday!





We are creatures of habit and always make for The Exeter Inn

for a pint and a snack lunch!

The Exeter Inn is run by an ex Torquay United footballer who

is regarded as a hero by many Torquay fans!

Back in 1987 , Jim McNicol was playing in a crucial

last match of the season 'relegation decider'.

Poor chap was near the sideline when all of a sudden

he was bitten by a police dog, called Bryn!

This stoppage in the match then gave Torquay

precious, extra minutes to regroup, get their act together

and score... thus avoiding relegation, out of the football league!

I know all that... as I was there! ;-)

I think Jim would rather forget the pain that day although

it was far more painful watching the match, to be honest!

But then, it always is watching Torquay...or nearly always!

Back to Ashburton... it has a lot to offer...







'Miss Shabby Chick' , as you know, is a very good friend of mine.

She has taken some space in Sarah's 'Vintage Emporium'

and is selling some of her wares there as well as continuing

her stall at Totnes market, on Fridays.







Sarah's shop is looking especially good at the moment!

And Sarah is now serving tea and coffee..so you get to sit at a

delightful table whilst the goodies ooze at you from every direction!!














That done, our Saturday was still not quite over

as I had promised Amanda that I would look in on her

and her stall at a local village fete!

And so...off we go again!

;-)

Sunday 26 June 2011

Seale Hayne



Here we are at Seale Hayne!

Once a famous agricultural college (thanks to a man called

Charles Seale Hayne

who left the bulk of his considerable estate to:

''establish and endow a college...'');

later on, passing into the hands of Plymouth University;

after that, becoming the subject of much controversy when the university

decided in its wisdom to relocate and restructure

(which had absolutely nothing to do with the Teignbridge structure plan,

a possible huge housing development on the site, money ,

(kerching kerching ...you get the picture!)






It was back in 2002, (Charles Seale Hayne could probably

be heard turning in his grave ! ) when students and staff

found out the devastating news...they had to relocate to Plymouth!

Not good news!

******

It was only a year before that, when Nich and myself

had visited a Seale Hayne Open Day, with a view to considering

certain degree options/courses and we listened to various speakers

promoting Seale Hayne and then wandered around taking in the

beautiful surroundings...and believe me it is very beautiful.

Prior to that, I'd taken a class of children to Seale Hayne, whilst

learning about food and farming and we'd had a wonderful time there.





Well, there were many protests about the closure but to no avail.

Indeed, the housing development looked like it might well happen...but

thankfully in the end it all fell through! Yippee!

In 2009, a new buyer was found....

The Dame Hannah Rogers Trust, a charity that provides education

and care for young people with severe disabilities.

You can read about Hannahs at Seale Hayne, here:

http://www.hannahssealehayne.com/




We wandered around on Saturday, looking at the various craft units

Most of them were locked , it being the weekend but

my camera zoomed in on Nicky's new home:








And it was lovely to see what was on offer in the craft shop at Seale Hayne,

as well as have coffee in the busy little cafe .




I think that Charles Seale Hayne would be quite relieved

to see crafters and educators going about their business

on what was once his land. I reckon he can sleep easy now!

As for the University trying to make a fast buck from something

which was not left to them...well words fail me and so

I'll say no more on that subject...apart from the fact that it is they who,

in their greed, ( in my opinion )

attempted to take away education from this beautiful spot.


***

Charles Seale Hayne was once an MP ...for Ashburton!

I think he'd be very happy to see such a thriving and bustling town!

And that was the next stop on our little outing!