Weekend Report

Tony has made a PDF map of The Builder's complicated family relations! You might need it for the weekend report. If you do, email him. I'm sure he'd be delighted to send it to you.

Dramatis Personae:

The Builder
Frances
Jeanette (daughter)
Matt (SiL)
Rebecca (granddaughter)
Mike (Matt's Dad)
Rosie (Matt's Mum)
Bessie (ancient Jack Russell)
Simran (youthful German Shepherd)
sundry farm animals

Ready?

Then I'll begin!

We've just had a fantastic weekend down on Mike and Rosie's farm near Okehampton in Devon. Everyone had a great time. At least, everyone who wasn't Matt had a great time.

The Builder and I drove down on Saturday morning. I'd kind of hoped to miss the worst of the Bank Holiday weekend traffic, assuming that most people would take off on Friday evening. And, indeed, many of them had. We went to Tupton on Friday evening and the traffic heading out of town was horrendous. On Saturday all looked to be quite calm. We headed back to Tupton to pick up Freyja's bag, which she had left on Friday evening, and to fix one or two things in the garden. We headed off onto the M1. The road south was delightfully clear. The road heading north was at an absolute standstill. Glad we're not heading north! All remained well until we got to Birmingham. Not only was the motorway at a standstill (which is not remotely unusual) but it was raining. Really raining. To the point that I really really couldn't see. To make matters worse, there were signs up indicating long delays on the M5. Mile upon mile of delays on the M5. Of course. People away for the long weekend had all left on Friday. But holiday makers in Devon and Cornwall were always going to be on the roads on Saturday. Week long holiday lets run from Saturday to Saturday!

Let's abandon the motorways then, and go down the A38, which runs alongside the motorway for much of its length. And let's stop in a pub for lunch. And let's invite The Builder to drive in the afternoon so I can have a pint of cider with my lunch!

The traffic was heavy on the A38 but not unpleasantly so. And it's a nice road. We do use it from time to time as a change from motorway driving. It runs through Worcester and Tewkesbury and on down through Gloucester and Taunton . In fact, in runs right down to the south coast, but we didn't follow it quite that far. Using the travel alert service on my mobile phone, we road hopped our way south using both the A38 and the M5 and eventually (eventually!) arrived at Mike and Rosie's farm - several hours later than we had expected to when we set off at 11:30 from Tupton!

To find that Matt was poorly sick. Or at least, he had a poorly sick paw. It was all swollen up around the wrist and very red and very sore and he couldn't use it, not one little bit. So we must feed him a lovely, spicy casserole and lots of red wine. Once we've worked out why the electric hob isn't hobbing. And why the gas porta-cooker also isn't cooking. And changed the fuse. And replaced the gas canister! That having been done, we also will have casserole - and white wine. And a goodly evening was spent chatting and catching up (though we had all seen each other the previous weekend at Rebecca's birthday). And The Builder and I were early to bed, for both driving and navigating in heavy rain (or even misty rain) through very heavy traffic is very tiring!

So to Sunday. And there was a proper Sunday breakfast, during which we discussed our plans for the day. Plans which had been altered by Matt having been wakeful in the night because of his poorly paw, and by the fact that it was getting worse! So. Rosie and Jeanette decided to take him to the local cottage hospital to see if there was anyone there who could look at it (the paw, not the hospital!) otherwise they were going to have to go nearly 40 miles into Exeter to the big hospital.

Meanwhile, Mike took The Builder, Rebecca, both the dogs and me to Bude beach. We had a fabulous time at the beach. The sun was shining. Simran ran and bounced and bounded and rushed and gallumphed. Bessie tottered and waddled. We flew the frog kite that I bought in Richmond, Tasmania. Rebecca ran about and jumped in puddles and played with her hula hoop and got wet. Simran bounced upon a young Jack Russell puppy. The puppy (who was only little) rolled over three or four times then bounced back up and asked for more. We walked and pottered and meandered. It's a nice beach, the one we were on. Dogs are allowed on it all year round, so there were lots of doggies playing. There were people surfing in the sea. There were lots of people playing on the beach. And several kites being flown (but no other froggie ones!). Then we went back to the car park for ice cream, on to the supermarket for cakes (and porridge oats. On the telly on Friday evening there had been a 9 year old boy being interviewed at the Chelsea Flower show. He has an allotment and is a very keen organic gardener. Apparently he uses dry porridge oats as a slug and snail repellent. And apparently this is remarkably effective. Porridge oats aren't all that expensive (especially when Mike buys them, in the interests of scientific research!). Willing to try anything that might reduce the slug and snail depredation on the allotment!) and thence on back to the farm.

Matt had seen a real live *doctor* at the cottage hospital in Okehampton. It seems he has an infection. Or possibly, perhaps, gout. He also has an impressive array of antibiotics and other nostrums and potions and had retired to bed by the time we got back. Time for tea, cakes and a wander around Mike's impressive array of cars, motor bike, tools, sheds and toys. Rosie provided us with another fantastic dinner. Meat pie with mashed potatoes. Yum! We had more wine and nattering. And so back to bed.

On Monday we went for a guided drive around Dartmoor. I went in the car with Rosie, Mike, Matt (feeling slightly better) and Rebecca, while The Builder and Jeanette went in the Vixen. (Rosie and Mike's people carrier is spacious and commodious, but by the time you've got the dogs' cage and Mike's buggy in the back, there isn't room for 7 people). It was a great drive. We ambled through Tavistock, went up onto the moors, and stopped to let the dogs run about on the top of the moors, and to eat ice cream, and to really irritate two little old ladies who seemed to think that doggies should be on their leads when running about on the top of the moors. Theirs were. No other dogs were on leads! It was very, very, very, VERY windy up there. Much too windy to fly my poor little kite. Then we drove on, Mike driving nice and slowly so I could see things and he could tell me what they were. He did pull over to let a bus past, but otherwise the rest of the traffic just had to drive slowly and admire the view too. I'm sure they found that a very pleasant change from their normal, hectic pace of life!!

Anyway. We got back to the farm. Rosie began to prepare dinner. Mike, The Builder and Matt went out in the other people carrier to get fuel. Oh, and for the potatoes and vegetables we were supposed to get in Tavistock in the morning. This second people carrier was supposed to be going to Matt, to replace his Golf. The Golf had been labelled up as for sale and been parked on the verge outside the front gate, for passing drivers to lust after and to buy. On the way to get the fuel and the provisions -- the brakes failed :-S. All the brake fluid had drained out! They put more in. And drove back nice and cautiously, leaking brake fluid all over the place. This second people carrier wasn't going anywhere! The Golf was reclaimed from the verge and unlabelled. Then there was a frenzy of activity trying to sort out the insurance (for it is compulsory for cars to be insured in the UK and the Golf now wasn't!). Poor Matt. Really wasn't his weekend! Anyway, eventually they got it all sorted out, we sat down to roast gammon quite a bit later than we had intended, then Jeanette and Matt drove away, leaving poor Rebecca in our clutches. (It's half term and she is spending the rest of the week at the farm).

Mike, The Builder and I went for a walk around the farm after dinner. There are sheep and goats and horses (and, apparently, a chicken, but I never saw the chicken!). There are two ancient cats. There are also two goslings on the dam and lots and lots of tadpoles. We saw a field pippet and a couple of skylarks. At least, I'm told we saw these things. We certainly saw birds!

The Tuesday after the second May Bank Holiday is, for reasons lost in the mists of time, a holiday at Hallam. So we came back from the farm on Tuesday morning. Mike had taken the poorly people carrier to the car doctor nice and early and had been collected by Rosie. Matt had reported in that his paw was slowly getting better and he had gone to work in London despite there being a train strike (poor Matt -- his weekend woes were apparently segueing into the week!). We had bacon and eggs for breakfast, then took ourselves off home. It wasn't a bad drive home. We had two hold ups, both on motorways and both caused by accidents. For a stretch we came back onto the A38. We had noticed loads of farm shops on the way down and thought we might explore them on the way back. Though they seemed to have transformed into pubs when we did come back. There were rather more pubs than I had remembered and far fewer farm shops. Even so we found a couple and came home with fresh vegetables and a rather nice piece of rump steak. We had also noticed a very large nursery on the way down and called in to explore that as well. Came back with some plants, some seeds -- and some soup!

We were back for just after 5, I think. And then went up to rescue the allotment. For I have had a Norty Gurl letter from the allotment people saying that it isn't being sufficiently cultivated and if I don't cultivate it they'll have it back thank you. This is not, actually, true. There's lots growing on it. Potatoes, peas, broad beans, onions, shallots, garlic, gooseberries, currants, rhubarb, raspberries, cherries, apples. Plus we've planted corn seeds and runner bean seeds and beetroot seeds but you can't see those yet. I fear that the allotment inspector probably couldn't see any of the other stuff either. The grass had grown so tall he wouldn't have been able to see anything at all from the path! Grass cutting has commenced!!!!!

We're moving into our new house on Saturday! Freyja is getting the keys to her new flat tomorrow. Tabitha has turned down the job she was offered.