Kissing cousins, brother, husband - "my guys" ---------

A short distance along the coast from Torquay is the smaller, a little more old fashioned seaside town of Teignmouth.  At the mouth the of the River Teign, beneath the cliffs and sloping hills, it was for several years the home of my mother her parents and siblings, and has always been the home of my dear cousin Sue. I spent many summer holidays there as a child and teen, we two girls were loving cousins then and still are to this day despite an ocean between us!

 

Teignmouth seafront

Mary (me), cousin David, cousin Sue, my brother John

We are the four cousins, our three mothers were sisters. Sue (79) lives in Teignmouth, David (78 today) in Torquay, John (70) in Southwest France, and yours truly (78) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Getting together has taken three years due to the pandemic, however yesterday we managed to do it. . . . . .. and in brilliant, hot sunshine we hugged and kissed like never before!

Bob, looking debonair in a borrowed hat, when we sat on a rooftop restaurant for

lunch in Teignmouth. Unbelievable weather here - hot, dry and non-stop sunshine every day.

Supper last night with John (today he's flying home to France) at our favorite fish 'n chip shop SALTWATER in Torquay.

Off to meet up with a really 'old friend' this afternoon - at a quaint tea room overlooking the bay. Jackie and I have known each other since before birth!!! Our respective mothers actually met at the maternity hospital before we were born!  We've remained good friends all these years and always pick up where we left off last time. . . . . . .as only best friends can!

Stuck in the doldrums -

Cruise ships to stay in Torbay (UK) over summer as P&O 

and Cunard postpone holidays . . . . . again!

via Devon Live

Current view across the bay from the seaside town of Teignmouth where I have family.

Times have changed in my home in Devon. Where the bay was mostly quiet with occasional sailing competitions, fishing boats, and the ferry which crosses back and forth, it's now a 'parking lot' for gigantic cruise ships with nowhere to go!

They have become a big attraction since their arrival last year - many huge cruise ships coming and going through the English Channel - anchoring, sailing off, then returning off the Devon coastline. At one time the three Cunard Line Queens, Mary, Elizabeth and Victoria, were there together, quite a sight. I've only seen that once when all were in port at Southampton and leaving on the Queen Victoria for a Baltic cruise several years ago. Those were the days.

"Ships are expected to take an extended stay in Torbay this Summer as some cruise companies cancel holiday bookings until late August. People all over Devon have become captivated with the daily movements of the laid-up cruise liners and the daily lives of the skeleton crews on board since their arrival.  Ships have been anchoring across Babbacombe Bay and Tor Bay for the past 12 months due to the pandemic forcing cruise voyages to shut down - and leaving them with no where to go."  Devon Live March 4, 2021

 

Doldrums - 'dead in the water' - somewhat like suspended animation.

THE "DOLDRUMS" IS A NAUTICAL TERM THAT REFERS TO THE BELT AROUND THE EARTH NEAR THE EQUATOR WHERE SAILING SHIPS SOMETIMES GET STUCK ON WINDLESS WATERS.

In both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, sailors noticed that there was an area near the Equator where there was little or no wind. Without the wind to move their sail-powered boats, they would sometimes be stuck for days or weeks. They started calling these areas the doldrums.

Sadly, no cruising planned for us this year!