Growing up in Devon -

 

This beautiful scene depicts part of my English childhood. Created in pastels after a visit to my home town, a dear friend now long gone, gave this to me so I would always remember where I came from and what I loved about the countryside where I spent so much time.  The tall oak tree in the center of the fields was one I often climbed in with my best friend. She and I would balance astride a sturdy lower branch, talk about our dreams and the future. These fields were where my mother and I would gather mushrooms early mornings . . . . . . before the dairy cows came out and trampled them. 

Much changed over the years before I decided to come to America. We grew up and my best friend became a hair stylist. I went to college and trained to be a secretary, remember them? We had boyfriends and danced in clubs. My mother worked several jobs and we gave up tramping through the damp fields, preferring to sleep a little later before going to work. My dad worked hard too, and my brother became a great tennis player whilst still in school, trained and played mixed doubles with Sue Barker as his partner - Brits reading this know who she is of course!

Growing up in another country, across a wide expanse of water, means your children and grandchildren may not spend a lot of time in your homeland. We took our children to England several times when they were young. Travel was much easier in so many ways. . . . . .or perhaps it seemed that way because we were younger, healthier, and the world was a much different place! They spent time with their grandparents and other family members. They met my school friends, neighbors and their families. We enjoyed English summer days at the beach, some sandy others pebbly, Devon has a selection of both. Outdoor afternoon tea, watching brilliant colored peacocks strut through the orchard gardens was fun. Viewing wild ponies run across the golden gorse smothered ancient landscape of Dartmoor was exciting to city children. 

One of my own favorite childhood memories is of summer Sunday afternoon picnics on the banks of the River Dart. The surrounding moor was always a special place. . . . . .and the weather was usually pleasant and cool compared to here in the US southeast. Writing this today in much too hot, close to 100 degrees, and in a severe drought, I have a deep yearning to be back home across the pond.

For me, there really is no place like home. Mine is still across the ocean despite having lived here many more years than there.  Off to grab a cold drink and then pull a salad together - too hot to cook, too hot for anything much. Hope your summer days are pleasant.  

Devon thatched cottages in Shiphay village where I grew up.

Visiting home again -

Time is flying fast and we've already been here in my home town for a week.

Needless to say it has been really busy and will remain this way for the entire

stay.  Many family members and friends to visit, places to see, shopping

 being done for things English I still find hard to live without, and restful times

 to just sit and enjoy the scenery with a coffee mug, cup of tea, or a glass of

 wine, depending on the time of day.

Weather has been quite good, warm and sunny at first, now cooler and

a little damp with light showers and bracing breezes from the 

English Channel.

Some photos to show you where my "home, sweet home" is - all of these

 were taken in Torquay, Devon.

I'll try to get back here during the visit - if you don't see me here, just

know it's because I'm having too much fun!

Golden + wallpaper!

 Do you ever look through your photos and discover a particular color jumps

 out at you? Seems like golden yellow was predominant during my Devon days

 last month.

Photos Clockwise:   Discovering a ballroom dance hall - best locally 

caught haddock 'n chips - old mossy roof view from our new modern

 hotel room - icon at St. Mary's Church in Totnes - the 'Gold Bus' running

 between towns - the Devon summer countryside - inside the oldest 

Torquay pub - and my English friend Emma's fantastic new kitchen

 wallpaper which I want too!

So I searched for Emma's golden tropical illustrated wall covering, but

 couldn't find it over here.  This led me to other discoveries as only

 trolling through the Internet can.  Am I planning a wallpaper project?  

Not really. Are there beautiful wallpapers out there? Oh definitely.  

Are some golden yellow and tropical?

Look below.  

Perhaps not the look for my cottage home - but so gorgeous,

even a bit daring.

This yellow is a gorgeous golden touch, similar to Emma's . . . . . . 

. . . . . and I love this green still with a touch of gold.

This one above could be my more classic colorway choice - and I would

 use it in in my entry hall which is painted charcoal grey.  Maybe just as an

 accent on one small wall area surrounding the front door . . . . . . . it would

really liven things up.

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. . . . . . or even this one on a white background with that brilliant touch

of gold, plus those beautiful blue birds!

Nothing is written in stone. This idea is going into the 

'House Projects' folder.  Who knows, on a cold winter day when

the sun is hiding and I have some free time, I just might have the

 urge to hang wallpaper which I've not done in many, many years.

Emma, if you read this, just know that I loved seeing your beautiful

 new kitchen. . . .and that your stunning wallpaper is keeping me

 awake at night, haha!

HOME is where. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . one's heart beats faster, then settles quietly and allows the memories

 to flood back. At least that's how it always feels for me when I step down on to

 the bricks, concrete, grass of my hometown in England.

It never changes, it is a feeling I've had for almost sixty years, each and

 every time I've been fortunate enough to go home. I've lost count but think

it must be around fifty times I've 'crossed the pond' with England in my 

sights. 'Going home' has been a very important part of all the travel I've done.

Seeing new places around the world has been wonderful, but heading back

to where I began is always the special trip. It's the one I need because loved

ones are there, thankfully still many in person, others gone but the sweet

memories of times with them come back to mind more clearly when I'm

treading the streets and lanes of childhood and teenage years.

I breathe differently. . . . . the sea air perhaps, along with the green 

countryside, both give me a lift which feels like my true home.

View from our Torquay hotel room across Tor Bay to Paignton.

Torquay -- Princess Theatre & Victorian Fountain.

Thatcher Rock, Tor Bay.

Across the bay to the fishing town of Brixham where my father was born.

Torquay, Inner and Outer Harbours on a summer evening.

 

Inner Harbour, Torquay - St. John's Church.

Torquay rooftops and a sculptured frieze depicting 

King Neptune and sea creatures.

Old and new buildings. . . . . . .of course you know which are my favorites.

Another view from the hotel.

We're now back from the road trip to Eastern North Carolina which was

 really good despite my hesitancy in leaving home again so soon after an

 overseas trip! I have a lot to do here and, after celebrating the

Fourth of July, followed by Bob's birthday on the fifth, I'm hoping to 

catch up with everyone, write more posts on the UK trip, leave comments 

on your posts etc.

Then there's the garden which has run wild and is longing for attention as

 the rains apparently didn't come while we were away . . . . . but it looks

 promising for the days ahead with some late day showers at least.

Enjoy Independence Day.

Time flew by with new friends -

I do like being at home again. . . . . . but getting away and flying across

 the pond was so enjoyable after such a long time.

Seeing family and old friends, and meeting new friends or making

 acquaintances was fun.

Our new friends included a sweet elderly blind man, Monty, from Wales, 

whom we breakfasted with at the hotel on several mornings, and two

 amazing ladies, Myra and Pat who are gorgeous, funny cousins in their

 eighties. They were on holiday from Newcastle. They kept us in stitches

 even when we couldn't quite understand their Geordie accents. 

There was also Wendy whom we met on a bus ride and discovered

 we were at the same school together. We talked about the teachers we

 had and the silly things we did as teenagers. Such as sit in the classroom

 seats next to the French doors and stick our legs out sideways to get a

 tan on those few and far between sunny days of early English

 summer. . . . before the school holidays started and we were

released from uniforms, Panama hats, ankle socks, and uptight

 rules and regulations of an all girls' Grammar

 School back in the 1950's!!!

An evening visit, one of several, to our favorite pub, and luckily

 just a hop and skip away from our hotel, was interesting. We ordered

 drinks and food and settled in to listen to some awesome live music. 

We sat at a table next to two men, one a surgeon, both part of a 

Trauma Team who go to Africa to help provide free surgical care for

 patients with broken bones and traumatic injuries in rural Kenya. 

Very interesting conversation for us as we have visited there and have

 seen how botched, or often no surgery, leave men, women and children

 unable to walk properly, or to use their arms to work and provide for

 their families.

If interested in reading more about, or supporting this worthwhile charity,

go here:  https://www.futurehealthafrica.org/traumateam

Bob outside the Hole In The Wall, favorite Torquay pub.

Bend your head though, the beams are very low!

Torquay's Oldest Pub – Circa 1540

With its cobbled floors and low-beamed ceilings, the Hole in the Wall has been a regular for smugglers and business people alike. Providing a traditional pub atmosphere with great food and quality beer, the Hole in the Wall aims to provide first class service with a great social experience for all. Good selection of ales to include Doom Bar,  Butcombe Bitter, Otter Bitter and with as many as four changing guest beers and traditional real cider too, you will not be short of choice!

I'm busy catching up here at home. Unpacking and laundry, lots of garden chores as lack of rain and very high temperatures - it was 99F when we disembarked our flight in Raleigh - have wreaked havoc on plants and shrubs, and the grass is browning out. However the figs are plumping, daylilies blooming, and some hydrangeas survived and welcomed us back with paler shades of blue.

 Have a great weekend - I'll be around to catch up with you soon, and hope to add more stories from our really fun trip.

Those were the days. . . . . . .

Great vintage train travel posters remind me of how

 my home town looked when I was growing up there.

Some things have changed, others remain the same.

Torquay will always be home though and I'm longing

 to get back next week after three years away due

 to the pandemic. 

 

Today a hair cut. Tomorrow manicure and pedicure.

Items to be packed are ready and waiting.

Fingers crossly tightly that this trip will go without

 hitches. . . . because "there's no place like home."

Day trip to beautiful Cornwall. . . . . . . .

When we meet up with long time blog friends gifts are not required.

Smiles, warm hugs, non-stop chatter is always lovely.

Reading a menu, choosing a wine, toasting to happiness,

good health and friendship . . . . . . . . and a ton of thanks for making time

 in one's day, perhaps traveling some distance, to get to a meeting point is

 what long distance friendship is about.

I've done it often around the world, and many of my blog friends 

have gone out of their way to meet up with me - and usually Bob is

there too!  It's always so exciting, and I have to say it has never been 

disappointing. 

We took the train from Devon to Cornwall to meet up with Barbara

 (also known as Elizabethd) of the lovely blog Small Moments.
Barbara and I met via our blogs many, many years ago when she and her
 husband were living in France. They returned to the UK a few years ago and have

 made their home in a small Cornish village. She took a train also and we met

 just about halfway.

I must admit Barbara really spoiled me. Such lovely gifts, and all from Cornwall. 

 I wish you could see the exquisite, delicate embroidery of the 'Cornish Lane' 
framed piece. The rose hand cream smells wonderful, the beeswax candles are lovely, 
and the tea is actually tea grown in Cornwall - the only true English tea - delicate and

 perfect for a summer afternoon. These lovely gifts were packed in the canvas bag

also made in Cornwall - I will find it useful toting items to my car.

Barbara also included a great book for Bob about unusual Cornish places -

he's busy reading it so I forgot to add it to the photos.

Thanks so much dear Barbara. It was so much fun meeting up at long last

 and spending time together over lunch. Hopefully we can do it again some day 
when we're able to return to the lovely southwest of England.

Today: We're in Belfast, Northern Ireland heading out early on a coach trip
to the Giant's Causeway etc.  Guess what, it's raining and chilly!

Heading southwest to Devon. . . . . .

May 6th saw us racing with the breeze and sunshine through the English countryside 
on the bus journey to the southwest county of Devon.

Leaving Bath on a bright, sunny, almost warm morning was hard. 

I would love to spend more time in that city some day.

There is so much of interest, history and beauty.  

But Devon was calling. . . . . . .family, friends, familiar places. HOME!

iPhone photos only from the bus window  - this is Teignmouth, a seaside
town where I spent many a childhood summer holiday with my dear cousin

 Sue. . . . . . . . .who still lives here, and of course we visited later.

Teignmouth is at the estuary of the River Teign, in these views as we
 crossed the river, but also has a wonderful beachfront complete with
promenade and ocean pier. As children, Sue and I would climb the hill 
in the background and play in those glorious green fields.

Most Devon seaside towns are big on boating - tiny sailboats to huge
 ocean-going corporate yachts.

Arriving in Torquay, we were met from the bus by my cousin David who
 transported us through town and around the harbour to our AirBnB rental.
A new place for us which we found so convenient. 
More to come of course.

My Dad. . . . . . . . . .

Torquay, Devon, England - 1970
Edward Rolton M. (but always called Steve) - 1900-1976

My father's birthplace - the small fishing town of Brixham, Devon, on the edge of Tor Bay.
When I go home to England I always take the small ferry across the bay, sit quietly
 on the harbourside, and recall the time I did that with my daddy as a child.

Enjoy being with your Father today if you can. . . . . . or remember 
him with love and respect.